United States · United States Congress · 17 May 1990
Peanut Program Modernization Act of 1990 - Amends the Agricultural Adjustment Act of 1938 to repeal peanut marketing quota provisions. Amends the Agricultural Act of 1949 to replace existing peanut price support provisions with price supports as determined by the Secretary of Agriculture based upon specified factors, including production costs and domestic and foreign demand.
United States · United States Congress · 17 May 1990
Osteoporosis and Related Bone Disorders Research, Education, and Health Services Act of 1990 - Amends the Public Health Service Act to require the Director of the National Institute of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases (NIAMSD) and the Director of the National Institute on Aging (NIA) to expand and intensify research on osteoporosis and related bone disorders. Requires, with respect to osteoporosis and related bone disorders: (1) the NIAMSD Director to increase the number of Specialized Centers of Research; and (2) the NIA Director to increase the number of program project grants devoted to creating centers of excellence. Authorizes appropriations. Establishes in the Department of Health and Human Services the Interagency Council on Osteoporosis and Related Disorders and the Advisory Panel on Osteoporosis and Related Disorders. Authorizes appropriations for the Advisory Panel. Directs the Secretary of Health and Human Services to make up to three grants to establish model health promotion projects for community-based education on osteoporosis, with each project targeting one of these groups: young and teenage girls, midlife women, and older men and women. Authorizes appropriations. Requires the NIAMSD Director to make grants or enter into contracts to establish a Resource Center on Osteoporosis and Related Disorders to: (1) disseminate information about research results, services, and educational materials to health professionals, patients, and the public; and (2) coordinate regional training programs for the development of health professional resource networks. Requires grant and contract recipients to establish: (1) a central computerized information system to, among other matters, translate scientific and technical information into information readily understandable by the general public; and (2) a national toll-free telephone information line. Requires the grant or contract recipient to charge fees for providing information, but allows exceptions for individuals and organizations unable to pay. Authorization appropriations.
United States · United States Congress · 16 May 1990
Medigap Fraud and Abuse Prevention Act of 1990 - Amends title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act to penalize individuals who issue, sell, or renew Medicare supplemental policies which are in violation of this Act's standards or offer to sell a policy in a State that has not approved such policy. Requires that Medicare supplemental policy issuers: (1) cover a core group of basic benefits and, if they offer other benefits, issue a policy covering only such basic benefits; (2) provide prospective purchasers of a policy with a summary information sheet describing policy benefits and the amount of any premiums attributable to optional benefits; (3) guarantee the renewability of policies; (4) offer each group policyholder terminating their coverage or group membership the right to continued coverage under an individual policy (the policyholder ending his or her group membership may also opt for continued coverage under the group policy) or, if the old group policy is replaced by a new group policy, the right to coverage under a new group policy without exclusion for preexisting conditions; and (5) suspend policy benefits and premiums upon the policyholder's indication that he or she is entitled to Medicaid (title XIX of the Social Security Act) benefits. Requires the National Association of Insurance Commissioners (NAIC) or, upon the NAIC's default, the Secretary of Health and Human Services to promulgate simplification standards which set the core group of basic benefits policies must provide, limit the additional benefit packages that may be provided, and establish a uniform language and format to be used with respect to policy benefits. Prohibits the sale of policies which do not meet such standards, though permits approved waivers of such standards to test new or innovative benefits. Directs the Secretary to request the NAIC to educate Medicare beneficiaries on the simplification standards. Increases the civil monetary penalty for knowingly selling a policy which duplicates health benefits to which an individual is already entitled. Permits persons aggrieved by duplicative coverage to recover triple damages in a civil suit. Prohibits a policy issuer from selling a policy without: (1) obtaining a written statement of the buyer indicating any health policies of the same type or Medicaid coverage the buyer may have; and (2) notifying the buyer of the possibility and effect of their coverage under the Medicaid program and the address and telephone number of any State Medicare supplemental policy counseling program and the State Medicaid office. Prohibits the issuer from selling a policy to a person who indicates that he or she is covered by the Medicaid program or has duplicative health benefits. Penalizes individuals who sell a policy in violation of such requirements. Increases the percentage of premiums which must be returned to policyholders as benefits. Establishes a process whereby States must approve premium increases prior to their implementation. Requires public hearings for any premium increase request exceeding twice the percentage increase in the medical care component of the consumer price index. Limits Medicare supplemental policy sales commissions. Authorizes appropriations for a matching grant program to assist States in establishing counseling programs to aid Medicare-eligible individuals in choosing Medicare supplemental policies. Prohibits such policies from denying a claim for losses incurred more than six months from the effective date of coverage for a preexisting condition.
United States · United States Congress · 16 May 1990
Directs the Secretary of Veterans Affairs, on January 1 annually, to adjust on a State-by-State basis the income threshold for eligibility for hospital and nursing home care and medical services for veterans residing in above-median income States. Defines an "above-median income State" as a State having a median family income (based on a family of four) in excess of the national median family income.
United States · United States Congress · 10 May 1990
Small Business Reauthorization and Amendments Act of 1990 - Amends the Small Business Act to authorize appropriations for specified programs through FY 1994. Authorizes transfers from the disaster loan revolving fund for the administrative expenses of the Small Business Administration (SBA). Modifies the pro rata share guidelines for grant recipients in the small business development center program. Revises the assistance guidelines for small business development center assistance programs. Authorizes the Administrator of Small Business (the Administrator) to make grants or enter into contracts with a State for the purpose of contracting with small businesses to plant trees on State or local government-owned lands. Authorizes appropriations. Requires the Administrator to report annually to the President and the Congress regarding the small business tree planting program. Amends the Small Business Administration Reauthorization and Amendment Act of 1988 to extend through FY 1994 the interest rate guidelines for certified development company loans. Modifies the functions of the Office of International Trade. Amends the Business Opportunity Development Reform Act to authorize the Commission on Minority Business Development to accept funds from any other Federal department or agency. Amends the Small Business Act to authorize the President to appoint an SBA Deputy Administrator. Provides guidelines under which a Federal procurement activity which does not solicit small businesses shall document its reasons to the SBA. Amends the Small Business Investment Act of 1958 to direct the SBA to develop a plan for greater outreach of procurement and export trade seminars in rural areas. Sets forth funding standards for small business concerns whose eligibility for SBA assistance is premised upon providing expanded job opportunities. Revises the guidelines for SBA loan guarantees of development company debentures held by family business interests. Sets forth criteria for State development companies' eligibility for SBA assistance.
United States · United States Congress · 10 May 1990
Federal Contract Crimes Sentencing Act of 1990 - Mandates debarment of a contractor from Government contracting for at least five years upon a second conviction for fraud or other felonious activity involving a Government contract or subcontract within a ten-year period, except when debarment would be harmful to the national security.
United States · United States Congress · 10 May 1990
Social Security Justice Act of 1990 - Amends titles II (Old Age, Survivors and Disability Insurance) and XVI (Supplemental Security Income) of the Social Security Act to require the Secretary of Health and Human Services to apply an interpretation of provisions of, or regulations under, such titles reached by a U.S. court of appeals in a case to which the Department of Health and Human Services or an employee was a party to all individuals and circumstances within the court's jurisdiction, except during the pendency of an appeal of the court's decision to the Supreme Court. Requires the Secretary to: (1) appeal a decision which requires the Secretary's acquiescence in more than one circuit on the same question of law; and (2) apply such decision to all individuals and circumstances in all circuits if the question of law is not reviewed by the Supreme Court. Gives the U.S. courts of appeals original jurisdiction over actions in the nature of mandamus brought by individuals whose rights may be prejudiced if the Federal Government is not compelled to carry out its duties under this Act.
United States · United States Congress · 9 May 1990
SSI Independence Act for Disabled Americans - Amends title XVI (Supplemental Security Income) (SSI) of the Social Security Act to exclude from an SSI recipient's income in SSI eligibility and benefit determinations, contributions of clothing and other contributions, other than cash paid directly to the recipient, which are for the purchase of social services, vocational rehabilitation services, medical care, transportation, educational services, personal assistance or attendant care services, and certain services or equipment related to the quality and livability of his or her shelter. Excludes a trust created for an SSI recipient's benefit from such recipient's resources if such recipient does not have access to the trust's assets. Excludes funds or property placed in a trust for an SSI recipient's benefit from such recipient's income. Directs the Secretary of Health and Human Services to provide notices and pamphlets to SSI applicants and recipients informing them of the consequences various actions affecting their income and resources will have on their SSI and Medicaid (title XIX of the Social Security Act) eligibility. Deems SSI applicants who lost disability benefits under title II (Old Age, Survivors and Disability Insurance) (OASDI) of the Social Security Act after their trial work period to have received SSI benefits while still eligible for OASDI disability benefits and therefore qualify for participation in the SSI work incentive program (providing Medicaid and special SSI cash benefits to disabled individuals whose earnings otherwise make them ineligible for SSI and Medicaid benefits) if they meet SSI income, resource, and disability tests. Provides that reviews to determine the continuing disability of participants in the SSI work incentive program need to be conducted no more frequently than once every 12 months. Excludes spousal income in determining a disabled and working individual's eligibility for participation in the SSI work incentive program. Precludes the attainment of age 65 from serving as a basis for the termination of Medicaid eligibility under the SSI work incentive program. Requires that State supplementary cash payments to the needy include participants in the SSI work incentive program. Excludes impairment-related work expenses from the income of an individual who is eligible for SSI and OASDI disability benefits but receives only State supplementary payments. Treats royalties from the publication of an individual's work and scholarships which have not been used for education expenses as earned income.
United States · United States Congress · 3 May 1990
Young American Workers' Bill of Rights - Amends the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 (the Act) to add and revise requirements relating to child labor standards. Directs the Secretary of Labor (the Secretary) and the Census Bureau to compile annual data from State employment security agencies on types of industries and occupations employing individuals under age 18, and cases of violations of child labor standards. Requires employers employing individuals under 18 to report to such State agencies information on any lost-time injury or any illness such individual incurred while at work. Directs the Secretary of Health and Human Services, in conjunction with the Secretary, to report annually on the status of child labor in the United States and its attendant safety and health hazards. Prohibits employment of any individual under age 18 who is not a high school graduate unless the employer has in effect a certificate for such employment issued annually with the approval of the minor's parents or guardians, family physician, and appropriate local school or State employment security agency officials. Sets forth conditions for issuance of such certificates. Requires local or State government maintenance of certificate copy files. Requires information on child labor laws to be given to minors and parents or guardians upon issuance of the certificate. Requires employers to post child labor law provisions at each premise where child labor is employed. Prohibits any school district in which a persistent pattern is established for the issuance of illegal work certificates to minors from receiving certain impact aid. Directs the Secretary to revise certain child labor orders relating to: (1) certain types of driving; and (2) use and cleaning of machinery at restaurants and fast food establishments. Directs the Secretary to find and declare that poultry processing, seafood processing paper bailing, power-driven meat slicing, and pesticide handling are particularly hazardous for employment of children between the ages of 16 and 18, for certain purposes under the Act. Revises a specified child labor regulation to: (1) prohibit individuals under 16 from making door-to-door sales for profit, or from using fryers, baking equipment, and cooking equipment in food service establishments; and (2) eliminate an exemption involving soda fountains, lunch counters, snack bars, or cafeteria serving counters. Increases the fine for certain child labor law violations. Adds criminal penalties of fines or imprisonment for willful violations of child labor laws in cases of: (1) repeat offenders; or (2) resultant serious bodily injury or death to the minor employee. Prohibits such repeat offenders, for five-years after the latest conviction, from: (1) competing for any Federal contract; (2) being eligible for any direct or indirect Federal grant or guaranteed loan; or (3) employing any individual at a special subminimum training wage under the Act. Directs the Secretary to establish and encourage closer working relationships among Federal and State agencies responsible for enforcing labor, safety and health, and immigration laws. Requires establishment of referral systems among Federal and State labor standards and occupational health and safety enforcement personnel, and of those personnel with Immigration and Naturalization Service enforcement personnel. Directs the Secretary to: (1) seek advice from the private and non-Federal public sectors on the Act and its regulations relating to employment of minors; and (2) establish an Advisory Committee for Child Labor for such purpose. Directs the Secretary to: (1) publish and distribute regionally the addresses, and types of violations of willful violators of child labor laws; and (2) post and otherwise make available to affected school districts the name of each violator of child labor laws, with the location and nature of the violation. Applies certain child labor law provisions of the Act to employers regardless of the annual dollar volume of sales whereby certain enterprises are exempted from coverage under the Act. Authorizes appropriations to the Secretary to cover additional costs resulting from the reporting, certification, and recordkeeping and the penalty enforcement requirements of this Act.
United States · United States Congress · 2 May 1990
Farms for the Future Act of 1990 - Directs the Secretary of Agriculture to establish the Agricultural Resource Conservation Demonstration Program to provide Federal guarantees and interest rate assistance for loans made by lending institutions to State trust funds. Authorizes the Secretary to establish in the Treasury the Agricultural Resource Conservation Revolving Fund. Terminates the Program on September 30, 1996.
United States · United States Congress · 26 April 1990
Recycling Initiatives Grant Act - Amends the Solid Waste Disposal Act to authorize the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency to award grants for conducting research on, or developing, innovative techniques for solid waste recycling. Limits the amount of such grants. Authorizes appropriations.
United States · United States Congress · 26 April 1990
Calls immediately for Greyhound Lines, Inc., and the Amalgamated Transit Union to resume negotiations under the auspices of the Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service and the Secretary of Labor.
United States · United States Congress · 26 April 1990
Condemns the restrictions of the print and electronic media imposed by the Soviet Union on journalists attempting to cover events in Lithuania. Urges: (1) General Secretary Gorbachev to rescind restrictions on the admission of Western journalists to, and on freedom of the press in, Lithuania; and (2) President Bush to take steps to facilitate the readmission of Western journalists to Lithuania.
United States · United States Congress · 26 April 1990
Urges the United States Trade Representative (USTR) to: (1) use "Super 301" under the Trade Act of 1974 to identify Japan as a priority country for purposes of negotiating the elimination of barriers to U.S. exports; (2) identify as trade-liberalization priorities under "Super 301" Japanese practices that are most costly in terms of lost U.S. exports and most resistant to change through market adjustment or prior negotiations; and (3) in determining such practices, give substantial weight to the worsening bilateral trade deficit in any sector where they prevail. Declares that the Congress considers that: (1) the identification of the trade-liberalization priorities in the 1990 "Super 301" report would reinforce other bilateral trade discussions such as the Structural Impediments Initiative talks and the negotiations regarding priorities in the 1989 "Super 301" report; and (2) use of the "Super 301" trade-liberalization incentive would improve prospects for reducing the U.S.-Japanese trade imbalance.
United States · United States Congress · 24 April 1990
Prohibits the shipment in interstate or foreign commerce of steel jaw leghold traps and of articles of fur derived from animals trapped in such traps. Prescribes criminal penalties for violations of this Act. Directs the Secretary of the Interior to reward nongovernment informers for information leading to a conviction under this Act. Empowers enforcement officials to detain, search, and seize suspected merchandise or documents and to make arrests with and without warrants. Subjects seized merchandise to forfeiture.
United States · United States Congress · 23 April 1990
Contraception and Infertility Research Centers Act of 1990 - Amends the Public Health Service Act to require the Director of the Institute of Child Health and Human Development to make grants and enter into contracts for centers for improving methods of contraception and centers for diagnosing and treating infertility. Requires the Director, subject to appropriations, to provide for three centers with respect to contraception and two centers with respect to infertility. Requires each center to: (1) conduct clinical and other applied research; (2) develop training protocols for and conduct training of physicians, scientists, nurses, and other health and allied health professionals; (3) develop model continuing education programs; and (4) disseminate information to such professionals. Allows a center to use the funds to provide: (1) stipends for health and allied health professionals enrolled in the training programs; and (2) fees to individuals serving as subjects in the clinical trials. Requires each center to use the facilities of a single institution, or be formed from a consortium of cooperating institutions, meeting requirements as prescribed by the Secretary of Health and Human Services. Allows support for a center to be for a period of up to five years, with extensions of one or more periods of up to five years if the center's operations have been reviewed by a peer review group and the group has so recommended. Authorizes appropriations. Amends the Public Health Service Act to direct the Secretary to establish a program of entering into agreements with health professionals, including graduate students, under which the professionals agree to conduct research with respect to contraception or infertility in consideration of the Government agreeing to repay, for each year of such service, not more than a specified amount of the principal and interest of their educational loans. Applies provisions of the National Health Service Corps Loan Repayment Program to this program, except as inconsistent. Authorizes appropriations. Requires amounts appropriated to remain available until the end of the second fiscal year after they are appropriated.
United States · United States Congress · 23 April 1990
Declares that the Congress should: (1) establish a program of research for the development of methods of contraception and methods of diagnosing and treating infertility; (2) provide adequate long-term resources for the program; (3) ensure that Federal programs with respect to sexually transmitted diseases adequately respond to the role of such diseases in infertility; (4) ensure public education on contraception and infertility; (5) establish as Federal goals the development, by the year 2010, of improved barrier methods to protect against pregnancy and diseases, new methods of contraception for use by men, a vaccine-like drug for women that prevents pregnancy for a significant period of time without other specified effects, and new and improved techniques of diagnosing and treating infertility; (6) require the Secretary of Health and Human Services to reestablish the Ethical Advisory Board in order to facilitate research with respect to infertility; (7) review the policies and procedures of the Food and Drug Administration with respect to expediting approval of drugs and devices for use by the public, especially with respect to contraception and infertility; and (8) determine to what extent measures can be implemented by public or private entities to resolve liability issues involved with drugs and devices concerned with contraception and infertility.
United States · United States Congress · 19 April 1990
Department of Veterans Affairs Health Professionals Compensation and Labor-Relations Act of 1990 - Title I: Physicians and Dentists Special Pay - Revises provisions of Federal law relating to special pay for health-care professionals of the Veterans Health Services and Research Administration (HSRA) of the Department of Veterans Affairs (Department). Directs the Secretary of Veterans Affairs, in order to recruit and retain highly qualified physicians and dentists, to provide special pay upon the execution of a written agreement between the Secretary and the individual involved providing that the individual shall serve a required period of obligated service within the HSRA. Provides that such an individual is not entitled to such special pay during the first three years of such service, except at the discretion of the Secretary for full-time services. Prohibits the payment of special pay to those physician and dentist positions for which there is no significant recruitment and retention problem. Outlines requirements of a written agreement, including provisions providing for: (1) a covered period of one to four years; (2) refunding of special pay for unfulfilled service; (3) the waiver of such refund requirement due to circumstances beyond the control of the physician or dentist; and (4) submission to the Secretary of agreements where an individual is entering into a second or subsequent agreement for a specified amount of special pay. Authorizes the Secretary to adjust amounts of special pay to reflect changes in the status of a physician or dentist. Directs the Secretary to provide special pay to eligible full-time physicians based upon specified factors, including: (1) tenure within the HSRA; (2) service in a medical specialty for which it is extremely difficult to recruit and retain qualified professionals; (3) service in certain executive positions; (4) specialty or board certifications; and (5) service in a geographic location for which there are extraordinary difficulties in the recruitment or retention of qualified personnel. Requires the maximum amount of special pay to be paid to the Chief Medical Director (CMD) and the Deputy Chief Medical Director (DCMD). Directs the Secretary to provide special pay to part-time eligible physicians based upon similar factors. Requires the Secretary to pay each such physician an amount of special pay equal to the proportion of full-time service that a physician performs. Directs the Secretary to provide special pay to eligible full-time and part-time dentists based upon similar factors. Prohibits physicians and dentists provided special pay and serving in certain executive positions from being paid scarce specialty pay (another form of special pay that rewards scarce specialty areas of practice). Requires, with regard to the payment of special pay, determinations: (1) that there are extraordinary difficulties in recruitment or retention; (2) of the amount of special pay based upon the special pay factors for each individual; and (3) of whether there are extraordinary difficulties in a specific geographic location in the recruitment or retention of qualified physicians or dentists. Outlines considerations for determinations with respect to extraordinary recruitment and retention difficulties and the payment of scarce specialty pay for individual medical facilities of the Department. Outlines the manner in which special pay is to be considered for purposes of other benefits laws for Federal employees. States that it is the policy of the Congress to assure that total pay for HSRA physicians and dentists is comparable to total pay of other Government physicians and dentists and to the income of non-Federal physicians and dentists. Directs the Secretary: (1) in order to assist in implementing such policy, to obtain measures of income of such non-Department physicians and dentists and to define the bases for pay distinctions; (2) to report to the President quadrennially on appropriate amounts of special pay to HSRA physicians and dentists to carry out such policy; and (3) to report to specified congressional committees annually on the use of authorities under this title. Directs the Secretary to reimburse any full-time board-certified physician or dentist appointed in the HSRA for expenses incurred, up to $1,000 per year, for continuing professional education. Title II: Nurses Pay Grades and Pay Administration - Directs the Secretary to restructure the current nurse pay grades so as to provide four grade levels (entry, intermediate, senior, and director grade levels). Requires the Secretary to maintain the four new grade levels established for nurses employed in the Department. Provides GS-levels for each nurse grade, with appropriate step increments. Requires Department nurses serving as head nurses to receive basic pay at a rate two steps above the otherwise applicable rate. Authorizes the director of a medical center of the Department to provide step promotions or cash bonuses to nurses who have qualifications, experience, or achievements which the director determines exceed the standards for the nurse's current grade. Outlines factors to be considered by the director in making such determinations. Directs the Secretary to provide that the director of a medical center of the Department may appoint a nurse at a basic pay rate in excess of the minimum rate otherwise applicable if necessary to obtain the services of qualified nurses at that medical center. Requires the director to document and include the reasons for taking such action in his or her next budget submission. Repeals a current limitation on the hourly rate of overtime pay permissible for nurses within the Department. Title III: Labor-Management Relations - Revises Federal provisions concerning personnel administration and collective bargaining procedures within the Department. Includes all employees appointed in the HSRA under such provisions. Provides that the authority of the Secretary to prescribe regulations with regard to such employees is subject to the right of Federal employees to engage in the collective bargaining process with respect to conditions of employment. States that such collective bargaining may not cover, or have any applicability to, any matter or question arising out of professional conduct or competence. Provides that the issue of whether a matter concerns or arises out of professional conduct or competence shall be decided by the Secretary and is not subject to collective bargaining. Authorizes the Secretary to prescribe regulations establishing conditions under which employees of the HSRA who are nationally recognized in the area of medical research may be permitted to accept payment from non-Federal entities and individuals for travel and reasonable expenses for attending meetings, performing advisory services, and accepting awards. Requires any person who engages in such extra-professional activities to work a minimum 80-hour biweekly amount. Outlines activities and responsibilities that such a person may not engage in or take on while an employee of the Department. Provides that whenever the CMD brings charges against a Department employee based on conduct or performance and, as a result of those charges, an adverse (disciplinary) action is taken against the employee, the employee shall have the right to appeal the action, either through: (1) a Disciplinary Appeals Board; (2) Department procedures; or (3) grievance procedures provided through collective bargaining, depending on the type of action involved. Requires the Secretary to publish in the Federal Register any proposed regulations concerning the collective bargaining or adverse action procedures. States that Disciplinary Appeals Boards shall have exclusive jurisdiction to review any case: (1) which arises out of a question of professional conduct or competence of an employee of the Department employed on a full-time basis under a permanent appointment; and (2) in which a major adverse action was taken (suspension, transfer, reduction in grade or pay, or discharge). Gives employees involved in such a case the right to: (1) advance written notice of the charges and actions that could be taken if the charges are sustained; and (2) an opportunity to be heard both orally and in writing on such charges. Requires a decision on such case by a deciding official within 21 days after the employee's response to the charges. Allows for a delay in a proposed action for up to one year while an employee seeks counseling or treatment for a condition covered under the Rehabilitation Act of 1973. Allows the Secretary to require an employee to make a written or oral response to the charges within 30 days of receipt, with extension for good cause shown. Outlines further administrative action to be taken by the Board in a major adverse action appeals procedure, together with time limitations involved in each step. States that the Secretary's execution of the Board's decision shall be the final administrative action in the case, with the affected employee entitled to judicial review of the order or decision. Requires the Secretary to prescribe procedures for the consideration of grievances of Department employees arising from adverse actions in which each action taken either: (1) is not a major adverse action; or (2) does not arise out of a question of professional conduct or competence. States that Disciplinary Appeals Boards shall not have jurisdiction to review such matters. States that review of an adverse action shall be provided through either Department procedures or through grievance procedures provided through collective bargaining. Outlines the rights of employees under the Department procedures to: (1) a formal review by an impartial examiner within the Department; (2) a prompt report of findings; (3) a prompt review of the examiner's findings by a higher official; and (4) legal or other representation. Requires the Secretary to appoint Disciplinary Appeals Boards to hear appeals of major adverse actions taken against full-time Department employees based on professional conduct or performance. Authorizes the chairman of such a Board to authorize disclosure to the affected employee of records or information to be reviewed during an appeal procedure. Provides for the protection of the privacy of the individuals whose records are involved. Requires the Secretary to periodically designate Department employees qualified to serve on Disciplinary Appeals Boards and to announce that a list of such qualified employees is available to any person requesting such list. Requires the Secretary to provide training in the functions and duties of such Boards and grievance procedures for employees selected to be on the panel. Title IV: Miscellaneous - Exempts the Veterans Health Services and Research Administration, Medical Care Account from sequestration or reduction under the Balanced Budget and Emergency Deficit Control Act of 1985 (Gramm-Rudman-Hollings Act). Authorizes the Secretary to carry out certain administrative reorganizations of regional and district offices as described in a prior communication to the Congress. Requires judges of the U.S. Court of Veterans Appeals to receive the salary rate received by judges of the U.S. Court of Military Appeals. Makes licensed practical nurses, vocational nurses, and nurse assistants eligible for premium pay on the same basis as registered nurses.
United States · United States Congress · 19 April 1990
Loans to One Borrower Transition Rule Act of 1990 - Amends the Home Owners' Loan Act to establish a transition period during which specified limits apply to total loans and credit extensions offered by savings associations to any one borrower. Requires the Director of the Office of Thrift Supervision to prescribe regulations to implement this Act.
United States · United States Congress · 18 April 1990
Taxpayers' Right to Know Act - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to require the booklets of instructions for individual income tax returns to include pie-shaped graphs showing the relative sizes of the major outlay and income categories.
United States · United States Congress · 4 April 1990
Amends the Colorado River Storage Project Act to express the intent of the Congress that the Glen Canyon Dam be operated in a manner that protects, mitigates damages to, and enhances the natural resources of the Grand Canyon National Park and the Glen Canyon National Recreation Area. Directs the Secretary of the Interior to: (1) develop emergency interim operating criteria (EIOC) for the Glen Canyon Dam in consultation with the Department of the Interior, the Secretary of Energy, and the State of Arizona, and with the full participation of the general public, including environmental organizations, the recreation industry, Indian tribes, and those who contract for the purchase of Federal power produced at Glen Canyon Dam; and (2) implement such EIOC pending adoption of new long-term operating criteria. Authorizes the Secretary of the Interior to vary the EIOC if necessary to: (1) comply with requirements enumerated later under this Act; (2) respond to hydrologic extremes or power system operating emergencies; or (3) further reduce adverse impacts on resources downstream. Directs the Secretary, within three years after this Act's enactment, to complete the Glen Canyon Environmental Studies and the final Glen Canyon Dam Environmental Impact Statement as required under the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969. Outlines certain evaluations and information with respect to the Park, the Area, and the Dam required to be included in the impact statement. Directs the Secretary to adopt new long-term operating criteria for the Dam based on the Studies and the Statement and to submit the Studies, the Statement, and the new criteria to the Congress. Authorizes appropriations.
United States · United States Congress · 4 April 1990
Ancient Forest Protection Act of 1990 - Establishes the National Ancient Forest Reserve System. Designates certain lands in California, Oregon, and Washington as components of such System. Declares that all Federal lands in such States which qualify as ancient forest or associated forest and are not designated as components of the System shall be managed as if they are. Requires the Secretary of Agriculture and the Secretary of the Interior to issue regulations with respect to the removal of commercial timber from such lands. Declares it to be U.S. policy to develop and utilize scientific information to study and identify the biological and ecological requirements of ancient forest ecosystems. Directs the Chairman of the Council on Environmental Quality to study and report to appropriate congressional committees on the biological and physical requirements for the survival of such ecosystems.
United States · United States Congress · 4 April 1990
Amends the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act of 1980 to provide that the definition of "owner or operator" (for purposes of liability) does not include: (1) a designated lending institution which acquires control of a facility pursuant to the terms of a security interest held by the person in such facility or in connection with a lease subject to Federal or State banking authorities; (2) a corporate fiduciary which operates or has legal title to a facility pursuant to the terms of an estate or trust; (3) an individual or institution that serves as an indenture trustee and acquires control of a facility as the result of default on a financing document between the trustee and the issuing entity; and (4) an individual fiduciary who has legal title to a facility for purposes of administering an estate or trust.
United States · United States Congress · 4 April 1990
Medicare Certified Registered Nurse Anesthetist Payment Amendments of 1990 - Amends part B (Supplementary Medical Insurance) of title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act to establish uniform national fee schedule payment rates for certified registered nurse anesthetist services.
United States · United States Congress · 4 April 1990
Composting Research Act of 1990 - Directs the Secretary of Agriculture to: (1) establish a Compost Task Force; (2) conduct a composting agricultural wastes study; (3) conduct research on potential uses of compost; (4) evaluate existing compost programs; and (5) initiate a composting extension program.
United States · United States Congress · 4 April 1990
Textile, Apparel, and Footwear Trade Act of 1990 - Limits the 1990 imports of textiles and textile products classified under a category to an amount equal to 101 percent of the total 1989 imports classified under such category. Limits the 1990 imports of nonrubber footwear classified under a nonrubber footwear category to an amount equal to: (1) the total 1989 imports of nonrubber footwear classified under such category; and (2) in the case of high priced nonrubber footwear, the total 1989 imports of high priced nonrubber footwear classified under such category. Provides for a one-percent annual growth in the amount of permitted imports of textiles and textile products after 1990. Exempts from the limitations imposed under this Act imports of textiles and textile products from U.S. possessions if such articles are exempt from duty under the Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States and are manufactured by U.S. citizens, nationals, or permanent residents of such a possession. Limits the imports of certain sweaters made in Guam to a specified amount during FY 1990 and to such amount increased by one percent per year in subsequent years. Declares such limitations shall not apply to Canada or Israel. Sets forth limitations on the amount of textile and textile products, classified under certain import categories, which may be imported from beneficiary countries under the Caribbean Basin Initiative. Authorizes the President to: (1) enter into trade agreements to grant new concessions as compensation to the extent required under U.S. trade agreements for the import limits imposed by this Act; and (2) proclaim such modification or continuance of any existing duty on textiles and textile products and on nonrubber footwear as necessary to carry out such agreements. Prohibits the President from reducing any rate of duty by more than ten percent. Requires the President, before entering into such trade agreements, to consider whether a country has violated trade concessions of benefit to the United States and the violation has not been adequately offset. Sets forth requirements governing staged rate reductions in the tariffs of articles affected by this Act. Prohibits the President, except as authorized by this Act, from entering into trade negotiations with any country with respect to duties on textiles, textile products, and nonrubber footwear. Prohibits the President, except as provided in this Act, from decreasing or proposing a decrease in any such duty by any means, including an implementing bill or a proclamation. Requires the President to report annually to the Congress on the administration of this Act. Requires the Secretary of Commerce, ten years after enactment of this Act, to study and report to the Congress on its operation. Requires the Secretary of the Treasury to establish a pilot program for the issuance and sale to U.S. companies at public auction of import licenses applicable to categories of textiles. Terminates such licensing program on December 31, 1991, and requires a report to the Congress on its administration.
United States · United States Congress · 29 March 1990
Employee Protection Act of 1990 - Prohibits employers involved in interstate commerce from discriminating against employees or prospective employees on the basis of their refusal to: (1) submit to sterilization or a fertility test; or (2) refrain from procreation. Prohibits such employers from: (1) requiring such procedures; (2) using or inquiring about the result of any fertility test or procreative ability or history; (3) engaging in any employment practice designed to employ only those unable to procreate; (4) excluding any class of employees from employment opportunities or benefits to avoid compliance with this Act; or (5) discriminating against those who exercise their rights under this Act. Requires notice of protection under this Act to be posted conspicuously on employment premises. Grants the Secretary of Labor administrative authority under this Act. Provides for civil enforcement of this Act. Prohibits waiver of rights except in written settlements. Does not prohibit: (1) voluntary job placement or transfer meeting certain conditions; or (2) legitimate scientific or medical research if information is solicited on a voluntary, confidential, and nondiscriminatory basis.
United States · United States Congress · 28 March 1990
Tax Collection Enhancement Act of 1990 - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to provide for the collection of delinquent Federal income taxes by a State in the course of the State's collection of delinquent State income taxes. Allows a State to receive 50 percent of the amount of delinquent Federal income taxes it collects.
United States · United States Congress · 27 March 1990
Head Start Quality Assurance Act of 1990 - Amends the Head Start Act to require that a specified average minimum benefit amount per capita be expended annually to provide services to children who participate in Head Start programs. Specifies such minimum benefit amounts for FY 1991 through 1994 and succeeding fiscal years. Directs the Secretary of Health and Human Services to establish procedures to ensure such annual average minimum expenditure per child.
United States · United States Congress · 27 March 1990
Authorizes the Secretary of Veterans Affairs (the Secretary), in conjunction with the Secretary of Defense, to make grants to qualifying medical schools to assist in the establishment of new medical research centers. Outlines qualifications for medical schools eligible for such grants, including: (1) being primarily State-supported; (2) having no established research center in the field for which application is made; (3) being located in proximity to a Department of Veterans Affairs medical facility which has an affiliation with a medical facility of the Department of Defense; and (4) having demonstrable potential for successful development of such a new research center. Requires the Secretary to ensure that centers for which grants are made are geographically dispersed within the United States. Requires the Secretary to establish an advisory committee to advise a medical school with respect to activities of the center for which a grant is made. Prohibits the Secretary from entering into an agreement to make a grant unless the Secretary finds that the school will maintain arrangements with the Department medical facility with which it is affiliated as to be mutually beneficial in carrying out the mission of the respective medical facilities and the school. Requires facilities of such research centers to be made available on a competitive basis. Requires the fact of Federal funding for such centers to be acknowledged in the activities and publications of the center. Requires that grants may only be provided from funds specifically appropriated for such grants. Requires matching appropriations to the Department of Defense for research, development, testing, and evaluation whenever an appropriation is made to the Department for such grants. Requires an agreement for such grants to include certain assurances with respect to the sufficiency of non-Federal funding for such research centers. Authorizes the Secretary to increase grant amounts due to cost increases, within specified limits. Sets forth application requirements from medical schools desiring to receive such grants. Requires the Secretary, in considering such applications, to give priority to applications which emphasize research in one or more of the following areas: (1) diabetes and metabolic diseases; (2) prosthetics and rehabilitation medicine; (3) mental health, behavioral medicine, and neurological disease; (4) acquired immune deficiency syndrome (AIDS) and related diseases; (5) Alzheimer and dementia; (6) degenerative cardiopulmonary disease; (7) cancer; (8) technology assessment; and (9) toxicology. Requires the Secretary to use a merit review process in considering applications and awarding grants under this Act. Authorizes appropriations for FY 1991 through 1994. Entitles the Secretary to recover from grant recipients any amount not used for appropriate grant purposes.
United States · United States Congress · 22 March 1990
World War II 50th Anniversary Commemorative Coin Act - Expresses the sense of the Congress that the United States should recognize the 50th anniversary of World War II by minting and issuing commemorative coins. Directs the Secretary of the Treasury to issue and mint such coins in five dollar, one dollar, and half dollar denominations. Mandates that surcharges received from the sale of such coins be deposited in a coinage profit fund and allocated, upon separate congressional authorization, to the American Battle Monuments Commission to establish a World War II memorial. Directs the Secretary to report semiannually to the Congress regarding implementation of this Act.
United States · United States Congress · 21 March 1990
Calls for the United States to: (1) continue to give the highest priority to accounting for Americans still missing or unaccounted for in Southeast Asia and to securing the return of Americans still held captive; (2) ensure cooperation with Vietnam and Laos to achieve credible answers for the families of such Americans, including primary-next-of-kin access to all records and information resulting from joint investigations, surveys, and excavations; (3) develop a means of accounting for Americans unaccounted for in Cambodia that is consistent with U.S. efforts to obtain a political settlement to the Cambodian situation; and (4) heighten responsible public awareness of Americans unaccounted for in Southeast Asia through the dissemination of factual data.
United States · United States Congress · 20 March 1990
Provides for the implementation and enforcement of the Inter-American Convention on International Commercial Arbitration by United States courts. Authorizes courts to issue orders to compel arbitration and to appoint arbitrators in accordance with the agreement of the parties involved, or in accordance with the Convention in the event the agreement makes no provision for arbitration. Specifies that any arbitral decisions or awards made in the territory of a foreign State shall, on the basis of reciprocity, be recognized and enforced only if that State has ratified or acceded to the Convention. Provides that where the requirements of the Inter-American Convention and the Convention on the Recognition and Enforcement of Foreign Arbitral Awards of June 10, 1958, are met, the Inter-American Convention shall apply only if a majority of the parties to arbitration are citizens of States that: (1) have ratified and acceded to such Convention; and (2) are members of the Organization of American States.
United States · United States Congress · 20 March 1990
Directs the Secretary of Defense to establish the Commission on Base Realignment and Closure to: (1) determine if certain efficiencies can be realized through closure or realignment of domestic and overseas U.S. military installations; and (2) make recommendations for such closures and realignments. Directs the Secretary to initiate and complete all recommended closures and realignments by specified dates. Outlines conditions for such closures and realignments, including congressional reports and the lack of a joint resolution from the Congress disapproving the Commission's recommendations. Terminates the authority to carry out any closure or realignment under this Act on a specified date. Directs the Secretary to carry out any recommended base closure or realignment and to provide economic adjustment assistance, community planning assistance, and environmental restoration with respect to affected areas or communities. Directs the Administrator of General Services to delegate to the Secretary all appropriate authority to dispose of property for purposes of such closures or realignments, after consultation with the Governor of the State and the heads of local governments concerning other uses of the property to be disposed. Requires the Secretary to notify all other departments and other instrumentalities of the availability of such property made excess by such closures or realignments. Outlines the applicability of the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 with respect to actions of the Commission and the Secretary concerning base closures and realignments under this Act. Directs the Secretary to report to the Congress on the schedule for, cost savings from, and environmental effects of, base closures and realignments. Establishes the Department of Defense Base Closure Account 1990 to receive deposits for, and proceeds from, base closures or realignments to be used for such closures and realignments. Requires certain reports with respect to the use of Account funds. Outlines the legislative process for the consideration of a joint resolution to disapprove the Commission's recommendations.
United States · United States Congress · 20 March 1990
Expresses the sense of the Congress that: (1) the United States should support the unified status of Jerusalem and continue to recognize that a unified Jerusalem is an integral part of the State of Israel; (2) efforts of the U.S. Government to achieve peace in the Middle East should take into account the close relationship between the United States and Israel, as well as Israel's legitimate security needs; and (3) efforts to advance the peace process must not call into question the status of Jerusalem.
United States · United States Congress · 19 March 1990
Family Unity and Employment Opportunity Immigration Act of 1990 - Title I: Family-Sponsored and Employment-Based Immigration - Subtitle A: Admission and Status - Amends the Immigration and Nationality Act to reorganize the standards for entry of permanent resident aliens around family-sponsored immigrants and employment-based immigrants. Revises: (1) the preference system for allocation of visas; (2) the petitioning procedure; and (3) the labor certification process. Grants a temporary stay of deportation and a work authorization to certain eligible immigrants who are spouses or children of legalized aliens. Revises: (1) certain nonimmigrant classifications; and (2) the qualifications for admission of aliens (and families) in religious occupations. Denies nonimmigrant (crewmember) status to aliens intending to perform services on board U.S. vessels or aircraft during a labor dispute where there is a strike or lockout in the bargaining unit of the employer for which the alien intends to perform such services. Subtitle B: Education and Training of American Workers - Directs the Attorney General to charge $1,000 fees (with certain exceptions) to any employer petitioning to import into the United States an alien falling in specified employment-based categories. Requires the Secretary of Labor, from an account into which such fees are deposited, to make grants to States to provide educational assistance and training for U.S. workers. Title II: Other Provisions Regarding Immigrant Visas - Directs the Attorney General to adjust to (conditional) permanent resident status the status of certain qualifying aliens who are natives of an adversely affected foreign state. Makes available up to 25,000 immigrant visa numbers in each of FY 1991 through 1993 to qualified: (1) displaced aliens from Eastern Europe; and (2) immigrants from Africa. Declares that for numerical limitation purposes Hong Kong shall be treated as a separate foreign state, and not as a colony or other component or dependent area of a foreign state, beginning with FY 1991. Title III: Other Immigration Provisions - Subtitle A: Provisions Relating to Marriage Fraud - Provides for a waiver of the conditional residence requirement for a foreign spouse who: (1) entered the qualifying marriage in good faith; and (2) can show through credible evidence that he or she was battered by, or subject to extreme mental cruelty perpetrated by, his or her spouse or parent. Provides a bona fide marriage exception to the foreign residence requirement for marriages entered into during certain immigration proceedings. Subtitle B: Provisions Relating to Immigration Reform and Control Act of 1986 - Prohibits discrimination based on national origin or citizenship status with respect to the terms and conditions of employment. Repeals the requirement that aliens file a declaration of intention to become a citizen in order to file an anti-discrimination complaint. Adds an extra year to the deadline for applying for adjustment of status from temporary to permanent residence. Permits judicial review of regulations, policies, and practices and court-ordered remedies for certain administrative actions. Disqualifies certain legalized aliens from cash assistance welfare programs only, not all financial assistance programs. Repeals certain paperwork requirements for recruiters and referrers. Provides for special immigrant status for certain aliens declared dependent on a juvenile court. Directs the Commissioner of Immigration and Naturalization to provide for a system for collection and dissemination of information useful in evaluating the social, economic, environmental, and demographic impact of immigration laws. Exempts travelers from Belize from the immigration inspection user fee. Title IV: Removal of Criminal Aliens - Revises the definition of aggravated felony to include illicit trafficking in controlled substances. Grants Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS) officers the power to make arrests for any offense against the United States. Directs the Commissioner to provide for the fingerprinting and photographing of each alien 14 or over against whom a deportation proceeding is commenced. Revises the condition for an alien's release from custody pending determination of deportability. Declares that any judicial recommendations against deportation shall not be taken into account in a deportation proceeding in determining the number of convictions for crimes involving moral turpitude. Revises: (1) the requirements for the notice given to an alien (or alien's counsel of record) about a deportation hearing; and (2) the limitations on discretionary relief from deportation. Declares that no time during the pendency of administrative or judicial proceedings shall be counted as periods of continuous physical presence for suspension of deportation. Repeals a proviso indicating that a written request from a prosecutor or judge obliges the Attorney General to deport an alien before his or her release from the correctional institution where he or she is confined. Amends the Omnibus Crime Control and Safe Streets Act of 1968 to require States, as a condition for receiving drug control and system improvement grants, to provide INS without fee the certified conviction records of aliens convicted of violating State criminal laws. Provides for deportation for attempted violations of controlled substances laws. Revises the definition of good moral character to exclude persons convicted of an aggravated felony (not just, as current law provides, the crime of murder).
United States · United States Congress · 15 March 1990
Amends the Tax Reform Act of 1986 to provide for the deductibility of State and local income and sales taxes to the extent such taxes exceed one percent of adjusted gross income.
United States · United States Congress · 15 March 1990
Congratulates: (1) the people of Lithuania on their recent multiparty elections; (2) the new Government on its decision to restore Lithuanian independence; and (3) the new Supreme Council of the Republic of Lithuania. Urges the Soviet Government to enter into negotiations with the new Lithuanian Government on an equal basis and to refrain from acts of political and economic intimidation against Lithuania. Urges the President to: (1) strengthen and seek ways to demonstrate his commitment to an independent and democratic Lithuania; (2) take steps toward normalizing diplomatic relations with the Lithuanian Government; (3) seek effective political support among our allies as Lithuania attempts to negotiate credits in Western markets; and (4) seek ways to make appropriate technical assistance available to the Lithuanian people.
United States · United States Congress · 14 March 1990
Depository Institution Golden Parachute Prohibition Act of 1990 - Amends the Federal Deposit Insurance Act to authorize the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation Board of Directors to prohibit any insured depository institution from making golden parachute payments as defined in the Internal Revenue Code (payments resulting from an agreement during the pendency of a tender offer to increase the compensation of senior management personnel).
![Official portrait of Rep. Morrison, Bruce A. [D-CT-3]](https://www.congress.gov/img/member/m000992_200.jpg)