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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 · 2 June 1988
Designates the week beginning September 11, 1988, as National Outpatient Ambulatory Surgery Week.
United States · United States Congress · 1 June 1988
Korean Veterans National Medal Act - Requires the Secretary of the Treasury to design, coin, and sell a medal in honor of the members of the armed forces of the United States who served in the Korean conflict. Requires the Secretary to offer such medals for public sale at a price sufficient to cover their cost.
United States · United States Congress · 26 May 1988
Agricultural Commodity Embargo Limitation Act - Provides that the President may not prohibit or restrict the export of U.S. agricultural products to any country unless: (1) a state of war exists between such country and the United States; or (2) the President certifies to the Congress that such country is engaged in military hostilities against the United States, and such certification is in effect.
United States · United States Congress · 26 May 1988
Designates the week beginning May 21, 1989, as National Tourism Week.
United States · United States Congress · 25 May 1988
Social Security Work Incentives Act of 1988 - 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.
United States · United States Congress · 19 May 1988
Independent Federal Aviation Administration Act of 1988 - Establishes the Federal Aviation Administration as an independent regulatory agency in the executive branch to succeed the Federal Aviation Administration of the Department of Transportation. Sets forth the Administration's organizational structure and administrative parameters. Transfers to such Administration all functions previously vested in its predecessor. Declares that the Administrator of the independent Federal Aviation Administration shall neither be bound by any entity created by Executive Order nor submit decisions for the approval of any such entity.
United States · United States Congress · 19 May 1988
Designates the week of November 21 through November 27, 1988, as National Adoption Week.
United States · United States Congress · 19 May 1988
Condemns the disruption of food production and relief efforts by parties involved in armed conflicts in Ethiopia, Sudan, Mozambique, and Angola. Urges the President and the Secretary of State to: (1) support proposals made by international relief organizations to negotiate agreements to ensure safe transportation and distribution of emergency food assistance; (2) pursue negotiations leading to the cessation of hostilities in such countries, including efforts to include countries providing military assistance to parties involved in the conflicts in the negotiations; and (3) seek the involvement of other countries of Africa and the United Nations as mediators to facilitate peace negotiations. Urges that: (1) all U.S. humanitarian assistance be made available to noncombatants on the basis of need and without regard to political considerations or affiliation; and (2) all countries providing military assistance shift their emphasis from military assistance to diplomatic efforts.
United States · United States Congress · 17 May 1988
Older Americans Child Care Employment Amendments of 1988 - Amends the Older Americans Community Service Employment Act to require the Secretary of Labor to enter into agreements with public or private nonprofit agencies or organizations for the conduct of no more than 100 experimental projects employing individuals who are age 55 or older in providing day care to children. Requires that such agencies or organizations: (1) receive one-third of their funding from non-Federal sources; (2) charge families a day care fee which is proportional to their financial resources; (3) provide day care in facilities other than private residences; and (4) be subject to the most comprehensive State licensing requirements or regulatory standards applicable to similar day care providers in the State. Prohibits the making of grants pursuant to this Act to more than two agencies or organizations in each State in any fiscal year. Authorizes appropriations for such projects.
United States · United States Congress · 13 May 1988
Designates June 12 through June 18, 1988, as Lyme Disease Awareness Week.
United States · United States Congress · 12 May 1988
Designates the period of July 25 through July 31, 1988, as National Week of Recognition and Remembrance for Those Who Served in the Korean War. Authorizes and requests the President to urge that the American flag be flown at half staff on July 27, 1988, in honor of those Americans who died as a result of their service in Korea.
United States · United States Congress · 12 May 1988
Declares that the Congress recognizes the heroic acts of civilian construction workers who participated in the defense of Wake Island during its invasion by Japan between December 8 and December 23, 1941.
United States · United States Congress · 10 May 1988
Amends the Merchant Marine Act, 1936 to include in the term "privately owned United States-flag vessels," as used in provisions relating to cargo preference, any U.S. flag vessel designated by the Secretary of Transportation as a great Lakes Exempt Vessel (GLEV) regardless of the number of years the vessel has been documented under U.S. laws. Authorizes the Secretary to designate each of six vessels as a GLEV to enable vessels documented less than three years to engage temporarily in trade within the Great Lakes. Prohibits any vessel engaged primarily in bulk trade from being designated as a GLEV. Prohibits any vessel from retaining its GLEV designation if it has repair, reconditioning, or maintenance work done other than in a U.S. shipyard, subject to waiver by the Secretary to enable a vessel to safely sail from a foreign port. Prohibits any GLEV from serving any other U.S. seaport than the Great Lakes, subject to exception. Prohibits the Secretary from designating a vessel as a GLEV unless it has been approved by the Secretary of Defense as suitable for national defense purposes. Terminates any GLEV designation on December 31, 1990.
United States · United States Congress · 4 May 1988
Amends the Food Security Act of 1985 to authorize the Secretary of Agriculture to permit eligible producers to enroll 1988 through 1990 set-aside acreage in a three-year wildlife habitat and vegetative cover set-aside program (program). Directs the Secretary to offer cost-sharing program incentives. Provides for Federal-State cost sharing. Limits program participation to producers who have participated in farm programs in two of the three crop years prior to program enrollment. Limits program acreage to not more than 50 percent of a producer's set-aside acreage, and authorizes the enrollment of up to 50 percent of paid land diversion acreage in the program. Requires the program to be carried out through the Commodity Credit Corporation.
United States · United States Congress · 3 May 1988
Amends the Internal Revenue Code to provide that certain short-term loans made in the ordinary course of business of a taxpayer bank or other financial institution that meets the $5,000,000 gross receipts test and does not use an accrual method of accounting shall not be subject to requirements governing: (1) the current inclusion in gross income of the discount on such obligations; and (2) the deferral of the deduction for net direct interest expenses allocable to the accrued discount on such obligations. Applies these amendments to loans acquired after July 18, 1984.
United States · United States Congress · 2 May 1988
Directs the Secretary of Agriculture to grant to a named individual the right to use, and access to, certain property in Minnesota during a specified period of time.
United States · United States Congress · 29 April 1988
Americans with Disabilities Act of 1988 - Provides that no person shall be subjected to discrimination on the basis of handicap in: (1) employment practices and training covered by title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964; (2) the sale or rental of housing covered by title VIII of the Civil Rights Act of 1968; (3) any public accommodation covered by title II of the Civil Rights Act of 1964; (4) transportation services; (5) the actions, practices, and operations of State and local governments; and (6) broadcasts, communications, or telecommunications services. Lists the forms of discrimination which are prohibited by this Act, including: (1) denying any person the opportunity to participate in or benefit from a service, program, job, or other opportunity on the basis of his or her handicap; (2) establishing (or failing to remove) any architectural, transportation, or communication barriers that prevent the access or limit the participation of persons because of their handicap; (3) failing or refusing to make a reasonable accommodation to permit a handicapped individual to have access to a program, activity, job, or opportunity; (4) imposing any unnecessary standard or criteria that screens out or places the handicapped at a disadvantage; and (5) denying services, programs, jobs, or other opportunities to any person because of that person's relationship to, or association with, a handicapped person. Permits the exclusion or denial of equal access to services, programs, jobs, or other opportunities to persons: (1) for reasons unrelated to the existence of their handicap; or (2) based upon the application of standards or criteria that are necessary and substantially related to the ability to perform essential components of the job, program, activity, or opportunity, and such performance can not be accomplished by a reasonable accommodation. States that it shall be an act of discrimination, in regard to housing, to discriminate in the sale or rental of a dwelling (or in the terms, conditions, or privileges of such sale or rental) to any buyer or renter because of the physical or mental impairment of: (1) the buyer or renter; (2) a person residing in, or intending to reside in, such dwelling; or (3) any person associated with the buyer or renter. States that it shall be an act of discrimination to: (1) refuse to permit reasonable modifications, at the expense of the handicapped person, to afford such person enjoyment of the premises; (2) refuse to make reasonable accommodation in rules, policies, practices, or services to afford handicapped individuals equal opportunity to use and enjoy the dwelling; or (3) fail to design and construct multifamily dwellings (after a specified date) which are not accessible to the handicapped. Provides certain limitations on the duties of accommodation and barrier removal. Sets forth guidelines for the establishment of requirements and promulgation of regulations by specified Federal entities with respect to: (1) the accessibility of buildings and transportation systems; (2) the implementation and enforcement of the requirements of this Act; (3) employment practices; (4) the sale and rental of housing; and (5) the removal of communication barriers. Establishes procedures for the administrative enforcement of the provisions of this Act. Establishes a civil right of action for individuals who are subjected to discrimination in violation of this Act.
United States · United States Congress · 29 April 1988
Directs the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (the Service) to: (1) research and develop methods to accurately determine the number of migratory waterfowl that are harvested illegally each year in the United States; (2) develop a plan to increase its law enforcement presence and better coodinate its efforts with those of appropriate State agencies to halt such illegal harvesting; and (3) recommend whether specified wildlife conservation funds should be withheld from States that are not complying with the Service's regulations on illegal harvesting. Requires the Director of the Service to report on such findings to specified congressional committees within 90 days of enactment of this Act.
United States · United States Congress · 27 April 1988
Designates January 20, 1989, as National Skiing Day.
United States · United States Congress · 26 April 1988
Designates the week beginning November 6, 1988, as National Watermen's Recognition Week.
United States · United States Congress · 21 April 1988
States that the payment of certain annuities under the Railroad Retirement Act of 1974 and the appropriation of funds to the Dual Benefits Payments Account shall: (1) be considered a mandatory Federal obligation (rather than a discretionary activity); (2) not be subject to sequestration or reduction under the Balanced Budget and Emergency Deficit Control Act of 1985 (Gramm-Rudman-Hollings Act); and (3) have the same status for Federal budgetary and accounting purposes as benefits paid under title II (Old Age, Survivors and Disability Insurance) of the Social Security Act (thus ensuring that certain railroad retirement benefits paid out of the Dual Benefits Account are not reduced). Appropriates funds to the Dual Benefits Payments Account for FY 1988.
United States · United States Congress · 20 April 1988
Designates September 1988 as National Library Card Sign-Up Month.
United States · United States Congress · 18 April 1988
Truth in Social Security Accounting Act of 1988 - Amends the Congressional Budget and Impoundment Control Act of 1974 to exclude, beginning with FY 1990, Federal Old-Age and Survivors Insurance Trust Fund and Federal Disability Insurance Trust Fund receipts and outlays in the Federal deficit determinations for purposes of the Balanced Budget and Emergency Deficit Control Act of 1985 (Gramm-Rudman-Hollings Act).
United States · United States Congress · 12 April 1988
Civil Service Annuity Prompt Payment Act - Requires civil service retirement annuity payments and survivor annuity payments to begin 90 days after the later of: (1) the annuity's commencement date; or (2) the date on which the Office of Personnel Management receives a completed application. Requires the payment of interest on the initial underpayment of annuity if no monthly payment is made within the 90-day period, or if one or more monthly annuity payments are made within such period but the amount of payment is deficient.
United States · United States Congress · 12 April 1988
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 1989 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 · 31 March 1988
Omnibus McKinney Homeless Assistance Act of 1988 - Title I: General Provisions - Amends the Stewart B. McKinney Homeless Assistance Act (the Act) to require the Comptroller General to make annual audits of Federal emergency management food and shelter and housing assistance programs. Title II: Interagency Council on the Homeless - Amends the Act to authorize appropriations through FY 1990 for the Interagency Council on the Homeless. Extends such Council through FY 1990. Title III: Federal Emergency Management Food and Shelter Program - Amends the Act to authorize appropriations through FY 1990 for the Federal emergency management food and shelter program. Title IV: Housing Assistance - Amends the Act to authorize appropriations through FY 1990 for the emergency shelter grants program. Requires the Secretary of Housing and Urban Development to report annually to the Congress regarding the supportive housing demonstration program. Authorizes program appropriations through FY 1990. Authorizes appropriations through FY 1990 for supplemental assistance for facilities to assist the homeless. Increases budget authority for section 8 assistance (low-income housing) for single room occupancy dwellings. Makes religious organizations or organizations with religious affiliations meeting specified conditions eligible to receive housing assistance under this title and community development block grants under the Housing and Community Development Act of 1974. Title V: Identification and Use of Surplus Federal Property - Amends the Act to require the Secretary to identify Federal properties to use to aid the homeless within two months of collecting such information. Title VI: Health Care for the Homeless - Subtitle A: Categorical Grants for Primary Health Services and Substance Abuse Services - Amends the Public Health Service Act to limit Federal matching funds after the first fiscal year to 66-2/3 percent of service costs with regard to grants for health assistance for the homeless. (Current law provides for 75 percent Federal funding.) Authorizes the continued provision for up to 12 months of certain health (including mental health) services to former homeless persons currently living in permanent housing. Includes persons living in transitional housing within the definition of "homeless individual" for purposes of such grants. Authorizes appropriations for such grants through FY 1991. Subtitle B: Block Grant for Community Mental Health Services - Amends the Public Health Service Act to authorize appropriations through FY 1991 for community mental health services block grants. Subtitle C: Authorization of Appropriations for Community Demonstration Projects - Amends the Act to authorize additional appropriations through FY 1991 for mental health services for homeless persons with chronic mental illness. Amends the Public Health Service Act to authorize appropriations through FY 1991 for alcohol and drug abuse treatment for homeless persons. Subtitle D: General Provisions - Sets forth effective dates for specified provisions of this title. Title VII: Education, Training, and Community Services Programs - Amends the Act to authorize appropriations through FY 1990 for the following programs for the homeless: (1) adult education; (2) education for children and youth; (3) exemplary education programs and related information dissemination; (4) job training, including a specified obligation for veterans' reintegration projects; and (5) the emergency community services homeless grant program. Title VIII: Food Assistance for the Homeless - Amends the Temporary Emergency Food Assistance Act of 1983 to make excess Commodity Credit Corporation (CCC) flour, cheese, and cornmeal available through 1990. Authorizes appropriations through FY 1990 for the temporary emergency food assistance program (TEFAP) including storage and distribution costs. Increases amounts obligated for emergency feeding organizations. Extends the termination date for such programs from September 30, 1988, to September 30, 1990. Title IX: Veterans Programs - Authorizes additional appropriations through FY 1990 for veterans' medical care, including specified amounts for domiciliary care and for chronically mentally ill homeless veterans. Authorizes additional appropriations through FY 1990 (to remain available through FY 1991) for veterans' job training. Title X: Aid to Families With Dependent Children and Related Programs - Amends part A (Aid to Families with Dependent Children) of title IV of the Social Security Act to authorize the Secretary of Health and Human Services to reduce Federal matching aid to families with dependent children (AFDC) in a jurisdiction where substantial progress is not being made toward reducing the number of AFDC families living in commercial or similar transient accommodations. Authorizes the Secretary to approve demonstration projects through FY 1990 under which States encourage landlords to make permanent shelter available to families receiving AFDC housing assistance by paying rent for such shelter for the first year at the rate paid for comparable commercial or similar transient accommodations and for the remainder of the lease at the applicable AFDC housing allowance.
United States · United States Congress · 31 March 1988
National Biological Diversity Conservation and Environmental Research Act - States that the conservation of biological diversity is a national priority. Requires Federal actions to be consistent with such goal. Amends the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 to require that environmental impact statements on proposed Federal actions include any impacts on biological diversity. Directs the President's Council on Environmental Quality to: (1) establish guidelines for consideration of biological diversity in the preparation of environmental impact statements; and (2) identify those biotic communities, species, and populations that appear to be in decline, in imminent danger of loss of viability, or otherwise of special concern. Establishes a National Center for Biological Diversity and Environmental Research (Center) responsible for: (1) coordinating the collection of data pertaining to the national biota and supplementing and disseminating such information; (2) arranging and conducting surveys and supplementary research of the national biota; and (3) enhancing the application of biological data to the conservation of biological diversity. Requires the Center to report annually to the President and the Congress regarding its activities. Establishes an Interagency Working Committee on Biological Diversity responsible for preparing and implementing a coordinated Federal strategy for conservation of biological diversity. Sets forth the required contents of such strategy which must be completed within two years of this Act's enactment. Sets forth reporting requirements. Authorizes each agency represented on the Interagency Committee to provide grants to public agencies, private individuals, and organizations for projects to maintain or restore biological diversity. Requires that such grants be matched on at least an equal basis by the grantee, except when the grantee is a State. Directs each agency, other than the Council on Environmental Quality, represented on the Interagency Committee to: (1) give high priority to research and personnel training directed towards implementation of the Strategy; and (2) assess the adequacy of its environmental research and training programs. Establishes, on a permanent basis, a National Scientific Advisory Committee on Biological Diversity which shall: (1) advise the Interagency Committee in the preparation of the Strategy; (2) assist in the coordination of interaction between the Interagency Committee and the Center; (3) assist in the evaluation of the impacts of proposed Federal activities on biological diversity; (4) review Federal progress toward implementing the Strategy; and (5) serve as a general reference and advisory resource for the Nation in matters relating to conservation of biological diversity. Authorizes appropriations for the activities of the Center and the grant program for FY 1989 through 1991.
United States · United States Congress · 29 March 1988
Designates the Federal office building located at the corner of Locust Street and West Cumberland Avenue in Knoxville, Tennessee, as the John J. Duncan Federal Office Building.
United States · United States Congress · 29 March 1988
Global Poverty Reduction Act - Amends the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 to direct the President to develop a plan to ensure that U.S. development assistance contributes measurably toward eradicating the worst aspects of absolute poverty by the year 2000. Requires that such plan include target dates for reaching specific measurable goals whose attainment would contribute to direct improvements in the living standards of the poorest 40 percent of the population. Specifies that such goals shall include reducing the mortality rate of infants under age five, increasing the female literacy rate, and reducing the percentages of populations below the absolute poverty level by specified amounts by the year 2000. Directs that primary emphasis of development activities to restore the renewable natural resource base shall be on small-scale, affordable, low-risk local projects featuring close consultation with, and involvement of, local people at all stages of project design and implementation. Requires the President to submit the plan to the Congress by July 1, 1989. Requires all U.S. development assistance to be directed at attaining plan goals between October 1, 1989, and December 31, 2000. Requires the President to submit annual reports to the Congress detailing progress toward achieving plan goals. Directs the Comptroller General to review and comment on each report issued. Directs the President to host an international development conference for heads of governments of development assistance donor and recipient countries by October 16, 1989, to conclude an international agreement on eliminating the worst aspects of absolute poverty by the year 2000.
United States · United States Congress · 28 March 1988
Designates a segment of the National System of Interstate and Defense Highways known as I-195 in New Jersey as the James J. Howard Interstate Highway.
United States · United States Congress · 22 March 1988
Section 457 Clarification Act of 1988 - Amends Internal Revenue Code accounting rules governing the year of inclusion of compensation deferred under qualified plans of State and local governments and of private tax-exempt organizations. Declares the rules to be inapplicable to both nonelective deferred compensation and basic employee benefits, including bona fide vacation plans, sick leave plans, sabbatical leave, and similar benefits.
United States · United States Congress · 22 March 1988
Renewable Energy and Energy Conservation Commercialization and Development Act - Requires the Secretary of Energy to establish specific technical research and development performance goals for Department of Energy programs relating to: (1) photovoltaics; (2) wind; (3) solar thermal; (4) biofuels; (5) solar building and energy systems; (6) ocean energy systems; and (7) geothermal energy. Mandates that such goals be designed to promote significant further commercial applications by 1995. Requires the Secretary to report annually to the Congress with respect to biennial technical performance goal reviews and updates. Requires the Secretary to include in the FY 1990 budget request funding for at least three commercial demonstration projects involving renewable energy technologies. States that 50 percent of such project costs shall be funded by the United States and 50 percent shall be funded by the private sector. Cites circumstances under which the United States may fund up to 66 percent of such project costs. Authorizes appropriations for FY 1989 through 1991 for: (1) specified renewable energy programs; (2) energy conservation research and development programs; and (3) a Federal interagency working group (established under the Energy Policy and Conservation Act to make recommendations regarding the coordination of Federal programs affecting commerce in renewable energy products and related services). Requires that each annual submission of the National Energy Policy Plan be accompanied by a three-year strategic plan for energy technology research, including energy efficiency and renewable energy.
United States · United States Congress · 17 March 1988
Directs the President to designate the month of May 1988 as Older Americans Month.
United States · United States Congress · 16 March 1988
Amends the Marine Mammal Protection Act of 1972 to extend through FY 1993 the authorization of appropriations to the Department of Commerce, the Department of the Interior, and the Marine Mammal Commission to carry out specified functions under such Act.
United States · United States Congress · 16 March 1988
Requests the President to issue a proclamation commemorating the 50th anniversary of the Javits-Wagner-O'Day Act, which occurs on June 25, 1988. (The Javits-Wagner-O'Day Act, formerly known as the Wagner-O'Day Act, provides employment and ancillary support services to blind and handicapped individuals.)
United States · United States Congress · 15 March 1988
Postal Reorganization Act of 1988 - Declares that the receipts and disbursements of the Postal Service Fund: (1) shall not be included in the totals of the Federal budget or the congressional budget; (2) shall be exempt from Federal budget limitations on expenditures and net lending; and (3) shall not be counted for purposes of calculating the Federal deficit. Repeals certain limitations on postal borrowing authority. Increases the limitations on postal borrowing authority.
United States · United States Congress · 15 March 1988
Condemns the failure of the National Governing Council of Haiti to support a constitutional transition to democracy, to provide security for the Haitian people, and to respect internationally recognized human rights. Declares it to be the policy of the United States to: (1) demonstrate the disapproval of the United States of those elements in Haiti responsible for the failure to restore genuine democratic government in accordance with the Haitian Constitution (approved March 29, 1987); (2) encourage a transition to democracy through the holding of free and fair elections; (3) promote respect for human rights in Haiti; (4) continue to support efforts of the Haitian people to achieve economic development and social justice; (5) deny benefits to the Government of Haiti until there has been a transition to democracy; and (6) recognize that Haiti is a major point for the transshipment of illicit drugs. Suspends the provision of any type of foreign assistance to Haiti. Allows an exception for specified types of assistance, including emergency and humanitarian assistance. Provides that the United States shall use its vote and influence in relevant international financial institutions to oppose any loan or any extension of financial or technical assistance to Haiti, unless such assistance is directed to programs which serve the basic human needs of the citizens of Haiti. Prohibits the extension of certain trade benefits to Haiti, including: (1) treatment as a beneficiary country for purposes of the Caribbean Basic Economic Recovery Act; (2) treatment as a beneficiary developing country for purposes of the Generalized System of Preferences; and (3) specialized tariff treatment of articles exported to and returned from Haiti. Prohibits the importation from Haiti of any sugars, sirups, or molasses whenever any limitation is otherwise imposed on such importation. Prohibits the selling or leasing of any defense articles or defense services to Haiti under provisions of the Arms Export Control Act. Requires any U.S. Government agency to: (1) take into account the general policy of the United States to deny benefits to Haiti until a transition to democracy has occurred before taking any action with respect to Haiti that is not explicitly addressed by this Act; and (2) report to the Congress any decision to take such action. Requires the President to develop and transmit to the Congress a comprehensive plan for supporting individuals and institutions in Haiti committed to advancing democracy. Specifies the objectives to be considered in developing such a plan. Terminates sanctions imposed by this Act only after the Congress: (1) determines that the Haitian Constitution is being fully adhered to by a Government chosen in free elections; and (2) repeals such sanctions. Allows the President to suspend certain sanctions temporarily if he certifies to the Congress that Haiti is making significant progress toward establishment of a democratic government. Requires the President to periodically report to the Congress on the progress made toward the policy objectives of this Act. Requires the President to submit a report to the Congress which: (1) explains why Haiti has not been treated as a major-drug-transit country for purposes of the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 and the Trade Act of 1974; and (2) states whether Haiti cooperated fully with respect to illicit drug trafficking. Repeals existing restrictions on assistance to Haiti as contained in the Foreign Operations, Export Financing, and Related Programs Act, 1988.
United States · United States Congress · 14 March 1988
Expresses the sense of the House of Representatives that FY 1989 funding for Federal-aid highway and mass transit programs should be at levels established by the Surface Transportation and Uniform Relocation Assistance Act of 1987.
United States · United States Congress · 10 March 1988
Changes the definition of "Vietnam era," for purposes of veterans' benefits, to include, in the case of a veteran who served on active duty in the armed forces in Cambodia, Laos, Thailand, North Vietnam, South Vietnam, or the adjacent waters, the period from March 1, 1961 through August 4, 1964. Amends the Airport and Airway Improvement Act of 1982 to apply such definition to veterans' employment preference.
United States · United States Congress · 10 March 1988
Title I: Housing and Urban Development - Makes FY 1988 supplemental appropriations for the following Department of Housing and Urban Development homeless programs authorized by the Stewart B. McKinney Homeless Assistance Act: (1) single room occupancy dwelling rehabilitation; (2) emergency shelter grants; (3) supportive housing demonstration program; and (4) supplemental assistance for facilities to assist the homeless. Makes FY 1988 supplemental appropriations for the Federal Emergency Management Agency's emergency food and shelter program. Title II: Health and Human Services - Makes FY 1988 supplemental appropriations for the following Department of Health and Human Services homeless programs authorized by the Stewart B. McKinney Homeless Assistance Act: (1) health services; (2) community mental health services (alcohol, drug abuse, and mental health); and (3) emergency community services.
United States · United States Congress · 10 March 1988
Expresses the sense of the Congress that the Secretary of Transportation (the Secretary) should: (1) investigate the management of Texas Air Corporation and Eastern Air Lines since the acquisition of Eastern by Texas Air to determine (according to prescribed guidelines) the effect of such management upon the public interest; (2) use the investigation findings as a basis for decisions in pending and future cases involving proposed changes in domestic and international operations of Eastern; (3) not authorize the operation of any entity as a subsidiary of Texas Air in performing any air transportation operations until completion of a review to determine whether such performance is consistent with the public interest; (4) not authorize any Texas Air subsidiary to engage in air transportation until the application for such certificate has been reviewed; (5) not authorize Orion Air to provide contract services with Eastern unless Orion establishes conclusively its capability of conducting such operations with the highest degree of safety; (6) not expedite consideration of Orion's request to operate under contract with Eastern by diverting employees of the Department of Transportation or the Federal Aviation Administration from their responsibilities of ensuring the safety of previously authorized operations; and (7) require, as a condition of any approval of Orion's request to operate under contract with Eastern, that purchasers of tickets for such service must be informed at the time of making reservations of the identity of the carrier having operational responsibility for such service.
United States · United States Congress · 9 March 1988
Employer Reversion Moratorium Act of 1988 - Amends the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 to prohibit distributions to an employer, before October 1, 1989, of plan assets in connection with any single-employer defined benefit plan termination announced on or after March 9, 1988. Makes plan fiduciaries jointly and severally liable for breach of fiduciary duty unless assets distributed upon plan termination are either distributed to plan participants and beneficiaries or paid into a trust whose terms provide for final disposition in accordance with applicable law in effect on October 1, 1989. Requires the dissolution of such a trust and the distribution of its assets during the month of October 1989.
United States · United States Congress · 9 March 1988
Designates the week of November 6 through November 12, 1988, as National Women Veterans Recognition Week.
United States · United States Congress · 8 March 1988
Age Discrimination Claims Assistance Act of 1988 - Extends the statute of limitations applicable to bringing civil actions in the Federal courts on certain claims under the Age Discrimination in Employment Act of 1967 that were filed with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission before the date of enactment of this Act. Directs the Commission to send out notices regarding the claims for which the statute of limitations has been extended. Directs the Commission to report to specified congressional committees on such claims, notices, alleged unlawful practices eliminated or attempted to be eliminated, and civil actions filed.
United States · United States Congress · 3 March 1988
Designates the week of June 26 through July 2, 1988, as National Safety Belt Use Week. Authorizes and requests the President to: (1) urge the people to wear safety belts and use child safety seats; and (2) encourage State and local governments and concerned organizations and officials to promote greater use of these safety devices.
United States · United States Congress · 2 March 1988
Makes a supplemental appropriation for FY 1988 to the Coast Guard (Department of Transportation) for operations at certain facilities comparable in nature and extent to the operations carried out during FY 1987. Prohibits amounts made available by this Act from being used in connection with any closing of, or reduction in force with respect to, any Coast Guard facility or installation.
United States · United States Congress · 1 March 1988
Women in Development Act of 1988 - Requires the Administrator of the Agency for International Development (AID) to take specific steps to strengthen the Agency's women in development policy, including: (1) incorporating the active participation of local women and local women's organizations in its development activities; (2) instructing Agency staff and contractors to collect sex-disaggregated data and to insure that country strategies, projects, and programs are designed so that the percentage of women receiving assistance in proportion to the higher of their traditional participation in the targeted activities or their proportion of the population; (3) insuring that project and program evaluations include an assessment of the extent to which the project integrates women in the development process and of the project's impact on women; (4) increasing the number and responsibility of women in professional positions within AID; and (5) establishing within AID a task force on women in development. Amends the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 to require that a minimum (currently, maximum) of $10,000,000 in funds made available for foreign assistance programs be used for programs to promote the participation and integration of women in the development process in developing countries. Requires the Administrator to report to the Congress annually on the implementation of this Act. Authorizes appropriations to be made available for the United Nations Development Fund for Women and the United Nations International Research and Training Institute for the Advancement of Women.
United States · United States Congress · 25 February 1988
Social Security Eligibility Reconciliation Verification and Independent Status Act of 1988 - Title I: Improvements in Records Maintenance; Protection of Benefit Levels - Directs the Secretary of Health and Human Services and the Secretary of the Treasury to jointly establish a Social Security Earnings Reconciliation Task Force through which the Secretaries shall: (1) establish within their respective departments coordinated procedures which work to reconcile discrepancies in earnings credited to employees, self-employed individuals, and beneficiaries under the Internal Revenue Code and title II (Old Age, Survivors and Disability Insurance) (OASDI) of the Social Security Act; (2) educate the public and employers regarding methods by which they may assist in such reconciliation; and (3) actively consult with the Social Security Earnings Reconciliation Commission established by this Act. Requires the Secretaries to submit to the President and the Congress an interim report by July 1, 1989, and a final report by July 1, 1990, regarding the manner and extent to which the Task Force carried out its tasks. Terminates the Task Force 60 days after the submittal of such final report. Authorizes appropriations for the Task Force for FY 1989 and 1990. Establishes the Social Security Earnings Reconciliation Commission which shall: (1) conduct a comprehensive study of the issues pertaining to discrepancies in earnings credited under the OASDI program and Internal Revenue Code; and (2) report its findings and recommendations to the President and to the Congress by July 15, 1990. Terminates the Commission 60 days after the submittal of its final report. Authorizes appropriations for the Commission for FY 1989 and 1990. Prohibits the Congress from considering any legislation which effects a reduction in benefits under the OASDI program or title XVI (Supplemental Security Income) (SSI) of the Social Security Act. Considers the enactment of such prohibition to be an exercise of congressional rulemaking powers, subject to change in the same manner and to the same extent as any other rule of the House of Representatives or the Senate. Title II: Establishment of the Social Security Administration - Amends title VII (Administration) of the Social Security Act to establish as an independent executive agency a Social Security Administration, headed by a Social Security Board. Provides that it shall be the duty of the Administration to administer the OASDI and SSI programs. Requires the Board to study and make recommendations as to the most effective methods of providing economic security through social insurance and as to legislation and matters of administrative policy. Establishes in the Administration: (1) a Commissioner of Social Security; (2) a Deputy Commissioner of Social Security; (3) a General Counsel; (4) an Inspector General; and (5) an Office of the Beneficiary Ombudsman, to be headed by a Beneficiary Ombudsman who shall represent the interests of beneficiaries under the OASDI and SSI programs within the Administration. Requires the annual report of the Board to include a description of the activities of the Beneficiary Ombudsman. Requires the Board to make annual budgetary recommendations relating to the Administration. Requires that appropriations requests by the Administration for staffing and personnel be based upon a comprehensive workforce plan as established by the Board. Provides for the apportionment of administrative costs. Requires the annual report of the Board to include a section reflecting the use of budget authority provided to the Administration. Requires that authority for automated data processing procurement and facilities construction be provided in the form of contract authority covering the total cost of such acquisitions. Makes amounts needed for the liquidation of contract authority so provided available from the Federal Old-Age and Survivors Insurance Trust Fund and the Federal Disability Insurance Trust Fund to the extent that such amounts are not needed to meet current obligations for benefit payments. Requires the Board and the Director of the Office of Personnel Management to implement demonstration projects relating to personnel matters. Directs the Board and the Administrator of General Services to implement such projects relating to delegations from the Administrator. Specifies the authorities which are to be delegated to the Board from the Administrator and the Director. Requires the Comptroller General to report to specified congressional committees concerning such projects, including an evaluation of the Board's readiness to assume full and permanent authority. Requires the Board to cause a seal of office to be made and judicial notice taken thereof. Provides for the transfer to the Administration of all functions carried out by the Secretary of Health and Human Services with respect to the programs and activities to be carried out by the Administration under this Act. Abolishes the position of Commissioner of Social Security in the Department of Health and Human Services. Directs the Secretary and the Social Security Board to take such measures as are necessary to ensure that this Act's provisions do not result in staffing or service reductions involving the functions transferred. Requires the Comptroller General to report to the President and the Congress by July 1, 1990, on the extent to which such staffing or service cuts have been avoided. Sets forth effective date and transitional rule provisions. Title III: Conforming Amendments and Rules of Construction - Requires the Secretary and the Board to report to the Congress within 120 days after the beginning of each regular session on their administration under this Act. Requires the Secretary to study and make recommendations on the most effective methods of providing economic security and on the administrative policy for the programs. Directs the Board to appoint, quadrennially, an Advisory Council on the Old-Age, Survivors, and Disability Insurance Program and an Advisory Council on Health and Supplementary Medical Insurance to review the relation of the trust funds supporting the OASDI program and the Medicare program and the long-term commitments of those programs. Requires each council to submit a report to the Board for transmittal to the Congress and the Board of Trustees of each Trust Fund.
United States · United States Congress · 25 February 1988
Designates the month of October 1988 as Polish American Heritage Month.
United States · United States Congress · 24 February 1988
ATV User Safety and Equity Act - Provides that three-wheeled all-terrain vehicles (ATVs) shall be considered to be banned hazardous products under the Consumer Product Safety Act. Permits the sale of three-wheeled ATVs by other than manufacturers, distributors, or dealers. Requires the manufacturers of three-wheeled ATVs to provide refunds to persons who purchased such vehicles before the effective date of this Act (in accordance with regulations promulgated by the Consumer Product Safety Commission). States that the failure of a manufacturer to comply with the refund requirements of this Act shall be considered a violation of the Consumer Product Safety Act. Directs the Commission to promulgate a consumer product safety rule which will require: (1) manufacturers to offer free training in the operation of ATVs to all purchasers; (2) manufacturers to offer helmets and other protective equipment with the sale of ATVs; (3) manufacturers to provide notice (warning labels and other appropriate means) of the risk of injury or death presented by ATVs; (4) manufacturers and distributors to establish programs to ensure compliance by dealers with the safety requirements of the rule; and (5) retail dealers to provide purchasers with safety information respecting the operation of such vehicles. Directs the Commission to promulgate a consumer product safety rule to improve the safety of ATVs by prescribing: (1) appropriate performance standards for ATVs; and (2) design characteristics. Sets forth a consumer product safety rule to be placed into effect in the event that the Commission does not promulgate a final rule within the prescribed time period.