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United States · Official source
6,804 records where Rep. Oberstar, James L. [D-MN-8] is listed as a sponsor, author, or other actor. Search with topics and years
United States · United States Congress · 3 January 1989
Provides that the Tax Reform Act of 1986 shall be applied and administered as if the three-year basis recovery rule applicable to government employees' annuities had not been repealed.
United States · United States Congress · 3 January 1989
Community Adjustment Act of 1989 - Amends the Public Works and Economic Development Act of 1965 to revise the special economic development and adjustment assistance program by establishing a community adjustment program. Authorizes the Secretary of Commerce to make matching grants to any State or local government, Indian tribe, economic development district, or qualified nonprofit organization to establish a revolving loan fund to implement a community adjustment strategy for a designated distress area. Requires a revolving loan fund to be available for making: (1) loans for improvement of public facilities; and (2) loans and loan guarantees to any business for providing capital, assets, facilities, or equipment or establishing any qualified employee ownership organization or worker cooperative association necessary to establish or retain such business in such area. Prohibits any loan from being made under a revolving loan fund, unless: (1) it is unavailable from private lenders; and (2) the loan applicant assures repayment and agrees to submit semiannual reports to the fund administrator and other information required by the Secretary. Prohibits loans from being made to facilitate the relocation of industrial or commercial facilities, unless the Secretary finds that relocation would not significantly and adversely affect unemployment in, or the economic base of, the area from which the facility would relocate. Requires each grant recipient, for five years after receiving one, to submit reports required by the Secretary and to monitor the effectiveness of assistance from the revolving loan fund. Prohibits the use of assistance provided under this Act for administrative expenses. Directs the Secretary to designate as distressed any area that: (1) is experiencing long-term economic distress and a permanent loss of a substantial number of jobs; (2) has experienced or is threatened with the loss of a major employer; (3) has experienced an emergency or major disaster as declared by the President during the preceding year; or (4) has experienced a significant rise in unemployment in an occupation. Requires the aggregate population of areas designated distressed in any period to be between 20 and 25 percent of the total U.S. population. Requires a community adjustment strategy to: (1) identify the economic adjustment problems, a strategy for solving them, and the extent to which the strategy will enhance the ability of the applicant to implement any projects and programs to carry out the proposed adjustment; (2) discuss the necessary projects and timetables for, and the costs and anticipated benefits of, implementing the strategy; (3) summarize the public and private resources expected to be available for such projects; and (4) identify methods for finding employment for persons unemployed or threatened with unemployment. Authorizes the Secretary to make grants for up to 75 percent of the cost of preparation of such strategies. Prohibits more than 15 percent of the appropriations made under this Act from being expended in any State, except for expenditures to Indian tribes. Requires the Secretary to: (1) disseminate information concerning national and regional economic trends likely to result in economic disclocations; (2) develop and test new economic adjustment approaches and methods to predict such dislocations; and (3) provide necessary technical and financial assistance to any State, economic development district, or local governments facing or undergoing dislocations. Authorizes appropriations for FY 1990 through 1992.
United States · United States Congress · 3 January 1989
Emergency Public Works Employment Act of 1989 - Establishes a public works employment program of labor-intensive projects for the construction, repair, renovation, and improvement of public facilities. Requires that Federal payments made under this Act be used for the construction, renovation, repair, and improvement of local public works owned or operated by a local government or territory. Prohibits the use of such Federal payments for the acquisition of any interest in real property, for the construction of any recreational or cultural facility, or for paying maintenance costs for projects constructed under this Act. Specifies criteria for the apportionment of funds and payments under this Act. Requires grant applicants under this Act to make specified assurances to the Secretary of the Treasury, including assurances that: (1) any project funded under this Act will be completed within 12 months of receipt of a payment; (2) payments will be used, to the maximum extent feasible, to increase employment of unemployed individuals; (3) any project funded under this Act will not be performed directly by any department, agency, or instrumentality of a participating government and such project will be performed by contract awarded by competitive bidding; (4) no currently employed individual will be displaced; and (5) any project funded under this Act will be accessible to the handicapped and elderly. Requires the Secretary to carry out an audit on each completed project funded by this Act. Requires all grant recipients to maintain such records as the Secretary prescribes. Grants the Secretary and the Comptroller General access to all books and records of a grant recipient for purposes of audit and examination. Directs the Secretary to withhold ten percent of any payment under this Act until the completion of the audit. Authorizes the Secretary to retain any withheld funds if the Secretary finds a violation of the requirements of this Act. Specifies that the number of unemployed persons and the severity of unemployment in a State or county shall be determined, for purposes of this Act, only for the civilian work force and shall be determined by the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Authorizes appropriations. Provides for the expeditious implementation of the provisions of this Act.
United States · United States Congress · 3 January 1989
Infrastructure Improvement and Public Productivity Act - Sets out State apportionments for amounts appropriated to carry out this Act. Directs the Secretary of Commerce to develop a representative tax system similar to a previously published tax system, to provide public notice of such system and opportunity to comment, and to submit a report on such system to the appropriate congressional committees as soon as practicable. States that such tax system shall take effect not sooner than 45 days after publication in final form in the Federal Register and concurrent transmittal to each House of the Congress. Sets aside one percent of amounts appropriated under this Act for research and development in the repair, maintenance, and future improvement of public facilities. Sets aside a percentage for Puerto Rico and the other U.S. territories. Directs the chief executive officer of each State and territory to set aside one percent of any amounts apportioned to such State or territory for capital budgeting and capital improvement programs. Directs such chief executive officer, after setting aside the proper amounts, to make the remainder available for grants for the construction, reconstruction, renovation, and repair of public facilities. States that a grant under this Act for a project for which no other Federal grant is made shall be for 50 percent of the cost of the project. Specifies limited conditions under which grants shall be made, including the requirement that the proposed project must expand the economic base, promote economic diversity, or enhance the economic development opportunities in the area. Directs the chief executive officer, in selecting projects for grants, to consider the ability of the proposed project to stimulate additional capital spending. Requires funds apportioned to a State to be allocated between rural and urban areas in an equitable manner in accordance with a specified formula. Directs the chief executive officer to conduct an audit of each project completed with a grant under this Act. Directs recipients of such grants to keep records to enable such officer to complete such audits, and to make such records available to the chief executive officer. Directs the Secretary to use the most recent available information before an apportionment is made to determine such apportionment. Directs the Secretary to determine population on the same basis that the Secretary determines resident population for general statistical purposes. Authorizes appropriations for FY 1991 through 1995.
United States · United States Congress · 3 January 1989
Amends the Federal Unemployment Tax Act to institute discretionary denial of unemployment benefits between academic terms to employees serving educational institutions in nonprofessional positions. (Under current law denial is mandatory.)
United States · United States Congress · 3 January 1989
Amends title XVI (Supplemental Security Income) (SSI) of the Social Security Act to raise the SSI program's resource eligibility limits.
United States · United States Congress · 3 January 1989
Social Security Work Incentives Act of 1989 - Title I: Disabled and Working Status under Title II of the Social Security Act - Amends title II (Old Age, Survivors and Disability Insurance) (OASDI) of the Social Security Act to reduce monthly disability benefits by 50 percent of a beneficiary's monthly earnings in excess of $85. Limits the total amount by which an individual's OASDI disability benefits may be reduced if such individual is also eligible for benefits provided under title XVI (Supplemental Security Income) (SSI) of the Act to individuals who perform substantial gainful activity despite severe medical impairment. Prohibits deductions from disability-based child insurance benefits for the recovery of prior overpayments resulting from a failure to reduce such benefits on the basis of earnings. Extends to current OASDI disability beneficiaries the rule preventing reductions in the primary insurance amount for prior recipients. Continues an individual's entitlement to disability benefits while such individual is under disabled and working status, meaning that such individual is earning enough to be considered engaged in substantial gainful activity, but would otherwise continue to satisfy eligibility requirements. Sets a four-year limit on the Medicare hospital insurance eligibility (under part A of title XVIII of the Act) of individuals who owe their eligibility to their disabled and working status under the OASDI program. Amends the Medicare program to authorize such individuals to enroll for hospital insurance benefits upon the termination of such four-year limit. Amends title XIX (Medicaid) of the Act to cover Medicare cost-sharing amounts for individuals of disabled and working status who are entitled to enroll for Medicare hospital insurance benefits and whose income and resources do not exceed 300 percent of the Federal poverty level and the SSI resource eligibility limit, respectively. Requires States to collect a coinsurance percentage from such individuals pursuant to a sliding scale which increases such percentage from 0 to 100 percent in reasonable increments as incomes move from 150 to 300 percent of the Federal poverty level. Extends to all recipients of disability-based child's insurance benefits the rule permitting continued entitlement to Medicaid benefits of individuals who would remain eligible for SSI benefits but for their receipt of such child's insurance benefits. Title II: Amendments Relating to the Disabled and Working Status Program Under Title XVI of the Social Security Act - Amends the SSI program to exclude spousal income in determining a disabled and working individual's eligibility for SSI and Medicaid benefits. Excludes from such an individual's income, for SSI eligibility determinations: (1) earned income necessary for the costs of attendant care services; and (2) if such individual receives a State supplementary payment, impairment-related work expenses. Provides Medicaid coverage to individuals who become ineligible for SSI benefits by reason of a cost of living increase in OASDI benefits. Precludes the attainment of age 65 from serving as a basis for the termination of Medicaid eligibility under the SSI program. Includes State supplementary payments in determining a disabled and working individual's eligibility for SSI and Medicaid benefits. Treats royalties from the publication of an individual's work and scholarships which have not been excluded from income as earned income in determining the SSI and Medicaid eligibility of a disabled and working individual.
United States · United States Congress · 3 January 1989
Foreign Ownership Disclosure Act of 1989 - Requires any foreign person who holds or acquires a significant interest in a U.S. property or a controlling interest in a U.S. business enterprise to register with the Secretary of Commerce. Requires that any changes in registration information be disclosed in an amended registration. Sets forth penalties for the failure to comply with registration requirements. Defines a "significant interest" in U.S. property as more than five percent of the total equity or ownership interests in assets or real property having a market value or gross sales in excess of specified amounts. Defines a "controlling interest" in a U.S. business enterprise as more than 25 percent of the total equity or ownership interests in a business enterprise having assets or gross sales in excess of specified amounts. Directs the Secretary to submit an annual report to the President and the Congress concerning: (1) the extent and effects of foreign investment in the United States; and (2) the effectiveness and efficiency of the registration and reporting requirements of this Act. Directs the Secretary to compile a registry of foreign investments in the United States. Limits access to the information in such registry.
United States · United States Congress · 3 January 1989
Hotel and Motel Fire Safety Act of 1989 - Amends the Federal Fire Prevention and Control Act of 1974 to require the Director of the Federal Emergency Management Agency to issue guidelines governing the use and installation of automatic sprinkler systems and smoke detectors in places of public accommodation. Includes within such guidelines the requirements that, in each public accommodation: (1) an automatic smoke detection system be installed in accordance with the appropriate American National Standard for Fire Alarm Systems; and (2) an automatic sprinkler system be installed in accordance with the appropriate American National Standard for the Installation of Sprinkler Systems, except in places that are two stories or lower, have no interior corridors, and have immediate exterior egress from rooms to a ground level area. Requires States to submit to the Director lists of public accommodations which meet such guidelines so that the Director can compile, publish, and distribute to Federal agencies a master list of all public accommodations that meet such guidelines. Authorizes the Director to take steps to encourage States to promote the use of automatic sprinkler and smoke detection systems and to disseminate information on the life safety value and use of such systems. Amends Federal law to prohibit Federal employees from receiving reimbursement for staying at non-Federal public accommodations which are not on the Director's master list, unless there is no room available at listed accommodations that are a reasonable distance from the employee's place of official business. Limits the studies and surveys conducted to establish the lodging expenses of Federal employees on official business to public accommodations which meet such guidelines. Requires that directories of lodging accommodations for Federal employees include a description of the access and safety devices which each listed public accommodation provides for handicapped guests.
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
Directs the Secretary of the Army to set aside an appropriate area within Arlington National Cemetery for the unmarked burial of cremated remains of persons entitled to burial in such cemetery.
United States · United States Congress · 3 January 1989
Central American Studies and Temporary Relief Act of 1989 - Title I: General Accounting Office Investigation and Report - Directs the Comptroller General to: (1) begin an investigation concerning displaced nationals of El Salvador and Nicaragua; and (2) report to the Speaker of the House and to the President of the Senate within two years of initiating such investigation. Requires determinations to be made, with respect to displaced Salvadorans and Nicaraguans living in El Salvador, Nicaragua, Honduras, Guatemala, Belize, Costa Rica, or Mexico, of: (1) the number and location of such persons; (2) their place of origin in El Salvador or Nicaragua and the period of, and reason for, their displacement; (3) their current living conditions, with particular attention to questions of personal safety and the availability of food and medical assistance; (4) current efforts to provide such necessities; (5) the impact of wars in El Salvador and Nicaragua; and (6) the impact of the Immigration Reform and Control Act of 1986 on Nicaragua and El Salvador; and (7) the impact of the 1986 El Salvador earthquake. Requires assessments to be made, in the case of Salvadorans and Nicaraguans returned from the United States to their country, of: (1) their conditions upon return, with particular attention to any human rights violations; and (2) the extent to which these persons have become displaced persons in their country. Requires the investigation, with respect to Salvadorans and Nicaraguans unlawfully in the United States, to: (1) compare the situation in El Salvador and Nicaragua with previous cases of administrative grants of extended voluntary departure under the immigration laws; (2) describe U.S. policies respecting the treatment of other aliens in the United States in similar circumstances; (3) describe the policies of all other countries in which Salvadorans or Nicaraguans have sought refuge as those policies concern the return of such persons to their country; and (4) assess their conditions in the United States. Title II: Congressional Review - Provides for the referral of such report to the appropriate congressional committees in accordance with the rules of each House for committee hearings (within 90 days of continuous session after the referral of such report) and committee reports (within 270 days of continuous session after the referral of such report). Title III: Temporary Stay of Deportation - Prohibits the Attorney General from detaining or deporting specified nationals of Nicaragua or El Salvador until completion of the Comptroller General's report. Sets conditions on such stay of deportation.
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
Veal Calf Protection Act - Prohibits certain practices in the raising of calves for veal. Describes the practices as the confining of calves in small crates and the feeding of calves with diets deficient in solid foods. Fixes penalties and permits civil actions with respect to prohibited acts.
United States · United States Congress · 3 January 1989
Fair Labor Standards Amendments of 1989 - Amends the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 (the Act) to increase the minimum wage per hour from $3.35 in 1989 to: (1) $3.85 in 1990; (2) $4.25 in 1991; and (3) $4.65 in 1992 and thereafter. Provides for biennial adjustments of the minimum wage beginning in 1994. Directs the Minimum Wage Review Board (established by this Act), during the 90-day period beginning January 1, 1994, to review current economic data on wages, prices, and other economic indicators and determine how the minimum wage rate should be adjusted. Directs the Board, by October 1, 1994, to transmit to the Congress a recommendation of the rate that should be placed in effect on January 1, 1995, including an estimate of the economic effects of doing so. Directs the Board to conduct such reviews and transmit such recommendations biennially. Establishes the Minimum Wage Review Board, composed of five members appointed by the President and certain congressional officers. Increases the small business exemption by revising the definition of an enterprise engaged in commerce for purposes of coverage under the Act ("the enterprise test"). Exempts from such coverage retail or service establishments whose annual gross volume of sales or business is less than $500,000 (currently $362,500), effective in 1989. Requires employers who were covered in 1988, but who are exempt under the new threshold, to continue to pay the $3.35 per hour minimum wage. Increases the tip credit under the Act from 40 percent to 45 percent for 1990 and to 50 percent for 1991 and thereafter. (The tip credit deems the amount paid to a tipped employee, for minimum wage purposes, to be increased by an amount determined by the employer, but not by an amount in excess of the specified percentage of the applicable minimum wage rate.)
United States · United States Congress · 3 January 1989
Anti-Apartheid Act Amendments of 1989 - Title I: Sanctions Against Investment in, and Exports to, South Africa and Other Measures (Except Import Restrictions) to End Apartheid - Part A: Amendments to the Comprehensive Anti-Apartheid Act of 1986 and Other Laws - Amends the Comprehensive Anti-Apartheid Act of 1986 to prohibit any investments in South Africa by U.S. persons. Makes exceptions to such prohibition for: (1) investments in a business enterprise 90 percent owned and controlled by South Africans economically and politically disadvantaged by apartheid; and (2) investments made by certain individuals during any period and to the extent that such investments are considered South African emigrant non-resident assets and subject to transfer or disposition restrictions. Authorizes a person to apply for, and the President to grant for good cause, a waiver of such prohibition for up to 180 days. Requires U.S. controlled South African entities that are subject to the investment prohibition and that employ more than 24 South Africans economically and politically disadvantaged by apartheid to: (1) notify employees and employee organizations not less than 90 days prior to termination of the U.S. investment in such entity; and (2) enter into good faith negotiations with representative trade unions regarding the terms of such termination. Prohibits the exportation or reexportation to South Africa of any goods or technology subject to U.S. jurisdiction. Prohibits any such exportation or reexportation by any person subject to U.S. jurisdiction. Exempts from such prohibition publications, donations of food, clothing, and medical supplies, commercial sales of agricultural commodities and products, and goods and technology for use in the gathering or dissemination of information by news media organizations subject to U.S. jurisdiction. Makes such prohibitions inapplicable to: (1) any goods that are the direct product of technology of U.S. origin under a written agreement entered into on or before April 20, 1988, and that are exported within one year of the enactment of this Act; (2) economic assistance or human rights programs for disadvantaged South Africans, South African blacks or other nonwhite South Africans, or victims of apartheid in South Africa; and (3) contributions to charitable organizations engaged in social welfare, public health, religious, educational, or emergency relief activities in South Africa. Repeals specified provisions of the Comprehensive Anti-Apartheid Act of 1986 that: (1) prohibit certain exports to, imports from, and investments in South Africa; (2) set forth U.S. policy toward the recruitment and training of black South Africans; and (3) prohibit U.S. intercession with any foreign government regarding export activities of certain U.S. nationals in South Africa who are not implementing the Code of Conduct. Revises the definition of "loans" for purposes of such Act to prohibit short-term trade financing, sales on open account, and rescheduling of existing loans. Adds other definitions for purposes of such Act. Prohibits any U.S. agency or entity involved in intelligence activities from engaging in any form of cooperation with the Government of South Africa (specifically including the authorities administering Namibia so long as Namibia is illegally occupied). Prohibits any U.S. agency or entity from engaging in any form of cooperation with the armed forces of South Africa. Prohibits funds made available by the Congress from being obligated or expended for any expense related to any prohibited cooperation. States that the President should not: (1) assign or detail any member of the U.S. armed forces to serve as a defense or military attache in South Africa; or (2) accredit any individual to serve as a defense or military attache at a South African diplomatic mission in the United States. Repeals provisions of the Intelligence Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 1987 concerning restrictions on intelligence agency cooperation with South Africa. Prohibits the Secretary of Energy from authorizing any person to engage, directly or indirectly, in the production of special nuclear materials in South Africa. States that South Africa's granting of independence to Namibia is a major policy goal of the United States. Includes such granting of independence as one of several actions South Africa must take to have U.S. sanctions terminated. Revises penalty provisions of the Comprehensive Anti-Apartheid Act of 1986. Establishes within the Department of State a Coordinator of South Africa Sanctions who shall be responsible to the Secretary of State for matters pertaining to the implementation of sanctions against South Africa. Directs the Coordinator to place emphasis on activities related to strategically important trade in oil, coal, computers, specialized machinery and arms, and to financial credits. Sets forth the responsibilities of the Secretary of State in leading and coordinating the activities of other agencies in implementing and enforcing the Comprehensive Anti-Apartheid Act of 1986 and in monitoring other nations' economic relations with South Africa. Requires the Secretary to report annually to the Congress on actions to monitor and enforce such Act and on economic relations between South Africa and each of its trading partners. Establishes an Inter-Agency Coordinating Committee on South Africa to coordinate and monitor the implementation of such Act. Revises provisions of such Act regarding the Code of Conduct and expanded participation in the South African economy. Requires Federal agencies to make efforts to assist businesses more than 90 percent (currently, 50 percent) owned by black or nonwhite South Africans. Amends the Export Import Bank Act of 1945 to require the Bank to insure or participate in the extension of credit to businesses more than 90 percent owned (currently, majority owned) and controlled by black or nonwhite South Africans. Amends the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 to permit the use of a specified amount of funds authorized for economic development assistance for assistance to disadvantaged South Africans. Specifies that such assistance may include scholarships, the promotion of the participation of disadvantaged South Africans in trade unions and private enterprise, alternative education and community development programs, and training and other assistance (including legal aid) for South African journalists. Lists major trade union federations in South Africa and Namibia as examples of recipients of U.S. assistance to the labor movement. Earmarks a specified amount of such funds for refugee education and assistance for South Africans and Namibians. Prohibits any U.S. person from providing transport to South Africa of a commercial quantity of crude oil or refined petroleum products. Includes in such prohibition transport on a vessel of U.S. registry or on a vessel owned by a U.S. person. Prohibits the Secretary of the Interior from issuing any mineral lease to any national of the United States which is controlled by any foreign person who purchases, acquires, owns, or holds any investment in South Africa or who exports crude oil or refined petroleum products to South Africa. Authorizes the President to waive such prohibitions under specified conditions. Part B: Policy Statements; Reports; Studies; and Other Miscellaneous Provisions - Expresses the sense of the Congress that the President should: (1) direct the Attorney General to conduct an antitrust investigation of the South African controlled international diamond cartel; (2) direct the Secretary of Commerce and the Commissioner of Customs to study the feasibility of identifying at the port of entry the national origin of diamonds entering the United States; and (3) ensure effective and rigorous enforcement of a prohibition on the importation into the United States of uncut South African diamonds by taking specified measures. Expresses the sense of the Congress that: (1) the President should close two of South Africa's consulates general, eliminate all honorary consuls of South Africa in the United States, and forbid expansion of South Africa's embassy staff; and (2) approval of temporary U.S. visas should be granted on a case-by-case basis after considering South Africa's record of allowing its citizens, including apartheid opponents, to travel to the United States. Requires the President to study and report to the Congress on measures to reduce South Africa's foreign exchange earnings from gold. Directs the Secretary of State to report to the Congress on South Africa's involvement in international terrorism. Title II: Sanctions Against South African Imports Into the United States - Prohibits the importation into the United States of any article from South Africa, except: (1) strategic minerals which the President certifies to the Congress are essential for military or economic purposes and are not available from alternative reliable suppliers or through improved manufacturing processes, conservation, recycling, and economical substitution; and (2) publications. Specifies that such prohibition includes: (1) krugerrands or any gold coin minted in South Africa or offered for sale by the Government of South Africa; (2) uranium hexafluoride that has been manufactured from South African uranium or uranium oxide; and (3) fish or seafood which are products of South Africa. Exempts from such prohibition any imports from business enterprises in South Africa that are wholly-owned by persons economically or politically disadvantaged by apartheid. Requires the President to confer with other industrialized democracies in order to reach cooperative agreements to impose sanctions against South Africa to bring about the dismantling of apartheid. Requires the President to report to the Congress concerning such efforts. Requires (currently, encourages) the President to seek United Nations Security Council adoption of the same sanctions against South Africa as are imposed by the United States. Requires (currently, authorizes) the President to impose penalties against foreign persons taking significant commercial advantage of U.S. sanctions against South Africa or comparable sanctions of other industrialized democracies. Includes as such a penalty the restriction of such a person from contracting with U.S. Government entities. Allows the President to waive such penalties for foreign persons of an industrialized democracy that is a party to a cooperative agreement to impose sanctions against South Africa. Requires the President to revoke such waiver if the industrialized democracy is not adequately enforcing the measures provided for under the agreement. Requires that information concerning the extent to which import restrictions are being enforced by other industrialized democracies be included in the Secretary of State's annual report to the Congress. Sets forth provisions pertaining to committee referral in the House of Representatives of joint resolutions pertaining to import restrictions. Requires the President, through the Secretary of Commerce, to submit periodic reports to the Congress setting forth the average amounts of imports of coal or any strategic and critical material entering the United States from each member and observer country of the Council for Mutual Economic Assistance. Requires the President to report annually to the Congress on the program to reduce U.S. dependence on strategic minerals from South Africa. Requires the President to confer with the governments of the African "frontline" States on measures to prevent the circumvention of the import restrictions on South African products imposed under the authority of this Act. Title III: General Provisions - Makes conforming amendments and sets forth the effective date of this Act.
United States · United States Congress · 3 January 1989
Act for Better Child Care Services of 1989 - Amends the State Dependent Care Development Grants Act (subchapter D of chapter 8 of subtitle A of title VI of the Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1981) to provide for a Federal program for the improvement of child care and to retitle such Act as the State Child Care Development Grants Act of 1989. Sets forth a formula for allotments to States based on numbers of children under age five, numbers of children eligible for free or reduced price lunches under the school lunch program, and per capita income. Authorizes the Secretary of Health and Human Services (the Secretary) to make grants to applicant Indian tribes or tribal organizations for programs and activities under this Act for the benefit of Indian children. Requires the chief executive officer of a State to designate an appropriate State lead agency. Requires the agency to establish several local advisory councils that collectively represent the entire geographical area in the State. Requires States to submit to the Secretary, in order to qualify for assistance under this Act, an application and five-year plan. Requires the plan to set forth procedures designed to ensure that: (1) the parents of children who will receive assisted child care services are permitted to select the eligible child care provider; (2) the State will attempt to place such child with such provider; and (3) each eligible child care provider will provide service to a reasonable mix of children, including those from different socioeconomic backgrounds and those with a handicapping condition. Requires the plan to specify that at least 75 percent of the State allotment will be used to provide qualified child care services to eligible children, on a sliding fee scale basis (according to specified funding methods), with priority given to services to children of families with very low incomes. Requires that at least ten percent of such reserved funds be used to provide for the extension of part-day programs. Requires the plan to make ineligible for assistance under this Act child care providers who are convicted, or who employ as providers of child care services persons convicted of specified Federal and State offenses involving sexual contact with individuals under age 16 or the production or advertisement of child pornography. Sets forth special rules for use of State allotments. Requires that child care services be provided by: (1) contracts with or grants to eligible child care providers for direct services; (2) grants to local governments to contract with direct providers; or (3) child care certificates distributed to parents of eligible children to enable them to purchase such services from such providers. Prohibits financial assistance under this Act from being expended for the construction of any new facility, and sets forth limitations on such assistance for renovation or repair of existing facilities. Authorizes the Secretary to make planning grants, in the first year of their program participation, to States which desire to participate under this Act but cannot fully satisfy the requirements of a State plan without financial assistance. Requires States receiving funds to recognize and assist private nonprofit community-based organizations, public organizations, local governments, or public agencies representing combinations of local governments, as resource and referral agencies for particular areas. Requires resource and referral programs to: (1) identify existing child care services; (2) inform and refer parents to such services; (3) provide for information, training, and technical assistance to existing and potential providers; and (4) provide information on supply of and demand for such services in a community. Requires each participating State to require that all employed or self-employed persons providing licensed or regulated child care complete at least 15 hours per year of specified training. Directs the State to make grants to and enter into contracts with specified entities to provide such training. Requires participating States to provide scholarship assistance to: (1) individuals who seek a nationally recognized child development associate credential for center-based or family child care and whose income is not more than 50 percent above the poverty line; and (2) caregivers who seek to obtain the 15-hour minimum annual training and whose income is not above the poverty line. Requires participating States to carry out activities designed to encourage businesses in the State to support or provide child care services to a reasonable mix of children of employees and nonemployees, including those from different socioeconomic backgrounds. Establishes in the Department of Health and Human Services the position of Administrator of Child Care to: (1) coordinate all Department and other Federal agency activities relating to child care; (2) collect and publish annually State child care standards; (3) evaluate activities founded under this title; (4) act as a clearinghouse for specified matters; and (5) provide technical assistance to States. Establishes Federal enforcement provisions for review of State plans and monitoring of compliance. Sets the Federal share of the aggregate amount to be spent under the State plan at 80 percent, but raises it to 85 percent when the State demonstrates that all child care providers are appropriately licensed and regulated and that those receiving assistance meet certain requirements and minimum standards. Directs the Governor of each participating State to establish a State advisory committee on child care to assist the lead agency. Requires the committee to have a subcommittee on licensing to review the laws applicable to the requirements and policies of each licensing agency. Requires a subcommittee report to the Governor, and requires the Governor, within 60 days of its receipt, to report to the Secretary with comments and a plan for correcting or improving licensing, regulating, and monitoring of child care services and programs. Requires the Secretary to establish a National Advisory Committee on Child Care Standards to: (1) review Federal policies on child care services; (2) submit to the Secretary proposed minimum standards for child care programs; and (3) develop and make available to lead agencies model regulations for resource and referral agencies. Limits the scope of such standards for specified types of child care services and sets forth the administrative procedure for promulgating them. Prohibits financial assistance under this Act for: (1) any sectarian purpose or activity; or (2) any services during the regular grade or high school day, or for which academic credit is given toward graduation, or which supplant or duplicate a public or private school academic program. Prohibits a child care provider from discriminating against any child on the basis of religion when providing child care services in return for a fee paid, reimbursement received, or certificate redeemed in whole or in part with financial assistance provided under this Act. Provides for a review of the operation of a State plan during the five-year period to determine the State's continued eligibility for funds. Makes eligible for services under this Act children: (1) under 13 years of age; (2) whose family income does not exceed 115 percent of the State median income for a family of the same size; and (3) who either reside with a parent or parents who are working, are seeking employment, or are enrolled in a job training or education program, or reside with a parent or parents not thus described and receive or need to receive protective services. Authorizes appropriations for FY 1990 through 1994.
United States · United States Congress · 3 January 1989
Universal Voter Registration Act of 1989 - Entitles any eligible individual to register for any Federal election by mail, in person, or at the appropriate polling place on the day of an election. Declares that such individual may register in person at: (1) a designated place for such individual's current address; (2) any Federal, State, county, or municipal agency that serves the public directly; or (3) any private agency that voluntarily agrees to register voters. Provides that if a State maintains a system of voter registration, such State shall allow an individual to register to vote for elections held on the date of Federal elections, in the manner provided by an approved State plan. Requires such plan to include: (1) the voter registration form to be used for mail registration; (2) provisions for distribution of such forms; (3) election day voter registration; (4) voter registration in agencies which serve the public directly and at private agencies that voluntarily agree to register voters; (5) provisions for prompt notification of registration acceptance; (6) provisions to inform registrants about voting places and times; (7) registration confirmation to insure accurate, inclusive, and uniform voter registration lists; (8) provisions with respect to registration challenges; and (9) a description of State efforts to actively increase voter registration. Requires each State to submit to the Federal Election Commission for approval a voter registration form which allows registration in person or by mail. Allows the form to be similar or identical to postcard application forms under the Uniformed and Overseas Citizens Absentee Voting Act. Specifies requirements for such form, including that it provide for postage paid return delivery to the appropriate State or local official. Requires agencies subject to this Act to provide for year-round registration services. Requires State and local election officials to provide for the availability of sufficient quantities of registration forms. Requires the chief election official of any State to establish a program to confirm voter registration. Sets forth requirements for such program, including: (1) notification systems concerning deaths and changes of address; (2) non-removal from a voter registration list unless a voter has died, changed residence to another jurisdiction, been convicted of a criminal offense or institutionalized for mental incapacity, or requested removal; and (3) voter registration lists comprising eligible voters, voters whose registration cannot be confirmed and whose eligibility may be challenged on election day, and individuals who have been removed from such list not more than four years before the date of the election. Sets forth provisions for challenging election votes, including the use of an affidavit ballot for the challenged voter. Declares that voter registration requirements shall not apply to any State which: (1) provides for voter registration procedures which meet or exceed the standards for State plans; (2) does not require voter registration; or (3) adopts the Federal postcard application form. Requires individuals who register to vote on an election day to establish their identity, place of residence, and qualifications at the time of such registration. Requires each polling place to provide a means of processing such registrants separately from other voters. Authorizes the Federal Election Commission to administer this Act and to provide advice and technical assistance to States. Requires the Commission to report to the Congress every two years on: (1) the effectiveness of efforts to establish and maintain voter registration procedures; (2) the administration of voter registration programs; and (3) recommendations on national voter registration standards. Declares any order of the Commission under this Act to be reviewable by the appropriate U.S. court of appeals. Provides that the appellee shall not be liable for costs. Directs the Commission to make grants to the chief election official of any State which has an approved plan for establishing voter registration programs. Requires such grants to be made to enable and encourage States to computerize voter registration lists and to undertake alternative methods of voter registration. Authorizes the Commission to establish an advisory council of State and local election officials to advise States about voter registration systems. Requires the Commission to develop a formula for the allocation of funds to States and to allocate or reallocate such funds. Requires a State to submit a plan for voter registration to the Commission within two years of enactment of this Act. Requires the Commission to publish proposed regulations for an implementation plan, or portion thereof, for any State which fails to submit a plan or for any State plan determined not to meet the requirements under this Act. Establishes Federal enforcement procedures and penalties for violations of this Act.
United States · United States Congress · 3 January 1989
Pay Equity Technical Assistance Act - Directs the Secretary of Labor to develop and implement a continuing program of information dissemination, research, and technical assistance to public and private entities with respect to correction of wage-setting practices, and reduction or elimination of wage disparities, to the extent that they are based on the sex, race, or national origin of the employee, rather than on the work performed and other appropriate factors.
United States · United States Congress · 3 January 1989
Permanent Housing for Homeless Americans Act of 1989 - Directs the Secretary of Housing and Urban Development to provide FY 1990 and 1991 housing assistance for homeless or low-income individuals and families under the following programs: (1) section 8 assistance under the United States Housing Act of 1937; (2) section 8 moderate rehabilitation assistance under the United States Housing Act of 1937; (3) modernization of vacant public housing under the United States Housing Act of 1937; (4) rental rehabilitation under the United States Housing Act of 1937; and (5) funding for the rehabilitation of State and local government in rem properties under the Housing and Community Development Act of 1974. Requires an annual program report to the Congress.
United States · United States Congress · 3 January 1989
Designates specified lands in Alaska as the Arctic Coastal Plain Wilderness and a component of the National Wilderness Preservation System.
United States · United States Congress · 3 January 1989
Designates October 5, 1989, as Raoul Wallenberg Recognition Day.
United States · United States Congress · 3 January 1989
Authorizes and requests the President to designate May 1989 as Older Americans Month.
United States · United States Congress · 3 January 1989
Designates October 1, 1989, as Farm Safety Day.
United States · United States Congress · 3 January 1989
Title I: Housing and Urban Development - Makes supplemental FY 1989 appropriations for the following Department of Housing and Urban Development programs for the homeless: (1) assisted housing; (2) emergency shelter grants; (3) supportive housing demonstration projects; and (4) supplemental assistance for facilities to assist the homeless. Makes supplemental FY 1989 appropriations for: (1) the Federal Emergency Management Agency's emergency food and shelter program; and (2) the Department of Veterans Affairs medical care for homeless veterans program. Title II: Health and Human Services - Makes supplemental FY 1989 appropriations for the following Department of Health and Human Services programs for the homeless: (1) health services; (2) community mental health and mental health services demonstration projects; (3) alcohol and drug abuse treatment; and (4) emergency community services block grants.
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 Hunger to conduct a continuing comprehensive study of the problems of hunger and malnutrition.
United States · United States Congress · 3 January 1989
Declares that the Secretary of Transportation should refrain from adopting regulations to implement Essential Air Service reductions for 1989 and from taking action that would result in a reduction in Essential Air Service subsidies, until the Congress has had the opportunity to appropriate supplemental funding for the Essential Air Service Program for FY 1989.
United States · United States Congress · 3 January 1989
Salvadoran Foreign Assistance Reform Resolution - Expresses the sense of the Congress that: (1) the U.S. foreign assistance program for El Salvador should be revised to promote a negotiated settlement and a reduction of human suffering; (2) the ratio of assistance should be reversed in FY 1990 so that the amount spent on the war effort is only one-third of the amount spent for reform and development activities; (3) such assistance should not be distributed in a manner which would promote the interests of any particular political party; (4) such assistance should be distributed through church-related and other nongovernmental organizations and international organizations selected by the Agency for International Development; and (5) the President should report quarterly to the Congress on the restructuring of such assistance, the economic results of such restructuring, and any reports of corruption in its distribution.
United States · United States Congress · 20 October 1988
Veterans Entrepreneurship Promotion Act of 1988 - Title I: Findings, Purposes, and Definitions - Sets forth congressional findings and purposes with respect to small businesses owned and controlled by veterans. Amends the Small Business Act to add veteran-related definitions used in this Act. Title II: Procurement Assistance - Amends the Small Business Act to include small business concerns owned and controlled by veterans as a discrete group with respect to which the head of each Federal agency must establish goals for participation in procurement contracts. Requires annual reports to the Congress on the extent of participation by such businesses in agency procurement contracts. Includes veteran-owned businesses as a targeted group for purposes of Government contracts and subcontracts. Directs Federal agencies, in their procurement activities, to engage in affirmative action to identify and solicit offers from small businesses owned and controlled by veterans, by socially and economically disadvantaged individuals, and by veterans with service-connected disabilities. Title III: National Veterans Business Council - Establishes the National Veterans' Business Council to review the status of veteran-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 IV: Statistical Data - Directs: (1) the Bureau of Labor Statistics to include in its census reports on veterans 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 veterans; (3) the Small Business Administration'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 by veterans, by socially and economically disadvantaged individuals, and by veterans with service-connected disabilities. Requires the President's annual Report on Small Business and Competition to include in separate detail information relevant to small businesses owned and controlled by veterans, by socially and economically disadvantaged individuals, and by veterans with service-connected disabilities.
United States · United States Congress · 13 October 1988
Amends the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act to classify as Class II gaming electronic or electromechanical facsimiles of games of chance operated by Indian tribes in Minnesota on or before enactment of this Act.
United States · United States Congress · 3 October 1988
Links resumption of U.S. assistance to the Government of Haiti to actions by the Haitian Government to: (1) embark upon a credible transition to democracy; (2) strictly observe human and civil rights and institute a judicial process to investigate and prosecute violations of human rights; (3) reform a corrupt bureaucracy; (4) promote economic development that will benefit the Haitian people; (5) improve cooperation with the United States in dealing with narcotics trafficking through Haiti and to take steps to halt the involvement of the Haitian military in the transshipment of illicit drugs; and (6) demonstrate the willingness of the Haitian armed forces to submit to legally constituted civil authority and to respect and abide by the Haitian Constitution. States that: (1) there will be no resumption of regularized and sustained government-to-government assistance until the election of a civilian government pursuant to free, fair, and open elections; and (2) the appropriate executive branch officials should consult with the Congress before any kind of assistance is made available by the United States to the Government of Haiti. Declares support for the people of Haiti and their desire for democratic government and economic development. Urges the appropriate committees of the Congress to conduct hearings to determine appropriate and necessary legislative actions to promote free, fair, and open elections leading to civilian government in Haiti. States that the appropriate executive branch officials should examine ways that the United States can work with its allies and appropriate international organizations to develop a consistent and sustainable multilateral policy toward Haiti.
United States · United States Congress · 29 September 1988
Steel Import Stabilization Extension Act - Amends the Steel Import Stabilization Act to extend such Act for a five year period.
United States · United States Congress · 29 September 1988
Expresses the sense of the Congress that Medicare (title XVIII of the Social Security Act) hospital payments for FY 1990 should not be reduced below levels provided in current law for such fiscal year.
United States · United States Congress · 28 September 1988
Alcoholic Beverage Labeling Act of 1988 - Prohibits manufacturing, importing, or bottling for sale or distribution in the United States any alcoholic beverage unless its container bears a Government warning statement that: (1) according to the Surgeon General, women should not drink alcohol during pregnancy because of the risk of birth defects; and (2) consumption of alcoholic beverages impairs the ability to drive a car or operate machinery and may cause other health problems. Sets forth location and type size requirements for such statement. Makes such requirement inapplicable to alcoholic beverages for export from the United States or for delivery to a vessel or aircraft as supplier for consumption beyond the jurisdiction of U.S. internal revenue laws. Applies such requirement to those for sale, distribution, or shipment to members or units of the armed forces, including those located outside the United States. Sets forth civil penalties for violations of this Act. Authorizes the Secretary of the Treasury (the Secretary) to compromise, modify, or remit, with or without conditions, any such penalty. Vests jurisdiction to issue injunctions against such violations in U.S. district courts, upon application of the Attorney General acting through U.S. attorneys. Prohibits State law from requiring any alcohol and health statement, other than that required by this Act or other Federal law on any container of an alcoholic beverage, or any other package containing such container. Directs the Secretary to report promptly to the Congress any recommendations for amendments to this Act that are appropriate and in the public interest, upon finding that available scientific information would justify a change in, addition to, or deletion of all or part of such a statement after an appropriate investigation and consultation with the Surgeon General carried out after 24 months after the enactment of this Act. Directs the Secretary to promulgate regulations regarding implementation of this Act.
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 · 16 September 1988
Motor Carrier Safety and Regulatory Reform Act of 1988 - Title I: Motor Carrier Safety - Amends the Motor Carrier Safety Act of 1984 to prohibit the Secretary of Transportation from exempting any person or commercial motor vehicle from complying with any commercial motor vehicle safety regulation or from waiving application of such regulation solely on the grounds that the commercial carrier's operations take place entirely within a municipality or its commercial zone. (Grandfathers certain commercial motor vehicle operators who operated entirely within a municipality or its commercial zone in calendar year 1988.) Directs the Secretary to: (1) issue a final rule extending motor carrier safety regulations coverage to motor private carriers of passengers operating in interstate commerce; (2) implement an education and enforcement program regarding compliance of motor private carriers of passengers with Federal motor carrier safety regulations when operating in interstate commerce; and (3) report to the Congress regarding the regulations that have been promulgated and the status of the education and enforcement program. Directs the Secretary to: (1) study the hours of service regulations pertaining to commercial motor vehicle operators to determine any relationship among them, operator fatigue, and the frequency of serious accidents involving such vehicles; and (2) report to the Congress regarding study results. Requires the Secretary to: (1) conduct a rulemaking proceeding to determine the costs and benefits of commercial motor vehicle on-board computers which monitor compliance with safety regulations; (2) issue regulations for procedures to expedite use of such computers if they contribute significantly to safety; and (3) report to the Congress on whether to make such use mandatory. Requires the Secretary to issue regulations establishing minimum uniform standards for a biometric identification system for commercial motor vehicle operators. Authorizes the Secretary to use specified funds to implement a pilot demonstration project using such a system. Directs the Secretary to initiate a rulemaking proceeding regarding the use of fusees as an alternative to bidirectional emergency reflective triangles. Directs the Secretary to establish minimum standards for training and qualifying commercial motor vehicle brake system inspectors. Title II: Motor Carrier Regulatory Reform Amendments - Amends Federal motor carrier law to require foreign motor carriers to obtain a certificate of registration from the Interstate Commerce Commission as a condition of providing interstate transportation of property (including exempt property) in the United States. Requires a copy of such certificate to be in the carrier's vehicle any time it provides such transportation in the United States. Repeals the requirement that the Commission report annually to the Congress on the extent to which cost savings resulting from direct sales at a food and grocery seller's shipping point are passed on to the ultimate consumer. Subjects general commodity freight forwarders to: (1) the same liability, and grants them the same limitation on liability, accorded common carriers; and (2) the same statutes of limitation for civil actions accorded common carriers.
United States · United States Congress · 15 September 1988
Asbestos Hazard Emergency Response Amendments of 1988 - Amends the Toxic Substances Control Act to prohibit any financial connection between the contractor who conducts a school asbestos inspection or assists in preparing a school asbestos management plan and the contractor who carries out such plan. Requires that in monitoring school air for asbestos: (1) transmission electron microscopes having a specified sensitivity limit be used; (2) such monitoring be conducted in the manner most likely to detect asbestos; and (3) no financial connection exist between monitors and contractors implementing asbestos response actions. Requires that the model school asbestos contractor accreditation plan for States, developed by the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), include a State-approved contractor training course and require that those who have passed the accreditation exam engage in supervised work experience before achieving accreditation. Directs the Administrator and the States to establish procedures for terminating accreditation. Requires the Administrator to conduct a study and report to the Congress within six months of this Act's enactment on the need for and feasibility of agreements between States to create reciprocity in accreditation between States. Directs the Administrator to: (1) develop and implement a plan for conducting random, on-site school inspections to ensure that asbestos response actions are carried out in a manner that protects human health and the environment; (2) require school asbestos contractors to provide assurances of financial responsibility for all liabilities arising out of their work; and (3) delineate the division of responsibility between the EPA and the Occupational Safety and Health Administration for worker safety under the Asbestos Hazard Emergency Response program. Authorizes school employees who are directed to conduct emergency repairs which may involve asbestos or to conduct operations and maintenance activities to refuse to conduct such activities unless they are provided with proper equipment and training and allowed to follow safe work practices. Directs the Administrator to promulgate regulations within 120 days of this Act's enactment requiring owners of Federal, State, and commercial buildings to conduct asbestos inspections in and, if asbestos is present, develop and implement asbestos management plans for such buildings. Sets deadlines for the implementation and completion of such activities. Imposes civil monetary penalties against building owners who violate such regulations. Directs the Administrator to conduct a study and report to the Congress within 120 days of this Act's enactment on the feasibility of tracking asbestos-containing material removed from schools to assure that it is transported and disposed of in a manner protective of human health and the environment. Establishes an Asbestos Abatement Scientific Commission which shall assess available asbestos response actions for their effectiveness and appropriateness in protecting human health and the environment. Sets forth reporting requirements.
United States · United States Congress · 9 August 1988
Designates Black Butte Lake on Stoney Creek in the Sacramento River Basin, California, as the Harold T. "Bizz" Johnson Lake.
United States · United States Congress · 14 July 1988
Aviation Whistleblower Protection Act of 1988 - Amends the Federal Aviation Act of 1958 to prohibit discriminatory adverse employment actions against certain individuals who alert government officials to civil aircraft safety hazards. Sets forth a grievance and investigation procedure for violations of this Act. Subjects violators of this Act to specified civil penalties.
United States · United States Congress · 14 July 1988
Resolves that the Congress should implement policies under which: (1) the Bell operating companies would be permitted to provide information services, conduct research, design and market software, and design, manufacture, and market telecommunications equipment and customer premises equipment; and (2) statutory safeguards would ensure that these Bell activities would not harm telephone service customers or competition in the information services or manufacturing industries and would prevent cross subsidies between regulated and unregulated service offerings.
United States · United States Congress · 12 July 1988
Waste Export Prohibition Act - Amends the Solid Waste Disposal Act to prohibit the exportation of solid waste from the United States, except as provided for by this Act. Permits the exportation of solid waste in compliance with a bilateral agreement entered into before this Act's enactment between the United States and the country to which the waste is exported. Makes the exportation prohibition inapplicable to materials exported and destined for recycling or reuse unless such material is: (1) a hazardous waste; (2) a substance whose storage, treatment, or disposal is regulated under the Toxic Substances Control Act; (3) mixed municipal solid waste; or (4) ash or other residue from the incineration of solid waste. Subjects persons who violate the solid waste exportation prohibition to a fine and/or imprisonment.
United States · United States Congress · 12 July 1988
Prohibits the Federal Communications Commission from adopting revisions of the rules and policies in the proceeding "Policy and Rules Concerning Rates for Dominant Carrier," CC Docket 87-313, unless the changes expressly provide for: (1) the proper functioning of the long-term support mechanisms for the carrier common line rates administered by the National Exchange Carrier Association; (2) the maintenance of uniform nationwide long distance rates by dominant interexchange carriers; and (3) the use of an industry-wide rate of return to determine costs for access tariffs and to calculate the Universal Service Fund. Requires the FCC to report to the Congress the compliance of revisions with these conditions. Postpones effectiveness of any rule or policy revisions until 60 days have elapsed during which both Houses of the Congress are in session.
United States · United States Congress · 12 July 1988
Prohibits the proposed sale of F/A-18C/D aircraft, Cluster bomb units, and Sidewinder, Sparrow, Harpoon, and Maverick missiles to Kuwait.
United States · United States Congress · 21 June 1988
Amends the Agricultural Act of 1949 to limit annual imports of milk protein products to 50 percent of the average annual amount imported during the period 1985 through 1987. Directs the Secretary of Agriculture to establish a preferential import licensing system for such products based on the availability of domestic substitutes.
United States · United States Congress · 21 June 1988
Expresses the sense of the Congress that the Secretary of the Treasury should not regulate the donation of articles intended to relieve human suffering in Nicaragua, except as authorized for the President under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act.
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 · 15 June 1988
Requires the President to provide the House of Representatives with specified documents (with respect to the assistance for Central America provided for in Public Law 100-276) concerning: (1) interpretations of such Act by the Legal Advisor of the Department of State or the Office of the General Counsel of the Agency for International Development (AID); (2) standards, procedures, and controls for the accountability of funds which have been adopted by AID pursuant to such Act; (3) the procurement outside of the United States, the receipt, and the end-use of any equipment, supplies, or other goods for the Nicaraguan democratic resistance using the funds made available by such Act; (4) funds made available by such Act for the Verification Commission established by the Sapoa Agreement of March 23, 1988; (5) the selection of, and agreements with, organizations to distribute assistance under such Act for children who are victims of the Nicaraguan civil strife; and (6) compliance with the requirements for the distribution to and use of such assistance by children.
United States · United States Congress · 10 June 1988
Amends the Federal Cigarette Labeling and Advertising Act to require manufacturers and importers of cigarettes to place warnings on packages and in advertisements that the nicotine in cigarettes is an addictive drug.
United States · United States Congress · 8 June 1988
Designates July 2 and July 3, 1988, as United States-Canada Days of Peace and Friendship.