United States · United States Congress · 10 May 1990
Small Business Reauthorization and Amendments Act of 1990 - Amends the Small Business Act to authorize appropriations for specified programs through FY 1994. Authorizes transfers from the disaster loan revolving fund for the administrative expenses of the Small Business Administration (SBA). Modifies the pro rata share guidelines for grant recipients in the small business development center program. Revises the assistance guidelines for small business development center assistance programs. Authorizes the Administrator of Small Business (the Administrator) to make grants or enter into contracts with a State for the purpose of contracting with small businesses to plant trees on State or local government-owned lands. Authorizes appropriations. Requires the Administrator to report annually to the President and the Congress regarding the small business tree planting program. Amends the Small Business Administration Reauthorization and Amendment Act of 1988 to extend through FY 1994 the interest rate guidelines for certified development company loans. Modifies the functions of the Office of International Trade. Amends the Business Opportunity Development Reform Act to authorize the Commission on Minority Business Development to accept funds from any other Federal department or agency. Amends the Small Business Act to authorize the President to appoint an SBA Deputy Administrator. Provides guidelines under which a Federal procurement activity which does not solicit small businesses shall document its reasons to the SBA. Amends the Small Business Investment Act of 1958 to direct the SBA to develop a plan for greater outreach of procurement and export trade seminars in rural areas. Sets forth funding standards for small business concerns whose eligibility for SBA assistance is premised upon providing expanded job opportunities. Revises the guidelines for SBA loan guarantees of development company debentures held by family business interests. Sets forth criteria for State development companies' eligibility for SBA assistance.
United States · United States Congress · 10 May 1990
Electric and Magnetic Field Research and Public Information Dissemination Act of 1990 - Directs the Secretary of Energy to: (1) establish an electric and magnetic fields health research program to evaluate the effects of such fields upon human health; (2) report to the Congress on the status of such program; (3) evaluate whether existing electricity delivery systems and usage of electrical appliances cause significant exposures to electric and magnetic fields; and (4) report to the Congress regarding the need for engineering designs for electricity delivery systems and electrical appliances. Establishes within the Department of Energy an Electric and Magnetic Fields Information Center to serve as a clearinghouse and center for dissemination of public information on the impact of electric and magnetic fields upon the public health. Establishes an Electric and Magnetic Fields Research Advisory Committee to: (1) suggest issues, research priorities and Federal funding levels for the work required by this Act; and (2) report annually to the Secretary and the Congress regarding the research program's status. Authorizes appropriations.
United States · United States Congress · 1 May 1990
California Fish and Wildlife Protection Act of 1990 - Directs the Secretary of the Interior (Secretary) to implement a program to restore the population and habitat of migratory birds and waterfowl, anadromous fisheries, and endangered species in the Central Valley, California. Requires the Secretary to annually review and make such adjustments to assure that fish, wildlife, and habitat restoration goals are met and provide a copy of such review to specified congressional committees. Requires the Secretary to deliver dependable water supplies of suitable quality to certain Central Valley refuges, including additions to or new refuges. Authorizes the Secretary to provide water to other Federal, State, and private wetlands and other fish and wildlife habitat in the Central Valley. Declares the national interest with regard to water conservation in the Central Valley. Requires a report on administrative inhibitions on water conservation by Central Valley Project contractors, and actions which could remove barriers to conservation. Authorizes the Secretary of Energy, acting through the Administrator of the Western Area Power Administration, to utilize power from the Central Valley Project power generation facilities to meet the requirements of this Act. Reserves a minimum portion of the transmission capacity of the Harold T. (Bizz) Johnson California-Pacific Northwest Intertie line to serve the needs of Department of Energy laboratories and wildlife refuges in California. Provides for citizen suits to enforce this Act. Authorizes appropriations. Authorizes the Administrator of the Western Area Power Administration to issue and sell bonds, notes, and similar obligations to assist in repayment of the costs required in carrying out this Act.
United States · United States Congress · 1 May 1990
Amends the Higher Education Act of 1965 to permit the deferral of payments on student loans during professional internships of any duration (by removing a two-year limitation).
United States · United States Congress · 26 April 1990
Directs the President to report to the Congress on whether the Government of India is preventing human rights organizations from visiting India to monitor human rights conditions. Terminates development assistance to India (except for assistance for specified health projects) if the President reports that the Government of India is implementing such policy. Provides for the resumption of assistance to India if the President reports to the Congress that India is no longer implementing such policy.
United States · United States Congress · 26 April 1990
Calls immediately for Greyhound Lines, Inc., and the Amalgamated Transit Union to resume negotiations under the auspices of the Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service and the Secretary of Labor.
United States · United States Congress · 26 April 1990
Urges the United States Trade Representative (USTR) to: (1) use "Super 301" under the Trade Act of 1974 to identify Japan as a priority country for purposes of negotiating the elimination of barriers to U.S. exports; (2) identify as trade-liberalization priorities under "Super 301" Japanese practices that are most costly in terms of lost U.S. exports and most resistant to change through market adjustment or prior negotiations; and (3) in determining such practices, give substantial weight to the worsening bilateral trade deficit in any sector where they prevail. Declares that the Congress considers that: (1) the identification of the trade-liberalization priorities in the 1990 "Super 301" report would reinforce other bilateral trade discussions such as the Structural Impediments Initiative talks and the negotiations regarding priorities in the 1989 "Super 301" report; and (2) use of the "Super 301" trade-liberalization incentive would improve prospects for reducing the U.S.-Japanese trade imbalance.
United States · United States Congress · 24 April 1990
Mortgage Servicing Transfer Disclosure Act of 1990 - Amends the Real Estate Settlement Procedures Act of 1974 to prescribe mortgage servicing disclosure requirements for each person making a federally related mortgage loan to a consumer (including the identity of the person to whom the mortgage servicing contract is transferred). Sets forth guidelines for the treatment of consumer loan payments during the period in which the mortgage loan servicing contract is being transferred. Sets forth liability guidelines for violations of this Act. Authorizes consumer class action suits. Sets forth guidelines for annual notification to the consumer by the mortgage servicer of the consumer's escrow account status, including itemized expenses and anticipated charges.
United States · United States Congress · 24 April 1990
Authorizes and requests the President to designate May 26, 1990, to commemorate the bicentennial of "An Act for the government of the territory of the United States, south of the river Ohio" (from which Tennessee was formed).
United States · United States Congress · 4 April 1990
Amends the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act of 1980 to provide that the definition of "owner or operator" (for purposes of liability) does not include: (1) a designated lending institution which acquires control of a facility pursuant to the terms of a security interest held by the person in such facility or in connection with a lease subject to Federal or State banking authorities; (2) a corporate fiduciary which operates or has legal title to a facility pursuant to the terms of an estate or trust; (3) an individual or institution that serves as an indenture trustee and acquires control of a facility as the result of default on a financing document between the trustee and the issuing entity; and (4) an individual fiduciary who has legal title to a facility for purposes of administering an estate or trust.
United States · United States Congress · 4 April 1990
Medicare Physician Regulation Relief Amendments of 1990 - Amends title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act to require carriers and peer review organizations to release the medical review screen or the associated screening parameter to a physician before notifying such physician that payment for his or her service has been denied. Permits Medicare reimbursement of a patient's regular physician for services provided to such patient by another physician who occasionally covers for the regular physician. Requires Medicare carriers to provide physicians, upon request and without charge, with carrier-generated information which physicians need to submit a payment claim or respond to a carrier inquiry. Allows a medical society or other professional organization representing physicians to represent a group or class of physicians in Medicare payment determinations, reconsiderations, or appeals. Directs the Secretary of Health and Human Services to appoint, based on nominations submitted by national medical organizations representing physicians, a Practicing Physicians Advisory Council with which the Secretary must consult concerning changes in the Medicare program and proposed changes in regulations and carrier operation policies.
United States · United States Congress · 4 April 1990
Textile, Apparel, and Footwear Trade Act of 1990 - Limits the 1990 imports of textiles and textile products classified under a category to an amount equal to 101 percent of the total 1989 imports classified under such category. Limits the 1990 imports of nonrubber footwear classified under a nonrubber footwear category to an amount equal to: (1) the total 1989 imports of nonrubber footwear classified under such category; and (2) in the case of high priced nonrubber footwear, the total 1989 imports of high priced nonrubber footwear classified under such category. Provides for a one-percent annual growth in the amount of permitted imports of textiles and textile products after 1990. Exempts from the limitations imposed under this Act imports of textiles and textile products from U.S. possessions if such articles are exempt from duty under the Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States and are manufactured by U.S. citizens, nationals, or permanent residents of such a possession. Limits the imports of certain sweaters made in Guam to a specified amount during FY 1990 and to such amount increased by one percent per year in subsequent years. Declares such limitations shall not apply to Canada or Israel. Sets forth limitations on the amount of textile and textile products, classified under certain import categories, which may be imported from beneficiary countries under the Caribbean Basin Initiative. Authorizes the President to: (1) enter into trade agreements to grant new concessions as compensation to the extent required under U.S. trade agreements for the import limits imposed by this Act; and (2) proclaim such modification or continuance of any existing duty on textiles and textile products and on nonrubber footwear as necessary to carry out such agreements. Prohibits the President from reducing any rate of duty by more than ten percent. Requires the President, before entering into such trade agreements, to consider whether a country has violated trade concessions of benefit to the United States and the violation has not been adequately offset. Sets forth requirements governing staged rate reductions in the tariffs of articles affected by this Act. Prohibits the President, except as authorized by this Act, from entering into trade negotiations with any country with respect to duties on textiles, textile products, and nonrubber footwear. Prohibits the President, except as provided in this Act, from decreasing or proposing a decrease in any such duty by any means, including an implementing bill or a proclamation. Requires the President to report annually to the Congress on the administration of this Act. Requires the Secretary of Commerce, ten years after enactment of this Act, to study and report to the Congress on its operation. Requires the Secretary of the Treasury to establish a pilot program for the issuance and sale to U.S. companies at public auction of import licenses applicable to categories of textiles. Terminates such licensing program on December 31, 1991, and requires a report to the Congress on its administration.
United States · United States Congress · 29 March 1990
Denies Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) benefits for ten years to any person: (1) convicted of violating a Federal environmental law; or (2) found to have held a beneficial business interest in a business concern required to be listed on a disclosure statement under this Act and convicted of violating a Federal environmental law. Prohibits the EPA Administrator from denying benefits to any person who demonstrates that he has been rehabilitated. Requires the following persons to file disclosure statements with the Administrator: (1) Federal environmental permit applicants; (2) applicants for EPA loans, grants, or other benefits; or (3) persons submitting contract bids or competitive proposals to EPA. Provides for enforcement of this Act through EPA examination of disclosure statements and access to business sites and records. Grants persons declared to be ineligible for EPA benefits the opportunity for a hearing. Provides for public access to disclosure statements and business records, with the exception of confidential information.
United States · United States Congress · 29 March 1990
Nonprofit Organizations Tax-Exempt Bond Reform Act of 1990 - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to provide for the tax treatment of bonds of certain nonprofit tax-exempt organizations, including private nonprofit educational institutions and hospitals, in a manner similar to governmental bonds.
United States · United States Congress · 28 March 1990
Amends the Internal Revenue Code to make permanent the provisions permitting small issues of tax-exempt bonds to finance manufacturing facilities and farm property.
United States · United States Congress · 27 March 1990
Foreign Trade Zones Improvement Act - Amends the Foreign Trade Zones Act to include the Secretary of Labor and the United States Trade Representative as members of the Board which grants corporations the authority to establish a foreign trade zone. Removes the Secretary of the Army from membership on the Board. Prohibits the Board from granting an application to establish a foreign trade zone unless the Board finds that the proposed zone will meet specified public economic interest criteria. Requires each application to address: (1) the ability of the applicant to maintain operations in the zone; and (2) the customs and tax benefits that will accrue to the applicant as a result of the zone's operation. Places upon the applicant the burden of proof that such zone will meet the public economic interest criteria. Sets forth specified procedures for the granting of applications for a foreign trade zone. Provides for Board review of such grants every seven years. Authorizes the Board to revoke grants that do not meet the requirements of this Act.
United States · United States Congress · 27 March 1990
Superconducting Super Collider Project Authorization Act of 1990 - Amends the Department of Energy Organization Act to establish the position of Under Secretary for the Superconducting Super Collider (SSC) to facilitate the management and decisionmaking of the Federal Government regarding the SSC and to ensure responsibility and accountability. Requires the establishment of an SSC Project Office at the site of the SSC. Abolishes the Under Secretary position two years after completion of the construction of the SSC. Authorizes the Secretary of Energy to enter into arrangements with persons or consortia for participation in the research and development, design, construction, or operation of the SSC. Establishes in the Treasury the Superconducting Super Collider Fund to contain unexpended balances of appropriations made for the SSC before enactment of this Act as well as State, international, and other non-Federal cash contributions received under this Act, plus appropriations under this Act. Authorizes appropriations to the Fund. Authorizes appropriations from the Fund to the Secretary for expenditures in accordance with this Act. Authorizes the Secretary to make expenditures from the Fund, as provided in appropriations Acts, for construction and associated activities, including equipment procurement and research and development. Directs the Secretary to negotiate with the State selected as the SSC site (Texas) to mutually agree on a schedule for making cash and in-kind contributions to the SSC and on the composition of the contributions. Requires, if Federal support is withdrawn before October 1, 1995, a refund of cash payments and in-kind contributions made by the State from amounts available to the Secretary. Directs the Secretary to secure commitments for international contributions covering between 20 and 33 percent of the SSC cost. Authorizes the Secretary to accept contributions from other non-Federal sources. Directs the Secretary to try to devise creative funding mechanisms that minimize SSC construction costs. Sets forth SSC contract eligibility requirements for domestic and foreign firms. Prohibits use of funds authorized under this Act for any activity not directly related to the construction of the SSC.
United States · United States Congress · 22 March 1990
Tourism Policy and Export Promotion Act of 1990 - Declares it to be the national goal to increase U.S. export earnings from U.S. tourism and transportation services with an eye toward: (1) the elimination of the travel and tourism export deficit of the United States and the U.S trade deficit; and (2) the achievement of a travel and tourism export surplus. Amends the Trade Act of 1974 to require the United States Trade Representative (USTR) to identify foreign trade barriers to U.S. travel and tourism. Requires the USTR to submit the National Trade Estimate to the President and the Senate Committees on Finance and Commerce, Science, and Transportation. Amends the International Trade Act of 1961 to require each annual tourism trade development plan to focus on those countries in which tourism trade development has the greatest potential for increasing travel and tourism export revenues. Declares that the Congress finds that increased efforts directed at the promotion of rural tourism will contribute to the economic development of rural America. Establishes the Rural Tourism Foundation. Authorizes appropriations.
United States · United States Congress · 22 March 1990
Amends the Earthquake Hazards Reduction Act of 1977 to define "lifeline" to include transportation infrastructure, utilities, and communication facilities. Requires the Director of the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) to consult with the Director of the Office of Science and Technology Policy before planning and coordinating the national earthquake hazards reduction program. Requires the Director of such Office to report to specified congressional committees on the Office's role in interagency coordination, planning, and operation of the program. Authorizes appropriations to the Director of FEMA to carry out the program for FY 1991 through 1994, with special emphasis on: (1) a program to identify Federal buildings at seismic risk and set seismic standards for new construction; (2) grants to States for programs of seismic safety inspections of critical structures and lifelines; and (3) developing recommended building codes and practices for buildings, lifelines, and other structures in coordination with the National Institute of Standards and Technology and appropriate private organizations. Authorizes appropriations to the Secretary of the Interior for FY 1991 through 1994 for carrying out the responsibilities that may be assigned to the Director of the United States Geological Survey under the Earthquake Hazards Reduction Act, with special emphasis on the establishment and operation of intensive hazardous fault monitoring projects, seismic microzonation studies in areas determined to be of significant earthquake risk, and seismological engineering studies. Extends through FY 1994 the authorization of appropriations to the National Science Foundation and the National Institute of Standards and Technology for their responsibilities under such Act.
United States · United States Congress · 21 March 1990
Calls for the United States to: (1) continue to give the highest priority to accounting for Americans still missing or unaccounted for in Southeast Asia and to securing the return of Americans still held captive; (2) ensure cooperation with Vietnam and Laos to achieve credible answers for the families of such Americans, including primary-next-of-kin access to all records and information resulting from joint investigations, surveys, and excavations; (3) develop a means of accounting for Americans unaccounted for in Cambodia that is consistent with U.S. efforts to obtain a political settlement to the Cambodian situation; and (4) heighten responsible public awareness of Americans unaccounted for in Southeast Asia through the dissemination of factual data.
United States · United States Congress · 20 March 1990
Great Lakes Water Quality Improvement Act of 1990 - Amends the Clean Water Act to extend from five to seven years the period for conducting study and demonstration projects on the removal of toxic pollutants from the Great Lakes. Directs the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency to develop: (1) specific numerical water quality criteria for the Great Lakes; and (2) guidance for the use of such criteria by States and local governments in implementing pollution prevention procedures. Requires the Great Lakes States (Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Minnesota, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania, and Wisconsin) to adopt water quality standards which incorporate such criteria. Directs the Administrator to promulgate standards for Great Lakes States which fail to adopt such standards. Requires the Great Lakes States to develop and submit to the International Joint Commission remedial action plans for places designated as areas of concern pursuant to the Great Lakes Agreement between the United States and Canada. Directs the Great Lakes National Program Office to provide technical assistance to such States for plan development. Requires remedial actions to be included in such States' water quality plans. Directs the Administrator to develop and submit to the Commission a lakewide management plan for each of the Great Lakes. Provides for the revision of such plans and of remedial action plans, as necessary. Requires the Administrator to establish a program for making grants to Great Lakes States for the implementation of the Great Lakes Agreement and this Act. Directs the Administrator to develop consistent methods of reporting water quality data to the Commission. Authorizes and allocates appropriations.
United States · United States Congress · 20 March 1990
Foreign Tax Equity Act of 1990 - Title I: Treatment of Certain Foreign-Owned Corporations - Applies the Revenue Reconciliation Act of 1989 amendments regarding information reporting requirements by certain foreign-owned corporations to taxable years beginning on or before July 10, 1989. Amends the Internal Revenue Code to establish information reporting requirements for foreign corporations engaged in business within the United States. Extends the statute of limitations for the assessment of any foreign-related deficiency by an additional period of not more than three years. Title II: Tax on Disposition of Stock in Domestic Corporations by 10-Percent Foreign Shareholders - Provides that if any nonresident alien or foreign corporation is a ten-percent shareholder in any domestic corporation, any gain or loss from the disposition of any stock in such domestic corporation shall be taken into account as if the taxpayer were effectively connected with U.S. trade or business. Requires a withholding agent to withhold ten percent of the tax realized on certain stock dispositions by such ten-percent shareholders.
United States · United States Congress · 19 March 1990
Great Lakes Fish and Wildlife Restoration Act of 1990 - Requires the Director of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Service) to conduct a comprehensive study of the status of, and the assessment, management, and restoration needs of, the fishery resources of the Great Lakes. Requires the Director to: (1) enter into a memorandum of understanding with the Secretary of the Army (Secretary) and the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency (Administrator) regarding their implementation responsibilities; and (2) require non-Federal contributions in accordance with recommendations developed under the study mandated by this Act. Limits the total Federal share of any implementation activity to 80 percent of the cost of that activity. Mandates that the Director carry out implementation activities in accordance with the goals of the Great Lakes Water Quality Agreement of 1978, and consistent with the jurisdictional authorities of the State directors responsible for the management and conservation of the fish and wildlife resources of specified States over Great Lakes fishery resources. Requires the Director, in administering programs related to the Great Lakes, to seek to achieve specified goals. Requires the Director to establish: (1) a centrally located facility for the coordination of all Service activities in the Great Lakes System, to be known as the Great Lakes Coordination Office; and (2) an office for the implementation of fishery restoration and enhancement projects in the lower Great Lakes, to be known as the Lower Great Lakes Fisheries Assistance Office (Assistance Office). Requires the Assistance Office to be centrally located in the lower Great Lakes region so as to facilitate activities relating to Lakes Erie and Ontario. Authorizes appropriations to the Director, the Administrator, and the Secretary.
United States · United States Congress · 7 March 1990
Nonindigenous Aquatic Nuisance Act of 1990 - Title I: United States Coast Guard Regulations - Directs the Secretary of the department in which the Coast Guard is operating, through the Commandant of the Coast Guard, to promulgate regulations to prevent and control the transportation into U.S. waters of viable biological materials in ship ballast waters. Mandates the use of a high sea ballast water exchange or alternative methods developed and recommended by the Secretary. Directs the Secretary to promulgate regulations to prevent the unintentional transfer or introduction of nonindigenous species by ships operating exclusively within U.S. territorial waters or contiguous coastal waters of North America. Exempts such ships from the high seas exchange requirement of this Act. Exempts from the high seas exchange requirement a ship that is subject to requirements regarding the treatment of ballast water for the removal of chemical contaminants. Authorizes the Secretary to assess civil monetary penalties for violation of the regulations. Makes civil penalties available, as provided by appropriation Acts, to endow research on the control of nonindigenous species. Title II: Zebra Mussel and Aquatic Nuisance Species Research, Control, and Educational Program - Directs the Secretary of the Interior, through the Director of the United States Fish and Wildlife Service, and the Secretary of Commerce, through the Administrator of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (National Cooperative Action Group - NCAG), to jointly coordinate national research, control, and educational efforts associated with the infestation of the zebra mussel and other aquatic nuisance species in U.S. waters. Authorizes the NCAG to establish and coordinate regional commissions as necessary and to facilitate information transfer among the commissions. Authorizes Federal agency heads, on request of the chairman of any commission, to detail personnel to the commission. Requires the NCAG to provide advice to the Secretary of State concerning aquatic nuisance species that infest water resources shared with other countries. Requires the NCAG to establish a regional commission for the Great Lakes region and to request that the Great Lakes Fishery Commission: (1) designate a representative to serve on it; (2) advise, coordinate, and provide secretarial services on matters related to Great Lakes fisheries, related environmental concerns, and interactions with the Government of Canada; and (3) provide technical services for any technical committee established by the NCAG. Requires that the NCAG request that the Great Lakes Commission (established under the Great Lakes Basin Compact): (1) designate a representative to serve on the regional commission; (2) advise, coordinate, and provide secretarial services on matters related to the economic impacts of the zebra mussel on the geographic area of the Great Lakes; and (3) provide technical services for any technical committee established by the NCAG. Requires that research activities under this Act be carried out only in drainage basins infested with an aquatic nuisance species, with research funds allocated, to the extent possible, to existing facilities within infested areas. Sets forth research priorities. Directs the Secretary of State to initiate negotiations with foreign governments concerning prevention, research, education, and control programs for shared water resources. Requires compliance with specified treaties relating to the Great Lakes. Directs the Secretary of the Interior to declare the zebra mussel an injurious species. Requires the appropriate lead agency to allocate funds authorized under this Act for competitive university research grants to be administered through the Sea Grant College program to study aquatic nuisance species. Authorizes the program to conduct education and assistance services related to the prevention and control of such species. Authorizes appropriations.
United States · United States Congress · 6 March 1990
Clean Air Act Research Amendments of 1990 - Amends the Clean Air Act to require the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency to conduct a research and development program for measuring, monitoring, and analyzing air pollutants, including precursors of acid deposition. Directs the Administrator to conduct a research program on the effects of air pollutants on human health, including the effects of acid deposition and acid aerosols. Requires such programs to include: (1) the creation of an Interagency Task Force to coordinate the program; (2) evaluations and environmental health assessments for each of the hazardous air pollutants listed in H.R. 3030; and (3) research efforts at the Liquefied Gaseous Fuels Spill Test Facility for the development of a chemical field testing program and atmospheric dispersion models. Directs the Administrator to conduct a research program to improve understanding of the causes, effects, and trends of ecosystem damages from air pollutants, including damages from acid deposition. Requires the Administrator to conduct a basic engineering research, technology, and development program for air pollution and acid deposition prevention. Provides that such program shall develop strategies and technologies for: (1) reducing multiple air pollutants from fossil fuel power plants, stationary sources, and other combustion facilities; (2) preventing air emissions from mobile and nonpoint pollution sources; (3) preventing, detecting, and correcting sudden and accidental releases of hazardous air pollutants; and (4) providing alternatives to tire incineration. Directs the Administrator to implement and submit to the Congress a plan to carry out such research in conjunction with other Federal global change and acid deposition research efforts. Requires the President to develop and submit to the Congress: (1) a plan designating activities and assigning responsibilities for Federal research on acid deposition; and (2) an assessment framework for reporting technical information about acid deposition in a manner useful to policymakers and the public. Directs the Administrator to conduct a research program to identify and predict air emissions and other environmental effects related to the production and use of clean alternative fuels to determine the risks to health and the environment relative to those from the use of gasoline and diesel.
United States · United States Congress · 5 March 1990
Designates April 6, 1990, the 88th birthday of Rabbi Menachem Mendel Schneerson, as Education Day, U.S.A. Calls on heads of state of the world to join the President of the United States in this tribute by signing scrolls of honor commemorating the 40th anniversary of Schneerson's leadership of the Lubavitch movement. Welcomes the cooperation of the Department of State in extending the good office of the U.S. missions to the Lubavitcher emissaries.
United States · United States Congress · 5 March 1990
Urges the President and the United States Trade Representative: (1) not to include civil air transport services under the General Agreement on Trade in Services that is being negotiated under the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade; nor (2) to require future negotiations to include such services under such Agreement.
United States · United States Congress · 1 March 1990
Human Services Reauthorization Act of 1990 - Extends authorized appropriations from FY 1991 through 1994 to carry out programs under the following Acts: (1) the Head Start Act; (2) the Follow Through Act; (3) the State Dependent Care Development Grants Act; (4) the Community Services Block Grant Act; (5) the Child Development Associate Scholarship Assistance Act; and (6) the Low-Income Home Energy Assistance Act of 1981. Amends the Human Services Reauthorization Act of 1986 to extend authorized appropriations from FY 1991 through 1994 to carry out the grant program relating to demonstration partnership agreements addressing the needs of the poor.
United States · United States Congress · 1 March 1990
Expresses the sense of the Congress that: (1) the 25th anniversary of the enactment of the Older Americans Act of 1965 and its successful implementation should be recognized; (2) contributions at all levels of the aging network should be acknowledged and commended; and (3) support for the Act and its primary goal should be reaffirmed.
United States · United States Congress · 28 February 1990
Global Elementary Education Act of 1990 - Authorizes the Secretary of Education (the Secretary) to make matching grants to States, through their State educational agencies, for foreign language institutes for professional development and retraining of elementary and secondary school teachers for elementary school teaching of foreign languages and cultures, geography, and international studies. Requires such institutes to allow teachers from other fields to retrain as foreign language teachers. Authorizes appropriations. Authorizes the Secretary to make grants to institutions of higher education to develop innovative and model program in preservice elementary teacher education in the areas of foreign language and culture, geography, and international studies. Authorizes appropriations. Authorizes the Secretary to make competitive grants to State and local educational agencies, institutions of higher education, nonprofit international exchange organizations, nonprofit educational associations, or consortia thereof, for reciprocal elementary teacher exchange programs. Requires that preference be given to nontraditional language study sites and to programs providing exchanges for teachers who have never been abroad. Authorizes appropriations. Directs the Secretary to assign to the Office of Elementary and Secondary Education responsibility for: (1) coordinating development and dissemination of foreign language and culture instructional material; and (2) expanding use of technology in teaching foreign languages and culture in elementary school. Authorizes appropriations. Directs the Secretary to prescribe regulations under this Act.
United States · United States Congress · 28 February 1990
Competitive Northeastern Rail Freight Service Act of 1990 - Requires the Interstate Commerce Commission (ICC) to provide for access by a second, competitive rail freight carrier over routes from Montreal, Quebec, through New York State, via Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, to Hagerstown, Maryland, and Potomac Yard, Alexandria, Virginia. Requires the ICC, if necessary, to grant trackage rights for the establishment of such competitive routes.
United States · United States Congress · 28 February 1990
Designates the week of June 24 through June 30, 1990, as National Sheriffs' Week in honor of the 50th anniversary of the National Sheriffs' Association.
United States · United States Congress · 28 February 1990
Calls for: (1) the United States to reaffirm its unequivocal support for the Polish-German border as set after World War II; (2) Chancellor Helmut Kohl to state unequivocally that such border will be respected and preserved; and (3) Poland to be included as an equal participant with the United States, the Soviet Union, the United Kingdom, and France in German unification discussions relating to the borders of a unified Germany and the security of neighboring countries.
United States · United States Congress · 27 February 1990
Mickey Leland Memorial Domestic Hunger Relief Act - Title I: Reducing Childhood Hunger - Amends the Food Stamp Act of 1977 to revise and increase the excess shelter expense deduction for each fiscal year from FY 1991 through FY 1993. Requires the Secretary of Agriculture to adjust the basic benefit level upwards by specified increments at the beginning of each fiscal year from FY 1991 through FY 1995 until it reaches 105 percent of the cost of the thrifty food plan. Directs the Secretary by regulation to provide for emergency allotments to eligible households to replace food lost in a disaster. Excludes from the computation of household income any State allowance (provided at least annually) for obtaining school clothes for children in school or child care. Provides for allotment increases to cover State or local sales taxes for participants in demonstration projects. Requires alternative systems for delivery or use of food stamp benefits to meet standards issued by the Secretary and, where household participation is not optional, to involve retail food stores serving minority populations, but only if necessary special equipment is operational at all registers. Provides food stamp coverage for prepared meals for homeless households. Permits State agencies to develop standard estimates of the shelter and related expenses which homeless households may reasonably be expected to incur in order to certify such households based on reported expenses not exceeding such an estimate. Title II: Promoting Self-Sufficiency - Excludes the first $50 a month received as child support from consideration as income in determining the food stamp allotments of households also receiving Aid to Families with Dependent Children (AFDC) benefits. Increases from $4,500 to $5,500 from January 1 through September 30, 1991, with annual cost-of-living adjustments to follow, the limit on the fair market value of vehicles that food stamp recipients may own. Directs the Secretary to conduct a sufficient number of demonstration projects to evaluate the effects of excluding from such vehicle calculation the value of: (1) any licensed vehicle used for certain income-producing, transportation, or shelter purposes; and (2) one licensed vehicle used for job-related or job-seeking purposes (including commuting), for pursuing education or training, or for securing food or food stamp benefits. Allows States to use their own agency-designed forms instead of forms approved by the Secretary. Directs State agencies to allow a household to select an adult parent of children in the household as its head where all adult household members agree to do so. Allows four States to give priority in the provision of services to voluntary participants (including both exempt and nonexempt), so long as performance standards are maintained. Authorizes an employment and training program to contain programs designed to increase the self-sufficiency of recipients through self-employment. Excludes from the computation of household financial resources any nonliquid resources necessary to allow the household to carry out an approved plan for self-sufficiency. Increases from $25 to $75 the limit for reimbursements to recipients for costs incurred in employment and training activities. Permits otherwise eligible persons who attend an institution of higher learning to receive food stamp benefits if he or she: (1) attends the institution as part of an employment and training program; or (2) is over 50, registered for employment, and subject to employment or training requirements. Revises the exclusion of educational expenses from the computation of household incomes. Excludes from the computation of household incomes housing assistance payments made to a third party on behalf of a household residing in transitional housing for the homeless. Title III: Simplifying Program Administration - Requires parents and children (regardless of age) who live together to apply for food stamps as a single household. Directs the Secretary to conduct five demonstration projects, in both rural and urban areas, under which households in which each member receives AFDC benefits shall receive monthly food stamp allotments following AFDC rules and procedures, without regard to the eligibility, benefit, and administrative rules of the food stamp program. Requires the Secretary to issue rules under which State agencies must develop standards for identifying (for exclusion as inaccessible resources) those kinds of resources the household is unlikely to sell for any significant return because its interest is so slight or the cost of selling would be so great. Provides that a food stamp office need not consider any resources that the AFDC or supplemental security income benefit programs have already determined to be exempt. Directs State agencies to require only one adult representative of a household to sign all declarations required in the application process on behalf of the household. Makes recipients of State or local general assistance programs categorically eligible for food stamps. Reduces from 30 to ten days the deadline for households convicted of food stamp fraud to decide how to repay their over issuances. Establishes a Commission on the Coordination of Family Support and Food Stamp Policies to report to the President and the Congress on AFDC and food stamp program policies, recommending how to eliminate barriers to participation in both programs. Authorizes appropriations. Title IV: Hunger in Rural America - Requires State agencies to designate rural project areas where low-income persons face substantial difficulties in getting transportation. Requires issuance of coupons by mail in such areas, except where households experience mail losses exceeding certain levels. Allows States to assist households with the food stamp application process. Directs the Secretary to exclude from financial resources the value of a vehicle a household depends upon to carry heating fuel or water for home use where it has no other access to fuel or water. Title V: Promoting Access for the Elderly and Disabled - Declares that State agencies, with respect to the excess medical deduction for the elderly and the disabled, shall not require further verification of a change in medical expenses if the change has been anticipated for the verification period. Requires annual adjustments to the value of the minimum food stamp benefit. Permits State agencies to establish a procedure allowing households whose regular food stamp benefits do not exceed $20 per month to receive up to $60 worth for intervals of up to three months. Requires that any applicant for or recipient of supplemental security income benefits be informed of the availability of food stamp benefits. Title VI: Program Administration by State Agencies - Prohibits the application of disallowances for erroneous issuances or similar actions to any State for a fiscal year before FY 1991. Directs the Secretary, by specified deadlines, to develop standards for initial approval of automated data processing and information retrieval systems for State agencies, as well as written procedures and standards for initial and continued approval reviews. Sets alternative deadlines for full operation of such systems, the later being September 30, 1993. Provides for waivers of ADC system requirements where their application would not significantly improve the efficiency of a State agency's administration. Title VII: Reauthorization of Programs - Reauthorizes through FY 1995: (1) the food stamp program; (2) the nutrition assistance program for Puerto Rico; (3) the temporary emergency food assistance program under the Temporary Emergency Food Assistance Act of 1983; (4) the soup kitchen and food bank programs under the Hunger Prevention Act of 1988; (5) the commodity distribution and supplemental food programs under the Agriculture and Consumer Protection Act of 1973; (6) the distribution of surplus commodities to special nutrition projects under the Agriculture and Food Act of 1981; and (7) the nutrition education program under the Food Security Act of 1985. Title VIII - Amends the Commodity Distribution Reform Act and WIC Amendments of 1987 to require biennial reports to the Congress on food bank projects. Amends the Agriculture and Consumer Protection Act of 1973 to establish a Commodity Supplemental Food Program for the Elderly. Amends the Hunger Prevention Act of 1988 to set forth the National Gleaning Clearinghouse Act of 1990. Establishes a National Gleaning Clearinghouse to share information on available, unused food that could be distributed through the emergency feeding network. Title IX: Effective Dates - Sets forth the effective dates of provisions of this Act.
United States · United States Congress · 27 February 1990
Declares it to be U.S. policy that there should be: (1) recognition and commemoration of the 25th anniversary of Federal aid to elementary and secondary education; (2) a renewed, sustained commitment to Federal aid to educating children who are disadvantaged members of special populations, with limited English proficiency, or with handicaps, and illiterate adults; and (3) a specified annual increase in funding for the program for disadvantaged children under the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965.
United States · United States Congress · 27 February 1990
Expresses the sense of the Congress that the President should designate a special envoy to negotiate the release of American and all other hostages in Lebanon and appeals to their captors to free them. Expresses sympathy for their families. Recognizes those who will be commemorating the fifth anniversary of the captivity of Terry Anderson on March 16, 1990.
United States · United States Congress · 22 February 1990
Benjamin Franklin Memorial Fire Service Bill of Rights Act - Title I: Minting of Benjamin Franklin National Memorial Commemorative Coin - Benjamin Franklin National Memorial Commemorative Coin Act - Provides for the sale of Benjamin Franklin commemorative coins at a surcharge of which 25 percent shall be paid to the Benjamin Franklin National Memorial and the remainder be distributed in specified percentages to the National Fire Center and Museum Account, the National Hero Scholarship Account, the Firefighter Tuition Assistance Account, the Hazardous Materials Response Computer Account, the Research and Education Account, and the Burn Research Grant Account of the Firefighter Assistance Trust Fund (Fund). Prohibits the issuance of such coins from resulting in any net cost to the Federal government. Title II: Fire Service Bill of Rights - Fire Service Bill of Rights Act - Amends the Federal Fire Prevention and Control Act of 1974 to establish a fire service bill of rights. Establishes the National Fire Center and Museum in the District of Columbia to provide information about the fire service and safety to the public and fire services. Establishes a National Hero Scholarship to fund the higher education of a child, spouse, or dependent parent of a deceased firefighter. Establishes a scholarship providing tuition assistance to firefighters for higher education in fire safety or protection. Authorizes the Administrator of the United States Fire Administration to use amounts in the Research and Education Account of the Fund to fund other specified programs under the Fire Prevention and Control Act of 1974 and the provision of information concerning surplus Federal property and infectious diseases pursuant to this Act. Establishes the Firefighter Assistance Trust Fund. Places the National Academy for Fire Prevention and Control within the United States Fire Administration. Directs the Administrator to provide States with funds from the Hazardous Materials Response Computer Account of the fund for distribution to local fire services that wish to purchase computer equipment. Directs the Administrator to make a grant from the Burn Research Grant Account of the Fund to one national firefighter's burn foundation dedicated to reducing burn injuries. Requires the Administrator to prepare and make available to fire services, upon request, a manual describing Federal procedures for disposing of surplus property and highlighting how fire services could obtain such property. Directs the Administrator to distribute to such marshals information on the infectious diseases to which firefighters are particularly vulnerable. Permits the Administrator, in certain circumstances, to award to a domestic firm a contract that, under the use of competitive procedures, would be awarded to a foreign firm.
United States · United States Congress · 21 February 1990
Sugar Equity and Reform Act of 1990 - Title I: Sugar Price Support Program - Amends the Agricultural Act of 1949 to direct the Secretary of Agriculture to support the price of each of the 1991 through 1995 crops of domestically grown sugarcane through six-month nonrecourse loans, with the loan rate for raw cane sugar at 95 percent of the rate announced for the preceding crop year. Requires the loan rate for sugar beets to be fair and reasonable in relation to the rate for sugarcane. Title II: Regulation of Sugar Imports - Prescribes policy for the regulation of sugar imports, including quotas and lowest tariff rates. Directs the Secretary to announce a market stabilization price and a threshold price for raw sugar no later than 30 days before the beginning of the October 1, 1991, sugar marketing year. Requires the President to maintain the market price for raw sugar at or near the market stabilization price through imposition of tariff rate import quotas on various sugar products. Amends the Food Security Act of 1985 to repeal the mandate to operate the sugar program at no cost to the Government by preventing the accumulation of sugar acquired by the Commodity Credit Corporation through sugar loan forfeitures. Repeals the requirement that a sugar exporting country verify that it does not import Cuban sugar for reexport to the United States.
United States · United States Congress · 7 February 1990
Amends the Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States to grant duty-free treatment, through September 30, 1993, of the personal effects and equipment of participants, their families, and officials involved in the 1993 World University Games in Buffalo, New York.
![Official portrait of Rep. Nowak, Henry [D-NY-33]](https://www.congress.gov/img/member/n000163_200.jpg)