United States · United States Congress · 5 October 1989
National Historic Preservation Policy Act of 1989 - Amends the National Historic Preservation Act to revise its findings and policy statement. Title I: Federal Historic Preservation Programs - Amends the National Historic Preservation Act with respect to: (1) Federal Government-wide historic preservation responsibilities; (2) Federal agency preservation compliance requirements; (3) avoidable destruction or disruption of historic properties by a Federal undertaking; (4) payment of preservation costs; (5) confidentiality of certain information about historic resources; (6) Federal leasing of historic property; (7) the international historic preservation responsibilities of Federal agencies; (8) expansion and maintenance of the National Register of Historic Places; and (9) archaeological resources of critical importance. Makes conforming amendments to the Historic Sites Act. Amends the Archaeological Resources Protection Act of 1979 to: (1) revise procedures for granting permits for archaeology on Federal and Indian lands; (2) prohibit certain unauthorized archaeological activities and transactions involving such lands; (3) establish criminal penalties for violations of such prohibitions; (4) require the Advisory Council on Historic Preservation to establish national priorities for archaeological research; (5) direct the Advisory Council to call for and organize U.S. participation in an international conference on the international antiquities trade; (6) require the Advisory Council to establish professional qualifications and performance standards for archaeologists under contracts with the United States or beneficiaries of Federal assistance; (7) require each State historic preservation program to have a plan dealing with archaeology on private land; (8) direct each Federal agency and every federally-assisted State, local, and tribal historic preservation program to adopt Advisory Council policies and procedures regarding human remains and associated grave goods that may be disturbed by land development, natural causes, archaeological excavations, and so forth; (9) direct the Advisory Council to establish a program for the registration of artifacts removed from archaeological sites domestic and foreign; and (10) require the Advisory Council to establish an Archaeology Advisory Board. Title II: State Historic Preservation Programs - Amends the National Historic Preservation Act to revise requirements for State historic preservation programs. Title III: Tribal Historic Preservation Programs - Amends the National Historic Preservation Act to establish requirements for tribal historic preservation programs. Title IV: Local Historic Preservation Programs - Amends the National Historic Preservation Act to revise requirements for local historic preservation programs. Title V: Education and Training - Amends the National Historic Preservation Act to revise requirements for a comprehensive preservation education and training program. Title VI: Advisory Committees and National Preservation Center - Establishes the: (1) Preservation Advisory Committee; and (2) Archeology Advisory Board. Establishes a National Center for Preservation Technology in the Historic Preservation Agency. Transfers functions of the Cultural Property Advisory Committee of the U.S. Information Agency to the Preservation Agency.
United States · United States Congress · 5 October 1989
AIDS Opportunity Housing Act - Title I: Grants for AIDS Housing Information and Coordination Services - Authorizes the Secretary of Housing and Urban Development to make grants to eligible organizations and agencies for AIDS housing information and for expanding housing assistance for persons with AIDS. Provides for recipient confidentiality. Authorizes FY 1990 and 1991 appropriations. Title II: AIDS Short-Term Supported Housing and Services Demonstration - Amends the Stewart B. McKinney Homeless Assistance Act to authorize the Secretary to make grants for programs to prevent homelessness among persons with AIDS and to provide them with short-term supported housing and related services. Provides for minority outreach. Authorizes FY 1990 and 1991 appropriations. Title III: Permanent and Transitional Housing and Services - Increases FY 1990 and 1991 budget authority for housing assistance to persons with AIDS under the United States Housing Act of 1937 section eight certificate (including shared housing) and moderate rehabilitation for single room occupancy programs. Authorizes the Secretary to make grants to States and metropolitan areas for community residences and services for persons with AIDS. Authorizes FY 1990 and 1991 appropriations. States that a person with AIDS or its related conditions shall be considered handicapped for purposes of Department of Housing and Urban Development assistance.
United States · United States Congress · 5 October 1989
Declares that: (1) Antarctica is a global ecological commons and should be managed under a new agreement among the Antarctic Treaty Consultative Parties or a protocol to the Convention on the Regulation of Antarctic Mineral Resource Activities which should for an indefinite period establish Antarctica as a region closed to commercial minerals development and related activities; (2) under such new agreement, information about minerals or other resources in Antarctica should be obtained under strictly controlled arrangements and should be openly shared in the international scientific community; (3) the Convention is not adequate to protect the environment of Antarctica and could stimulate commercial exploitation; (4) pending the negotiations and entry into force of a new agreement or protocol ensuring the full protection of Antarctica as a global ecological commons, the President should not present the Convention to the Senate for advice and consent to ratification; (5) the United States should support the interim measures presently in force among nations signatory to the Convention; and (6) the negotiation of such a new agreement or protocol should be a major item on the agenda of the pending XV Antarctic Treaty Consultative meeting opening on October 9, 1989.
United States · United States Congress · 4 October 1989
Requires the U.S. Government to exhaust all reasonable possibilities to obtain proof of the death of a missing person in order to establish a reasonable presumption that a member of the armed forces in a missing status is dead. Requires the head of the Federal agency concerned to provide certain procedural rights to the primary next of kin of a missing person when an action is to be undertaken by such agency to review the status of such missing person, including the right to review all information obtained by such agency with regard to the missing person's status. Directs the Secretary of Defense to study and report to the Senate and House Armed Services Committees on current provisions of the Missing Persons Act.
United States · United States Congress · 3 October 1989
Expresses the sense of the Congress that in determining the allocation of foreign assistance the Department of State should: (1) weigh heavily the persecution, torture, and execution of innocent Somalis by the armed forces of Siad Barre; and (2) insist upon significant improvements in human rights as a precondition to the resumption of foreign assistance to Somalia.
United States · United States Congress · 2 October 1989
Federal Housing Administration Safety and Soundness Act of 1989 - Amends the Department of Housing and Urban Development Act to establish within the Department of Housing and Urban Development: (1) a division of Mortgage Supervision within the Federal Housing Administration; and (2) a Director of Mortgagee Supervision. Amends the National Housing Act with regard to: (1) minimum mortgagor payments; and (2) limitations on principal mortgage obligations.
United States · United States Congress · 2 October 1989
Directs the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to prepare a document containing a detailed description of the benefits, limitations, procedures, requirements, and other aspects of the education programs administered by the Department. Requires the Secretary to distribute the document: (1) to individuals applying for benefits under an education program administered by the Department and to such individuals receiving benefits at least annually thereafter; (2) to education and training institution officials on at least an annual basis; and (3) upon request, to other individuals affected by education programs administered by the Secretary, including military education personnel. Adds the chapter which pertains to training and rehabilitation for veterans with service-connected disabilities to existing law provisions which: (1) require the veteran and the educational institution offering a course in which such veteran is enrolled to report to the Secretary such enrollment and any interruption or termination of the education of such veteran; (2) require the Secretary, prior to making payment of a reporting fee to an educational institution, to require such institution to certify that it has exercised reasonable diligence in determining whether such institution or any course offered by such institution approved for the enrollment of veterans meets certain applicable requirements and that it will report any failure to meet any such requirement to the Secretary; and (3) authorize the Secretary to pay to any educational institution or to any joint apprenticeship training committee acting as a training establishment a reporting fee which will be in lieu of any other compensation or reimbursement for reports or certifications which such institution or training committee is required to submit to the Secretary. Repeals portions of the work-study allowance provision relating to the number of hours worked by veterans-students and the compensation received for such work. Changes the eligibility for such allowance from veteran-students who are pursuing full-time programs of rehabilitation, education, or training to individuals who are pursuing such programs at least half-time. Authorizes the Secretary to renew payment of previously discontinued educational assistance allowances only upon finding that: (1) the veteran will be resuming enrollment at the same educational institution in the same program and such institution has both approved the veteran's reenrollment and certified it to the Department of Veterans Affairs; or (2) in the case of a proposed change of either educational institution or program of education by the veteran, the cause of the unsatisfactory conduct or progress has been removed; the program proposed to be pursued is suitable to the veteran's aptitudes, interests, and abilities; and if a proposed change of program is involved, the change meets the requirements for approval under the change of program provisions of the Veterans' Benefits statute. Makes parallel changes with respect to the survivors' and dependents' educational assistance program. Provides that payment of an educational assistance allowance in the case of an eligible individual pursuing a program of education on less than a half-time basis shall be made in a lump-sum amount for the entire quarter, semester, or term not later than the last day of the month immediately following the month in which certification is received from the educational institution that such individual has enrolled and is pursuing a program at such institution. Provides for the reduction of the entitlement provided pursuant to the apprenticeship or other on-job training provisions.
United States · United States Congress · 28 September 1989
Directs the Secretary of the Interior, acting through the Director of the National Park Service, to conduct a review of the boundaries for each unit of the National Park System. Requires the Director to report the results of such review to specified congressional committees. Authorizes appropriations.
United States · United States Congress · 28 September 1989
IRCA Amendments of 1989 - Title I: Provisions Relating to Title I of IRCA (Control of Illegal Immigration) - Amends the Immigration and Nationality Act to provide for the voluntary issuance of work authorization cards to U.S. citizens and others authorized to work in the United States. Requires the issuance of a final administrative order before imposition of illegal hiring criminal sanctions on an employer. Requires immigration emergency funds to be made available to localities affected by increased asylum applicants. Title II: Provisions Relating to Title II of IRCA (Legalization) - Repeals the one-year filing deadline for an alien seeking to adjust from temporary to permanent resident status under the legalization program. Revises provisions with regard to a nonimmigrant's legalization filing. Permits the courts to extend the legalization filing period for up to six months in an action challenging related rules, policies, or practices. Prohibits the deportation of spouses and children of legalized aliens and certain alien minors (and authorizes employment) in certain deportation circumstances. Amends the Immigration Reform and Control Act to expand the use of State legalization assistance grants to include: (1) employment training; (2) legalization outreach; and (3) employment discrimination outreach and enforcement.
United States · United States Congress · 27 September 1989
Directs the Attorney General to: (1) pursue the establishment of an International Criminal Court to assist the international community in dealing more effectively with those acts of terrorism, drug trafficking, genocide, and torture that are condemned as criminal acts in international conventions; (2) maintain guarantees of the impartiality of the judges serving on that court; (3) report to the Congress by December 30, 1990, on progress toward the establishment of such court; and (4) include in such report any recommendations of the Judicial Conference of the United States on the feasibility and relationship to the Federal judiciary of such a court.
United States · United States Congress · 27 September 1989
Designates November 11, 1989, as Washington Centennial Day in recognition of the economic, social, and historic contributions of the State of Washington to the United States over the past century.
United States · United States Congress · 27 September 1989
Expresses the sense of the Congress that in recognition of several significant steps that Angola has taken toward peace, national reconciliation, and economic reform it is in the interest of the United States to take steps to normalize relations with the Government of Angola, including: (1) establishing a U.S. liaison office in Luanda; (2) supporting Angola's full participation in multilateral development institutions; and (3) providing humanitarian assistance.
United States · United States Congress · 26 September 1989
Requires the Secretary of Veterans Affairs, in any case in which there has been either a disallowance of a veterans benefits claim or a partially awarded claim, to provide to the claimant a written statement setting forth notice of procedural rights of the claimant and the rationale for the disallowance. Requires that such statement: (1) be provided at each procedural stage relating to the disposition of a claim; (2) include a summary of the evidence supporting the disallowance or the partial award; (3) be in such forms as the Secretary prescribes by regulation; (4) include a description of each subsequent procedural stage before the Department of Veterans Affairs; (5) include a description of all rights of the claimant expressly provided for in the veterans' benefits code, the claimant's right to a hearing, to reconsideration, to appeal, and to representation, and any specific procedures necessary to obtain the various forms of review available for consideration of the claim; and (6) include such other information as the Secretary determines would be useful and practical to assist the claimant in obtaining full consideration of the claim. Adds parallel requirements with respect to the Chairman of the Board of Veterans' Appeals.
United States · United States Congress · 20 September 1989
Pension Reform Act of 1989 - Amends the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA) and the Internal Revenue Code (IRC) with respect to pension integration, participation, and vesting requirements. Sets forth a special rule for coverage of collectively bargained plans. Provides for studies relating to cost-of-living adjustments and pension portability. Provides for the continued availability of remedies relating to rights of spouses to accrued benefits under pension plans under divorce case domestic relations orders entered before 1985.
United States · United States Congress · 13 September 1989
Immigration Nursing Relief Act of 1989 - Provides for adjustment to immigrant status without regard to specified numerical limitations under the Immigration and Nationality Act for an alien (and accompanying spouse and children): (1) who as of September 1, 1989, had H-1 nonimmigrant registered nurse status; (2) who has been employed in that capacity for at least three years prior to applying for status adjustment; and (3) whose continued nursing employment meets certain labor certification requirements. Provides that H-1 nurses whose visas expire December 31, 1989, shall be considered to be in legal status for 120 days after the promulgation of related Immigration and Naturalization Service regulations. Amends the Immigration and Nationality Act to establish a new procedure for the admission of nonimmigrant (H-1a) nurses. Requires such an alien: (1) to be licensed as a nurse in the country where he or she received nursing education, or to have received such education in the United States or Canada; and (2) to have passed an appropriate examination or to have a license and be otherwise eligible to practice immediately in the State of intended employment. Requires the employer-facility to attest that: (1) services are necessary to avoid substantial disruption of health care services; (2) such alien's employment will not affect similarly employed nurses' wages and working conditions; (3) such alien will be paid the prevailing wage for similarly employed nurses at the facility; (4) steps are being taken to recruit and retain U.S. citizen or immigrant nurses or that the facility is subject to an approved State plan for such purpose; (5) there is no ongoing strike or labor dispute; and (6) notice of such hiring petition has been given to the nurses' bargaining representative or conspicuously posted if no such representative exists. States that a facility shall not meet the "substantial disruption of services" requirement if it has laid off registered nurses within the previous year. Enumerates facility "nurse recruitment and retention" steps, including: (1) operating or financing training or career development programs; and (2) paying wages above local wage rates or providing salary advancement opportunities. Makes such attestations valid for one year. Permits multiple petitions to be filed on the basis of one attestation. Requires the Secretary of Labor to compile and make available in Washington, D.C., a list of facility petitions and attestations. Requires the Secretary to establish a process for the receipt, investigation, and disposition of complaints with respect to a facility's failure to comply with the terms of its attestation. Authorizes: (1) an aggrieved person or organization (including a bargaining representative) to file a complaint; and (2) the Secretary to initiate an investigation. Requires: (1) the Secretary to make a determination within 120 days of a complaint; and (2) a hearing on the complaint within 60 days of such determination. Authorizes such facility's petitions for one year. Requires the payment of back wages where appropriate. Directs the Secretary to provide for a process under which a State may submit a plan for the recruitment and retention of U.S. citizen and immigrant nurses. Establishes for H-1a alien nurses an initial admission period of up to three years, with an extension period not to exceed a total admissions period of five years (six years under extraordinary circumstances). Directs the Secretary to appoint an advisory group by January 1, 1991, with regard to: (1) the impact of the H-1a program on the nursing shortage; (2) recruitment and retention of U.S. nurses; and (3) program extension. Prohibits specified H-1 regulation changes.
United States · United States Congress · 12 September 1989
Amends Federal patent law to declare a two-year moratorium on the granting of patents on genetically altered animals. Exempts from such moratorium animals whose commercialization is subject to a Federal regulatory process which imposes environmental, health and safety, and biomedical ethical standards.
United States · United States Congress · 11 September 1989
Commends and expresses support for President Barco and the Government and people of Colombia for standing up to the drug traffickers. Urges the administration to continue to make available whatever equipment, training, intelligence, and financial assistance that Colombia needs to overcome the activities of the drug traffickers.
United States · United States Congress · 4 August 1989
Fish and Fish Products Safety Act of 1989 - Amends the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act to deem fish and fish products unsafe for human consumption if they: (1) contain a chemical or microbiological contaminant, parasite, or toxin (CPT) exceeding an established standard or for which no standard has been established; or (2) are harvested in a fish adulteration area. Deems an area to be a fish adulteration area unless there is in effect a State program regulating area shellfish harvesting or if the State has prohibited shellfish harvesting in the area. Directs the Secretary to establish standards for: (1) such CPTs; and (2) sanitation and quality control for processing of fish and fish products. Provides for an official mark, displayed on labels, signifying compliance with the processing standards. Deems a food adulterated if it is deemed unsafe under this Act or if any of it has been processed in violation of the sanitation and quality control standards of this Act. Deems a food misbranded if its label contains an official mark not authorized under this Act. Provides for: (1) a study by the National Academy of Sciences to identify fish CPTs; and (2) regulations to implement this Act. Requires any person who owns or operates a fish processing facility and any fish importer to: (1) register annually with the Secretary of Health and Human Services; and (2) notify the Secretary of any product which the person has stopped processing or importing or has recalled, including the reasons for doing so. Directs the Secretary to conduct announced and unannounced inspections of fish processing facilities. Allows the Secretary to: (1) authorize State agencies to conduct the inspections; and (2) pay up to half of the State cost of the inspections. Directs the Secretary to: (1) issue regulations regarding the inspections, including requirements for a system to trace contaminated fish; (2) conduct monitoring of fish from fish harvest areas and after harvest; and (3) if the fish from a particular harvest area are likely to exceed CPT standards, or contain a CPT for which no standard has been established, to designate the area as a fish adulteration area. Deems an imported fish or fish product misbranded unless its label discloses the country from which it is imported. Provides for civil and criminal penalties for violations of this Act. Directs the Secretary to establish a public awareness program on the handling and preparation of fish and fish products. Authorizes the Secretary to conduct, directly or through grants or contracts, research and demonstrations to assist in implementing this Act. Directs the Secretary, through the Centers for Disease Control, to establish an active surveillance system to provide an estimate of the frequency of human disease in the United States associated with the consumption of fish and fish products.
United States · United States Congress · 4 August 1989
Veterans Health Professionals Educational Amendments of 1989 - Directs the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to institute a Reserve member stipend program under the Armed Forces Educational Assistance Program. Requires an individual, in order to be eligible for such assistance, to be accepted or enrolled as a full-time student at a qualifying educational institution in a course of education or training approved by the Secretary and that leads toward completion of a degree in a health profession involving direct patient care or care incident to such direct patient care. Prohibits the Secretary from approving the application of an individual applying for such assistance unless the individual is entitled to benefits under the Reserve GI Bill program and the individual achieved a certain qualifying score on the Armed Forces Qualification Test. Authorizes the Secretary to pay a qualifying individual $400 monthly under such program. Requires a period of obligated service as a full-time employee of the Department of Veterans Affairs from a participating individual in return for such assistance. Makes such an individual liable to the United States for failure to serve in the Department at a health-care facility for the agreed upon period. Increases the reserve member stipend amount whenever there is a general Federal pay increase.
United States · United States Congress · 4 August 1989
Older Workers Benefit Protection Act - Amends the Age Discrimination in Employment Act of 1967 (ADEA) to specify that it prohibits discrimination against older workers in all employee benefits except when age-based reductions in employee benefit plans are justified by significant cost considerations. Declares that, as used in ADEA, the phrase "compensation, terms, conditions, or privileges of employment" encompasses all employee benefits, including those provided under a bona fide employee benefit plan. Requires that the actual amount of payment made or cost incurred on behalf of an older worker be no less than that made or incurred on behalf of a younger worker, for each benefit or benefit package, in order for an employee benefit plan not to violate ADEA. Places on the employer, employment agency, or labor organization the burden of proving, in any civil enforcement proceeding brought under ADEA, that specified actions are lawful. Requires a seniority system or employee benefit plan to comply with ADEA regardless of the date of adoption of such system or plan. Applies this Act to all actions or proceedings under ADEA that were brought after June 23, 1989, or that were pending on such date (which is the date on which the Supreme Court issued the decision in Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio v. Betts).
United States · United States Congress · 4 August 1989
Yosemite National Park Centennial Medal Act - Directs the Secretary of the Treasury to strike and sell not more than 750,000 gold, silver, and bronze medals in commemoration of the centennial of Yosemite National Park, California, in 1990. Requires that all sales of such medals include a surcharge of $35 per medal for the gold medals, $7 per medal for the silver medals, and $2 per medal for the bronze medals. Requires that all surcharges be paid to an endowment fund for the benefit of the Park to be administered by the National Park Foundation. Requires that the interest from the fund be paid to the Secretary of the Interior to fund special supplemental projects relating to back country trail development and rehabilitation and the preservation of Sequoia groves within the boundaries of the Park. Requires the Secretaries to enter into a memorandum agreement to allow: (1) the Secretary of the Treasury to deliver medals to the Secretary of the Interior; and (2) the Secretary of the Interior to provide for the sale of the medals in National Park facilities. Grants the Comptroller General the right to examine all records of the National Park Foundation which are related to such medals. Provides that no medals may be struck after December 31, 1991.
United States · United States Congress · 4 August 1989
Department of Housing and Urban Development Accountability Act of 1989 - Requires the Secretary of Housing and Urban Development to provide for the following in the housing assistance selection process: (1) publication in the Federal Register of selection criteria and assistance availability; (2) documentation of selection decisions, including individual program documentation standards published in the Federal Register; and (3) specified applicant disclosure. Requires: (1) the Secretary to report to the Congress regarding such activities and a related consultant fee limitation plan; and (2) the Inspector General of the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) to include in his semiannual reports an assessment of compliance with the requirements of this Act. Prohibits during any housing assistance selection process: (1) an applicant from soliciting or obtaining any covered selection information from any HUD officer or employee; or (2) a HUD officer or employee from knowingly disclosing such information to any person other than a person authorized by the Secretary to receive it. Sets forth administrative, civil, and criminal penalties for disclosure violations. Directs the Secretary to consider any applicable low-income tax credit in establishing assisted housing owner profit levels.
United States · United States Congress · 4 August 1989
Radiation and Toxic Substances Research Reorganization Act of 1989 - Transfers to the Secretary of Health and Human Services (Health Secretary) the authority of the Secretary of Energy (Energy Secretary) to conduct, under specified provisions of the Energy Reorganization Act of 1974 and any other law, epidemiological studies of the effects of workplace and public exposure to radiation and toxic substances. Transfers related positions, property, records, obligations, commitments, and unexpended appropriations. Directs the Health Secretary to undertake a comprehensive program of epidemiological research into the health effects of workplace and public exposure to radiation and toxic substances with the aim of identifying the nature and magnitude of the risk to the public and to the workforce of Department of Energy (DOE) facilities resulting from activities of the DOE and its predecessors. Directs the Energy Secretary to submit to the Health Secretary and the Congress: (1) a complete listing of data and records held or maintained by the DOE and of potential use in the conduct and evaluation of epidemiological and related studies; and (2) a complete record of funds expended by that department on research related to the health effects of workplace and public exposure to radiation and toxic substances during each of the five years preceding enactment of this Act. Directs the Energy Secretary to provide to the Health Secretary access to all data and records not transferred to the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) under other provisions of this Act if the records are deemed by the Health Secretary to be useful to epidemiological research, health risk assessments, and related studies, and if confidentiality requirements are met. Directs the Health Secretary to grant access to the public to data held or developed by HHS, including data obtained from DOE, in accordance with the established practices of HHS. Authorizes the Health Secretary to: (1) undertake such research into radiation releases, dose reconstruction, toxic substances exposures, and health risk assessments, as necessary to carry out the function transferred under specified provisions of this Act; and (2) review research conducted by DOE, after enactment of this Act, relating to such matters. Directs the Health Secretary to conduct a comprehensive review of: (1) existing epidemiological studies relating to health effects of exposure to such radiation and toxic substances as may present a threat to occupational or public health at DOE facilities; and (2) existing and ongoing health risk assessments and studies relating to such radiation releases, dose reconstruction, and toxic substance exposures as may present a threat to occupational or public health at DOE facilities. Establishes the Advisory Panel on Radiation and Toxic Substances Research to advise the Health Secretary in carrying out the function transferred from the Energy Secretary under this Act. Declares that it is the sense of the Congress that the funding level to be provided each fiscal year to HHS for carrying out the function transferred by this Act should be at least as much as the greatest of the annual amounts reported by the Energy Secretary under provisions of this Act. Directs the Energy Secretary to reimburse HHS for all costs of carrying out the transferred function out of funds appropriated to the Energy Secretary. Allows funds provided to HHS for the purposes of this Act to be used to support: (1) a program of epidemiological research into the health effects of workplace and public exposure to radiation and toxic substances, and for other uses as the Secretary considers appropriate; and (2) activities of State public health agencies that are compatible with the purposes of this Act.
United States · United States Congress · 4 August 1989
Amends the Federal Aviation Act of 1958 to prohibit the Secretary of Transportation, for a one year period, from approving the transfer of any certificate authorizing the provision of foreign air transportation except if such transfer is part of the sale of the air carrier holding such certificate.
United States · United States Congress · 4 August 1989
Escrow Account Statement Act - Amends the Real Estate Settlement Procedures Act of 1974 to mandate that an escrow servicer or lender that has established an escrow account in connection with a federally related mortgage loan submit to the borrower statements which clearly itemize: (1) at the opening or closing of the account, the charges which are reasonably anticipated to be paid from the account; and (2) annually, the amounts actually paid from such account as well as the annual balance. Establishes a civil penalty for failure to submit such itemized statements. Prohibits a lender from imposing preparation fees for escrow account statements.
United States · United States Congress · 4 August 1989
Clean Consulting Act of 1989 - Prohibits the recipient of a Federal contract, loan, or cooperative agreement from expending funds appropriated by any Act to pay any person for influencing or attempting to influence: (1) an officer or employee of any agency, a Member of Congress, an officer or employee of Congress, or an employee of a Member of Congress in connection with the awarding of any Federal contract, the making of any Federal grant or loan, the entering into of any cooperative agreement, or the extension, continuation, renewal, amendment, or modification of any Federal contract, grant, loan, or cooperative agreement; (2) a Member of Congress to introduce, consider, or otherwise act upon proposed legislation concerning any such Federal action; or (3) an officer or employee of Congress or an employee of a Member of Congress to consider or otherwise act upon any such proposed legislation. Requires each person who requests or receives a Federal contract, grant, loan, or cooperative agreement from an agency or requests or receives from an agency a commitment providing for the United States to insure or guarantee a loan to file with such agency specified written declarations concerning prohibited payments. Requires the head of each agency to compile such declarations and to submit to the Secretary of the Senate and the Clerk of the House a semiannual report containing a compilation of the declarations received. Directs that such report, including the compilation, be available for public inspection. Provides for the imposition of a civil penalty upon any person: (1) who makes an expenditure prohibited by this Act; or (2) who fails to file or amend a declaration required to be filed or amended under this Act. Authorizes the head of an agency to terminate a contract, grant, cooperative agreement, loan, loan insurance, or loan guaranty on the basis of any violation of the requirements of this Act. Requires the Inspector General or comparable official of each agency to submit to the Congress each year an evaluation of the compliance of that agency with, and the effectiveness of, the requirements imposed by this Act. Sets forth exceptions to: (1) the prohibitions of this Act with respect to certain legislative liaison and technical services activities; and (2) reporting requirements with respect to Federal contracts, loans, loan guarantees, or loan insurance not exceeding specified amounts.
United States · United States Congress · 3 August 1989
Adult Literacy and Employability Act of 1989 - Title I: Literacy Coordination - Establishes a Joint Presidential-Congressional Task Force on Adult Literacy. Requires the Task Force to report to the Council for Literacy Coordination established by this Act. Terminates the Task Force six months after its last member is appointed. Authorizes appropriations for the Task Force for FY 1990. Establishes the Cabinet Council for Literacy Coordination (the Council). Requires the Council to report annually to the Congress and the President. Authorizes appropriations for the Council for FY 1990 through 1993. Amends the Department of Education Organization Act to establish in the Department of Education an Office of Adult Literacy, to be administered by a Director of such Office. Requires the Director to: (1) coordinate the administration of literacy programs within the Department; and (2) work with the Cabinet Council for Literacy to coordinate related activities. Establishes the National Center for Adult Literacy as a nonprofit corporation which will not be an agency or establishment of the Federal Government. Divides the Center into a research institute, a technical assistance and training institute, and a policy analysis institute. Requires an annual report to the Congress. Authorizes appropriations for the Center for FY 1990 through 1994. Directs the Chairperson of the Council to make grants to States for a network of State or regional adult literacy resource centers. Authorizes appropriations for such grants for FY 1990 through 1992 and succeeding fiscal years. Requires each State that receives adult literacy assistance under an applicable Federal program to: (1) establish a State advisory board on literacy; and (2) submit a State literacy coordination plan. Requires the State Governor to report annually to the Council. Title II: Investment in Literacy - Amends the Adult Education Act (AEA) to increase and extend through FY 1995 the authorization of appropriations for AEA programs. Revises allotment provisions. Requires limitations on the use of funds to: (1) eliminate a cap on high school equivalency certificate programs; and (2) require that a specified amount be used to support adult education and literacy services provided by community-based organizations and nonprofit volunteer agencies. Includes among projects for which State must expand a portion of their AEA allotments: (1) development and expansion of innovative programs; and (2) support for statewide volunteer technical assistance activities. Eliminates certain maintenance of effort requirements. Authorizes the Chairperson of the Council to make matching challenge grants to State for investment in adult literacy instruction staff training and educational technology. Allows States, for purposes of matching such grants, to reserve specified portions of funds for FY 1990 through 1995 under specified Federal laws. Requires that States receiving such grants make available federally-assisted adult literacy program equipment, facilities, or training services, when not in program use or when surplus capacity exists, to other adult literacy programs (without charge or in certain circumstances at cost). Authorizes appropriations for such challenge grants for FY 1990 and succeeding fiscal years. Establishes a Literacy Leader Training Fund. Directs the Secretary of Education (the Secretary), through the Office of Adult Literacy, to make scholarship grants from the Fund to individuals pursuing careers in adult education, instruction, management, research, or innovation, for education or research to expand their expertise. Authorizes appropriations for such purposes for FY 1990 and succeeding fiscal years. Amends the Library Services and Construction Act (LSCA) to establish a library literacy demonstration program. Directs the Secretary to make grants to State and local public libraries for model innovative programs for delivery of adult literacy services, including development of technology-based centers. Requires that a peer review panel advise on grant criteria and application review, and that an expert in library literacy activities administer such program in the Department of Education. Authorizes appropriations for FY 1990 through 1994 for such library literacy demonstration program. Extends through FY 1994 the authorization of appropriations for other LSCA library literacy programs. Title III: Family Literacy - Amends the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 to direct the Secretary to carry out through the Office of Adult Literacy the Secretary's functions under the Even Start program (which integrates early childhood education and adult education for parents). Title IV: Workplace Literacy - Amends the Job Training Partnership Act (JTPA) to provide for workplace literacy skills and programs. Revises State education coordination and grant programs to provide financial assistance for any State education, labor, or economic development agency (or consortia) to enhance provision of statewide workplace literacy training and education through cooperative agreements between appropriate agencies and organizations. Requires that at least 75 percent of funds for such activities be used to improve program quality by means such as application of learning technology, model program development, and investment in staff training and services targeted at participants lacking workplace skills. Revises general program requirements for the service delivery system to require private industry councils to give priority to participant placements with businesses and industries that have a workplace literacy program or are willing to develop one with other public and private agencies. Makes individuals lacking workplace literacy skills eligible for adult and youth training program services. Requires, beginning in program year 1990, that at least 40 percent of adult program participants in each service delivery area (SDA) be in need of and be offered basic training through an individual workplace literacy plan. Requires assessment and testing of each potential participant's workplace literacy skills and employment skills. Allows participants who have been placed in employment to continue workplace literacy training until they have achieved their goal or for at least two years, whichever is earlier. Requires SDAs to provide such training for such duration to participants who need and would benefit from it. Allows such training to include workplace literacy training and English-as-a-second-language. Requires such activities to be described in an individualized workplace literacy plan for each participant, including goals based on participant needs. Requires that eligible dislocated workers lacking workplace literacy be offered basic skills training for at least a two-year period from the date of entry into the program. Establishes a Workplace Literacy Demonstration Program. Authorizes the Secretary of Labor to make grants for joint ventures of business, industry, or labor (or consortia) cooperating with State, County, or local governments or private industry councils (or consortia) to provide large-scale model development approaches to improving the basic workplace skills of the workforce. Requires the use of such funds for: (1) basic skills training; (2) specific program offerings; (3) assessments of individual and workplace skill needs; (4) program evaluations; and (5) technology-based learning environments. Sets forth matching requirements for grantees. Requires independent evaluation of such programs. Authorizes appropriations for FY 1990 through 1995 for such programs.
United States · United States Congress · 3 August 1989
Municipal and Industrial Water Conservation Act of 1989 - Directs the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency to establish an Office of Water Conservation to perform specified duties, including: (1) the support of programs to reduce water use and loss in municipal, industrial, commercial, institutional, and residential sectors; (2) the support of dissemination of model water conservation programs; and (3) the promotion of least-cost approaches to water planning and regional approaches to management of water and sewer systems. Calls for intergovernmental coordination in water conservation efforts. Requires the Office to provide technical assistance to States, Indian tribes, utilities, local governments, and others in efforts to implement water conservation policies. Requires regular consultations with major water resources development agencies to target limited resources. Requires the Office to develop a series of model water conservation programs with policy options for States, Indian tribes, water utilities, and municipalities. Allows such water users to request feasibility studies of their current and potential water conservation activities. Allocates the costs of such studies, allowing smaller studies to be conducted at full Federal cost. Amends the Federal Water Pollution Control Act (as amended by the Water Quality Act of 1987) to require the Administrator to make capitalization grants to State water pollution control revolving funds for conducting municipal and industrial water conservation activities which will reduce operating and capital costs of and needs for waste water treatment facilities. Directs the Office to provide, upon request, technical assistance to businesses and institutions for water efficiency campaigns, plumbing system leak-detection, water use audits, and other water conservation measures. Requires the development of model water conservation programs for businesses and institutions and studies, upon request, of their programs. Directs the Administrator to establish a National Clearinghouse on Water Conservation to collect and disseminate, free of charge, information on water conservation technologies and practices. Establishes the Advisory Council on Water Conservation to make recommendations to the Administrator on activities under this Act. Requires the President's Council on Environmental Quality to require, by rulemaking authority, the consideration of water conservation activities in all relevant environmental impact studies conducted under specified provisions of the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969. Authorizes appropriations through FY 1994 to carry out this Act.
United States · United States Congress · 3 August 1989
Tobacco-Free Schools Act of 1989 - Amends the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 to condition a local educational agency's eligibility to participate in specified Federal assistance programs upon: (1) its State having in effect a law prohibiting within the buildings and on the grounds of elementary and secondary schools both the sale of tobacco products and their use by students and others under 18 years of age during school hours and school-sponsored activities; and (2) its certifying that each of its elementary and secondary schools has such a tobacco sales and use prohibition policy. Provides for reallocation of funds in cases of ineligibility relating to such requirements.
United States · United States Congress · 2 August 1989
Steel Fair Trade Review Act - Requires the President to submit to the Congress a report concerning progress achieved, pursuant to the steel trade liberalization program, on an international consensus to remove trade distorting practices in global steel markets. Specifies the issues such report must address.
United States · United States Congress · 2 August 1989
Economic Equity Act of 1989 - Title I: Employment - Subtitle A: Pay Equity Technical Assistance to Public and Private Sector - Pay Equity Technical Assistance Act - Directs the Secretary of Labor to develop and implement a continuing program of information dissemination, research, and technical assistance to public and private entities with respect to correction of wage-setting practices, and reduction or elimination of wage disparities, to the extent that they are based on the sex, race, or national origin of the employee, rather than on the work performed and other appropriate factors. Subtitle B: Legislative Pay Equity Commission and Study - Establishes a Commission on Employment Discrimination in the Legislative Branch. Directs the Commission to: (1) employ a nongovernmental consultant to study the compensation paid to Library of Congress personnel and analyze personnel policies of the Library; (2) evaluate the compensation system of the Library for compliance with title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and make any recommendations needed to achieve compliance; (3) develop a plan for the application of title VII throughout the legislative branch; and (4) make recommendations to the Congress for improvement of personnel policies and practices in the legislative branch. Directs the Commission to submit a final report to the Congress 18 months after enactment of this Act. Terminates the Commission 30 days after submission of the final report. Subtitle C: Extension of Benefits to Part-Time and Temporary Workers - Part-Time and Temporary Workers Protection Act of 1989 - Amends the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA) to bring certain part-time employees within the participation, vesting, and accrual rules governing pension plans. Addresses any employee who, within a relevant 12-month period: (1) has customarily completed more than 500 but fewer than 1,000 hours of service; or (2) is employed in a type of position in which employment customarily consists of such a number of hours. Provides that completion of such hours of service will be treated as completion of 1,000 hours of service (thereby bringing the employee within the ERISA benefit framework). Permits a reduction in the employer-provided premium under a group health plan in the case of a part-time employee only when such employee: (1) has customarily completed fewer than 30 hours of service per week; or (2) is employed in a type of position in which employment customarily consists of such a number of hours. Limits such a premium reduction, when permissible, to not less than a ratable portion of the premium ordinarily provided in the case of an employee who completes 30 hours of service per week. Revises the ERISA definition of "employee" to include non-employees who, pursuant to a contract or agreement, provide employee-like services to an employer for at least one year at the rate of 500 or more hours per year. Subtitle D: Federal Council on Women - Federal Council on Women Act - Establishes a Federal Council on Women to: (1) collect and evaluate information with respect to any problems that are particular to women in the United States; (2) review and evaluate Federal policy related to any such problems; (3) coordinate the activities of the Council with similar activities conducted by States, local governments, and concerned organizations; and (4) make recommendations. Directs the Council to report its findings and recommendations to the Congress. Authorizes appropriations. Subtitle E: Maintenance of Sex Equity Set-Asides in Vocational Education Programs - Amends the Carl D. Perkins Vocational Education Act (the Act) to include displaced homemakers in the vocational education program for single parents or homemakers. Makes single pregnant women eligible for such program. Directs the administrator of such program, and of the sex equity program, to: (1) distribute to community-based organizations the State allotment for such programs on a competitive basis; and (2) develop procedures for appropriate data collection from fund recipients for program evaluation. Requires States to: (1) develop an annual plan for use of funds; (2) manage funds distribution; (3) monitor recipients' use of funds; and (4) evaluate program effectiveness. Provides for pre-vocational services to single parents, single pregnant women, homemakers, and displaced homemakers. Allows use of funds for dependent care (currently only child care) as part of such services. Directs the Secretary of Education to conduct biennial oversight visits to the States to determine if funds for programs for single parents, single pregnant women, and for elimination of sex bias and stereotyping in secondary and postsecondary education are being allocated, distributed, and used in accordance with the Act. Provides that assistance under the Act shall not effect an individual's eligibility for assistance under other Federal programs. Directs the General Accounting Office, within 18 months, to conduct a study of State compliance with specified assurances required under the Act. Subtitle F: Women in Business Procurement Assistance - Women's Business Procurement Assistance Act of 1989 - Amends the Small Business Act to add to existing goals for participation of small business concerns in Federal procurement contracts the participation of small business concerns owned and controlled by women. Requires the head of each Federal agency to report to the Small Business Administration (SBA) on the extent that small business concerns owned and controlled by women participate in procurement contracts and subcontracts. Declares it is the policy of the United States that small business concerns owned and controlled by women shall have the maximum opportunity to participate in the performance of contracts and subcontracts let by any Federal agency. Precludes the award of any contract unless the procurement authority determines that the offeror's plan includes the maximum opportunity for participation of small business concerns owned and controlled by women. Authorizes any Federal agency, when dealing with negotiated contracts, to provide such incentives as it may deem appropriate in order to encourage subcontracting opportunities for small business concerns owned and controlled by women. Requires the SBA to report annually to certain congressional committees on subcontracting plans found acceptable by any Federal agency which the SBA determines do not contain maximum opportunities for small business concerns owned and controlled by women. Requires the Director of Small and Disadvantaged Business Utilization for each Federal agency to designate an employee of that Director's office to be a Women-in-Business Specialist. Requires each Federal agency having procurement powers to affirmatively solicit offers from small business concerns owned and controlled by women and socially and economically disadvantaged individuals. Title II: Economic Security - Subtitle A: Earnings Sharing by Married Couples - Social Security Modernization Act - Amends title II (Old Age, Survivors and Disability Insurance) of the Social Security Act to provide that the combined earnings of a married couple which are attributable to the period of their marriage shall be shared equally between them for purposes of determining the eligibility for and amount of OASDI benefits to which each spouse is or may become separately entitled. Credits the survivor of the marriage with 100 percent of the combined total wages for the period of the marriage. Provides that this subtitle shall not apply in specified cases where it would result in a reduction of OASDI benefits. Subtitle B: Treatment of Disabled Widows and Widowers - Social Security Disabled Widow's and Widower's Equity Act of 1989 - Amends title II (Old Age, Survivors and Disability Insurance) (OASDI) of the Social Security Act to repeal the separate definition of disability applicable to widows and widowers. Permits the months of a widow's or widower's entitlement to Supplemental Security Income (SSI) benefits (title XVI of the Social Security Act) on the basis of a disability to be counted towards the 24 months needed to become entitled to hospital insurance benefits under Medicare (title XVIII of the Social Security Act) on that basis. Provides full widow's or widower's insurance benefits to disabled widows or widowers without regard to age. Amends the SSI program to preserve the Medicaid (title XIX of the Social Security Act) eligibility of disabled widows or widowers who become ineligible for SSI benefits upon the implementation of this Act's amendments making them eligible for, or increasing their, widow's or widower's insurance benefits. Amends the OASDI program to extend the time period during which a surviving spouse or a surviving divorced spouse must have initially become disabled in order to qualify for widow's or widower's insurance benefits before reaching age 60 in cases where such surviving spouse or surviving divorced spouse has quarters of coverage based on his or her own work after the death of the insured individual on whose wages such benefits are based. Subtitle C: Private Pension Reform - Pension Reform Act of 1989 - Amends the Tax Reform Act of 1986 to extend to all accrued benefits existing in plan year 1989 and thereafter the amendments made with regard to the nondiscriminatory coordination of defined contribution plans with Old Age, Survivors and Disability Insurance (OASDI). Amends the Internal Revenue Code (IRC) to repeal provisions that permit a certain disparity in simplified employee pension plan contributions with respect to nondiscriminatory coordination with OASDI. Provides for the repeal, effective for plan year 2000 and thereafter, of IRC rules with respect to: (1) the nondiscriminatory coordination of defined contribution plans with OASDI; and (2) pension integration exceptions. Amends the IRC to establish distinct minimum employee coverage requirements applicable in cases when an employer with respect to a plan is treated as operating a single line of business. Requires such a plan to benefit all the employer's employees. Limits the exception to minimum coverage requirements available to employers treated as operating separate lines of business for a year. Amends the IRC and the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 to eliminate the special vesting requirements governing multiemployer plans. Directs the Comptroller General of the United States, as soon as possible after this Act's enactment, to undertake thorough studies with respect to: (1) possible methods of requiring employee pension plans to provide cost of living and other adjustments to plan benefits; and (2) potential pension portability mechanisms, including ways to preserve and enhance the real value of deferred vested pension benefits. Lists specific items to be addressed in each study. Requires submission of the studies to specified congressional committees within two years of this Act's enactment. Subtitle D: Eligibility of Displaced Homemakers for First-Time Homebuyers Assistance - Displaced Homemakers and Single Parents Homeownership Assistance Act - States that displaced homemakers and single parents shall not be deemed ineligible for Federal assistance for first-time homebuyers on the basis of previous home ownership or residence while married or a homemaker. Subtitle E: Section 8 Housing Assistance for Domestic Violence Victims - Family Housing Options Program Act of 1989 - Amends the United States Housing Act of 1937 to reserve at least five percent of section 8 housing assistance for families affected by domestic violence and for homeless families. Requires administration of such program through the local public housing agencies. Permits assistance to be used in shared housing arrangements if the family receiving assistance so consents. States that rent contributions made by a family in such an arrangement shall not be considered income to the participating family for purposes of specified housing assistance eligibility. Includes among State allocation factors the number of transitional and emergency shelters, domestic violence shelters, and the number of families served by such programs. Requires: (1) each State to make an annual program report to the Secretary of Housing and Urban Development; and (2) the Secretary to include a summary of such reports in the annual section 8 report. Title III: Dependent Care - Subtitle A: Quality Child Care Demonstration Projects - Authorizes the Secretary of Health and Human Services to make grants to not more than ten eligible public agencies and private entities, in urban and rural areas, to administer child development models to increase the quality and availability of child care services. Defines "child development model," with respect to child care services, as an entity capable of providing training and on-going assistance to satellites that provide child care services to sick children or exceptional children, and which is either: (1) a child care development center providing services at a single site (or at multiple sites in reasonably close proximity) to infants, toddlers, preschool children, and school-age children; or (2) a high quality child care program capable of recruiting, training, supporting, and monitoring family child care providers. Directs the Secretary to report by April 1, 1992, to the Congress on such program. Subtitle B: Dependent Care Tax Credit Expansion - Repeals the Internal Revenue Code's nonrefundable income tax credit for employment-related dependent care expenses, replacing it with a corresponding refundable 50 percent credit, reduced (but not below 20 percent) as the taxpayer's adjusted gross income exceeds $15,000 (adjusted for inflation). Includes within the scope of the new credit up to $1,200 ($2,400 in the case of more than one qualifying individual) of respite care expenses incurred in the care of: (1) a dependent of the taxpayer who is at least 15 years old; or (2) a spouse or other dependent who is physically or mentally incapable of self-care. Subtitle C: Mortgage Financing for Family Day Care Centers - Small Day Care Center Assistance Act - Amends the Federal National Mortgage Association Charter Act and the Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corporation Act to define the term "mortgage" to include a mortgage secured by a one-to-four family residential property that is occupied as a residence and in which child care service is legally provided. Subtitle D: Flexible Work Force Tax Credit - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to permit an employer tax credit (to a maximum of two percent of wages) for one-third of the aggregate wages (to a maximum of $6,000) attributable to services performed by a full-time employee of the taxpayer who is permitted to work at home or during nonbusiness hours solely in order to reduce dependent care needs. Requires that there be at least a 20 percent reduction in the time of dependent care provided outside the employee's home. Terminates these provisions, subject to exception, after December 31, 1993. Subtitle E: Child Care Services in Transitional Housing - Transitional Housing Child Care Services Act - Amends the Stewart B. McKinney Homeless Assistance Act to authorize the Secretary of Housing and Urban Development to provide child care assistance for transitional housing residents. Subtitle F: Title XX Funding Increase - Amends title XX (Block Grants to States for Social Services) of the Social Security Act to increase the amount authorized for such program in FY 1991 and thereafter. Subtitle G: School-Based Child Care - State Dependent Care Grants Amendments Act of 1989 - Amends the State Dependent Care Development Grants Act to authorize the use of funds for operation of school-age child care services before and after school. Requires that such amounts be earmarked to enable children whose families lack adequate financial resources to participate in before or after school child care programs. Requires State Governors to include specified information in their reports on programs assisted under such Act. Extends until September 30, 1993, the period during which descriptions of intended uses of State allotments must be revised to reflect substantial changes. Title IV: Health - Subtitle A: Breast Cancer Prevention - Older Women's Breast Cancer Prevention Act of 1989 - Amends part B (Supplementary Medical Insurance) of title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act to eliminate the cap on coverage of screening mammography. Subtitle B: Maternal and Child Health Funding Increase - Amends title V (Maternal and Child Health Services) of the Social Security Act to increase authorized appropriations for such program. Requires States, as a condition of receiving additional funds, to conduct a statewide needs assessment of maternity and infant care, including prenatal care and prevention of low birthweight and infant mortality, and to develop a plan to meet those needs. Changes State reporting requirements to monitor plan implementation results. Subtitle C: Infant Mortality Education and Health Services in Public Housing - Public Housing One-Stop Perinatal Services Act of 1989 - Directs the Secretary of Housing and Urban Development to carry out a program to demonstrate the effectiveness of grants to public housing agencies for providing facilities for one-stop perinatal services programs for pregnant women who reside in public housing. Sets forth preferences in selecting the agencies to receive grants. Limits the aggregate amount provided under these provisions for any public housing project to a specified sum. Requires services and facilities provided or assisted with grants under these provisions to comply with all applicable State and local laws, regulations, and ordinances, and all requirements established by the Secretary of Health and Human Services for such services and facilities. Authorizes appropriations. Subtitle D: Domestic Violence Judiciary Training Grants - Amends the State Justice Institute Act of 1984 to authorize the use of Institute funds to conduct up to five projects to: (1) investigate and carry out research regarding State judicial decisions relating to child custody litigation involving domestic violence; (2) develop training curricula to assist State courts to develop an understanding of, and appropriate responses to, child custody litigation involving domestic violence; and (3) disseminate the results of such investigation and research and the curricula to State courts. Authorizes appropriations through FY 1992. Subtitle E: Sense of Congress on Child Custody - Expresses the sense of the Congress that, for purposes of determining child custody, evidence of spousal abuse should create a statutory presumption that it is detrimental to the child to be placed in the custody of the abusive parent. Subtitle F: Immigration Reform for Domestic Violence Victims - Amends the Immigration and Nationality Act to permit certain battered alien spouses to apply for permanent residence without filing a joint petition (and interview) with the citizen spouse. Requires such an alien spouse to demonstrate: (1) that the marriage was entered into with good faith; and (2) evidence of physical abuse or extreme mental cruelty. Subtitle G: Long-Term Care Workers Demonstration Projects - Amends the Older Americans Act of 1965 to require the Commissioner on Aging to give special consideration to funding demonstration projects providing older individuals with the opportunity to serve as volunteers furnishing long-term care services to nursing home residents. Subtitle H: Sense of Congress on Caregivers - Declares that it is the sense of the House of Representatives that: (1) recognition and further attention should be given to the professional and personal needs of long-term care aides; (2) expanded access to health and pension benefits should be provided to such aides; (3) long-term care policy makers should recognize that problems of female household heads and minority workers affect most nursing care aides; (4) more data is needed on home health and nursing home aides; (5) expanded recruitment of specified groups should be considered to abate the long-term care aide shortage; and (6) changes should be made in nursing aide positions to ensure integration into management structures and to enhance attraction to careers in long-term care.
United States · United States Congress · 2 August 1989
Calls upon the President to: (1) seek the immediate extradition of Abdul Obeid from Israel to the United States, pursuant to the 1962 extradition convention between the United States and Israel; and (2) ensure that, upon entry into the United States, Obeid is arrested on charges regarding the kidnapping and murder of Lieutenant Colonel Higgins and prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law.
United States · United States Congress · 1 August 1989
High Risk Occupational Disease Notification and Prevention Act - Establishes a Risk Assessment Board (the Board), within the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), to: (1) review pertinent medical and scientific reports on the incidence of disease associated with exposure to occupational health hazards; (2) identify and designate populations at risk that should receive notification; (3) develop a form and method of notification that will be used by the Secretary of Health and Human Services (the Secretary); and (4) determine the appropriate type of medical monitoring or beneficial health counseling. Sets forth factors for Board consideration and priorities in designating populations at risk of disease for notification. Directs the Secretary to make every reasonable effort to ensure that each individual within a population at risk of disease is notified of the risk. Requires the Secretary, through the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH), to conduct the required notification, with specified exceptions. Allows an employer to apply to NIOSH for an exemption from such employee notification because that employer's employees are not at risk of disease because of significant mitigating factors. Provides for telephone "hot lines" and other dissemination of information. Authorizes the Secretary to certify a private employer or a State or local government to conduct notification. Provides for judicial review of Board determinations. Requires the Secretary to establish and certify ten occupational and environmental health centers to: (1) provide education, training, and technical assistance to personal physicians and health and social service professionals who serve employees notified that they are at risk under this Act; and (2) provide diagnosis, treatment, and medical monitoring and family services for such employees. Directs the Secretary to make grants to conduct research, training, and education aimed at improving the means of identifying employees exposed to occupational health hazards and improving medical assistance to such employees. Authorizes the Secretary to make grants and contracts for training and curriculum development in occupational medicine or health to schools of medicine and of nursing. Provides that such assistance shall be for projects: (1) at schools with occupational medicine or health programs, for faculty continuing education, curricula and training materials for undergraduate medical or nursing training, and clinical training for residents in graduate medical programs; and (2) at schools without such programs, for faculty training. Directs the Secretary, during FY 1991 through 1993, to make such grants and contracts to at least ten schools of medicine or nursing. Requires that the medical monitoring recommended by the Board be provided by the current employer: (1) at no additional cost to the employee (above any existing employee health care contribution), if any part of the exposure occurred in the course of employment by that employer; or (2) at a charge to the employee not exceeding the additional cost to the employer (above any existing employer health care contribution), or at no charge, if no part of such exposure occurred in the course of employment by that employer. Sets forth special rules for medical monitoring by small businesses and of seasonal agricultural workers. Prohibits discharging or discriminating against employees, or applicants for employment, on the basis that they are or have been members of a population at risk. Makes an exception to such prohibition if the position which the applicant seeks requires exposure to the occupational health hazard which is the subject to the notice. Allows an employer with 50 or fewer employees to transfer an employee who is or has been a member of a population at risk to another job if earnings, seniority, and other employment rights and benefits are as comparable as possible to the old job and if the terms of an applicable collective bargaining agreement are not violated. Grants the option of being transferred to a less hazardous or nonexposed job to any employee member of a population at risk who is determined by a physician to show evidence of developing the disease described in the notice or other symptoms or conditions increasing the likelihood or incidence of such disease. Requires that the employee maintain earnings, seniority, and other employment rights and benefits of the former job. Sets forth procedures for independent reconsideration of the initial medical determination. Sets forth special rules for medical removal. Makes such protection inapplicable to seasonal agricultural workers with less than six months continuous employment with an employer. Exempts from the requirement of medical removal protection any employer who has 50 or fewer employees and who has made or is making a reasonable good faith effort to eliminate the occupational health hazard that is the basis for the medical removal decision. Provides for confidentiality of employee records unless disclosure is authorized by and is necessary to carry out a provision of this Act, or is authorized by the employee. Permits employees aggrieved by violations of provisions involving medical monitoring, medical removal, discrimination, and confidentiality to apply, within six months after the violation occurs, to the Secretary of Labor for a review of the alleged violation. Sets forth provisions for investigations, actions, defenses, determinations, and appeals in such cases. Provides for reinstatement and other relief for employees injured by such violations. Sets forth civil penalties for such violations. Authorizes the Secretary (of HHS) to bring an action in U.S. district court to enjoin an employer from violating this Act. Directs the Secretary of Labor to report annually to the Congress on the implementation and enforcement of the hazard communication standard. Directs the Secretary of HHS to report annually to the Congress on the implementation and enforcement of notification under this Act. Authorizes appropriations for FY 1989 through 1993.
United States · United States Congress · 1 August 1989
Urges the President to consult with Latin American nations to arrange a head-of-government level hemispheric summit to address the problems of drugs and debt. Expresses the sense of the Congress that summit participants should discuss: (1) the formulation of a regional strategy to combat Western Hemisphere organizations that produce, process, and traffic in illicit drugs; and (2) all options and remedies for debt reduction.
United States · United States Congress · 31 July 1989
Authorizes the Secretary of Veterans Affairs, in the case of any individual discharged or dismissed from the armed forces under conditions other than honorable, to consider an application for, and issuance to such person of, an Exemplary Rehabilitation Certificate, if it is established that such person has rehabilitated himself, that his character is good, and that his conduct, activities, and habits since he was discharged or dismissed have been exemplary for a reasonable period of time, but not less than three years. Directs the Secretary to supply to the Secretary of Defense a copy of each such certificate issued, and requires the Secretary of Defense to place such certificate in the military personnel record of the affected individual. Permits the use of both oral and written evidence in the determination of the appropriateness of the certificate, including an appearance in person before the Secretary of Veterans Affairs by the individual being considered. Provides that no military or veterans' benefits shall accrue to an individual receiving such a certificate, unless the individual was previously eligible for such benefits under the original discharge or dismissal. Directs the Secretary of Labor to ensure that public employment offices accord to any person so discharged or dismissed but receiving an Exemplary Rehabilitation Certificate special counseling and job development assistance. Directs the Secretary of Veterans Affairs, no later than January 15 of each year, to report to the Congress the number of cases reviewed under this Act and the number of certificates issued. Authorizes the Secretary to issue regulations, delegate authority, and utilize the services of the Office of Personnel Management in carrying out this Act.
United States · United States Congress · 28 July 1989
Copyright Remedy Clarification Act - Amends Federal copyright law to provide that any State or State instrumentality is liable to the same extent as any nongovernmental entity for: (1) copyright infringement; (2) importation of phonorecord copies without the authority of the copyright owner; and (3) infringement of exclusive rights in mask works. Denies sovereign immunity to any State for such violations and provides the same remedies as are available against other private or public entities.
United States · United States Congress · 28 July 1989
Nontraditional Employment for Women Act - Amends the Job Training Partnership Act (the Act) to define "nontraditional employment," as applied to women, to refer to occupations or fields of work where women comprise less than 25 percent of the individuals employed. Requires service delivery area (SDA) job training plans to include: (1) goals for the training of women in nontraditional employment and the training-related placement of women in nontraditional employment and apprenticeship; (2) a description of efforts to be undertaken to accomplish such goals, including efforts to increase awareness of such training and placement opportunities; and (3) procedures for annual reporting of the extent to which the SDA has met such goals and of a statistical breakdown of women trained and placed in nontraditional occupations, including specified types of information. Requires the State Governor's coordination and special services plan also to include such goals and descriptions of efforts for training and placement of women in nontraditional employment under the Act and the Carl D. Perkins Vocational Education Act. Directs the State job training coordinating council to: (1) review, summarize, and annually disseminate the results of SDAs' and Governor's efforts to train and place women in nontraditional employment; and (2) obtain from the sex equity coordinator under the Carl D. Perkins Vocational Education Act a summary of activities and an analysis of results under that and disseminate them annually. Requires State education coordination grant recipients to provide statewide coordinated approaches, including model programs, to train, place, and retain women in nontraditional employment. Allows the use of funds under title II (Training Services for the Disadvantaged) for outreach activities relating to education, training, work experience, and retention of women in nontraditional employment. Directs the Secretary of Labor to use a specified portion of funds for national activities under the Act for FY 1990 through 1993 to make grants to States to develop demonstration and exemplary programs to train and place women in nontraditional employment. Limits such grants to no more than six per fiscal year. Allows States receiving such assistance to award grants to service providers and SDAs under specified conditions. Requires States to ensure that such grants are awarded for training, placing, and retaining women in growth occupations with increased wage potential. Directs the Secretary of Labor to provide for evaluation of such demonstration programs. Directs the Secretary of Labor to report, with recommendations, to the Congress within five years on the extent of success of States and SDAs, and the effectiveness of such demonstration programs, in training, placing, and retaining women in nontraditional employment.
United States · United States Congress · 27 July 1989
Veterans PTSD Treatment and Psychological Readjustment Act of 1989 - Directs the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to increase the number of: (1) vet centers currently in existence by 20 additional units by December 31, 1991, and by 20 more units by December 31, 1994; and (2) post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) treatment facilities currently in existence by 15 additional units by December 31, 1991, and by 15 more units by December 31, 1994. Requires new vet centers to be established in cities which do not have such centers. Earmarks a specified amount of FY 1990 PTSD funding for contracts with private facilities and therapists for the provision of PTSD treatment. Requires the Secretary, in administering the Health Professionals Educational Assistance Program, to encourage the participation of individuals in the program who desire to become psychiatrists, psychologists, and psychiatric nurses specializing in the treatment of PTSD. Directs the Secretary to establish the Advisory Committee on Readjustment of Veterans. Requires the Secretary to consult with, and seek the advice of, the Committee with respect to: (1) the administration of Department benefits for veterans, particularly Vietnam veterans; (2) reports and studies pertaining to veterans, particularly Vietnam veterans; and (3) the needs of all veterans with respect to compensation, health care, readjustment, outreach, and other benefits and programs administered by the Department. Requires the Committee to report annually to the Secretary pertaining to the social, economic, educational, and psychological readjustment of veterans. Requires the Secretary to submit such reports to the Congress, along with comments and recommendations. Authorizes the Secretary to conduct a pilot program to contract for care and treatment and rehabilitative services in halfway houses, therapeutic communities, psychiatric residential treatment centers, and other community-based treatment facilities for eligible veterans suffering from PTSD. Requires the Chief Medical Director (CMD) to plan, design, and conduct such program. Requires the Secretary to approve the quality and effectiveness of a program operated by a contract facility before allowing veterans to be furnished treatment there under the pilot program. Directs the Secretary to: (1) urge all public and private entities to provide appropriate employment and training opportunities to veterans who have been provided treatment and rehabilitative services under this Act for PTSD and who have been determined to be sufficiently rehabilitated to be employable; and (2) provide all possible assistance to the Secretary of Labor in placing such veterans in such opportunities. Requires the Secretary to provide referral services and advice to veterans discharged or released from active service who are not eligible for PTSD treatment and services. Outlines provisions concerning the transfer of veterans to contract care facilities for treatment of PTSD, requiring such transfer only within 30 days of such member's enlisted tour of duty and only if such person requests such a transfer while on active duty. Limits the period of such care and rehabilitative services to five years after the fiscal year in which the pilot program is initiated. Requires the Secretary to report to the Senate and House Veterans' Affairs Committees on findings and recommendations pertaining to the operation of the pilot program authorized under this Act. Directs the CMD of the Department to conduct a research program relating to the treatment of PTSD.
United States · United States Congress · 26 July 1989
Expresses the sense of the Congress that the Exxon Company USA has not fulfilled its obligation to clean up the oil spill caused by its tanker in Prince William Sound in Alaska, and that Exxon should take appropriate steps to ensure a thorough cleanup, including maintaining monitoring crews during the winter, until the oil spill is completely cleaned up.
United States · United States Congress · 25 July 1989
Veterans Agent Orange Exposure and Vietnam Service Benefits Act of 1989 - Provides that the disease of chloracne in Vietnam veterans shall be considered to have been service-connected if such disease became manifest to a ten percent or more degree of disability within one year after the last date on which the veteran performed such service in Vietnam. Presumes the following diseases to be service-connected for veterans who performed active service in Vietnam during the Vietnam era, notwithstanding that there is no record of evidence of such disease during the period of such service: (1) non-Hodgkins lymphoma; (2) soft-tissue sarcoma; and (3) melanoma and basal cell carcinoma. Provides a presumption of service-connection in the case of a Vietnam veteran suffering from a disease associated with effects of exposure to certain dioxins or other herbicide agents during such service in Vietnam. Directs the Secretary to prescribe regulations listing a positive association between any disease and the biological effects of exposure to an herbicide agent in Vietnam. Requires the Secretary to update such list continually. Requires the Secretary, in prescribing and revising such list, to obtain by contract the determinations and estimates of a contract scientific organization. Requires such organization to: (1) determine which diseases have any degree of association with the biological effects of exposure to an herbicide agent; and (2) estimate the extent of association between each such disease and each such biological effects. Requires the organization to determine such association specifically with respect to non-Hodgkins lymphoma, each soft-tissue sarcoma, lung cancer, and each other cancer. Outlines contract provisions required in such agreements between the Secretary and the scientific organization, including surveys, evaluations, and periodic determinations. Requires such scientific organization to provide reports to the Secretary and the Senate and House Veterans' Affairs Committees regarding its determinations and evaluations. Requires such organization to determine, in the effect of a positive association, whether there is a reasonable basis for concluding that a Vietnam veteran with the highest level of exposure to that herbicide agent in Vietnam was exposed to such agent under the circumstances necessary for such biological effects. Requires a report from the organization to the Secretary and the veterans' committees when there is no such reasonable basis found. Requires the Secretary to make certain determinations and follow-up reports after receiving such reports from the contract scientific organization, including the issuance of a report to the veterans' committees and the promulgation of positive association regulations, if necessary. Requires benefits to be continued even though a disease is removed from the regulations listing diseases having positive associations. Terminates such contracting authority ten years after the first day of the fiscal year in which a scientific organization transmits its first report to the Secretary. Provides special effective dates. Directs the Secretary to compile and analyze all clinical data that: (1) is obtained by the Department in connection with examinations and treatment of veterans for disabilities related to exposure to certain herbicides or to service in Vietnam; and (2) is likely to be scientifically useful in determining the association, if any, between the disabilities of such veterans and their exposure to such herbicides and other toxic substances. Requires the Secretary to submit an annual report to the veterans' committees concerning such analysis and its results. Directs the Secretary to consult with the Director of the National Institutes of Health Research and Grants Division (NIH) before compiling and analyzing such information. Requires the Director of NIH to review each annual report submitted by the Secretary and transmit to the Secretary an evaluation of the contents of each report. Directs the Secretary to establish and maintain a system for the collection and storage of voluntarily contributed samples of blood and tissue of veterans who performed active service in Vietnam during the Vietnam era. Outlines provisions concerning the security and authorized uses of such specimens, as well as limitations on the acceptance of such samples. Requires the Secretary to consult with the National Academy of Sciences (NAS) to the extent that an agreement has been reached with the NAS serving as the contract scientific organization for the Secretary. Requires the Secretary to consult with the Director of the Medical Follow-up Agency in the event of no agreement with NAS. Directs the Secretary to establish a program to provide for the conduct of studies of the feasibility of conducting additional scientific research on health hazards resulting from: (1) exposure to dioxin; (2) exposure to other toxic agents in herbicides used in support of U.S. and allied military operations in Vietnam during the Vietnam era; and (3) active military, naval, or air service there. Requires the Secretary to report to the veterans' committees on the results of such studies. Requires the Secretary to consult with the NAS before undertaking such studies and requires the NAS, to review such studies and report recommendations to the Secretary and the veterans' committees, to the extent provided under any agreement between the Secretary and NAS. Amends the Veterans' Benefits Improvement Act of 1988 to require the Secretary to annually furnish updated information to veterans listed in the Department of Veterans Affairs' Agent Orange Registry on health risks resulting from exposure to dioxin or other toxic agents in herbicides as a result of service in Vietnam during the Vietnam era. Directs the Secretary of Health and Human Services to report to the veterans' committees on the research being conducted to develop treatments for psychological absorption of dioxin and other toxic agents used in herbicides by the United States in Vietnam, including research relating to exposure to dioxin and other toxic agents outside Vietnam. Extends through December 31, 2000, the eligibility for hospital and nursing home care for veterans exposed to toxic substances in Vietnam. Amends the Veterans' Benefits Improvement Act of 1988 to authorize direct consultation between the Ranch Hand Advisory Committee and Department of the Air Force scientists conducting the Ranch Hand Study (a study of the long-term health effects of exposure to phenoxy herbicides and contaminants). Requires the preparation and submission of annual reports and a final report in connection with such study.
United States · United States Congress · 25 July 1989
Congressional Witness Protection Act of 1989 - Amends the Federal criminal code to prescribe penalties for economic retaliation against a congressional witness for such witness' testimony or provision of information.
![Official portrait of Rep. Morrison, Bruce A. [D-CT-3]](https://www.congress.gov/img/member/m000992_200.jpg)