United States · United States Congress · 4 January 1989
Recyclable Materials Science and Technology Development Act of 1989 - Directs the Secretary of Commerce to study and report to the Congress concerning: (1) means to increase the use of degradable materials in manufactured goods; (2) technologies for recycling nondurable consumer products; and (3) ways to expand the marketing of recycled products. Directs the Secretary of Health and Human Services to study and report to the Congress on the feasibility of recycling nondegradable medical supplies and of substituting degradable for nondegradable materials in medical equipment and supplies. Directs the Secretary of Defense to study and report to the Congress on the national defense and security implications of requiring the use of degradable materials in defense items. Instructs the Secretary of Agriculture to initiate a pilot project to develop and demonstrate viable technology for composting municipal waste and sewage sludge. Requires the Secretary to report project results to the Congress. Directs the Secretary of Commerce to appoint a Director of Recycling Research and Information to make grants to support research into innovative recycling technology. Authorizes appropriations for such purposes for FY 1990. Prohibits, effective five years after this Act's enactment, the production, manufacture, distribution, sale, or delivery of nonrecycled consumer goods, fast food in nondegradable containers, and packaging for specified purposes that contains any material that is not naturally degradable. Establishes both civil and criminal penalties for violations. Directs the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency and the Secretary of Commerce jointly to issue regulations to govern the designation of goods and materials for noncompliance purposes. Directs the Secretary to publish and periodically update lists of items and materials affected by the prohibition on activities involving nonrecyclable items.
United States · United States Congress · 3 January 1989
Establishes the Thomas Cole National Historic Site in Catskill, New York. Authorizes the Secretary of the Interior to acquire by donation land, improvements thereon, and associated personal property within such Site. Authorizes the Secretary to enter into cooperative agreements with the State of New York and other public and private entities to further the purposes of this Act. Requires the Secretary, in consultation with a group of historians, scholars, and other experts, to report to specified House and Senate committees on issues related to such Site and other historic sites in the Hudson River Valley no later than two years after enactment of this Act. Establishes the Thomas Cole Advisory Commission to advise the Secretary on the management and development of the Site. Requires the Secretary, within five years, to submit to specified House and Senate committees a general management plan for the preservation and use of the Site and other historic sites in the Hudson River Valley. Authorizes appropriations.
United States · United States Congress · 3 January 1989
Animal Welfare Protection Act of 1989 - Amends the Animal Welfare Act to empower the Secretary of Agriculture to request the Attorney General to obtain a temporary restraining order for violations of such Act or of regulations promulgated under such Act.
United States · United States Congress · 3 January 1989
Eliminates provisions of Federal law which restrict premium pay to the minimum rate of basic pay for GS-10 for Federal employees in a position in which: (1) the hours of duty cannot be controlled administratively; (2) a substantial amount of irregular, unscheduled overtime is required; and (3) the employee is generally responsible for recognizing circumstances which require the employee to remain on duty.
United States · United States Congress · 3 January 1989
Defense Economic Adjustment Act - Title I: Defense Economic Adjustment Council - Establishes in the Executive Office of the President the Defense Economic Adjustment Council to be co-chaired by the Secretaries of Commerce and Labor. Establishes in the Executive Office an Office of Economic Adjustment, headed by a Director, to provide staff support to the Council. Directs the Council to disseminate information from the Secretary of Defense to Federal, State, and local agencies concerning proposed or pending changes in defense spending which would affect employment in the defense industry. Requires the Council to perform other duties, including: (1) encouraging the preparation of plans for non-defense-related public projects; (2) coordinating and developing information on priority, federally-funded projects and programs pertaining to defense economic adjustment; (3) monitoring job services information banks; and (4) determining criteria for eligibility for assistance under this Act. Directs the Secretary of Defense to provide the pertinent information to the Council a year in advance of any change and to furnish the Council with projected future defense spending levels. Directs the Council to prepare and distribute a Conversion Guidelines Handbook to outline requirements of programs for professional retraining of personnel. Title II: Community Economic Adjustment Planning - Makes eligible for Federal assistance for economic adjustment planning any community which is substantially affected by reduction or elimination of Government defense facilities or curtailment or conclusion of defense contracts. Directs the Council to make available to alternative use committees information on economic development programs of any Federal instrumentality which provides funds that may be used for planning. Requires the Council to report to the Congress at least annually on any such economic development program. Directs the Council to use data from other departments to develop criteria which ensures that assistance is directed to those communities that are most vulnerable economically to reductions in defense expenditures. Requires the Council to publish a semiannual list of eligible communities. Requires excess property resulting from a closing or reduction in a Government-owned facility to be appraised for purposes of resale to the community. Title III: Alternative Use Committees - Requires the establishment of alternative use committees at defense facilities to plan for economic conversion in the event of closure or reduction. Directs such committees to: (1) evaluate the assets of the facilities and the resources and requirements of the local community; (2) develop at least biennially a detailed plan for conversion of the facility to non-defense-related productive activity; and (3) provide retraining and reemployment counseling services. Requires conversion plans to maximize the pool of skills of available personnel and specify in detail the composition of the work force and plant, material, and financing requirements. Penalizes any contractor who fails to submit an alternative use plan or carry out one approved by the Council by making such contractor ineligible for future defense contracts for three years. Title IV: Economic Adjustment Assistance for Workers - Makes displaced workers certified by the local alternative use committees to the Council eligible for benefits for two years under this Act. Includes among such benefits: weekly compensation, vested pension credit, maintenance of health insurance, retraining for civilian work, job search allowance, and reimbursement for relocation expenses. Requires completion of a program of professional retraining before certain employees are eligible for assistance. Directs the Council to enter into agreements with a State or agency in the State administering the unemployment compensation law to disburse benefits under this Act. Requires displaced workers to accept any employment determined by the State agency or Secretary of Labor to be comparable to the former job, or benefits will terminate. Excludes these benefits from other determinations of eligibility for unemployment compensation under any Federal or State law. Title V: Economic Adjustment Fund - Establishes in the Treasury a Workers Economic Adjustment Reserve Trust Fund. Requires defense contractors to pay a specified percentage into the Fund. Directs the Secretary of the Treasury to deposit a percentage of the projected savings resulting from a cancellation or cutback in defense spending. Title VI: Use of Certain Research Funds - Requires the Council to define urgent national requirements for nondefense sectors of the economy in any determination of the Secretary of Defense as to how certain research and development funds are to be spent. Title VII: Authorization of Appropriations - Authorizes appropriations.
United States · United States Congress · 3 January 1989
Standardization of Measurement Act of 1989 - Establishes a system of standardization of measurement of high strength steel bolts. Requires the Director of the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) to: (1) issue regulations to establish an approval program for accreditation of laboratories inspecting and testing bolts; (2) publish notice that NIST is prepared to accept applications for accreditation of such laboratories; and (3) set forth conditions under which accreditation of foreign laboratories by their governments meets requirements of this Act. Provides that, during its first year, such approval program shall use standards issued by one or more voluntary consensus standards organization selected by the Director, who shall notify the Congress of such choice. Authorizes the Director, after such year, to substitute other standards and to modify or update them as necessary. Requires that costs of such approval program be fully reimbursable to NIST through fees or other charges for accreditation services. Requires the Director to transmit recommendations and information to appropriate standards organizations. Prohibits, effective January 1, 1991, any bolt from being certified as a high strength steel bolt unless it: (1) comes from a lot conforming to the standards and specifications to which the manufacturer represents it has been manufactured or to which it was ordered by the purchaser; and (2) is evaluated by accredited laboratories or, if a foreign laboratory, is deemed to satisfy accreditation requirements of this Act.
United States · United States Congress · 3 January 1989
Federal Employees' Political Activities Act of 1989 - Prohibits an employee from using or attempting to use official authority or influence to interfere with or affect the result of any election. Prohibits an employee from using or attempting to use official authority to intimidate, threaten, coerce, command, or influence: (1) any individual for the purpose of interfering with the right of any individual to vote as the individual may choose, or of causing any individual to vote, or not to vote, for any candidate or measure in any election; (2) any person to give or withhold any political contribution; or (3) any person to engage, or not to engage, in any form of political activity. Prohibits an employee from using, attempting to use, or permitting the use of any official information, unless such information is available to the general public. Prohibits an employee from: (1) giving or offering to give a political contribution to any individual either to vote or to refrain from voting, or to vote for or against any candidate or measure, in any election; (2) soliciting, accepting, or receiving a political contribution to vote or refrain from voting, or to vote for or against any candidate or measure, in any election; or (3) giving or handing over a political contribution to a superior of the employee. Prohibits an employee from soliciting, accepting, or receiving, or from being in any manner concerned with soliciting, accepting, or receiving, a political contribution: (1) from another employee (or a member of another employee's immediate family) with respect to whom the employee is a superior; or (2) in any room or building occupied in the discharge of official duties by a Federal employee or official or an individual receiving salary or compensation from the Treasury. Prohibits an employee from soliciting, accepting, or receiving a political contribution from, or giving a political contribution to, any person who: (1) has, or is seeking to obtain, contractual or other business or financial relations with the employing agency; (2) conducts operations or activities which are regulated by that agency; or (3) has interests which may be substantially affected by the performance of the employee's official duties. Directs the Special Counsel of the Merit Systems Protection Board to prescribe regulations which exempt employees from such prohibitions. Prohibits an employee from engaging in political activity: (1) while on duty; (2) in any room or building occupied in the discharge of official duties by a Federal employee or official; (3) while wearing a uniform or official insignia identifying the office or position of the employee; or (4) while using any vehicle owned or leased by the Government. Exempts certain high level political appointees from such prohibitions if the costs associated with the political activity are not paid for by money derived from the Treasury. Authorizes leave without pay or accrued annual leave to an employee who is a candidate, upon request, to allow such employee to engage in activities relating to that candidacy. Declares that such request may be denied if the exigencies of the public business so require. Declares that such employee may be required to take leave without pay or accrued annual leave in order to be a candidate if activities relating to the candidacy interfere with the employee's performance of duties. Applies this Act to postal employees and employees of the Postal Rate Commission.
United States · United States Congress · 3 January 1989
Title I: National Development Investment - National Development Investment Act - Amends the Public Works and Economic Development Act of 1965 to cite such Act as the National Development Investment Act and to revise the emphasis of such Act from primary Federal initiative to coordination of investments between the public and the private sectors. Authorizes the Secretary of Commerce, upon the application of an eligible State, economic development district, distressed local government, Indian tribe, or nonprofit economic development organization, to make a grant for a portion of the cost of projects submitted in a development investment strategy. Sets forth activities eligible for such development investment assistance, including: (1) construction and repair of public facilities; (2) revolving loan funds to promote small business; (3) feasibility studies to enhance the investment climate; and (4) development activities which prevent economic dislocation and promote employee ownership organizations. Requires an application for a grant under this Act to include: (1) a certification that the area concerned meets certain distress requirements; (2) a certification of any responsibilities which the Secretary has agreed to perform; and (3) a development investment strategy prepared in accordance with this Act. Requires the Secretary to consider specified purposes of this Act in approving applications. Lists as criteria any one of which an area must meet in order to be eligible for a grant under this Act: (1) a per capita income of 80 percent or less of the national average; (2) an unemployment rate one percent above the national average for the most recent 24-month period for which statistics are available; or (3) a sudden economic dislocation resulting in job losses. Authorizes the Secretary to make grants to establish a revolving loan fund for making or guaranteeing loans to small businesses for initial or working capital, or for the purchase of facilities or equipment. Limits to $1,000,000 the amount of any such grant. Limits the amount of any grant under this Act to a maximum of 50 percent of the cost of completing the project as determined at the time of the grant application. Permits the Secretary to reduce or waive the non-Federal share of a project in the case of an Indian tribe. Limits expenditures in any one State to a maximum of 15 percent of the appropriations made pursuant to this Act, except for expenditures to Indian tribes. Prohibits the Secretary from obligating more than $2,000,000 in any fiscal year to any person, other than grants for employee ownership organizations. Requires the Secretary, each fiscal year, to obligate minimum amounts of funds for such grants. Authorizes the Secretary to make economic development planning grants to States, economic development districts, Indian tribes, distressed counties, and distressed units of local government. Earmarks such grants for coordination of investment for community facilities, economic development, manpower training, and transportation services. Authorizes the Secretary to evaluate Federal, State, and local development investment efforts. Authorizes the Secretary to conduct any demonstration program to test the feasibility of new ways to increase productivity, foster innovative technology, match labor force with labor markets, or encourage economic diversity and regional balance. Authorizes the Secretary to make grants to colleges, universities, and other nonprofit educational and research organizations. Directs the Secretary to conduct a study to determine financing needs for the construction and repair of public facilities. Requires the Secretary to submit to each House of the Congress a detailed statement, including findings and recommendations, concerning such financing needs. Limits the amount of any such grant to not more than 75 percent of the cost of economic development planning or of investment strategy preparation. Authorizes the Secretary to consult with other persons and agencies. Prohibits the approval of any grant unless the Secretary is satisfied that the project concerned will be properly and efficiently administered, operated, and maintained. Permits the Secretary to discharge responsibilities relative to a project by accepting a certification of the grant applicant's performance of such responsibilities. Requires the Secretary to make comprehensive annual reports to the Congress detailing operations under this Act. Requires all laborers and mechanics employed by contractors or subcontractors on projects assisted under this Act to be paid the prevailing rate of wages. Requires the Secretary to maintain and make available for public inspection records of approved applications. Requires each recipient of a grant to maintain certain specified records. Allows the Secretary and the Comptroller General access to all records of such recipients. Authorizes appropriations through FY 1992. Title II: Appalachian Regional Development - Appalachian Regional Development Act Amendments of 1987 - Amends the Appalachian Regional Development Act of 1965 to declare that investments under such Act shall also be made in severely distressed and underdeveloped counties lacking resources for basic services. Authorizes appropriations through FY 1994 for the administrative expenses of the Appalachian Regional Commission. Authorizes the Commission to lease office space through FY 1992. Authorizes appropriations through FY 1996 for the Appalachian development highway system. Increases from 70 to 80 percent the subsequent Federal share of an Appalachian development highway segment when a participating State proceeds to construct a segment of such a highway without the aid of Federal funds. Applies such increase to projects approved after March 31, 1979. Authorizes the Commission to make grants to States and public and nonprofit entities for projects which will: (1) assist in the creation or retention of permanent private sector jobs, the upgrading of the region's manpower, or the attraction of private investment; (2) provide special assistance to severely distressed and underdeveloped counties which lack financial resources for improving basic services; (3) assist in achieving the goal of making primary health care accessible in the region; or (4) otherwise serve the purposes of this Act. Prohibits the authorization of any financial assistance to enable plant subcontractors to undertake work previously performed in another area by other subcontractors or contractors. Prohibits grants with funds authorized after October 1, 1989, from exceeding 50 percent of the costs of any approved project. Permits such grants to increase the Federal contribution to any project to such percentage as the Commission determines, within specified limitations. Authorizes appropriations through FY 1994. Extends the termination date of such Act from 1982 to October 1, 1992.
United States · United States Congress · 3 January 1989
Enterprise Zone Improvements Act of 1989 - Title I: Housing and Community Development Provisions - Amends the Housing and Community Development Act of 1987 to require each Federal agency that provides special assistance to enterprise zones or that waives or modifies rules within such zones to report to the Congress and to the Secretary of Housing and Urban Development identifying its actions. Broadens the scope of funding sources for State and local government actions required in connection with tax relief and regulatory simplification in enterprise zones. Directs Federal agencies to seek to provide special assistance to enterprise zones, including expedited processing, priority funding, program set-asides, and technical assistance. Authorizes all Federal agencies to waive or modify rules within enterprise zones. (Under current law, only the Secretary of Housing and Urban Development and, in some cases, the Secretary of Agriculture may do so.) Adds the promotion of affordable housing and law enforcement as objectives justifying waiver or modification of Federal agency rules in an enterprise zone. Title II: Federal Income Tax Incentives - Subtitle A: Credits for Employers and Employees - Allows employers located in enterprise zones a nonrefundable income tax credit for qualified increased employment expenditures and employment of the disadvantaged. Sets the credit amount at ten percent of the increase in payroll plus a specified percentage of wages paid to certain disadvantaged workers through the first 20 years of the enterprise zone designation. Allows a nonrefundable income tax credit to enterprise zone employees for five percent of wages earned. Phases out both credits in the last four years of the enterprise zone designation. Subtitle B: Credits for Investment in Tangible Property in Enterprise Zones - Allows businesses an additional investment tax credit for investments made in certain enterprise zone construction property. Limits the credit to ten percent for new property, including rental property. Requires the recapture of credit amounts upon the early disposition of the property. Subtitle C: Nonrecognition of Qualified Enterprise Zone Capital Gain Where Acquisition of Enterprise Zone Business Property - Provides for the nonrecognition of capital gain on the sale of enterprise zone property if, within one year after the sale, the taxpayer acquires qualified replacement property (generally defined as property related to an enterprise zone or to a business within a zone). Subtitle D: Deduction for Purchase of Enterprise Stock - Allows a taxpayer to deduct up to $100,000 of the aggregate amount paid for the purchase of enterprise stock on its original issue by a qualified issuer. Treats any gain from the disposition of the stock as ordinary income. Subtitle E: Rules Relating to Private Activity Bonds - Declares that: (1) limitations on the cost recovery deductions for property financed with tax-exempt bonds shall not apply to enterprise zone property; and (2) the termination of the small issue exemption shall not apply to bonds whose proceeds are used to finance facilities in enterprise zones. Subtitle F: Ordinary Loss Deduction for Securities of Enterprise Zone Business Which Become Worthless - Permits an ordinary loss deduction for securities of enterprise zone business that become worthless during the taxable year. Subtitle G: Increase in Research Credit for Research Conducted in Enterprise Zones - Increases from 20 percent to 37 1/2 percent the tax credit for increasing research conducted in enterprise zones. Subtitle H: Sense of the Congress with Respect to Tax Simplification - Expresses the sense of the Congress that the Secretary of the Treasury should simplify the administration and enforcement of any provision of the Internal Revenue Code affected by this Act. Subtitle I: Regulations - Directs the Secretary to issue regulations to carry out the provisions of this Act not later than six months after enactment. Title III: Establishment of Foreign-Trade Zones in Enterprise Zones - Requires the Foreign-Trade Zone Board to consider on a priority basis and to expedite the processing of applications for the establishment of foreign-trade zones within enterprise zones. Requires the Secretary of the Treasury to give priority to, and expedite applications for, the establishment of ports of entry necessary to establish such zones.
United States · United States Congress · 3 January 1989
Tech-Prep Education Act - Amends the Carl D. Perkins Vocational Education Act to establish a program of grants to consortia of local educational agencies and community colleges to provide tech-prep education programs. Defines "tech-prep education program" as a combined secondary and postsecondary program which: (1) leads to an associate degree or two-year certificate; (2) provides technical preparation in at least one field of engineering technology, applied science, or mechanical, industrial, or practical art or trade; (3) provides competence in mathematics, science, and communications (including through applied academics); and (4) leads to placement in employment. Directs the Secretary of Education to make grants to pay the Federal share of the cost of activities carried out under this Act to consortia of: (1) local educational agencies or area vocational schools serving secondary school students; and (2) community colleges or postsecondary vocational technical schools. Sets forth the Federal share. Requires each grant recipient to use the grant funds to develop and operate a four-year technical preparation education program with specified curricula. Sets forth application and reporting requirements. Authorizes appropriations for FY 1990 through 1994.
United States · United States Congress · 3 January 1989
Federal Election Campaign Amendments of 1989 - Amends the Federal Election Campaign Act of 1971 to provide for voluntary expenditure limitations and partial public financing for House of Representatives general elections. Sets forth eligibility requirements for public financing, including that a candidate: (1) has not and will not make expenditures or accept contributions in excess of specified limitations; (2) will deposit all payments in a separate checking account; (3) will furnish campaign records, evidence of contributions, and other appropriate information to the Federal Election Commission; and (4) will cooperate in any audit and examination conducted by the Commission. Requires eligible candidates to certify to the Commission that: (1) during the period beginning on January 1 of the calendar year preceding the year of a general election, such candidate and the authorized committees of the candidate have received contributions aggregating ten percent of the spending limitation; (2) 80 percent of such contributions have come from individuals residing in the candidate's State; and (3) at least one other candidate has qualified for the ballot. Makes special rules for special elections. Provides that a contribution may not be counted unless: (1) it is made on a written instrument identifying the person making the contribution; (2) it is not considered a contribution by an intermediary or conduit; (3) it is made by an individual and does not exceed the aggregate of $250; and (4) it was received after January 1 of the year preceding the election. Makes special rules for special elections. Prohibits candidates who receive payments from spending more than $40,000 from personal funds during the election cycle. Prohibits such candidates from spending more than $400,000 in the aggregate during the election cycle, or additional expenditures of not more than $150,000 in a primary runoff election. Declares that if independent expenditures which exceed $10,000 are made during an election cycle in opposition to an eligible candidate or for the opponent of a eligible candidate, the eligible candidate may make additional expenditures above the spending limit in an equal amount. Entitles eligible candidates to: (1) matching payments of up to 50 percent of the spending limit in amounts equal to contributions in amounts of $250 or less from individuals, not given through intermediaries or conduits; (2) additional payments when $10,000 or more of independent expenditures are made in the general election in opposition to, or on behalf of an opponent of, such candidate; (3) additional payments if any candidate in the general election receives contributions or makes expenditures in excess of limitations; and (4) reduced rates for mailings made during the general election period. Declares that payments to eligible candidates may only be used to defray expenditures incurred with respect to the general election period. Requires the Commission to certify the eligibility of a candidate to the Secretary of the Treasury for payments under this Act. Directs the Secretary to maintain the House of Representatives Election Campaign Account in the Presidential Election Campaign Fund to make payments of certified amounts. Requires the Commission, after each general election, to audit ten percent of the eligible candidates by random selection. Requires the Commission to audit each eligible candidate after a special election. Provides for candidates to repay the Commission for excess expenditures. Provides for judicial review of Commission actions by the United States District Court for the District of Columbia, and for the Commission to participate in judicial proceedings. Directs the Commission to report to the House of Representatives after each election setting forth: (1) expenditures made by the candidates and their authorized committees; (2) payments made by the Commission; (3) the amounts of any repayments; and (4) the balance in the Presidential Election Campaign Fund and any account maintained in such Fund. Authorizes appropriations. Requires each candidate to file a declaration with the Commission of whether or not such candidate intends to make expenditures in excess of limitations. Requires each candidate who is not an eligible candidate and who receives aggregate contributions or makes aggregate expenditures which would exceed the spending limits to report to the Commission within a specified time schedule. Directs the Commission to notify each eligible candidate about such report and certify to the Secretary any additional payments to which an eligible candidate is entitled. Authorizes the Commission to make its own determinations as to whether or not a candidate has exceeded spending limitations. Requires any person who makes independent expenditures in excess of $5,000 to report to the Commission within 24 hours after making them. Requires the Commission to notify each eligible candidate of such expenditures. Requires, when two or more persons make an independent expenditure in coordination, consultation, or concert with regard to a House election, that each person report to the Commission when such amount exceeds $5,000. Requires each political committee which maintains a separate account for activities in non-Federal elections to file with the Commission reports of funds received into and disbursements made from such account for activities which may influence an election to a Federal office. Describes such activities as: (1) voter registration and get-out-the-vote drives; (2) general public political advertising; and (3) any other activities which require an allocation of costs between a political committee's Federal and non-Federal accounts. Applies the limitations on expenditures by national party committees to general public political advertising which clearly identifies by name an individual who is, or is seeking nomination to be, a candidate in the general election for President, Senator, or Representative. Declares that such limitations do not apply to direct mail communications designed primarily for fundraising purposes which only make incidental reference to Federal candidates. Prohibits a candidate for the House from accepting any contribution from a nonparty multicandidate political committee with respect to an election cycle which exceeds $100,000 ($125,000 if at least two candidates qualify for the primary and the general election). Limits such contributions to $40,000 for any primary runoff election. Prohibits a candidate for Federal office from establishing, maintaining, or controlling a political committee, other than the candidate's authorized committees or a committee of a political party. Provides for the accountability of contributions made by intermediaries or conduits. Describes when an independent expenditure is not an independent expenditure if there is any type of arrangement, coordination, direction, advice, or counseling directly or indirectly between a candidate and the person making the expenditure. Requires, when independent expenditures are made for television broadcast communications, that a statement appear continuously during such broadcast showing the name of the person or committee making such expenditure. Requires any type of general public print communication paid for by independent expenditure to include such a statement, plus a statement that the cost of presenting such statement is not subject to contribution limits. Amends the Internal Revenue Code to increase the amount an individual may designate to the Presidential Election Campaign Fund from $1 to $2 (and in the case of joint returns, from $2 to $4). Amends the Communications Act of 1934 to require House candidates, in order to qualify for special broadcast rates, to be clearly identifiable during a substantial portion of the time of broadcast.
United States · United States Congress · 3 January 1989
Repeals estate tax provisions of the Internal Revenue Code with respect to inclusion in the gross estate of the value of certain types of transfers with a retained life estate. Applies the repeal retroactively in connection with property transferred after December 17, 1987.
United States · United States Congress · 3 January 1989
Establishes in the House of Representatives the Select Committee on Children, Youth, and Families to conduct a comprehensive study and review of the problems of children, youth, and families.
United States · United States Congress · 3 January 1989
Establishes in the House of Representatives the Select Committee on Narcotics Abuse and Control to conduct continuing oversight and review of the problems of narcotics, drug, and polydrug abuse and control.
United States · United States Congress · 3 January 1989
Establishes in the House of Representatives the Select Committee on Hunger to conduct a continuing comprehensive study of the problems of hunger and malnutrition.
United States · United States Congress · 30 September 1988
Amends the Marine Protection, Research, and Sanctuaries Act of 1972 to prohibit persons from dumping sewage sludge or industrial waste into the ocean without a permit. Prohibits all such dumping after 1992. Imposes dumping fees which increase with the approach of 1993. Requires that 85 percent of such fees be deposited in a trust account for the development of environmentally sound alternatives to ocean dumping or improvement in sewage sludge and industrial waste treatment and storage techniques. Pays the remainder of such fees to the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency for ocean dumping permit, enforcement, research, and monitoring activities. Conditions receipt of an ocean dumping permit upon the entering into of a compliance or enforcement agreement with the Administrator which includes a plan for the phasing-out and cessation of ocean dumping and the implementation of alternatives to such dumping. Waives dumping fees charged against persons who have entered into a compliance agreement. Imposes civil monetary penalties against persons who dump sewage sludge or industrial waste into the ocean after 1992. Requires that 90 percent of such penalties be paid into the trust accounts in 1993, with five percent reductions in such allotment for each succeeding year. Pays the remainder to the Administrator for the activities to which dumping fees are devoted. Sets forth reporting requirements. Requires that fees and penalties not needed for use by the Administrator for permit, enforcement, research, and monitoring activities be used for making capitalization grants to New York and New Jersey for the establishment of a revolving fund to assist specified water pollution control efforts under the Federal Water Pollution Control Act. Directs the Administrator to issue orders requiring ocean dumpers to cease such dumping until they enter into a compliance or enforcement agreement and obtain a permit. Authorizes the Administrator to request the Attorney General to commence civil actions against persons who violate such orders or this Act's ocean dumping provisions. Prohibits persons from disposing of sewage sludge at any landfill located on Staten Island, New York. Requires that New York and New Jersey use at least 20 percent of their capitalization grant and contribution associated with such grant within six months of receipt of such grant to assist persons in developing and implementing environmentally sound alternatives to ocean dumping of sewage sludge and industrial waste. Directs the Administrator to report to the Congress, within six months of this Act's enactment, on ocean discharge guidelines established pursuant to the Federal Water Pollution Control Act. Requires the President, in submitting his budget for FY 1990, to include a schedule and an estimate of the resources needed for achieving compliance with such guidelines.
United States · United States Congress · 28 September 1988
Allows the obsolete submarine ex-Croaker to be transferred to the Buffalo and Erie County Naval and Servicemen's Park in Buffalo, New York, before the expiration of the otherwise applicable 60-day congressional review period.
United States · United States Congress · 27 September 1988
Declares that the Congress urges the Administration to refrain from submitting any proposal in the GATT negotiations that would consider maritime transportation activity as being within the scope of "trade in services" and to reject any proposals made by foreign nations which are similar or which would lead to a contraction of the merchant marine.
United States · United States Congress · 7 September 1988
Water Resources Development Act of 1988 - Authorizes the Secretary of the Army to carry out specified public works projects at the following locations: (1) flood control, Lower Mission Creek, Santa Barbara, California; (2) navigation, Ft. Pierce Harbor, Florida; (3) beach erosion control, Nassau County (Amelia Island), Florida; (4) flood control, Chicagoland Underflow Plan, Illinois; (5) navigation, Lower Ohio River, Illinois and Kentucky; (6) flood control, Hazard, Kentucky; (7) navigation, Wolf and Jordan Rivers and Bayou Portage, Mississippi; (8) flood control, Truckee Meadows, Nevada; (9) flood control, Scioto River, West Columbus, Ohio; (10) navigation, Delaware River, Philadelphia to Wilmington, Pennsylvania and Delaware; (11) flood control, Cypress Creek, Texas; (12) flood control, Falfurrias, Texas; (13) navigation, Guadalupe River to Victoria, Texas; and (14) flood control, McGrath Creek, Wichita Falls, Texas. Authorizes the Secretary to carry out the following projects subject to favorable reports: (1) flood control, Coyote and Berryessa Creeks, California; (2) navigation, Morro Bay, California; (3) navigation, Port of Ventura, California; (4) navigation, Miami Harbor, Florida; (5) navigation, Great Lakes connecting channels and harbors, Michigan, Minnesota, and Wisconsin; (6) dike replacement, Small Boat Harbor, Buffalo Harbor, New York; and (7) flood control, Rio de la Plata, Puerto Rico. Amends the Water Resources Development Act of 1986 to extend its cost sharing and cost ceiling provisions to all water resources projects enacted after the date of enactment of such Act. Modifies the project for flood control, West Memphis and vicinity, Arkansas, to provide that non-Federal cooperation for such project may be provided by private individuals, private organizations, levee districts, drainage districts, or any unit of a State, county, or local government. Authorizes the Secretary to construct the breakwaters to a greater height at the project at King Harbor, Redondo Beach, California, if recommended in a report of the Chief of Engineers and approved by the Secretary. Modifies the navigation project for Los Angeles and Long Beach Harbors, San Pedro Bay, California, to provide that, if non-Federal interests carry out any work associated with such project which is later recommended by the Chief of Engineers and approved by the Secretary, the Secretary may reimburse such non-Federal interests an amount equal to the Federal share of the costs, without interest. Modifies the project for San Leandro Marina, California, to authorize the Secretary to maintain an access channel extending from the southern auxiliary access channel to the boat launching ramp of the city of San Leandro in the vicinity of the small boat lagoon. Deauthorizes the auxiliary access channel and basin extending to the north end of the project. Amends the Water Resources Development Act of 1986 to require that the Federal share of the cost of the project for Indiana shoreline erosion be determined in accordance with title I of such Act. Modifies the project for flood control at Redwood River, Marshall, Minnesota, to authorize the Secretary to construct the project in accordance with a specified memorandum and at increased costs. Amends the Water Resources Development Act of 1986 to provide that the flood control project for Root River Basin, Minnesota, does not affect the authority of the Secretary to carry out a small project under the Flood Control Act of 1948. Modifies the flood control project, Roseau River, Minnesota, to direct the Secretary to construct a flood control levee in the vicinity of Duxby, Minnesota. Authorizes the Secretary to provide services to the non-Federal project sponsor in the design and the construction of upstream and downstream non-Federal extensions to the Federal project for flood control, Brush Creek and Tributaries, Missouri and Kansas, if the non-Federal sponsor provides funds, in advance, to cover all costs of such services. Provides that such extensions shall not be considered part of the Federal project. Amends the Water Resources Development Act of 1986 to increase the ceiling costs for the navigation project for the Blair and Sitcum Waterways, Washington. Modifies the project for Wynoochee Lake, Wynoochee River, Washington, authorized under the Flood Control Act of 1962, to authorize the Secretary of the Army, acting through the Chief of Engineers, to permit the city of Aberdeen, Washington, to operate, maintain, repair, and rehabilitate such project after September 30, 1988. Sets forth terms and conditions and other administrative provisions if the Secretary grants the city permission to proceed. Requires the Secretary to provide an opportunity for public review and comment before any changes are made in the operation of any reservoir which will result in or require a reallocation of storage space in such reservoir or will significantly affect any project purpose. Directs the Secretary, in planning any water resources project, to consider the impact on existing and future recreational and commercial uses in the area surrounding the project. Directs the Secretary to ensure that the following projects enhance recreation: (1) Beechfork Lake, West Virginia; (2) Bluestone Lake, West Virginia; (3) East Lynn Lake, West Virginia; (4) Francis E. Walter Dam, Pennsylvania; (5) Jennings Randolph Lake, Maryland and West Virginia; (6) R.D. Bailey Lake, West Virginia; (7) Savage River Dam, Maryland; and (8) Youghiogheny River Lake, Pennsylvania and Maryland. Amends the Flood Control Act of 1968 to change the reimbursement limitation per project to $3,000,000 or one percent of the total project cost, whichever is greater. Amends the Water Resources Development Act of 1986 to provide for crediting utility relocation costs of harbor construction borne by non-Federal interests toward the additional ten percent payment they are assessed for the cost of general navigation features of a project over 30 years. Requires projects for hurricane or storm damage reduction to comply with applicable flood plain requirements. Allows a Federal Project Repayment District to use any cost-recovery approach that is consistent with State law to satisfy cost-recovery requirements. (Currently, such districts are restricted to cost-recovery through property transfer fees.) Provides that the costs of operation, maintenance, and rehabilitation of projects under the Upper Mississippi River Plan shall be the responsibility of the entity that owns the lands on which the project is located. Authorizes the Secretary, in cooperation with other Federal agencies and the Susquehanna River Basin Commission, to design and implement a comprehensive flood warning and response system to serve communities and flood prone areas along the Juniata River and tributaries in Pennsylvania to demonstrate the effectiveness of such systems and to evaluate their costs. Authorizes appropriations for such project. Reauthorizes the flood control project at Lakeport Lake, California. Makes Sacramento, California, eligible for flood protection under the National Flood Insurance Act of 1968. Provides funding for the non-Federal share of the cost of any project to reconstruct the Santa Monica breakwater. Amends the River and Harbor Act of 1970 to authorize the Secretary to continue to deposit dredged materials into a contained spoil disposal facility in the Great Lakes until the Secretary determines that such facility is no longer needed or that it is completely full. Requires the Secretary to conduct a study and monitoring program to determine whether toxic pollutants are present in such facilities and to determine the concentration levels of such pollutants. Requires the Secretary to conduct an inspection and monitoring program to determine whether toxic pollutants are leaking from such facilities. Authorizes the Secretary to exchange certain lands in Whitman County, Washington, for wildlife mitigation purposes. Amends the Water Resources Development Act of 1976 to require the Secretary to accommodate the schedule of any State that requests the placement of beach quality sand. Declares certain portions of the Delaware River in Philadelphia County, Pennsylvania, as nonnavigable. Directs the Secretary to report to the Congress on a study and demonstration project to determine the effects of fluctuations of the water level of Carter Lake, Iowa and Nebraska, on groundwater induced flooding and the methods of reducing such flooding by pumping water between the lake and the Missouri River. Directs the Secretary to conduct a study to determine the extent of seepage associated with the flood control project at Memphis Harbor, Ensley Berm, Tennessee, and the need for corrective measures. Directs the Secretary, before issuing a permit for a proposed municipal landfill in the vicinity of Bartlett, Illinois, to study and report to the Congress on the impact of such landfill on the Newark Valley Aquifer and on the ability of water from the aquifer to dilute, for purposes of drinking water supply, naturally occurring radium in groundwater. Authorizes appropriations for the Secretary to establish a Technical Resource Service for the Red River Basin in Minnesota and North Dakota, for the purpose of providing technical services for the development and implementation of State and local water and related land resources initiatives. Amends the Water Resources Development Act of 1986 to deauthorize the water resources projects at: (1) Rockland Lake, Texas; (2) White River, Batesville, Arkansas; (3) Chicago Harbor, Illinois; and (4) Algoma, Wisconsin (outer harbor). Declares that the navigation projects for Monterey Harbor, California, and the North Branch of the Chicago River, Illinois, shall remain authorized after December 31, 1989. Makes the following name designations: (1) the Soldier Creek Diversion Unit, Topeka, Kansas, as the Lewis M. Paramore Diversion Unit; (2) the lake formed by the Felsenthal Dam on the Ouachita River, Arkansas, as Lake Jack Lee; (3) the Ventura Marina, located in Ventura County, California, as the Ventura Harbor; (4) the harbor on the Mississippi River at Hickman, Kentucky, as the Elvis Stahr Harbor, Port of Hickman; (5) the lock and dam number 4 on Arkansas River, Arkansas, as the Emmett Sanders Lock and Dam; (6) the lock and dam number 3 on the Arkansas River, Arkansas, as the Joe Hardin Lock and Dam; and (7) the Black Butte Lake, Sacramento River Basin, California, as the Harold T. "Bizz" Johnson Lake.
United States · United States Congress · 1 August 1988
New Jersey-New York Medical Waste Tracking Act of 1988 - Amends the Solid Waste Disposal Act to require the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to establish a demonstration program, within nine months of this Act's enactment, to track, by the use of a manifest system, medical waste generated and disposed of in New York and New Jersey. Makes such program applicable to generators of medical waste, and owners and operators of facilities for the treatment, storage, transport, and disposal of medical waste. Requires such parties to permit access to and provide copies of all records relating to such wastes to any designated EPA representative. Sets forth civil and criminal penalties for violations of this Act. Provides that this Act does not preclude any State or locality from imposing more stringent requirements for the control or monitoring of medical waste or affect any other authorities or requirements of the Solid Waste Disposal Act. Requires the EPA to report to the Congress, within three years of this Act's enactment, on the progress and success of the demonstration program. Authorizes appropriations for such program for FY 1989 through 1991. Directs the EPA to report to the Congress on medical waste treatment and disposal methods currently being employed by New York and New Jersey.
United States · United States Congress · 27 July 1988
Designates September 13, 1989, as Uncle Sam Day in honor of Samuel Wilson of the city of Troy, New York, on the occasion of the 200th anniversary of the city. (Samuel Wilson was the progenitor of the national symbol, Uncle Sam.)
United States · United States Congress · 14 July 1988
Women's Business Ownership Act of 1988 - Title I: Congressional Findings and Purposes - Sets forth congressional findings and purposes with respect to small businesses owned and controlled by women. Title II: Demonstration Projects - Amends the Small Business Act to direct the Small Business Administration (SBA) to provide financial assistance to private organizations to conduct demonstration projects giving financial, management, and marketing assistance to small businesses, including start-up businesses, owned and controlled by women. Describes application criteria. Requires the SBA to report to the congressional Small Business Committees on the projects. Terminates authority for this pilot program on October 1, 1991. Authorizes appropriations. Title III: Procurement Assistance - Amends the Small Business Act to include small business concerns owned and operated by women as a discrete group for purposes of Government contracts and subcontracts and procurement programs. (Current law governing these programs refers expressly only to small business concerns and small business concerns owned and controlled by socially and economically disadvantaged individuals as groups targeted for assistance.) Instructs the Director of Small and Disadvantaged Business Utilization of each Federal agency to designate a Women-in-Business Specialist to be responsible for programs designed to assist concerns owned and controlled by women. Directs Federal agencies, in their procurement activities, to engage in affirmative action to identify and solicit offers from small businesses owned and controlled by either women or socially and economically disadvantaged individuals. Title IV: Access to Capital - Amends the Consumer Credit Protection Act to prohibit the Federal Reserve Board, except under limited circumstances, from exempting from such Act's provisions any class of transactions that are primarily for personal, family, or household purposes, or business or commercial loans made available by a financial institution. Limits to five years any exemption authorized under the circumstances specified in this Act, unless a subsequent determination is made that the exemption remains appropriate. Requires lenders to keep records relating to loans and to provide written notice to applicants of their right to receive notice of reasons for a loan denial. Authorizes the SBA to establish a certified loan program for lenders that display knowledge and proficiency with respect to SBA regulations and programs. Directs the SBA to encourage small business loans of $50,000 or less under both this new program and the preferred lenders program in FY 1989 through 1991 by permitting participating lenders to: (1) use their own forms without regard to SBA paperwork; and (2) retain one-half of the loan guarantee fee. Requires SBA reporting to specified congressional committees in connection with the certified loan program. Directs the Federal Reserve Board, the Comptroller of the Currency, the Department of Commerce, and the SBA jointly to study levels of availability of and demand for debt and equity capital by small businesses, as well as innovative financing techniques to meet any unmet demand. Requires reporting to the congressional Small Business Committees. Title V: National Women's Business Council - Establishes the National Women's Business Council to review the status of women-owned businesses nationwide and to develop detailed multiyear plans in connection with both private and public sector actions to assist and promote such businesses. Requires annual reporting to both the President and the Congress. Title VI: Statistical Data and Effect on Other Programs - Directs: (1) the Bureau of Labor Statistics to include in its census reports on women-owned businesses specified information on sole proprietorships, partnerships, and corporations; (2) the Bureau of the Census to include in its Business Census data the number of corporations that are 51 percent or more owned by women; (3) the SBA's Office of the Chief Counsel for Advocacy to report on the most cost-effective and accurate ways to gather and present the statistics required in these census reports; and (4) Federal agencies to report to the Office of Federal Procurement Policy the number of first-time contract recipients that are small businesses owned and controlled either by women or by socially and economically disadvantaged individuals. Requires the President's annual Report on Small Business and Competition to include in separate detail information relevant to small businesses owned and controlled either by women or by socially and economically disadvantaged individuals.
United States · United States Congress · 13 July 1988
Acid Rain/Energy Security Initiative Act of 1988 - Amends the Clean Air Act to require States to achieve specified reductions of sulfur dioxide emissions from fossil fuel fired electric utility generating units by 1993, 1998, and 2003. Directs the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to promulgate standards, within one year of this Act's enactment, for existing major stationary sources of nitrogen oxides so as to assure a 23 percent reduction in annual emissions of nitrogen oxides from the level of emissions from such sources in 1980. Requires States to impose such standards nitrogen oxide emissions on all major stationary sources by 1998. Directs States to adopt enforceable measures: (1) within 18 months of this Act's enactment, to achieve the reductions in sulfur dioxide and nitrogen oxide emissions required by 1998; and (2) by 1995, to achieve the reduction of sulfur dioxide emissions required by 2003. Requires that such measures include continuous emission monitoring by the source and by enforcement agencies. Requires that the owner or operator of each stationary source subject to such emission limitations certify to the State, within three years of this Acts enactment, the means by which the source intends to comply with emission limitations. Sets time limits by which sources that intend to adopt certain emission reduction measures must enter into binding contractual commitments for the implementation of such measures. Sets emission limitations for States which fail to make an approved adoption of enforceable emission reduction measures or to enforce such measures. Directs the Administrator to promulgate revised standards, by 1991, for emissions of nitrogen oxides from fossil fuel fired steam generating units and from large stationary diesel and turbine engines. Sets forth acceptable enforceable emission reduction programs and methods. Authorizes the Administrator to make grants to States for State use in making grants or revolving loans which cover up to 50 percent of the capital costs of acquiring, constructing, or installing technological systems of continuous emission reduction to the owners or operators of major stationary sources that are subject to this Act's emission limitations. Establishes an Acid Deposition Reduction Assistance Account from which such grants shall be made. Requires the Secretary of Energy to promote the rapid deployment of existing clean coal technologies and seek establishment of a bilateral group of diplomatic and environmental management officials from the United States and Canada to hold consultations and advise the directors of each nation's environmental program regarding transboundary air pollution. Directs the Administrator and the Secretary of Energy to provide grants to electricity generating facilities for the deployment of clean coal technologies. Requires that such grant projects: (1) provide experience regarding such technology which is applicable at commercial scale; (2) utilize technology appropriate for retrofit on a significant number of existing coal-fired sources of sulfur dioxide and nitrogen oxide emissions; (3) contribute to a reduction of the transboundary movement of air pollutants which are precurors of acid deposition; and (4) significantly reduce sulfur dioxide and nitrogen oxide emissions at a cost which is no greater than the cost of achieving comparable reductions with conventional technology. Sets Federal funding at no more than 50 percent of the cost of such projects. Requires the Administrator and the Secretary of Energy to establish a Clean Coal Technologies Advisory Committee, within 90 days of this Act's enactment, to advise the Secretary of Energy or the Administrator on policy matters relating to the control of emissions which may be the precursors of acid deposition and the selection of clean coal technology grant projects. Authorizes appropriations for this Act's clean coal technology activities for FY 1989 through 1998. Provides for the increase of the Strategic Petroleum Reserve to one billion barrels of petroleum products. Requires each importer of petroleum products to place in the Strategic Petroleum Reserve an amount of petroleum products equal to two percent of the amount imported by such person during each fiscal year. Requires that funds appropriated for the acquisition of petroleum products for such Reserve be deposited in the Acid Deposition Reduction Assistance Account along with appropriations for this Act's clean coal technology activities.
United States · United States Congress · 13 July 1988
Amends the Export Administration Act of 1979 to prohibit the export of petroleum products (from Alaska and from the rest of the United States) that are domestically produced by oil refineries owned by non-U.S. citizens. Sets forth specified exceptions.
United States · United States Congress · 29 June 1988
Department of Defense Acquisition Reorganization Act of 1988 - Establishes within the Department of Defense a Defense Acquisition Agency. Provides that the Under Secretary of Defense for Acquisition shall be the head of such Agency. Specifies that the Agency shall be responsible for all functions of the Department of Defense (including the military departments) relating to acquisition of property and services (including construction). Terminates the procurement authority of the Secretary of the Army, the Secretary of the Navy, and the Secretary of the Air Force. Establishes in the Department of Defense a Defense Acquisition Corps (DAC) to be headed by the Under Secretary of Defense for Acquisition. Requires the Secretary to make appointments to the DAC from the best-qualified civilian applicants and military personnel. Directs the Secretary to establish by regulation a personnel system for civilian personnel within the DAC. Outlines information to be included in such regulations. Allows the Secretary to exempt civilian personnel of the DAC from any otherwise applicable competitive service requirements. Authorizes the Secretary to establish by regulation a merit pay system for such members of the DAC as the Secretary deems appropriate. Provides for the assignment of members of the DAC. Requires the Secretary, not later than one year after the enactment of this Act, to: (1) review existing acquisition-related positions in the military departments to determine which positions should be included in the DAC; and (2) make appointments to such positions. Directs the Secretary of Defense to review each major defense acquisition program before such program proceeds into the stages of: (1) initial research and development; (2) full-scale development; and (3) production. Sets forth evaluations to be included in each review. Prohibits the Secretary or the Secretary of a military department from obligating or expending funds with respect to a stage of a major defense acquisition program unless the Secretary of Defense approves such program at the beginning of such stage. Directs the Secretary of Defense to establish and operate a Defense Acquisition University which includes all existing acquisition-related defense schools.
United States · United States Congress · 29 June 1988
Disadvantaged Minority Health Improvement Act of 1988 - Amends title VII (Health Research and Teaching Facilities and Training of Professional Health Personnel) of the Public Health Service Act to require that, for schools in which not less than 25 percent of the students are minorities from disadvantaged backgrounds, the Federal capital contribution and the school contribution to a student loan fund under existing provisions be used only for making loans to such students. Authorizes appropriations for Federal capital contributions to such schools for FY 1989 through 1991. Creates a new subpart relating to assistance for disadvantaged minority students. Authorizes the Secretary of Health and Human Services to make grants to certain schools of health, in which not less than 25 percent of the students are minorities from disadvantaged backgrounds, for scholarships covering tuition and fees. Authorizes appropriations for FY 1989 through 1991. Authorizes the Secretary to enter into agreements with such students in their final year of degree programs at such schools to assist in paying Government and commercial loans for educational and living expenses. Conditions the agreement on the student and school agreeing that the student will hold a full-time faculty appointment at the school for at least two years. Authorizes loan payments of $20,000 for each year of service, to a maximum of $80,000. Authorizes the Secretary to reimburse the individual for any increase in their Federal, State, or local income taxes which results from the loan payments. Authorizes appropriations for FY 1989 through 1991. Amends title XVII (Health Information and Health Promotion) of the Public Health Service Act to direct the Secretary to establish in the Office of the Assistant Secretary for Health an Office of Minority Health and to appoint a Deputy Assistant Secretary of Minority Health to serve as Director of the Office. Authorizes the Secretary, through the Director, to make grants and enter into contracts to conduct programs of research, training, education, epidemiological studies, and data collection with respect to the prevention and control of diseases prevalent among minority groups. Authorizes appropriations for FY 1989 through 1991.
United States · United States Congress · 16 June 1988
Federal Aviation Administration Drug Enforcement Assistance Act of 1988 - Amends the Federal Aviation Act of 1958 to direct the Federal Aviation Administrator to modify systems relating to aircraft registration, airman's certification, and fuel system alterations in order to make such systems more responsive to the needs of drug law enforcement authorities. Cites the areas to be modified. Requires the Administrator to issue final regulations implementing such modifications within ten months after the date of enactment of this Act. Authorizes the Administrator to establish and collect user fees to cover the costs associated with such modifications. Prescribes user fee guidelines. Requires the Administrator to report annually to the Congress for a five-year period on the progress being made under this Act. Establishes civil and criminal penalties for violations under this Act. Cites conditions under which an aircraft used in connection with such violations may be seized by or forfeited to drug law enforcement authorities. Requires the Administrator to report annually to the Congress for a three-year period on progress regarding: (1) informational assistance provided to drug law enforcement authorities; (2) registration and certification suspensions; and (3) the training of Federal Aviation Administration personnel with respect to controlled substances traffic. Requires the Administrator to report to the Congress on the funding resources needed annually to implement this Act during a five-year period. Requires concurrent submission of budget requests under this Act to the President, the Secretary of Transportation, and certain congressional committees and officials. Requires the Office of Personnel Management to report to the Congress within 120 days after enactment of this Act on the results of its review of the position classification within the Airmen and Aircraft Registry of the FAA and the Law Enforcement Assistance Unit of the Aeronautical Center of the FAA. Requires the Secretary of Transportation to report to the Congress the results of a feasibility study relating to the cost/benefit ratio (with respect to drug interdiction) of requiring aircraft entering the continental United States to: (1) have an operating transponder installed; and (2) have a flight plan filed with the Federal Aviation Administration before such entry. Requires the Secretary of Transportation to report to the Congress the results of a feasibility study pertaining to: (1) the interception of aircraft deviating from established flight corridors across the borders of the continental United States; and (2) the impact of the establishment of such corridors on safe and efficient aircraft movement and upon drug interdiction. Declares that this Act applies only to aircraft which are not used to provide specified air transportation.
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 · 10 May 1988
Bridge Administration Transfer Act - Transfers from the Secretary of Transportation to the Secretary of the Army, with specified exceptions, the administration of bridges and causeways over navigable waters, including all related authority, functions, and duties. Declares October 1, 1989, as the effective date of such transfer. Makes conforming amendments to the Rivers and Harbors Appropriations Act of 1899, the Truman-Hobbs Act, the General Bridge Act of 1946, and the International Bridge Act of 1972. Directs the Secretary of the Army to submit a compilation to the Congress of Federal laws relating to waterway structure administration, together with recommendations for consolidation or amendments.
United States · United States Congress · 10 May 1988
Amends the Merchant Marine Act, 1936 to include in the term "privately owned United States-flag vessels," as used in provisions relating to cargo preference, any U.S. flag vessel designated by the Secretary of Transportation as a great Lakes Exempt Vessel (GLEV) regardless of the number of years the vessel has been documented under U.S. laws. Authorizes the Secretary to designate each of six vessels as a GLEV to enable vessels documented less than three years to engage temporarily in trade within the Great Lakes. Prohibits any vessel engaged primarily in bulk trade from being designated as a GLEV. Prohibits any vessel from retaining its GLEV designation if it has repair, reconditioning, or maintenance work done other than in a U.S. shipyard, subject to waiver by the Secretary to enable a vessel to safely sail from a foreign port. Prohibits any GLEV from serving any other U.S. seaport than the Great Lakes, subject to exception. Prohibits the Secretary from designating a vessel as a GLEV unless it has been approved by the Secretary of Defense as suitable for national defense purposes. Terminates any GLEV designation on December 31, 1990.
United States · United States Congress · 3 May 1988
Declares that the Congress endorses the establishment of a United States Decade for Natural Disaster Reduction as a means of supporting the goal of the International Decade for Natural Disaster Reduction to enhance existing cooperative efforts and promote new cooperative efforts to reduce the devastating impact of natural hazards.
United States · United States Congress · 29 April 1988
Amends the Toxic Substances Control Act to extend the deadline for local educational agencies to submit school asbestos management plans to their State Governors to April 12, 1989. Authorizes appropriations to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) for FY 1989 so that the EPA may provide grants to States to: (1) hire additional personnel to review asbestos management plans; (2) pay for the training of employees of schools or regional or intergovernmental educational entities to conduct school asbestos inspection and management activities; (3) reimburse local educational agencies or schools for excessive or unduly burdensome costs of contracts entered into before May 15, 1988, for asbestos inspection and management plan development services; and (4) reimburse each school for asbestos inspection and management plan development expenditures that exceed two percent of the school's total annual budget.
United States · United States Congress · 21 April 1988
Drug-Free America Act of 1988 - Amends the Controlled Substances Act to establish criteria for the imposition of the death penalty when, during the course of a continuing criminal enterprise drug offense, an individual knowingly causes the death of another. Requires the Government, for such offense, to serve notice upon the defendant a reasonable time before trial or acceptance of a plea, disclosing that it intends to seek the death penalty and the aggravating factors upon which it will rely. Requires a separate sentencing hearing before a jury, or the court upon motion by the defendant, when the defendant is found guilty or pleads guilty to such offense. Allows the defendant and the Government to present any information relevant to sentencing without regard to the rules of evidence, but permits information to be excluded if its probative value is substantially outweighed by the danger of unfair prejudice, confusion of the issues, or misleading of the jury. Directs the court, or the jury by unanimous vote, to impose the death penalty upon finding that such sentence is justified based on consideration of both aggravating and mitigating factors. Sets forth some mitigating factors to be considered by the jury or the court when imposing its sentence. Includes as aggravating factors: (1) the intentional nature of the act which resulted in the victim's death; (2) previous convictions for offenses for which life imprisonment or death is authorized; and (3) the especially heinous, cruel, or depraved nature of the offense. Requires the court to instruct the jury not to consider the race, color, national origin, creed, or sex of the defendant in its consideration of the sentence. Allows the court to impose a sentence of life imprisonment without the possibility of parole for such offenses when the death penalty is not imposed. Establishes procedures for appeal from a death sentence. Requires the Court of Appeals, upon consideration of the record and the information and procedures of the sentencing hearing, to affirm the decision if: (1) the sentence was not imposed under the influence of passion, prejudice, or arbitrariness; and (2) the information supports the finding of aggravating factors or the absence of mitigating factors. Requires the court to provide a written explanation of its determination. Provides increased criminal penalties for the possession of a mixture or substance which contains cocaine base (crack). Establishes recordkeeping and reporting requirements for the manufacture, distribution, importation, and exportation of listed precursor and essential chemicals. Prohibits the distribution of such chemicals unless the recipient provides a certification of lawful use and proper identification. Establishes exemptions from such requirements: (1) for the distribution of such chemicals between agents or employees within a single facility; (2) for the delivery of such chemicals to or by common carriers; (3) if the Attorney General determines that such requirements are not necessary for the enforcement of this Act; and (4) if products containing such chemicals are lawfully marketed under the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act. Establishes an import-export permit requirement for listed precursors and a declaration requirement for listed essential chemicals. Includes as precursor chemicals: (1) N-Acetylanthranilic acid; (2) Anthranilic acid; (3) Ergotamine tartrate; (4) Ergonovine maleate; (5) Phenylacetic acid; (6) Ephedrine; (7) Pseudoephedrine; (8) Benzyl cyanide; (9) Benzyl chloride; and (10) Piperidine. Includes as essential chemicals: (1) Potassium permanganate; (2) Acetic anhydride; (3) Acetone; and (4) Ethyl ether. Establishes a mechanism and criteria for adding or deleting chemicals from such lists. Prohibits the transfer of commercial tableting and encapsulating machines unless a certification of lawful use and proper identification are provided. Establishes reporting requirements for such transfers. Establishes criminal penalties for the unlawful: (1) possession, manufacture, distribution, sale, importation, or exportation of a precursor or essential chemical; and (2) possession, manufacture, distribution, or importation of drug manufacturing equipment, tableting or encapsulating machines, and gelatin capsules. Subjects all listed precursor and essential chemicals, drug manufacturing equipment, tableting and encapsulating machines, and gelatin capsules which have been imported, exported, manufactured, possessed, or distributed in violation of such Act (as well as all conveyances and equipment) to forfeiture to the United States. Directs the Attorney General to maintain an active program, both domestic and international, to curtail the diversion of precursor and essential chemicals. Grants the Attorney General subpoena power with respect to precursor and essential chemicals. Provides additional civil penalties for certain Controlled Substances Act violations involving heroin or cocaine. States that individuals who have been convicted of violations involving a controlled substance, or of criminal violations regarding certain reporting or recordkeeping requirements, shall be ineligible for any license or permit issued under the authority of the United States for a specified period of time. Provides that any permit or license held at the time of the conviction shall be revoked. Amends the Public Health Service Act to require States receiving Alcohol and Drug Abuse and Mental Health Services Block Grants to make grants for demonstration projects which provide treatment services to expectant mothers. Establishes in the Executive Office of the President the Office of the Director of National Drug Control Policy to be headed by a Director, who shall be responsible for: (1) developing, reviewing, implementing, and enforcing U.S. policy with respect to drug control and abuse; (2) directing and coordinating U.S. efforts to halt the importation, manufacture, distribution, and use of illicit drugs; and (3) preparing a National and International Drug Control Strategy. Terminates the National Drug Enforcement Policy Board 90 days after the appointment of the Director. Makes conforming amendments to the Comprehensive Crime Control Act of 1984 and the Drug Abuse Prevention, Treatment, and Rehabilitation Act. Authorizes appropriations for FY 1988 through 1996. Makes supplemental appropriations for Coast Guard drug enforcement activities. Authorizes Coast Guard vessels and aircraft to fire at or into vessels which are liable to seizure or examination that do not bring-to after being ordered to do so by an authorized vessel or aircraft. Grants the commanding officer of the authorized vessel or aircraft immunity for such actions. Allows the Commandant of the Coast Guard to indemnify members or employees of the Coast Guard against any claim arising out of an act committed within the scope of their official drug enforcement duties. Amends the Controlled Substances Act to extend jurisdiction over possession offenses to U.S. vessels and aircraft (and vessels and aircraft subject to the operation of the law of the United States). Subjects any U.S. citizen or resident on board any vessel to Federal criminal penalties for manufacturing, possessing, or distributing a controlled substance. Expresses the sense of the Congress that the suppression of international narcotics trafficking is a major security objective of the United States and the most important national security objective within the Western Hemisphere. Allows the Secretary of Defense to provide equipment to, or assign members of the armed forces to assist, foreign governments in the enforcement of drug laws. Provides for the assignment of members of the armed forces to assist Federal agencies in drug interdiction activities. Requires the Secretary to prepare a plan to implement such provision. Directs the Secretary of the Treasury to evaluate alternatives to the use of deadly force as a means of forcing suspected drug-smuggling aircraft entering the United States to land. Requires the Secretary to submit such recommendations to the Congress in the form of proposed legislation. Directs the Secretary to submit proposed legislation to the Congress relating to special restrictions and inspections for vessels and aircraft arriving from drug-producing countries. Amends the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 to modify the factors to be considered by the President when determining whether to certify a country as having cooperated with United States drug interdiction programs. Directs the President to consider whether such countries have taken the steps necessary to eliminate the laundering of drug-related profits. Amends Federal law to include electronic fund transfers within the definition of "money instruments." Amends the National Forest System Drug Control Act of 1986 to provide additional law enforcement authority for the Forest Service in dealing with Controlled Substances Act violations by: (1) removing the limitation on the number of Service personnel who may exercise specified law enforcement powers; and (2) permitting the exercise of such powers by Service personnel outside of the boundaries of the National Forest System. Grants the Service authority, with respect to the specified law enforcement powers, to: (1) coordinate investigations and enforcement activities and prepare national and regional strategy plans in coordination with the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) and the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI); and (2) cooperate with the Attorney General in carrying out the seizure and forfeiture provisions of the Controlled Substances Act as such activities relate to the manufacture, distribution, or dispensing of controlled substances within the System. Establishes criminal penalties for polluting Federal lands while manufacturing, distributing, or dispensing a controlled substance. Amends the Comprehensive Drug Abuse Prevention and Control Act of 1970 to grant the Postal Service certain seizure and law enforcement authority with respect to Controlled Substances Act violations. States that all moneys and proceeds from such seizures shall be deposited in the Postal Service Fund (and later withdrawn and paid into the Department of Justice Assets Forfeiture Fund). States that any person convicted of a drug-related offense shall be ineligible for any form of student assistance provided under title IV of the Higher Education Act of 1965. Requires any person applying for such assistance to file a statement with the institution certifying that the person has not been convicted of a drug-related offense. Requires the Secretary of Education to prescribe methods for verifying such statements. Amends the Drug-Free Schools and Communities Act of 1986 to require State educational agencies to distribute funds for State and local programs for drug abuse education and prevention programs on the basis of relative enrollments in public and private, nonprofit schools (currently, on the basis of the relative number of children in the school-age population) within an area. Requires local applications for funds for a three-year period to include a description of: (1) the extent and nature of the current drug and alcohol problem in the schools of the applicant; (2) the applicant's drug and alcohol policy; and (3) how the applicant will monitor program effectiveness. Requires applicants to submit a progress report to State educational agencies for the preceding two years in order to receive funds for the third year. Requires the report to show reasonable progress toward accomplishing program objectives or a modified plan to meet such objectives. Requires States to report annually to the Secretary with specified information on programs funded under this Act. Authorizes appropriations for FY 1988 through 1991 to carry out the provisions of such Act. Authorizes appropriations for FY 1989 to the building and facilities account, Federal Prison System, for the construction, acquisition, remodeling, and equipping of prisons. Expresses the sense of the Congress that the National Institute of Justice should conduct a research project to obtain, on a voluntary basis, and analyze urine samples from individuals who are arrested to determine whether they use controlled substances. Amends the Federal criminal code to make regular drug testing and refrainment from any use of controlled substances mandatory conditions of parole and probation. Amends the Omnibus Crime Control and Safe Streets Act of 1968 to require Drug Law Enforcement Program grant recipients to provide additional matching funds. Amends the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 to exclude any individual who uses or is addicted to illegal drugs from the definition of an individual with handicaps, for purposes of specified provisions. Amends specified Federal law which prohibits discrimination against Federal employees or applicants for Federal employment to provide that such prohibition shall not be construed to permit or require the employment of an individual who uses illegal drugs.
United States · United States Congress · 18 April 1988
Commercial Space Launch Act Amendments of 1988 - Amends the Commercial Space Launch Act to direct the Secretary of Transportation, in facilitating and encouraging private sector acquisition of U.S. surplus launch property, to take into account the availability of comparable property under reasonable terms from domestic non-Government sources. Revises insurance requirements for persons licensed to provide launch services. Allows such persons, as an alternative to obtaining liability insurance, to demonstrate financial responsibility sufficient to compensate third-party claims arising from death, bodily injury, or loss of or damage to property resulting from licensed activities. Limits this requirement to the lesser of $500,000,000 or the maximum liability insurance available on the world market at a reasonable cost. Sets out corresponding requirements, but at a maximum of $100,000,000, with respect to claims by the United States for loss of or damage to U.S. property. Requires licensees to enter into reciprocal waivers with contractors, subcontractors, and customers involved in launch services, under which each party agrees to be responsible for its own damage and employee injuries. Requires the Secretary to enter into comparable waiver agreements with the same parties, as well as with licensees. Applies these waivers only to the extent claims exceed required insurance coverage. Directs the Secretary to review insurance liability coverage requirements within three years of this Act's enactment and to submit to the Congress a proposed adjustment to conform with altered liability expectations and the worldwide availability of insurance. Mandates the same procedure on an annual basis thereafter. Requires the Secretary to provide for the payment of successful third-party claims against parties subject to this Act to the extent such claims are not compensated by insurance, including self-insurance. Exempts licensees associated with certain satellites under construction on August 15, 1986, from requirements related to liability insurance coverage for claims by the United States. Directs the Secretary to ensure that launches of satellites having a launch date commitment are not preempted from access to launch sites except in cases of imperative national need, to be determined by the Secretary of the Air Force or the Administrator of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA). Prohibits delegation of this determination and directs the determining party to submit to the Congress, within seven days of the determination, a full explanation, as well as a schedule for ensuring prompt launching of the preempted satellite. Directs the Secretary to study the process for scheduling launches and to report results to the Congress. Expresses the sense of the Congress that the United States should explore ways and means of developing a dialogue with appropriate foreign governments to produce guidelines for access to launch services by satellite builders and users to assure reasonable and fair international competition in commercial space activities. Directs the Administrator of NASA to report to the Congress on a program to support research into launch systems component technologies to develop higher performance and lower costs for commercial and Government launches.
United States · United States Congress · 18 April 1988
Truth in Social Security Accounting Act of 1988 - Amends the Congressional Budget and Impoundment Control Act of 1974 to exclude, beginning with FY 1990, Federal Old-Age and Survivors Insurance Trust Fund and Federal Disability Insurance Trust Fund receipts and outlays in the Federal deficit determinations for purposes of the Balanced Budget and Emergency Deficit Control Act of 1985 (Gramm-Rudman-Hollings Act).
![Official portrait of Rep. Nowak, Henry [D-NY-33]](https://www.congress.gov/img/member/n000163_200.jpg)