United States · United States Congress · 16 June 1988
Designates the Labor Day Weekend beginning on September 3, 1988, as National Drive for Life Weekend. Calls on people to observe that weekend with a pledge to not drink and drive.
United States · United States Congress · 15 June 1988
Requires the President to provide the House of Representatives with specified documents (with respect to the assistance for Central America provided for in Public Law 100-276) concerning: (1) interpretations of such Act by the Legal Advisor of the Department of State or the Office of the General Counsel of the Agency for International Development (AID); (2) standards, procedures, and controls for the accountability of funds which have been adopted by AID pursuant to such Act; (3) the procurement outside of the United States, the receipt, and the end-use of any equipment, supplies, or other goods for the Nicaraguan democratic resistance using the funds made available by such Act; (4) funds made available by such Act for the Verification Commission established by the Sapoa Agreement of March 23, 1988; (5) the selection of, and agreements with, organizations to distribute assistance under such Act for children who are victims of the Nicaraguan civil strife; and (6) compliance with the requirements for the distribution to and use of such assistance by children.
United States · United States Congress · 14 June 1988
Directs the Secretary of the Interior to establish the National Park of Samoa. Provides for the management of such park. Directs the Secretary to establish an Advisory Board to provide advice on the management of such park. Authorizes appropriations.
United States · United States Congress · 2 June 1988
Urges the Government of Iran to uphold the human rights of all its nationals, including members of the Baha'i faith, and to restore fully the rights guaranteed by the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. Calls upon the President to: (1) monitor and report on developments affecting the Baha'i minority in Iran and in other countries; (2) cooperate with other governments in continuing to make appeals to Iran concerning the situation of the Baha'is; (3) initiate and support efforts in the United Nations and its agencies on behalf of the Baha'is; and (4) provide, and urge others to provide, for refugee and humanitarian assistance for those Baha'is fleeing their homelands to escape religious repression.
United States · United States Congress · 26 May 1988
Agricultural Commodity Embargo Limitation Act - Provides that the President may not prohibit or restrict the export of U.S. agricultural products to any country unless: (1) a state of war exists between such country and the United States; or (2) the President certifies to the Congress that such country is engaged in military hostilities against the United States, and such certification is in effect.
United States · United States Congress · 18 May 1988
Missing Service Personnel Act of 1988 - Requires the responsible uniformed service commander, after receiving notice that a person under his command is missing, to conduct an informal investigation to determine such person's whereabouts and, if appropriate, to place such person in a missing status. Requires the commander, if a person has been placed in such status, to notify the officer holding general court-martial authority over such person (or, in the case of a missing civilian, the Secretary concerned), who shall convene a board of initial inquiry within 30 days. Requires such board to: (1) investigate evidence relating to the disappearance of such person; (2) recommend whether to continue such person in a missing status or make a finding that such person has deserted, is absent without leave, or is dead; and (3) report its recommendations and findings. Provides for the convening of a board of further inquiry, if a board of initial inquiry recommends that such person be continued in a missing status, within one year of such recommendation. Requires such board to analyze any information which has become available since the board of initial inquiry issued its report, to determine whether such person should be continued in a missing status or declared dead, and to report its findings. Directs the Secretary concerned, upon the written request of a member of the immediate family of a missing person who, before the date of the enactment of this Act, was determined by the Secretary to be dead, to: (1) convene a board of further inquiry to determine whether such finding of death should be upheld or such person should be placed in a missing status; and (2) report its findings. Requires the Secretary, within three years after a board of further inquiry recommends a missing status for any person, to reconvene such board to review such status. Specifies the composition of such boards. Allows the Secretary to invite each member of the immediate family of the missing person to the meetings of a board of initial inquiry. Requires the Secretary to: (1) invite family members of missing persons to meetings of boards of further inquiry; (2) schedule such meetings at convenient locations and times; (3) provide such family members with reasonable notice of such meetings; and (4) open such meetings to the general public. Authorizes each board to hold meetings, take testimony, receive evidence, and secure directly from any U.S. department or agency any information necessary to carry out its duties. Provides for the appointment of counsel by the officer or Secretary concerned to represent the missing person. Requires that, if a board determines that a missing person is dead, it shall include in its report a detailed description of the location and date of death, whether the body has been recovered, and whether a licensed practitioner of forensic medicine determined that the body recovered is that of the missing person. Prohibits any such board from declaring a missing person dead unless: (1) evidence other than the passage of time suggests that such person is dead; (2) no evidence which reasonably suggests that such person is alive is in the possession of the Government; (3) representatives of the Government have made a complete search of the area where such person was last seen (unless the United States is not granted access to such area); and (4) Government representatives have checked the records of the government or entity having control over the area where such person was last seen (unless the Government is not granted access to such records). Provides for judicial review of determinations of death upon the filing of a written petition by any member of the missing person's immediate family. Directs the Secretary of the uniformed service in which a missing person serves to make certain that such person's personnel file contains all information in the possession of Federal departments and agencies pertaining to the disappearance or whereabouts of such person. Requires the Secretary to make certain that, if classified information is withheld, such file contains: (1) a notice that the information exists; and (2) a notice of the date of the most recent review of the classification status of the information. Sets forth penalties for knowingly withholding information pertaining to the disappearance or whereabouts of a missing person from that person's personnel file. Requires the Secretary concerned to make the contents of such file available to a member of the immediate family of such person upon written request.
United States · United States Congress · 17 May 1988
Older Americans Child Care Employment Amendments of 1988 - Amends the Older Americans Community Service Employment Act to require the Secretary of Labor to enter into agreements with public or private nonprofit agencies or organizations for the conduct of no more than 100 experimental projects employing individuals who are age 55 or older in providing day care to children. Requires that such agencies or organizations: (1) receive one-third of their funding from non-Federal sources; (2) charge families a day care fee which is proportional to their financial resources; (3) provide day care in facilities other than private residences; and (4) be subject to the most comprehensive State licensing requirements or regulatory standards applicable to similar day care providers in the State. Prohibits the making of grants pursuant to this Act to more than two agencies or organizations in each State in any fiscal year. Authorizes appropriations for such projects.
United States · United States Congress · 12 May 1988
Declares that the Congress recognizes the heroic acts of civilian construction workers who participated in the defense of Wake Island during its invasion by Japan between December 8 and December 23, 1941.
United States · United States Congress · 5 May 1988
Family Educational Opportunity Act of 1988 - Amends the Higher Education Act of 1965 to remove from the computation of expected family contribution in the determination of need for assistance under the title IV (Student Assistance) Pell Grant program and other title IV student assistance programs the following assets: (1) the family's principal place of residence; (2) a family farm on which the family resides; or (3) a small business substantially owned and managed by a member or members of the family.
United States · United States Congress · 28 April 1988
Uranium Revitalization, Tailings Reclamation and Enrichment Act of 1988 - Title I: Uranium Revitalization - Amends the Atomic Energy Act of 1954 to extend from 1983 to the year 2000 the period during which the Secretary of Energy (the Secretary) is required to monitor the viability of the domestic uranium mining and milling industry. Sets forth a formula for the calculation of user charges to be paid by civilian nuclear power reactor licensees with fuel assemblies containing foreign uranium between January 1, 1988, to January 1, 2001. Prohibits Federal bodies from entering into foreign uranium purchase contracts. Restricts the use of federally-owned natural uranium stockpiles to: (1) military purposes; (2) Federal research; and (3) production activities by the United States Enrichment Corporation. Exempts the Tennessee Valley Authority from the foreign purchase prohibition. Title II: Tailings Reclamation - Provides that remedial action with respect to uranium shall be performed according to statutory guidelines by the site owner or licensee at the active site. Requires that such owners' reclamation expenses be reimbursed from the Uranium Mill Tailings Fund (established by this Act). Identifies the active sites that qualify for such reimbursement. Establishes the Uranium Mill Tailings Fund, which shall consist of contributions from: (1) States in which active sites are located; (2) site owners or licensees; (3) the Federal Government; and (4) user fees. Prescribes guidelines for: (1) Fund administration; (2) contributions; (3) participation; and (4) reimbursement for expenditures for remedial actions (including at thorium sites). States that the sole liability and financial obligation udner Federal law for remedial action at active uranium and thorium sites shall consist of the contributions, fines, and work performed by: (1) active site owner licensees; or (2) persons using source or special nuclear material for a civilian nuclear power reactor to generate electrical energy. Title III: United States Enrichment Corporation - Establishes the United States Enrichment Corporation as a wholly-owned Government corporation to acquire, operate, and market uranium enrichment activities on a commercial, profitable basis. Mandates that its corporate structure be self-financing in order to obviate the need for Federal financing. States that the Corporation Administrator shall be appointed by the President with the advice and consent of the Senate. Establishes an Advisory Board to review Corporation policies and performance. Transfers certain Department of Energy property to the Corporation. Requires the Corporation to establish charges to its customers that will recover costs of decommissioning and decontamination of Corporation property. Requires the Corporation to report annually regarding its activities to the President, the Secretary, and certain congressional committees. Prescribes licensing and taxation guidelines for the Corporation. Sets guidelines for payments in lieu of taxes by the corporation to States and local governments. Requires the Administrator to make recommendations to the President and the Congress by December 31, 1998, regarding the transfer of the Corporation's functions and assets to private ownership. Establishes the Uranium Enrichment Decontamination and Decommissioning Fund to cover the Corporation's decommissioning and decontamination expenses. Directs the Secretary to indemnify Corporation contractors for nuclear hazards incidents as if such contractors were contractors of the Secretary. Eliminates the treatment of uranium enrichment facilities as production facilities under the Atomic Energy Act with respect to the importation of such facilities into the United States (thus subjecting them to less stringent licensing requirements). Prohibits the Corporation's total FY 1989 expenditures from exceeding its total FY 1989 receipts.
United States · United States Congress · 26 April 1988
Amends the Social Security Act to establish a title XXI titled "Health Care Coverage for the Elderly." Prohibits such title from being construed as authorizing Federal officers or employees to supervise or control the provision of medical or health services. Establishes an Elderly Health Financing Authority (Authority) to be governed by a Board responsible for the operation of the title XXI program. Sets forth the duties of such Board, which shall include: (1) making recommendations to the Congress on the adequate level of health care benefits under title XXI; (2) annually proposing to the Congress any changes necessary to maintain the fiscal integrity of the program; (3) qualifying and reviewing the qualifications of private health care benefits plans for participation in such program; and (4) distributing annual health care vouchers to eligible individuals for the purchase of qualified private health care benefit plans. Increases the age of eligibility for title XXI benefits from 65 to 67 over the nine years following this Act's enactment. Requires the Administrator of the Board to provide beneficiaries with an annual health care voucher for the purchase of a qualified private health care benefit plan. Prohibits the assignment of vouchers. Prohibits a beneficiary from transferring a voucher from one qualified plan to another except upon substantiation of a complaint by the beneficiary that the insurance carrier has breached its agreement with the beneficiary. Authorizes the Board, upon substantiation of such a complaint, to: (1) require the insurance carrier to reimburse the beneficiary for such breach; (2) fine the carrier up to $2,000 for each breach; and (3) remove the carrier and such carrier's plan as a qualified private health benefit plan for repeated incidences amounting to substantial nonperformance of responsibilities. Provides that when a beneficiary fails to enter into an agreement with a carrier the agreement for the preceding year shall be extended through the present voucher year. Requires that the vouchers be of such form that the beneficiary and carrier can enter into an agreement for private health care benefit coverage under title XXI upon the voucher document itself. Sets forth beneficiary cost-sharing requirements which differ among individuals on the basis of their income and marital status. Sets the required coinsurance at 20 percent, but limits annual coinsurance payments to $2,000 for individuals and $3,000 for couples. Directs the Administrator to establish a certification procedure for private health care benefit plans. Provides for the annual recertification of such plans. Lists the medically necessary services which certified plans must provide without limitation or liability beyond specified cost sharing requirements. Directs the Administrator to establish a procedure for the review of proposed health insurance policy marketing materials to determine whether they are false and misleading. Defines a "health individual retirement account" as an irrevocable trust (including certain custodial accounts) created for the sole purpose of paying one individual's health care expenses upon his or her eligibility for coverage under titles XVIII (Medicare), XIX (Medicaid), or XXI of the Act. Amends the Internal Revenue Code to allow contributors to a health individual retirement account to deduct such contributions, provided previous contributions for the year do not exceed $500, adjusted annually for inflation. Limits eligible contributors to the individual who has the account and such individual's spouse, parents, children, and guardians. Excludes account distributions which are used to pay a beneficiary's health care expenses from such beneficiary's gross income. Exempts such accounts from income taxation. Taxes account amounts improperly used. Imposes an additional income tax on individuals to assure the adequacy of title XXI funding. Requires that the rate of such tax be adjusted by the Secretary of the Treasury on the basis of the Authority's recommendation. Makes such tax inapplicable to: (1) individuals whose income does not exceed the per capita income of the lowest fifth percentile of taxpayers or who are eligible for title XXI benefits; and (2) an individual's income in excess of $100,000, adjusted annually for inflation. Repeals Chapter 2 (Tax on Self-Employment Income) of the Internal Revenue Code. Repeals social security taxes imposed on the wages of employees. Sets the 1989 rate of Hospital Insurance taxes imposed on employers at 2.21 percent and at a percentage to be determined by the Authority thereafter.
United States · United States Congress · 19 April 1988
Ethics in Congress Act of 1988 - Prohibits a former Member of Congress, within two years after having been a Member, from representing any person by lobbying any employee of any standing committee upon which such Member served during the last term as a Member concerning any matter within the jurisdiction of such committee. Prohibits a former officer of Congress, within two years after such employment has ceased, from representing any person by lobbying any officer or employee of the House of Congress in which the officer was employed. Prohibits a former senior committee employee, within two years after such employment has ceased, from representing any person by lobbying any employee of such committee concerning any matter within the jurisdiction of such committee.
United States · United States Congress · 19 April 1988
Declares that the Congress acknowledges and appreciates the commitment, devotion, and sacrifices of present and former military families. Designates November 21, 1988, as National Military Families Recognition Day.
United States · United States Congress · 13 April 1988
Amends the Bank Holding Company Act of 1956 to treat as a bank holding company (and thus subject to prohibitions with respect to equity interests in nonbanking organizations) any company that owns a grandfathered nonbank bank if: (1) the company's consolidated assets are at least 50 percent devoted to financial services and more than ten percent devoted to insured banks; and (2) the company acquires control, after March 28, 1988, of more than five percent of the stock of a company not primarily devoted to financial services activities. Prohibits any foreign bank holding company from acquiring, after March 30, 1988, any stock of a company that is in the process of acquiring at least 25 percent of any class of shares of a U.S. company if: (1) the U.S. company engages in activities other than those permissible for a U.S. bank holding company or a nonbanking subsidiary thereof; and (2) the acquisition of the U.S. company shares results from a tender offer by a person acquiring more than five percent of the class of securities in question. Requires foreign bank holding companies to divest themselves of any shares acquired on or before March 30, 1988, that fall within the described prohibition.
United States · United States Congress · 12 April 1988
Civil Service Annuity Prompt Payment Act - Requires civil service retirement annuity payments and survivor annuity payments to begin 90 days after the later of: (1) the annuity's commencement date; or (2) the date on which the Office of Personnel Management receives a completed application. Requires the payment of interest on the initial underpayment of annuity if no monthly payment is made within the 90-day period, or if one or more monthly annuity payments are made within such period but the amount of payment is deficient.
United States · United States Congress · 30 March 1988
Medical Testing Improvement Act of 1988 - Amends title III (General Powers and Duties) of the Public Health Service Act to remove references to interstate commerce from provisions prohibiting operating a laboratory without a license issued by the Secretary of Health and Human Services. Repeals provisions exempting from statutes regulating laboratories those laboratories operated by physicians, osteopaths, dentists, or podiatrists solely as an adjunct to the treatment of their own patients. Requires an annual inspection of laboratories to insure compliance with standards issued by the Secretary. Requires laboratories to qualify under a quarterly proficiency testing program established by the Secretary, including testing for each category of test which the laboratory is authorized to perform under its license. Requires the Secretary to maintain a technical and staff capacity to provide training and technical assistance to laboratories requesting such service and to laboratories which do not qualify under the proficiency testing program. Allows the proficiency testing to be performed by a private entity only if the entity meets standards established by the Centers for Disease Control. Requires the Secretary to maintain the capacity to conduct the testing. Makes laboratory licenses issued by the Secretary valid for one year instead of three years. Removes the cap on the fee for issuance or renewal of licenses. Directs the Secretary to make grants to a State which enacts laws providing for standards equal to or more stringent than under the provisions amended by this Act to assist the State in implementing the laws.
United States · United States Congress · 30 March 1988
Uniform Health and Safety Whistleblowers Protection Act of 1988 - Sets forth uniform procedures to protect employees who engage in whistleblowing with respect to employer activities which endanger employee or public health and safety. Prohibits employers from discharging or discriminating against any employee who: (1) discloses (or demonstrates an intent to disclose) an employer activity, policy, or practice that the employee reasonably believes is a violation of Federal law that creates a danger to the health or safety of the employee, other employees, or the public; (2) assists or participates (or demonstrates an intent to do so) in a proceeding with respect to an employee activity, policy, or practice that the employee reasonably believes creates a danger to the health or safety of the employee, other employees, or the public, or with respect to administration of this Act; or (3) refuses to participate in an employer activity, policy, or practice that the employee reasonably believes poses an imminent and substantial danger to the health or safety of the employee, other employees, or the public. Voids as contrary to public policy any waiver or modification of employee rights under this Act, except under certain settlements or dispute resolutions. Makes this Act inapplicable to employees who, acting without direction from the employer, deliberately cause a violation of Federal law. Sets forth procedures for remedy of violation under this Act. Provides for filing complaints with the Assistant Secretary for Employment Standards Administration in the Department of Labor (the Assistant Secretary). Directs the Assistant Secretary to investigate such complaints and to issue orders providing relief where appropriate. Provides for administrative law hearings upon request when such orders are not issued, or are questioned. Allows the Secretary of Labor (the Secretary) to determine whether or not to intervene on behalf of the complainant in such hearings. Provides for an administrative appeal procedure. Makes the decision of the administrative law judge the final order of the Secretary unless there is a petition or order for review by the Secretary within a specified period. Directs the Secretary to issue a final order after such review within a specified period. Sets forth provisions for damages. Provides for orders of abatement, reinstatement, compensatory damages, exemplary damages, other equitable relief, and legal cost payments. Sets forth a private right of action when no final administrative order is issued within a specified period. Allows complainants, under such circumstances, to file civil actions for damages and equitable relief in U.S. district court. Directs the Secretary to notify complainants of the opportunity to file such civil actions on expiration of such period. Directs the court to assess legal costs against violators. Provides for judicial review of orders. Provides for settlements or alternative dispute resolutions. Requires employers to post specified information about this Act. Sets forth provisions for enforcement of orders under this Act by the Secretary and by the parties in U.S. district court. Provides for complaint referral by directing the Secretary to send copies of final orders (including settlement orders) to each Federal agency with jurisdiction over the activity, policy, or practice alleged in the complaint. Directs such agency to take appropriate action and report on such action to the Secretary, the parties, and the relevant congressional committees. Provides that such provisions do not limit any Federal agency authority under any other law. Declares that rights and remedies under this Act: (1) are in addition to any other rights and remedies provided under a contract or State law; and (2) supersede applicable Federal laws only insofar as such laws provide rights and remedies inconsistent with those provided by this Act. Makes the enforcement and administrative procedures under this Act the exclusive ones, superseding those in applicable Federal laws.
United States · United States Congress · 29 March 1988
Global Poverty Reduction Act - Amends the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 to direct the President to develop a plan to ensure that U.S. development assistance contributes measurably toward eradicating the worst aspects of absolute poverty by the year 2000. Requires that such plan include target dates for reaching specific measurable goals whose attainment would contribute to direct improvements in the living standards of the poorest 40 percent of the population. Specifies that such goals shall include reducing the mortality rate of infants under age five, increasing the female literacy rate, and reducing the percentages of populations below the absolute poverty level by specified amounts by the year 2000. Directs that primary emphasis of development activities to restore the renewable natural resource base shall be on small-scale, affordable, low-risk local projects featuring close consultation with, and involvement of, local people at all stages of project design and implementation. Requires the President to submit the plan to the Congress by July 1, 1989. Requires all U.S. development assistance to be directed at attaining plan goals between October 1, 1989, and December 31, 2000. Requires the President to submit annual reports to the Congress detailing progress toward achieving plan goals. Directs the Comptroller General to review and comment on each report issued. Directs the President to host an international development conference for heads of governments of development assistance donor and recipient countries by October 16, 1989, to conclude an international agreement on eliminating the worst aspects of absolute poverty by the year 2000.
United States · United States Congress · 24 March 1988
Imposes a civil penalty upon any person who mails to any individual or group of individuals at their place of residence: (1) any unsolicited sexually oriented advertisement; or (2) any unsolicited obscene, lewd, lascivious, indecent, filthy, or vile article, matter, thing, device, or substance.