United States · United States Congress · 3 November 1989
Amends the Disaster Assistance Act of 1989 to make earthquake losses in orchards, forest crops, and rural business enterprises eligible for disaster assistance under such Act. Makes ornamentals eligible for such assistance. Increases rural business enterprise assistance limits from $200,000,000 to $300,000,000.
United States · United States Congress · 31 October 1989
Amends the Internal Revenue Code to allow a tax credit for unused disaster losses attributable to a disaster occurring before December 31, 1991. Prohibits the use of the tax credit together with the tax deduction for losses. Sets forth special rules for disaster losses involving residences. Allows penalty-free withdrawals from retirement plans for disaster losses occurring after July 31, 1989, and before January 1, 1992. Provides a tax exemption for State and local bonds used to provide disaster loans to small and moderate businesses for disasters occurring after July 31, 1989.
United States · United States Congress · 31 October 1989
Amends the Internal Revenue Code to reduce the occupational tax from $250 to $165 for retail dealers in liquors and in beer. Limits assessments of underpayments with respect to taxable periods beginning after the date of enactment of this Act in connection with such tax. Abates assessments and mandates refund of overpayments of any post-1987 tax. Places additional limitations on the deductibility by a C corporation of interest on corporate stock acquisition indebtedness, denying a deduction for such interest in excess of $5,000,000 incurred in connection with any acquisition of stock pursuant to the acquiring corporation's plan to acquire 50 percent or more (by vote or value) of the stock in a corporation.
United States · United States Congress · 19 October 1989
Declares it is in the interests of the United States to support efforts to protect South Pacific marine resources (including albacore tuna, porpoises, whales, seals and other marine mammals, birds, sea turtles, and fish) from the slaughter of driftnet fishing. Supports the Tarawa Declaration and the South Pacific Commission resolution calling for an immediate ban on driftnet fishing in the South Pacific. Urges the Secretary of State to work toward an international convention banning driftnet fishing in the South Pacific. Urges Japan and Taiwan to immediately cease the use of driftnets in international South Pacific waters.
United States · United States Congress · 18 October 1989
Approves the location of a commemorative work to honor women who served in the armed forces of the United States in Vietnam during the Vietnam era on certain Federal land in the District of Columbia.
United States · United States Congress · 13 October 1989
Federal Agency Debt Management Act - Amends Federal law regarding the public debt to prohibit any Federal agency or instrumentality established after December 31, 1988, from incurring any financial obligation other than authorized borrowings from the Treasury. Applies such limitations as of December 1, 1988, to any refinancing obligations incurred by such entities.
United States · United States Congress · 12 October 1989
Incarcerated Veterans Rehabilitation and Readjustment Act of 1989 - Title I: Incarcerated Veteran Assessment and Assistance - Directs the Attorney General to identify those individuals who may be veterans among those: (1) entering Federal prisons; and (2) who are incarcerated in such prisons and who are to remain incarcerated for more than 30 days. Requires the Attorney General to transmit to the Secretary of Veterans Affairs the names and locations of such prisoners. Directs the Secretary to inform such prisoners of their ability to have their veteran status determined and to inform those prisoners determined to be veterans of their rights to veterans' benefits and services as affected by their incarceration. Outlines other information to be provided. Requires the Secretary to suspend all debt collection activities being undertaken against any such prisoner for the entire period of incarceration and six months thereafter. Requires such debt collection suspension for both Federal and State or local inmates. Title II: Incarcerated Veteran Rehabilitation Counseling - Directs the Secretary to: (1) provide readjustment counseling services to those incarcerated veterans suffering from mental and psychological disorders stemming from their military service; (2) safeguard such veterans' possibility of being adjudicated as having service-connected disabilities to the same extent as non-incarcerated veterans; (3) designate an employee from a regional office of the Department of Veterans Affairs to act as a liaison between each Federal prison and the Department for such veterans; (4) review physical examinations of such veterans to determine whether they are eligible for benefits under the Veterans' Dioxin and Radiation Exposure Compensation Standards Act; and (5) ensure that the designated Department liaison provides liaison services between families of incarcerated veterans and Federal prisons. Directs the Attorney General to: (1) conduct physical examinations, with the incarcerated veterans' consent, for the purpose of aiding in the determination of eligibility for exposure benefits under such Act; (2) transmit such examination results to the Secretary; (3) inform the Secretary of an incarcerated veteran's impending release; and (4) encourage the organization of self-help groups and other similar programs that may contribute to the rehabilitation of incarcerated veterans. Title III: Readjustment Counseling Education - Directs the Secretary to develop a training curriculum, to be available to individuals, organizations, agencies, and health facilities, for assisting relevant professionals employed by the Bureau of Prisons in acquiring the expertise necessary to diagnose and treat psychiatric disabilities peculiar to veterans. Title IV: Post-Incarceration Readjustment Services - Requires the Secretary, upon receiving the names of those veterans about to be released from incarceration, to inform such veterans of readjustment benefits and services available to them. Requires the Assistant Secretary of Veterans Affairs to designate a disabled veterans' outreach program specialist in each State where a Federal prison is located to serve as liaison between such program and such prison. Directs the Chairman of the United States Parole Commission to: (1) integrate the services available from the readjustment counseling program of the Department into the Federal parole program for released veterans; and (2) encourage Federal parole officers to encourage paroled veterans to make use of vet centers and maintain contact with vet center personnel. Title V: State and Local Outreach Assistance - Directs the Secretary and Assistant Secretary, within six months after enactment of this Act, to implement a program to extend the benefits of this Act to State and local penal institutions with respect to veterans incarcerated in such institutions. Title VI: Miscellaneous - Directs the Attorney General, the Secretary, the Assistant Secretary, and the Chairman of the U.S. Parole Commission to report annually to the Congress on their activities in implementing this Act.
United States · United States Congress · 12 October 1989
South African Financial Sanctions Act of 1989 - Amends the Comprehensive Anti-Apartheid Act of 1986 to expand the scope of definitions of "loan" and "United States national." Defines "depository institution" and "exit loan" for purposes of such Act. Prohibits U.S. nationals from holding any exit loan after 1992. Amends the Bretton Woods Agreement Act to require the President to instruct the U.S. Executive Director of the International Monetary Fund to vote against the use of Fund credit for any country practicing apartheid. Amends the Comprehensive Anti-Apartheid Act of 1986 to prohibit U.S. depository institutions from: (1) accepting or holding deposit accounts from South African depository institutions; or (2) providing correspondent banking services to such institutions. Prohibits disqualified depository institutions from being designated as depositaries or fiscal agents for Federal agencies within six months after this Act's enactment. Terminates designations of such institutions made before this Act's enactment at the end of such six-month period. Prohibits Federal agencies from obtaining any service from such institutions after such period. Provides for the termination or modification of certain provisions under the Comprehensive Anti-Apartheid Act of 1986 if the Government of South Africa: (1) ends the state of emergency and all forms of political repression; (2) withdraws all military personnel from black townships; (3) frees all political prisoners unconditionally and permits exiles to return to South Africa; (4) permits former prisoners and exiles to participate in political activities without harassment or restrictions; (5) repeals bans or restrictions on political parties or organizations and allows such entities to function freely; and (6) commits to enter into negotiations with respect to, and demonstrates progress toward, achieving a nonracial, democratic form of government. Provides for the repeal of such provisions by joint resolution if such conditions are met.
United States · United States Congress · 3 October 1989
Expresses the sense of the Congress that in determining the allocation of foreign assistance the Department of State should: (1) weigh heavily the persecution, torture, and execution of innocent Somalis by the armed forces of Siad Barre; and (2) insist upon significant improvements in human rights as a precondition to the resumption of foreign assistance to Somalia.
United States · United States Congress · 28 September 1989
Directs the Secretary of the Interior, acting through the Director of the National Park Service, to conduct a review of the boundaries for each unit of the National Park System. Requires the Director to report the results of such review to specified congressional committees. Authorizes appropriations.
United States · United States Congress · 28 September 1989
Amends the Rail Passenger Service Act to repeal an exemption from specified communicable disease control requirements of the Public Health Service Act for waste disposal from railroads operating in intercity rail passenger service.
United States · United States Congress · 27 September 1989
Expresses the sense of the Congress that in recognition of several significant steps that Angola has taken toward peace, national reconciliation, and economic reform it is in the interest of the United States to take steps to normalize relations with the Government of Angola, including: (1) establishing a U.S. liaison office in Luanda; (2) supporting Angola's full participation in multilateral development institutions; and (3) providing humanitarian assistance.
United States · United States Congress · 26 September 1989
Requires the Secretary of Veterans Affairs, in any case in which there has been either a disallowance of a veterans benefits claim or a partially awarded claim, to provide to the claimant a written statement setting forth notice of procedural rights of the claimant and the rationale for the disallowance. Requires that such statement: (1) be provided at each procedural stage relating to the disposition of a claim; (2) include a summary of the evidence supporting the disallowance or the partial award; (3) be in such forms as the Secretary prescribes by regulation; (4) include a description of each subsequent procedural stage before the Department of Veterans Affairs; (5) include a description of all rights of the claimant expressly provided for in the veterans' benefits code, the claimant's right to a hearing, to reconsideration, to appeal, and to representation, and any specific procedures necessary to obtain the various forms of review available for consideration of the claim; and (6) include such other information as the Secretary determines would be useful and practical to assist the claimant in obtaining full consideration of the claim. Adds parallel requirements with respect to the Chairman of the Board of Veterans' Appeals.
United States · United States Congress · 20 September 1989
Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1989 - Title I: Committee on Agriculture - Amends the Agricultural Act of 1949 to direct the Secretary of Agriculture to permit producers to plant soybeans, sunflowers, or safflowers on up to 25 percent of the permitted acreage for 1990 crops of wheat, feed grains, cotton, and rice. Requires the Secretary to reduce such percentage (or even prohibit such plantings) if it is estimated, based on the anticipated additional soybean, sunflower, and safflower plantings, that the average market price for the 1990 soybean crop will be below 115 percent of the loan rate for the 1989 crop. Requires a report to the appropriate congressional committees. Counts any acreage planted to soybeans, sunflowers, or safflowers as acreage planted to the program crop for which they are substituted. Sets forth a sliding-scale of acreage limitations and reductions for the 1990 crop of feed grains. Requires the Secretary, at the end of the first five months of the respective marketing year for rice, feed grains, and wheat, to estimate the amount of deficiency payments due to producers of the 1990 crop and to make interim deficiency payments available by the end of the first six months of such marketing year. States that the interim payment may not be less than 80 percent of the estimate. Entitles any producer of 1990 rice or cotton crops to deficiency payments on any permitted acreage which is devoted to conservation uses. Authorizes the Secretary to restrict the total amount of acreage taken out of production (except in counties where producers where eligible to receive emergency loans for a disaster in that crop year). Amends the Disaster Assistance Act of 1988 to declare that refunds of advance deficiency payments may not be required before December 31, 1989, (currently July 31) for producers of 1988 crops of wheat, feed grains, rice, and cotton if they suffered losses of 1988 or 1989 crops due to a natural disaster. Amends the Food Security Act of 1985 to: (1) extend the conservation reserve program through 1992; but (2) prohibit the Secretary from entering reserve contracts between October 1, 1989, and December 31, 1990. Reduces the minimum total acreage of highly erodible cropland placeable in the conservation reserve during the 1986 through 1989 crop years from 35,000,000 acres to 30,000,000 acres. Prohibits the Commodity Credit Corporation during FY 1990 from making more than $523,000,000 in commodities available to exporters, processors, or foreign importers in order to enhance the export of U.S. commodities by making their prices competitive in the world market. Directs the Corporation during each of FY 1990 through 1992 to promote the export of U.S. meat, including poultry products, to military commissaries in the European Community. Specifies the amount of funds or commodities the Corporation must make available for such purposes in those years. Amends the Food Security Act of 1985 to reduce the amount of target export assistance available for FY 1990 from $325,000,000 to $200,000,000. Amends the Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1986 to direct the Secretary to offer the issuer of any unsold rural development loan, note or other obligation held in the Rural Development Insurance Fund, for which the issuer made a good faith purchase deposit on or before March 9, 1989, the opportunity to purchase that loan, note, or obligation. Cites eligibility conditions and requires the opportunity to be held open for 150 days after enactment of this title. Amends the Balanced Budget and Emergency Deficit Control Act of 1985 to exempt from mandatory budget reductions the Farm Credit System Financial Assistance Corporation interest payments account. Declares that it is the sense of Congress that the Secretary should carefully examine the funding level of a certain working capital fund as it relates to the National Finance Center. Amends the Disaster Assistance Act of 1989 to specify mandatory reductions in deficiency payments to producers of the 1990 crops of wheat, feed grains, cotton, and rice if the acreage planted to the 1989 crops of barley and oats exceeds certain limits. Title II: Committee on Banking, Finance and Urban Affairs - Amends the National Flood Insurance Act of 1968 to extend the authority of the Director of the Federal Emergency Management Agency to: (1) enter into new flood insurance contracts; (2) implement a flood insurance program; (3) establish flood-risk zones; and (4) make certain flood insurance payments regarding structures on land subject to imminent collapse or subsidence. Amends the National Housing Act to extend: (1) through FY 1991 the Director's authority to implement the national insurance development program; and (2) from September 30, 1990, to September 30, 1992, the Director's authority to continue existing insurance contracts. Amends the Housing and Community Development Act of 1987 to extend through FY 1991 the prohibition against premium increases for flood insurance and crime insurance. Title III: Committee on Education and Labor - Subtitle A: Education and Labor Provisions - Chapter 1: Student Loan Reconciliation Amendments - Student Loan Reconciliation Amendments of 1989 - Amends the Higher Education Act of 1965 (GEA) to revise provisions relating to repayment of student loans by medical residents. Revises HEA provisions for the Supplemental Loans for Students (SLS) program to prohibit borrowing under it by any student who has not successfully completed the first year of undergraduate education. Directs the Secretary of Education (the Secretary) to establish a student loan default reduction program as an amnesty program for defaulters on loans under the Robert T. Stafford Student Loan Program. Sets forth additional requirements with respect to the disbursement of student loans under the Robert T. Stafford Student Loan Program, including the SLS and guaranteed student loan (GSL) programs. Excludes from such additional requirements parent (PLUS) loans, consolidation loans, and loans to cover study at an institution outside the United States. Authorizes the Secretary to take certain emergency actions to impose actions against lenders and their agents if they violate HEA student aid programs provisions. Prohibits an institution from being certified or recertified as eligible for the Stafford Student Loan Program or other student assistance if it has lost its institutional accreditation during the preceding 24 months, unless such accreditation has been restored or the institution has demonstrated its academic integrity to the Secretary's satisfaction. Repeals a prohibition against the Secretary's requiring lenders, guaranty agencies, or institutions of higher education to obtain or verify information through the National Student Loan Data System before making, guaranteeing, or certifying a loan. Chapter 2: Pension Plan Reversions and Health Benefits - Amends the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA) to revise general rules governing fiduciary standards applicable to plan assets of terminated plans. Provides that, with specified exceptions, plan assets shall never inure to the benefit of any employer and shall be held for the exclusive purposes of providing benefits to plan participants and their beneficiaries and of defraying reasonable administrative expenses. Amends ERISA to allow the qualified transfer of excess assets in a pension plan to a retiree health benefits account under certain circumstances. Directs the Secretary of Labor to study the need for additional rules or standards relating to transfers of excess pension assets to health accounts. Subtitle B: Miscellaneous ERISA Amendments - Miscellaneous ERISA Amendments Act of 1989 - Chapter 1: Amendments Relating to the Tax Reform Act of 1986 - Makes technical amendments to pension-related provisions of the Tax Reform Act of 1986, the Internal Revenue Code (IRC) and the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA) relating to: (1) minimum vesting requirements; (2) plan amendment deadlines; and (3) continuation coverage requirements of group health plans. Directs the Comptroller General, as soon as practicable, to conduct a thorough study of the extent to which employers have lengthened the eligibility period for group health insurance coverage as a result of enactment of continuation coverage requirements contained in the Consolidated Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1985. Chapter 2: Amendments Relating to the Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1986 - Makes technical amendments to the IRC and ERISA, including a repeal of the 133-1/3 percent rule relating to accrued benefit requirements applied to defined benefit pension plans. Revises the definition of normal retirement age for purposes of minimum vesting standards for plans. Chapter 3: Amendments Relating to the Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1987 (Including the Pension Protection Act) - Makes a number of technical amendments to provisions of the IRC and of ERISA (including amendments of the Pension Protection Act) dealing with: (1) the full funding limitation for multiemployer pension plans; (2) modification of the minimum funding standard for pension plans; (3) the time for making plan contributions; (4) funding waivers; (5) the interest rate to be used in connection with various plan funding rules; (6) plan terminations; and (7) reporting requirements. Chapter 4: Amendments Relating to the Single-Employer Pension Plan Amendments Act of 1986 - Makes technical amendments to the Single-Employer Pension Plan Amendments Act of 1986 and related provisions of ERISA. Chapter 5: Other Amendments and Provisions Relating to ERISA - Makes a number of technical amendments and corrections to ERISA. Directs the Secretary of the Treasury to study the feasibility of Federal Government issuance of index bonds for investment by private pension plans and individual retirement plans. Amends ERISA to add special rules for top-heavy plans corresponding to those included in the IRC. Requires annual plan reports to include a statement of whether the plan has met qualification requirements. Provides that rural telephone cooperative association welfare plans shall receive the same treatment as those of rural electric cooperatives under specified ERISA preemption provisions. Requires termination fees for standard terminations of single-employer plans. Sets forth additional ERISA requirements relating to the trusteeship of single-employer pension plans. Subtitle C: User Fees - Amends ERISA to require administrators of single-employer plans to pay specified user fees (for enforcement purposes) at the time of filing annual reports, summary plan descriptions or modifications or changes, or notices of qualified transfers of excess pension assets. Subtitle D: Settlement of Claims - Directs the Secretary of Labor to accept in full settlement of claims with respect to certain disallowed expenses of the Genessee, Lapeer, Shiswassee, and Flint Employment and Training Consortium under the Comprehensive Employment and Training Act specified payments by the city of Flint to the Department of Labor. Directs the Secretary of Education to treat certain awards to and expenditures by the Franklin-Northwest Supervisory Union, Vermont, under the Bilingual Education Act as if they were made in accordance with such Act for purposes of any repayment claims asserted by such Secretary. Subtitle E: Early Childhood Education and Development - Early Childhood Education and Development Act of 1989 - Authorizes appropriations for FY 1990 through 1993 to carry out this subtitle. Chapter 1: Expanded Head Start - Amends the Head Start Act to provide for child care services throughout the year for children who participate or are eligible to participate in Head Start programs. Authorizes Head Start programs to use funds under this subtitle (if the parents are working or attending a job training or educational program) for: (1) full-working-day (at least ten hours) child care services throughout the year to children participating in Head Start programs; and (2) part-day and full-working-day child care services throughout the year to children eligible to participate in Head Start programs. Chapter 2: Early Childhood Development and School-Related Child Care - Amends the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (ESEA) to establish a new title VIII program of grants to States for early childhood development and school-related child care. Directs the Secretary of Education (the Secretary for purposes of this chapter) to make grants to States for expansion or establishment of before- and after-school child care or early child development programs. Chapter 3: Child Care Services for Infants, Toddlers, and Young Children - Child Care Services for Infants, Toddlers, and Young Children Act - Establishes a program of grants by the Secretary of Health and Human Services (the Secretary for purposes of this chapter) to States for child care services for infants, toddlers, and young children. Directs the Secretary to establish the National Advisory Committee on Model Child Care Standards to: (1) review Federal policies on child care services; (2) submit to the Secretary proposed model standards; and (3) develop and make available model requirements for resource and referral agencies. Chapter 4: Child Care and Early Childhood Development Coordinating Activities - Child Care and Early Childhood Development Coordinating Activities Act - Authorizes the Secretary of Health and Human Services to provide financial assistance to States and Indian tribes for training and program compliance monitoring. Requires designation of a State lead agency to administer the program and to assist local child development councils. Requires establishment of local child development councils to assess local child care needs and resources. Directs the Governor of each State under the program to appoint a State committee on child care licensing. Requires States to establish training clearinghouses and to provide preservice and inservice training for child care and resource and referral staff. Chapter 5: Business Involvement in Meeting Employee Child Care Needs - Directs the Secretary of Health and Human Services to establish a program of grants to eligible businesses to: (1) pay start-up costs incurred to provide child care services needed by their employees; or (2) provide additional child care services needed by their employees. Authorizes appropriations for FY 1990 through 1993 to carry out this chapter. Title IV: Committee on Energy and Commerce - Subtitle A: Medicare - Part A: Provisions Relating to Part B of Medicare - Subpart 1: Payment for Physicians' Services and Related Professional Services - Amends part B (Supplementary Medical Insurance) of title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act to phase-in, from 1990 to 1993, Medicare payment for physician services pursuant to a fee schedule which is based upon the relative value of the resources devoted to each physician service. Directs the Secretary of Health and Human Services to adjust fee schedule amounts to take into account geographical variations in resource values and to make the transition to such payment methodology budget neutral. Prohibits the Secretary, after 1990, from making variations in the relative value of a physician service turn on whether the physician is a specialist or such service is his or her specialty. Requires that, after 1991, classification and coding of physician services: (1) be uniform for the same physician service in all fee schedule areas; (2) include pre-operative and post-operative physician services with related surgical procedures; and (3) differentiate evaluation and management services (primary case) on the basis of the time spent in providing different primary care services. Directs the Secretary to report to the Congress, by July 1, 1991, on whether geographical variations in fee schedules should be based on variations in resource values among States or between urban and rural areas. Factors malpractice expenses into the relative value of a physician service. Phases-in, from 1991 to 1993, the limitation of a nonparticipating physician's actual charge for a service to 120 percent of the fee schedule amount for such service. Provides for no increase in the medicare economic index for physician services in 1990. Makes resource-based geographical variations in Medicare payments for physician services applicable to radiology services. Prohibits the rounding of fractional time units in calculating Medicare payments for anesthesia services. Establishes separate uniform national fee schedule conversion factors for nurse anesthetist services furnished under the direction of a physician and for other nurse anesthetist services. Prohibits Medicare payments for a surgeon's direction of a nurse anesthetist. Amends the Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1986 to expand and extend a program reimbursing certain rural hospitals for the costs of nurse anesthetists, rather than reimbursing nurse anesthetists directly. Amends part B of the Medicare program to make payments for physician pathology services pursuant to a fee schedule and geographical area adjustments comparable to such adjustments made for other physician services. Prohibits Medicare carriers from recovering certain part B overpayments made between July 1, 1985, and March 31, 1986. Subpart 2: Payments for Other Services - Accelerates the use of regional rates in calculating Medicare payments for durable medical equipment. Narrows the range of acceptable purchase prices for such equipment. Covers parenteral and enteral nutrition equipment as durable medical equipment. Reduces Medicare payments for seat-lift chairs, power-operated vehicles, and transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulators. Treats: (1) power-driven wheelchairs as routinely purchased durable medical equipment; and (2) ostomy supplies as home health services which home health agencies must provide to beneficiaries who need them. Lowers the payment ceiling for a clinical laboratory test to 95 percent of the median of all fee schedules established for that test for that setting. Allows Medicare payments for such tests to be made to the referring laboratory only if it is located in, or is part of, a rural hospital or submits payment requests for tests of which no more than 30 percent in any year are performed by another laboratory. Eliminates the requirement that a fee schedule for clinical diagnostic laboratory tests be established on a nationwide basis. Repeals the requirement that physician office laboratories performing over 5,000 tests a year be treated as independent laboratories that must meet State and local license requirements. Reduces capital payments for outpatient hospital services provided during FY 1990. Provides Medicare cost-based reimbursement to health centers which: (1) provide the services rural health clinics are authorized to provide; and (2) meet the requirements for receiving a grant under the Public Health Service Act or were treated, under part B, as comprehensive Federally funded health centers as of January 1, 1989. Raises the ceiling on payments for physical and occupational therapy services. Directs the Comptroller General to conduct a study and report to specified congressional committees on the provision of such services under the Medicare program. Directs the Secretary to conduct a study and report to the Congress on the adequacy and appropriateness of Medicare payments for ambulance services. Requires the Physician Payment Review Commission to conduct a study and report to the Congress on the adequacy and appropriateness of Medicare payments for assistants at surgery. Directs the Secretary to evaluate and report to specified congressional committees on the effect the part B methodology for reimbursing for blood clotting factor for hemophilia patients has on the accessibility and affordability of such factor to beneficiaries. Subpart 3: Changes in Coverage and Miscellaneous - Eliminates the limitation of covered psychologist services to services furnished at community mental health centers. Covers services performed by a clinical social worker for the diagnosis and treatment of mental illnesses. Requires such psychologist or clinical social worker to document in the patient record that: (1) the patient has been informed of the desirability of conferring with his or her physician; and (2) the patient's physician has been notified that services are being provided to the patient or has been directly consulted concerning medical conditions than may be contributing to the patients' condition. Eliminates the dollar limitation on covered mental health services. Covers the services of a nurse practitioner working in collaboration with a physician. Makes Medicare payments for such services to the nurse practitioner's employer. Requires Medicare carriers to permit routine part B payments for up to 1.5 monthly visits per resident of a nursing facility by a member of a team which includes a physician and physician assistant and/or nurse practitioner. Directs the Secretary to establish at least one demonstration project applying such limitation on visits on an average basis over the aggregate total of nursing facility residents served by team members. Covers a screening pap smear for women who have not undergone such a test during the preceding three years or for a shorter period set by the Secretary for Women at higher risk of developing cervical cancer. Requires rural health clinics to have a nurse practitioner, physician assistant, or certified nurse-midwife available to furnish patient care services at least 50 percent of the time the clinic operates. Covers social worker services furnished to outpatients of rural health clinics. Expands the area within which rural health clinics may be located. Directs the Secretary to provide health care facilities and the chief executive officer, chief health officer, and chief human services officer of each State with applications and information enabling such facilities to apply for rural health clinic designation under the Medicare or Medicaid (title XIX of the Act) program. Prohibits the Secretary from denying the certification of a facility as a rural health clinic if such facility is located on an island and would meet certification requirements but for the requirement that physician assistant or nurse practitioner services be provided in the facility. Requires that Medicare payments for physician services furnished to Medicaid beneficiaries be made only on an assignment-related basis. Directs the Physician Payment Review Commission to review the adequacy and appropriateness of Medicaid payments for physician services. Part B: Provisions Relating to Parts A and B of Medicare - Amends the Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1986 to extend, through 1993, the application of a waiver of the Medicare requirement that health maintenance organizations (HMOs) must have an enrolled population of which not more than 50 percent are Medicare or Medicaid beneficiaries to HMOs which had a pre-existing waiver of such requirement and received specified grants in FY 1987. Amends the Medicare program to limit physician charges for emergency services or out-of-area coverage provided to an HMO enrollee by a person who is not under contract with such HMO. Requires the Secretary to give HMOs annual notice of proposed changes in the methodology used or assumptions made in calculating payment rates for each class of HUD enrollee. Eliminates HMOs from the prohibition against making payments to physicians as an inducement to reduce or limit services provided to Medicare beneficiaries. Makes the per capita rate of payment for each class of HMO enrollee equal to the adjusted average per capita cost for that class, rather than 95 percent of such cost. Amends part B (Peer Review) of title XI of the Act to require peer review organizations (PROs) to give providers whose services are denied Medicare coverage an opportunity for reconsideration of the determination before patients and organizations responsible for paying claims are notified of such determination. Gives Medicare providers an opportunity, if appropriate, to pursue a recommended course of remedial education before PROs recommend their exclusion from such program by reason of their failure to comply with program requirements. Raises the threshold below which a county's population must fall for a provider located in such county to be entitled to a pre-exclusion hearing before an administrative law judge. Sets the civil monetary penalty for a provider's failure to comply with Medicare requirements at 2,500, rather than the cost of improperly provided services. Amends the Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1986 to maintain the current base Medicare payment rate for kidney dialysis treatment through September 1989. Requires that subsequent changes in such rate be subject to Medicare notice and comment requirements. Amends the Medicare program to prohibit payments for dialysis services from exceeding payments for such services determined pursuant to a method based on a single composite weighted formula. Increases the weighting factors, used in determining Medicare payments to hospitals for graduate medical education costs, for initial residencies in family medicine, internal medicine, and pediatrics. Offsets such increase by establishing a national payment limit for graduate medical education costs. Directs the Secretary of Health and Human Services to develop and distribute to Medicare beneficiaries a summary of recommended preventive health care practices and a form for use in recording information which might assist physicians in providing appropriate care. Part C: Other Provisions Relating to Medicare and Health-Related Programs - Amends part A (General Provisions) of title XI of the Act to provide that when a matter under part B (Peer Review) of such title or under the Medicare or Medicaid program is to be heard by an administrative law judge such judge must have been appointed by the Secretary exclusively for hearings on such matters. Amends the Medicare Catastrophic Coverage Act of 1988 to make miscellaneous amendments affecting the United States Bipartisan Commission on Comprehensive Health Care, including the requirement that the Commission also be known as the Claude Pepper Commission and that it submit its two reports to the Congress concurrently by November 9, 1989. Amends title VII (Administration) of the Act to place the Office of Rural Health Policy under the direction of a Deputy Under Secretary for Rural Health responsible for reporting directly to the Secretary and Deputy Under Secretary of Health and Human Services. Makes such Office independent of other offices, services, and components of the Department of Health and Human Services. Elaborates upon the duties of the Office of Rural Health Policy. Expresses the sense of the Congress that legislation should be enacted in 1989 making receipt of the additional Medicare coverage provided by the Medicare Catastrophic Act of 1988 voluntary and imposing the additional premiums financing such coverage only on those who elect to receive such coverage. Expresses the sense of the House of Representatives that the Committees on Energy and Commerce and on Ways and Means review and hold hearings on the Medicare Catastrophic Coverage Act of 1988. Subtitle B: Health Care Research and Policy - Part A: Agency for Health Care Research and Policy - Amends the Public Health Service Act to create a new title to establish, within the Public Health Service, the Agency for Health Care Research and Policy (Agency) to enhance the quality, appropriateness, and effectiveness of health care services, and access to such services, through the establishment of a broad base of scientific research, and improvements in clinical practice and in the organization, financing, and delivery of health care services. Requires that the agency be headed by an Administrator for Health Care Research and Policy, to be appointed by the President, by and with the advice and consent of the Senate. Directs the Secretary of Health and Human Services, through the Administrator, to carry out the new title. Sets forth the general authorities and duties of the Administrator, including conducting and supporting research, demonstration projects, evaluations, training, and the dissemination of information. Prohibits the Administrator from restricting the publication of data or results from projects conducted or supported under the new title, but prohibits disclosure of identifying data without consent. Directs the Administrator and the Director of the National Library of Medicine (the Library) to enter into an agreement for indexing, abstracting, translating, publishing, and other services leading to a more effective and timely dissemination of information on research, demonstration projects, and evaluations. Directs the Administrator to promote the development and application of appropriate health care technology assessments. Establishes at the Library an information center on health care technologies and health care technology assessment. Directs the Administrator and the Director of the Library to enter into an agreement providing for the information center. Directs the Administrator to make recommendations to the Secretary and to the Administrator of the Health Care Financing Administration with respect to whether specific health care technologies should be reimbursable under federally financed health programs. Establishes within the Agency the Office of the Forum for Quality and Effectiveness in Health Care, to be headed by a director to be appointed by the Administrator. Directs the Administrator, through the Director, to establish the Forum for Quality and Effectiveness in Health Care to develop, review, and update: (1) clinically relevant diagnosis and treatment guidelines for physicians and health care practitioners; and (2) standards of quality, performance measures, and medical review criteria. Authorizes the Director, in establishing and carrying out the Forum, to enter into contracts with public or nonprofit private entities. Requires the Director to convene panels of qualified experts, practicing physicians, and health care consumers to carry out the development, review, and updating. Authorizes the Director to convene panels of the same composition to develop the standards and criteria and to provide advice to the Administrator. Part B: Outcomes of Health Care Services and Procedures - Amends part A (General Provisions) of title XI of the Social Security Act to direct the Secretary of Health and Human Services, through the Administrator for Health Care Research and Policy, to conduct and support research with respect to the outcomes of health care services and procedures to identify how diseases and disorders can most effectively and appropriately be diagnosed and treated. Directs the Administrator to establish priorities with respect to the diseases and disorders for which outcome evaluations are to be conducted. Directs the Administrator to conduct and support: (1) research on improvement of the methodologies and criteria utilized in the outcome research; and (2) evaluations of methodologies that utilize large data bases, including claims data and clinical data, in conducting outcome research. Directs the Administrator to: (1) develop and promote uniform standards and formats for information on outcomes; (2) provide for dissemination of research findings and education of providers; and (3) conduct and support evaluations of outcome research activities. Authorizes the Administrator to conduct or support research on improving methods of disseminating information on the effectiveness and appropriateness of health care services and procedures. Declares that the authorities and duties of the Administrator under specified portions of the new title of the Public Health Service Act added by this Act apply with respect to activities carried out under these provisions (relating to outcomes research) as such authorities and duties apply under the new title. Authorizes appropriations for the outcomes research for FY 1990 through 1992. Authorizes, in addition to appropriations, transfers from the Federal Supplementary Medical Insurance Trust Fund in specified amounts for FY 1990 through 1992. Part C: Additional Authorities and Duties with Respect to Agency for Health Care Research and Policy - Amends the Public Health Service Act to establish the National Advisory Council for Health Care Research, Evaluation, and Policy to advise the Secretary and the Administrator with respect to activities of the Agency for Health Care Research and Policy (Agency). Declares that the Council shall, notwithstanding the Federal Advisory Committee Act, continue in existence until otherwise provided by law. Requires that technical and scientific peer review be conducted on each application for a grant, cooperative agreement, or contract under the new title of the Public Health Service Act added by this Act. Prohibits application approval by the Administrator unless the application has been recommended for approval by a peer review group. Allows adjusted peer review procedures for applications involving a direct cost under a specified amount. Directs the Administrator to establish such technical and scientific peer review groups as may be necessary. Requires that they continue in existence, notwithstanding the Federal Advisory Committee Act, until otherwise provided by law. Requires that the reviews of applications be conducted by different peer review groups than those that conduct review of applications involving dissemination activities or the development of research agendas. Directs the Administrator to: (1) establish guidelines for uniform methods of developing and collecting data under the title added by this Act; (2) assure that statistics developed under that title are of high quality, timely, comprehensive, specific, standardized, and adequately analyzed and indexed; and (3) disseminate the statistics as widely as possible. Authorizes the Secretary to provide supplies and services in lieu of funds. Declares that contracts may be entered into without regard to specified provisions of Federal law relating to advances and to advertising for Government contracts. Authorizes the Administrator to appoint a deputy administrator for the Agency. Sets forth other administrative authorities. Authorizes the Administrator to make grants, cooperative agreements, and contracts to carry out the title added by this Act. Authorizes the Secretary to secure the services of experts and consultants, subject to specified Federal law. Exempts not more than 50 experts or consultants from limitations, set forth in the same Federal provisions, relating to duration of service. Allows payment of travel expenses for the exempted experts or consultants if certain requirements are met. Authorizes appropriations for FY 1990 through 1992 to carry out the title added by this Act. Requires, in addition, that a portion of amounts available under specified existing provisions of the Public Health Service relating to evaluations of programs be made available for evaluations under the title added by this Act. Part D: General Provisions - Removes from the Public Health Service Act provisions establishing the National Center for Health Services Research and provisions providing for grants for a council on health care technology. Directs the Secretary to request the Institute of Medicine of the National Academy of Sciences to enter into a contract to: (1) recommend priorities for the assessment of specific health care technologies; and (2) assist in the establishment of the information center. Authorizes appropriations for FY 1990 for carrying out such contract. Provides for the transfer of information and materials developed by the council on health care technology to the Secretary in establishing the information center on health care technologies and health care technology assessment. Makes technical and conforming amendments to the Public Health Service Act. Subtitle C: Medicaid - Part A: Infant Mortality Provisions - Amends title XIX (Medicaid) of the Social Security Act to phase-in mandatory State coverage of pregnant women and infants whose family income is below 185 percent of the Federal poverty level. Deducts child and medical care costs from the income eligibility test. Directs the Secretary of Health and Human Services to report to the Congress by July 1, 1990, on State error rates in determining the Medicaid eligibility of pregnant women and infants. Suspends error rate penalties attributable to such eligibility determinations made from July 1, 1989, until one year after the Secretary's report. Requires that States make ambulatory prenatal care available to a pregnant woman during a presumptive eligibility period which ends when she is determined to be ineligible for Medicaid benefits or after the month following the month during which she is determined to be eligible, if she fails to apply. Allows States to cover prenatal home visitation services for high-risk pregnant women and postpartum home visitation services for high-risk infants. Requires that States submit to the Secretary, by April 1 of each year, proposed Medicaid payment rates for obstetrical and pediatric services and such other data as will assist the Secretary in determining whether such rates are sufficient to ensure that obstetrical and pediatric services will be at least as available to Medicaid beneficiaries as they are to the general population. Requires States to immediately revise rates determined to be insufficient. Requires States to cover ambulatory services offered to pregnant women or children by certain federally-funded health centers. Excepts Medicaid-eligible pregnant women from required cooperation with States in establishing the paternity of children born out of wedlock. Requires States to: (1) coordinate Medicaid services with the special supplemental food program for women, infants, and children (WIC) under the Child Nutrition Act of 1966; and (2) notify Medicaid-eligible pregnant, breastfeeding, or postpartum women and children under age five of WIC program benefits. Part B: Child Health Amendments - Requires States to: (1) provide Medicaid coverage to children born after September 30, 1983, whose family income is below the Federal poverty level; and (2) receive the Medicaid applications of pregnant women, infants, and children at locations which include locations other than those used under part A (Aid to Families with Dependent Children) (AFDC) of title IV of the Act. Allows States to offer an additional nine-, 12-, 15-, or 18-month period of Medicaid eligibility, rather than the additional six-month period, to families who lose AFDC eligibility because of increased earnings or employment hours, or a loss of earning exclusions and receive the initial six months of extended Medicaid coverage. Sets forth the required components of Medicaid early and periodic screening, diagnostic, and treatment services. Requires States to report annually to the Secretary concerning the number of children receiving such services. Directs States to adjust Medicaid payments to disproportionate share hospitals to take into account exceptionally costly and lengthily inpatient hospital services for children. Requires States to provide Medicaid coverage to all children who are eligible for title XVI (Supplemental Security Income) (SSI) benefits. Prohibits States from discontinuing a child's Medicaid coverage until such child is determined not to be eligible for such coverage on any basis. Authorizes States to provide Medicaid coverage for foster care children whose incomes do not exceed the Federal poverty level. Part C: Community and Facility Habilitation Services Amendments - Medicaid Community and Facility Habilitation Services Amendments of 1989 - Subpart 1: Community Habilitation and Supportive Services - Amends title XIX (Medicaid) of the Social Security Act to authorize States to cover community habilitation and supportive services for individuals with mental retardation or related conditions without regard to whether or not such individuals have been discharged from a nursing or habilitation facility. Defines community habilitation and supportive services as services which assist individuals in developing and maintaining the skills necessary to function successfully in a home or community-based setting. Requires that community habilitation and supportive services be provided to each client in accordance with an individual habilitation plan prepared and periodically reviewed and revised by an interdisciplinary team on the basis of a comprehensive functional assessment of a client's needs conducted before his or her receipt of services and at least annually thereafter. Requires that such services meet minimum requirements, to be developed by the Secretary of Health and Human Services, regarding client rights and service quality. Makes the requirements imposed on habilitation facilities (under this Act) regarding patient's rights and facility safety and sanitation applicable to residential settings in which community habilitation and supportive services are provided. Requires that residential settings: (1) disclose persons having an ownership or control interest in the setting; and (2) exclude a person from such interest if he or she has been excluded from the Medicaid program or had an interest in a residential setting repeatedly found to have provided substandard care. Requires a habilitation facility which converts to a residential setting to continue to provide continuous active treatment to residents who required such treatment at the time of conversion. Requires a residential setting to document a client's receipt of medical services. Excludes settings in which fewer than three unrelated adults reside from the definition of a "residential setting." Makes the: (1) Secretary responsible for certifying that State providers of community habilitation and supportive services and residential settings in which such services are provided comply with Medicaid requirements; and (2) States responsible for certifying that other providers of and residential settings for such services comply with Medicaid requirements. Requires each State to: (1) conduct periodic educational programs for the staff and clients in residential settings for community habilitation and supportive services regarding requirements imposed on such setting; and (2) provide, through the State agency responsible for the certification of such providers and residential settings, for the receipt, review, and investigation of allegations of client neglect and abuse and of misappropriation of client property by providers. Requires that such providers and settings be certified annually. Provides States with no Federal Medicaid coverage for the costs of carrying out such quality assurance activities. Authorizes States to reward providers of community habilitation and supportive services who provide the highest quality of care. Bases residential setting certification on an annual, unannounced survey. Directs the Secretary to: (1) develop a protocol for conducting surveys; and (2) conduct sample surveys of residential settings, within two months of State surveys, to test the adequacy of State surveys. Authorizes the Secretary to conduct a special survey of a setting or a review of the provider when there is reason to question its compliance with this Act. Prohibits the use of surveyors who have an interest in the provider or setting being surveyed or have not completed a training and testing program approved by the Secretary. Requires States and the Secretary to investigate complaints against providers or settings concerning violations of this Act's requirements. Requires that: (1) certain information regarding providers and settings and their compliance with this Act's requirements be made available to the public; and (2) the State agency responsible for the protection and advocacy system for the developmentally disabled and the guardians of clients be notified of a provider's or setting's noncompliance with this Act's requirements. Gives State Medicaid fraud and abuse control units access to provider or setting survey and certification information. Requires that when the Secretary or State determines that a provider's or setting's deficiencies immediately jeopardize the client's health and safety, immediate action be taken to remove the jeopardy and correct the deficiencies or the provider's or setting's participation in Medicaid be terminated. Directs the Secretary and States to apply certain other remedies where the health and safety of clients are not immediately jeopardized. Requires the imposition of civil money penalties against providers and settings which are, or are found to have been, out of compliance with any of this Act's requirements. Sets forth the Secretary's responsibilities relating to community habilitation and supportive service requirements. Eliminates the restriction of the Medicaid waiver for community habilitation services to individuals who have been discharged from a skilled nursing or intermediate care facility. Directs the Secretary to report to the Congress: (1) annually, on the extent to which providers and residential settings are complying with this Act's requirements and the number and type of enforcement actions taken by the Secretary and the States; and (2) by January 1, 1992, on the effectiveness of existing outcome-oriented instruments and methods in evaluating and assuring the quality of community habilitation and supportive services. Subpart 2: Quality Assurance for Habilitation Facility Services - Defines a "habilitation facility" as an institution primarily engaged in providing health or habilitation services to individuals with mental retardation or related conditions and not primarily for the care and treatment of mental diseases. Sets forth requirements for habilitation facilities, including requirements that such facilities: (1) promote maintenance or enhancement of the quality of life, independence, productivity, and integration into the community of each client; (2) provide continuous active treatment which is coordinated and monitored by a qualified mental retardation professional; (3) provide such treatment in accordance with an individual program plan prepared and periodically reviewed and revised by an interdisciplinary team of professionals on the basis of an assessment of a client's developmental and behavioral management needs conducted upon the client's admission and at least annually thereafter; (4) not admit any new client with mental retardation or a related condition on or after January 1, 1991, unless the State mental retardation or developmental disability authority has determined on the basis of an evaluation performed independently of the facility that the individual requires habilitation facility services; (5) provide physician services 24 hours a day, annual physical examinations, licensed nursing services, comprehensive dental diagnostic and treatment services, routine and emergency drugs and biologicals, professional program services to implement each client's active treatment plan, and meal services; (6) require a physician's supervision of each patient's care, have a physician available to furnish emergency medical care, and maintain clinical records on all clients; (7) protect specified client rights, including the right to appeal a transfer or discharge and receive post-discharge preparation and planning services; (8) provide applicants and residents with information regarding the Medicaid program and not require applicants to waive their rights to such benefits or have a third party guarantee payment to the facility as a condition of their admission; (9) protect a client's personal funds upon the client's authorization and teach clients to manage their funds to the extent of their capabilities; (10) adopt certain measures to preserve facility safety and sanitation; and (11) meet such other conditions which the Secretary of Health and Human Services deems necessary for client health and safety. Sets forth the Secretary's responsibilities relating to habilitation facility requirements. Makes the Secretary responsible for certifying that State habilitation facilities comply, and States responsible for certifying that other habilitation facilities comply, with Medicaid habilitation facility requirements. Requires each State to: (1) conduct periodic educational programs for habilitation facility staff and clients regarding the requirements imposed on such facilities; and (2) provide, through the State agency responsible for the certification of habilitation facilities, for the receipt, review, and investigation of allegations of client neglect and abuse and of misappropriation of client property by facility staff. Bases habilitation facility certification on an annual, unannounced survey. Directs the Secretary to: (1) develop and test a protocol for conducting surveys; (2) establish minimum qualifications for surveyors and train them in survey and certification techniques; and (3) conduct sample surveys of habilitation facilities, within two months of State surveys, to test the adequacy of State surveys, and reduce Federal payments for State Medicaid administrative costs if such State surveys prove inadequate. Authorizes the Secretary to conduct a special survey of a facility when there is reason to question its compliance with this Act. Requires States and the Secretary to investigate complaints against a facility and monitor the compliance of a facility with this Act's requirements if the facility was previously found out of compliance or the State or Secretary has reason to question its compliance. Requires that: (1) certain information regarding habilitation facilities and their compliance with this Act's requirements be made available to the public; (2) the State agency responsible for the protection and advocacy system for the developmentally disabled and the guardians of facility clients be notified of a facility's noncompliance with this Act's requirements; and (3) mail survey results to the parents or legal representative of each client and make such results available to the public upon request. Gives State Medicaid fraud and abuse control units access to facility survey and certification information. Requires that when the Secretary or a State determines that a habilitation facility's deficiencies immediately jeopardize residents' health and safety, immediate action be taken to remove the jeopardy and correct the deficiencies or such facility's participation in Medicaid be terminated. Directs the Secretary and States to apply certain other remedies where the health and safety of facility residents are not immediately jeopardized. Authorizes the imposition of civil money penalties against facilities found to be in compliance with this Act's requirements but to have been out of compliance previously. Provides that if a facility is out of compliance with any of this Act's requirements three months after having been found out of compliance with such requirements or on three consecutive annual surveys, Medicaid payments for newly admitted residents shall be denied, civil monetary penalties assessed and collected, and, in the latter case, on-site monitoring of the facility's compliance shall be established. Allows States to establish a program rewarding habilitation facilities that provide the highest quality of care to Medicaid-eligible clients. Provides that when a facility is found to have deficiencies relating to the facility's physical plant that do not immediately jeopardize the health or safety of its clients, the State may submit to the Secretary a written plan for permanently reducing the number of certified beds in such facility within 36 months of such finding and providing services, including community habilitation and supportive services, to clients who thereby cease to receive facility services. Requires that Medicaid-eligible clients be given the option of retaining facility services. Requires the Secretary to report to the Congress annually on the extent to which habilitation facilities are complying with this Act's requirements and the number and type of enforcement actions taken by States and the Secretary. Subpart 3: Appropriate Placement for Individuals with Mental Retardation or a Related Condition - Requires that State mental retardation or developmental disability authorities conduct preadmission and annual reviews of habilitation facility applicants and residents with mental retardation or related conditions to determine whether they require facility services or community habilitation and supportive services. Directs that such preadmission and annual reviews be conducted in accordance with criteria to be developed by the Secretary by July 1, 1990. Requires States to provide community habilitation and supportive services for facility clients who need such services but no longer need habilitation facility services. Requires States to establish an appeals procedure for individuals adversely affected by such preadmission and annual reviews. Eliminates existing utilization review and penalty provisions directed at the provision of services in an intermediate care facility for the mentally retarded. Subpart 4: Payment for Community Habilitation and Supportive Services and Habilitation Facility Services - Covers the reasonable and adequate costs of community habilitation and supportive services and habilitation facility services, without distinguishing, in payment amounts, between State-operated providers and other providers. Prohibits Medicaid reimbursement of providers or facilities for civil monetary penalties imposed pursuant to this Act. Subpart 5: Employee Protections and Miscellaneous - Provides employment protections for employees affected by habilitation facility closures or capacity reductions occurring after this Act's enactment. Authorizes States to assign specific management functions relating to the provision of Medicaid services to individuals with mental retardation or related conditions to State agencies responsible for developmentally disabled individuals. Part D: Frail Elderly Community Care Amendments - Permits States to provide Medicaid coverage of community care for functionally disabled elderly individuals. Defines a functional disability as Alzheimer's disease or the inability, due to physical or cognitive impairment, to perform at least two daily living activities. Defines a covered community care setting as a nonresidential setting or a residential setting in which more than two unrelated adults reside and personal services are provided. Requires that community care be provided to each client in accordance with an individual community care plan (ICCP) prepared and periodically reviewed and revised by a community care case manager on the basis of the case manager's face-to-face consultation with the client, a visit with the client in the client's residence, and a comprehensive functional assessment of a client's needs conducted by an interdisciplinary team before his or her receipt of care and at least annually thereafter. Requires case managers to visit their clients in their clients' residences at least once every 90 days. Sets a ceiling on Medicaid payments to States for community care. Reduces Federal Medicaid payments to States that reduce their Medicaid community care expenditures below their FY 1989 expenditures for such care. Requires that such care meet minimum requirements, to be developed by the Secretary, regarding client rights and the quality of such care. Makes the requirements imposed on nursing facilities regarding patient's rights and facility safety and sanitation applicable to settings in which community care is provided. Requires that community care settings: (1) disclose persons having an ownership or control interest in the setting; and (2) exclude a person from such interest if he or she has been excluded from the Medicaid program or had an interest in a community care setting repeatedly found to have provided substandard care. Makes the: (1) Secretary responsible for certifying that State community care providers and settings comply with Medicaid requirements; and (2) States responsible for certifying that other community care providers and settings comply with Medicaid requirements. Requires that providers and settings be certified annually. Bases community care setting certification on an annual, unannounced survey. Directs the Secretary to: (1) develop a protocol for conducting surveys; and (2) conduct sample surveys of community care settings, within two months of State surveys, to test the adequacy of State surveys. Authorizes the Secretary to conduct a special survey of a setting or a review of a provider when there is reason to question its compliance with this Act. Prohibits the use of surveyors who have an interest in the provider or setting being surveyed. Requires States and the Secretary to investigate complaints against providers or settings concerning violations of this Act's requirements. Requires each State to provide, through the State agency responsible for the certification of such providers and settings, for the receipt, review, and investigation of allegations of client neglect and abuse, and of misappropriation of client property by providers. Requires that: (1) certain information regarding providers and settings and their compliance with this Act's requirements be made available to the public; and (2) State Medicaid fraud and abuse control units be given access to provider or setting survey and certification information. Authorizes the Secretary or States to terminate a community care provider's participation in the Medicaid program and to impose a civil monetary penalty for failure to meet this Act's requirements. Requires the Secretary or States to terminate a provider's Medicaid participation or take immediate corrective action if a provider's deficiencies immediately jeopardize client health or safety. Gives substandard community care settings three months to rectify matters before their Medicare participation may be terminated permanently. Sets forth the Secretary's responsibilities relating to community care requirements. Requires that State Medicaid payment rates for community care be reasonable and adequate to meet the costs of providing such care efficiently, economically, and in accordance with applicable laws, regulations, and standards. Prohibits the coverage of substandard community care, penalties imposed for such care, and community care furnished by family members. Part E: Hospice Coverage - Requires States to provide Medicaid coverage of hospice care. Sets a floor on Medicaid payments for such care. Part F: Miscellaneous - Makes miscellaneous amendments to Medicaid requirements imposed on nursing facilities by the Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1987. Requires States to provide Medicaid coverage of the Medicare premiums of individuals who are entitled to enroll for benefits under part A (Hospital Insurance) of the Medicare program, are not eligible for Medicaid, and whose income does not exceed 200 percent of the Federal poverty level. Permits States to cover less than 100 percent of such premium when an individual's income is between 150 and 200 percent of the Federal poverty level. Prohibits: (1) aggregate donations by hospitals to State Medicaid matching payments from exceeding ten percent of non-Federal Medicaid expenditures; or (2) the donations of any particular hospital to State Medicaid matching payments from exceeding ten percent of the hospital's non-Federal revenues. Prohibits the Secretary from limiting Medicaid payments to States which raise Medicaid revenues by imposing taxes on the provision of covered items or services. Considers every day spent in a hospital by a Medicaid patient to be an "inpatient day" in determining whether such hospital serves a disproportionate share of low-income patients. Includes pass-through payments for capital costs in the prohibition against the Secretary limiting the amount of payment adjustments to disproportionate share hospitals. Exempts a State Medicaid plan which as of January 1, 1987, provided payment adjustments on the basis of a statewise pooling arrangement involving all acute care hospitals and reimbursing the total amount of each participating hospital's uncompensated care from existing Medicaid arrangements for disproportionate share hospitals. Provides that if the Secretary approves a Minnesota demonstration project relating to the State family investment plan the Secretary must require that Minnesota treat project families as: (1) Medicaid-eligible individuals; (2) ineligible for aid under part A (Aid to Families with Dependent Children) (AFDC) of title IV of the Social Security Act if they lose project eligibility due to increased project income; and (3) AFDC recipients for Medicaid purposes for one year after they lose project eligibility due to increased collection of child support under part D (Child Support and Establishment of Paternity) of title IV of the Act. Sets forth other miscellaneous, technical, and conforming amendments. Subtitle D: Maternal and Child Health Program - Amends title V (Maternal and Child Health Services) of the Social Security Act to increase authorized appropriations under such title. Adds the promotion and provision of family-centered, community-based, coordinated care for children with special health care needs to the purposes to which title V block grants to States shall be devoted. Increases amounts set aside from the block grant program to enable the Secretary of Health and Human Services to develop and expand: (1) maternal and infant health home visiting programs; (2) integrated maternal and child health service delivery systems; (3) maternal and child health centers; (4) projects designed to increase the participation of obstetricians and pediatricians under title V and the Medicaid program; and (5) maternal and child health projects serving rural populations. Authorizes States to use block grant funds to pay the salaries of National Health Service Corps personnel. Prohibits States from using more than ten percent of block grant funds for administering such funds. Requires States to use at least: (1) 30 percent of block grant funds for preventive and primary care for pregnant women, mothers, and infants; (2) 30 percent of such funds for preventive and primary care for children; and (3) 30 percent of such funds on children with special health care needs. Permits a waiver of such requirement if a State demonstrates an extraordinary unmet need for one of the activities. Requires State agencies administering a State's title V program to assist individuals who are eligible for assistance under title XIX (Medicaid) of the Social Security Act in applying for Medicaid benefits. Requires title V providers to provide Medicaid services. Imposes maternal and child health reporting requirements on States and the Secretary of Health and Human Services. Provides States with Federal technical assistance in developing consistent and accurate maternal and child health data collection mechanisms. Directs the Secretary to develop: (1) a model application form for use in applying, simultaneously, for assistance for a pregnant woman or a child under age six under specified maternal and child assistance programs; and (2) a national system for linking an infant's birth record, such infant's death record, and information on Medicaid claims submitted with respect to such infant or his or her birth. Subtitle E: Miscellaneous Health-Related Provisions - Amends the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act to give the Congress access to trade secret information acquired under the authority of such Act. Amends title XXI (Vaccines) of the Public Health Service Act to make miscellaneous changes affecting the procedures to be followed and compensation available under the National Vaccine Injury Compensation Program. Authorizes appropriations for the administration of such Program for FY 1990 and 1991. Requires that the legal representatives of children receiving vaccines be provided with a summary of relevant Federal recommendations concerning a complete schedule of childhood immunizations and the availability of the Compensation Program. Directs the Secretary to conduct a study and report to the Congress by January 1, 1992, concerning such Program. Requires the Comptroller General to conduct a study regarding the loss by retirees of health benefits due to the liquidation of their employer in bankruptcy. Subtitle F: NRC User Fees - Directs the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) to assess and collect annually: (1) fees to cover its costs in providing any service or thing of value; and (2) charges from certain utilization facility licensees in addition to such fees. Directs the NRC to establish by rule a schedule of charges allocating among such licensees the aggregate amount to be assessed. Makes a conforming amendment to the Consolidated Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1985. Subtitle G: Securities and Exchange Commission Fees - Amends the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 to require every national securities association to pay the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) a specified sales transaction fee for off-exchange-traded securities. Sets forth special rates for transaction, filing, and registration fees for FY 1990 and 1991. Directs the SEC to adjust fee rates for each fiscal year after FY 1991 so that the amounts collected equal the amounts appropriated and the applicable surplus amount for such fiscal year. Declares that SEC fee adjustments are not subject to judicial review. Requires the SEC to report fee adjustments with explanations to the Congress before their effective date. Authorizes appropriations for FY 1990 and 1991. Subtitle H: Federal Communications Commission Fees and Penalties - Amends the Communications Act of 1934 to adjust the Schedule of Charges assessed by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) for the provision of the following services: (1) private radio services; (2) equipment approval services/experimental radio; (3) mass media services; (4) common carrier services; and (5) miscellaneous charges. Changes to every two years after October 1, 1991, the date upon which such schedule shall be reviewed by the FCC and adjusted to reflect changes in the Consumer Price Index. Increases fines and penalties for various failures and noncompliance under the Communications Act of 1934 (the Act). Increases the fines assessed against those who receive from a common carrier a rebate or offset against the regular charges for the transmission of messages or signals. Makes such fines higher for broadcast station licensees or permittees, cable television operators, or applicants for cable television operation. States penalty amounts if the violator is a common carrier subject to the provisions of the Act or an applicant for a common carrier license. Requires the FCC to assess such forfeiture penalty amount via written notice. Amends the Act, for purposes of the Fairness Doctrine, to require a broadcast licensee to afford reasonable opportunity for the discussion of conflicting views on issues of public importance. Revises Federal provisions concerning penalties for placing obscene or harassing telephone calls to remove the reference to such calls in the District of Columbia or in interstate or foreign communication. Provides instead for penalties and fines for any such calls placed within the United States. Provides an affirmative defense for individuals who restricted access to such communications to persons 18 years of age or older under procedures prescribed by the FCC. Provides additional penalties for those persons or entities who intentionally violate such prohibitions. Outlines provisions for the collection of fines and for suits by the Attorney General to enjoin any acts which violate such provisions. Prohibits a common carrier from providing access to such a communication from the telephone of any subscriber who has not previously requested access to such communication if the carrier collects from subscribers an identifiable charge for such communication which the carrier remits to the provider of such communication. Prohibits a cause of action from being brought against a common carrier under these provisions for: (1) any action taken in good faith by the common carrier to restrict access to such communications; or (2) any access permitted in good faith upon a reasonable reliance that such action was not a violation of the above provisions. Authorizes a provider of such communications to bring an action in a court or before the FCC to determine whether the communications which the provider seeks to provide fall within the category of communications to which the carrier will provide access only to subscribers who have previously requested such access. Title V: Committee on Government Operations - Postal Reorganization Act Amendments of 1989 - 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 be exempt from sequestration and shall not be counted for purposes of calculating the Federal deficit. Title VI: Committee on Interior and Insular Affairs-Subtitle A: NRC User Fees - Directs the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) to assess and collect annually: (1) fees to cover its costs in providing any service or thing of value; and (2) charges from certain utilization facility licensees in addition to such fees. Directs the NRC to establish by rule a schedule of charges allocating among such licensees the aggregate amount to be assessed. Makes a conforming amendment to the Consolidated Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1985. Subtitle B: Tongass Timber Reform - Tongass Timber Reform Act - Part I: Alaska National Interest Lands Conservation Act Amendments - Repeals specified provisions of the Alaska National Interest Lands Conservation Act (the Act) relating to: (1) the authorization of appropriations for the maintenance of the timber supply from the Tongass National Forest in Alaska to dependent industry; and (2) the identification of Forest lands unsuitable for timber production. Adds the House Committee on Agriculture as a congressional committee to receive a report from the Secretary of Agriculture on the timber supply and demand in southeastern Alaska. Requires such report to include a complete analysis of the losses or gains sustained by the U.S. Government with respect to long-term, short-term, and total sales of timber from the Forest for the previous two years. Amends the Act to include in a specified report to the Congress: (1) the impact of timber management on subsistence resources, wildlife, and fisheries habitats in the Forest; and (2) specified steps taken by the Secretary with respect to the management practices of the Forest. Requires the Secretary to maintain a buffer zone which prohibits logging around the anadromous fish streams in the Forest. Prohibits: (1) the construction of a vehicular access road connecting the Indian River and Game Creek roads; and (2) any further efforts by the Secretary to connect Tenakee Springs with the logging road system on Chichagof Island. Part II: Termination of Long-Term Timber Sale Contracts in Alaska - Requires the Secretary to terminate, not later than 90 days after enactment of this Act, specified timber sale contracts between the United States and the Alaska Pulp Corporation and the Ketchikan Pulp Company, respectively. Authorizes the Secretary to provide sufficient volumes of timber to meet market demand (short-term sales). Part III: Wilderness - Amends the Act to designate the following lands within the Tongass National Forest as components of the National Wilderness Preservation System: (1) Anan Creek Wilderness; (2) Berners Bay Wilderness; (3) Calder-Holbrook Wilderness; (4) Chichagof Wilderness; (5) Chuck River Wilderness; (6) Kadashan Wilderness; (7) Karta River Wilderness; (8) Kegan Lake Wilderness; (9) Naha River Wilderness; (10) Nutkwa Wilderness; (11) Outside Islands Wilderness; (12) Pleasant-Lemesurier-Inian Islands Wilderness; (13) Point Adolphus-Mud Bay Wilderness; (14) Port Houghton-Sandborn Canal Wilderness; (15) Rocky Pass Wilderness; (16) Sarkar Lakes Wilderness; (17) South Etolin Island Wilderness; (18) South Kuiu Wilderness; (19) Sullivan Island Wilderness; (20) Trap Bay Wilderness; (21) West Duncan Canal Wilderness; (22) Yakutat Forelands Wilderness; and (23) Young Lake Wilderness (to be managed as an addition to the Admiralty Island National Monument). Part IV: Improvement of the Management of the Tongass National Forest - Authorizes the Secretary to take such steps as necessary to improve the management plan of the Tongass National Forest, providing for sustained production of old-growth forest resources. Requires a report to specified congressional committees of the completed draft of the plan. Subtitle C: Oil Shale Claims Reform - Amends the Mineral Lands Leasing Act of 1920 to direct the Secretary of the Interior (the Secretary) to implement an expedited validity determination program for all unpatented oil shale claims, including those for which patent applications have not been filed. Requires the Secretary to cancel invalid claims. Sets deadlines within which the Secretary must publish in the Federal Register regulations containing criteria for determining the validity of all unpatented oil shale claims. Requires the Secretary to determine the validity of such claims within two years after promulgation of the final regulations. Prohibits the issuance of any patents for oil shale claims for which an application was filed after January 24, 1989, and which does not fully comply with specified statutory requirements. Sets forth a schedule within which oil shale claim holders who have been denied a patent must elect to: (1) apply for an oil shale lease; (2) comply with diligent development requirements regarding oil shale production; or (3) make specified payments to the Secretary in lieu of diligent development. Requires the Secretary to: (1) cancel the claim of any owner who does not make such an election; and (2) annually review the claim holders' compliance with the expenditure requirements. Declares that the Multiple Minerals Development Act of 1954 and the Surface Resources Act of 1955 apply to unpatented oil shale claims. Mandates that lease or claim holders under this Act reclaim the affected site and post a bond before disturbance of the site to guarantee its reclamation. Authorizes the Secretary to issue a patent for oil shale claims for which a patent application was filed before January 24, 1989, but with respect to which all requirements were not fully met, if the Secretary determines such claims are valid and the statutory requirements are subsequently met. Limits such patents to oil shale and associated minerals. Conditions such patent upon payment to the Secretary of $2,000 per acre and expressly reserves the land surface to the United States. Declares the Multiple Minerals Development Act of 1954 and the Surface Resources Act applicable to such patents. Exempts such patent holders from the election requirements of this Act. Title VII: Committee on Merchant Marine and Fisheries - Amends Federal law relating to inspection and regulation of vessels to direct the Secretary of the department in which the Coast Guard is operating to establish and collect a fee for each covered voyage of a passenger vessel or small passenger vessel when certain conditions are met. Sets the fee at $20 per passenger minus, in certain circumstances, amounts relating to harbor taxes and Coast Guard inspection fees. Requires amounts received for voyages beginning in FY 1990 or 1991 to be deposited: (1) one-third in the Harbor Maintenance Trust Fund as offsetting receipts; and (2) two-thirds in the general fund of the Treasury as proprietary receipts of the department in which the Coast Guard is operating and ascribed to Coast Guard activities. Requires amounts collected after FY 1991 to be deposited into an interest bearing escrow account. Amends the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act to require current and future oil and gas leases to include provisions requiring an oceans protection fee at a rate of $1 per acre, per year. Requires rental and ocean protection fee amounts to be deposited in an interest bearing escrow account. Mandates that, on the last day of each of FY 1990 and 1991, all such escrowed amounts be deposited as offsetting receipts, split evenly between the Department of the Interior and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. Amends the Panama Canal Act of 1979 to require, if payments to the Republic of Panama are held in escrow by the United States, that interest on the amounts be available for reimbursing the Commission, notwithstanding any other law, for expenses and losses incurred by the Commission before or after enactment of this Act in connection with actions taken by the Noriega-Solis regime in Panama, including for reimbursing Commission employees for their expenses and losses in connection with such actions. Requires that interest not used during a fiscal year be deposited into the general fund of the Treasury as offsetting receipts. Limits the amount of reimbursements to the Commission in any fiscal year. Declares that these provisions shall be effective while the national emergency declared in a specified Executive Order remains in effect. Panama Canal Commission Authorization Act, Fiscal Year 1990 - Authorizes expenditures for FY 1990 for the Panama Canal Commission (Commission) to operate, maintain, and improve the Panama Canal. Limits the amount of funds which may be used for official reception and representation expenses. Authorizes the use of funds for the purchase of passenger motor vehicles for the use of Commission personnel without regard to certain price limitations. Requires the Commission to provide written advance notice to the Congress regarding: (1) any proposed change in rates of tolls for use of the Panama Canal; (2) any payment estimated to be due Panama under provisions of the Panama Canal Treaty of 1977; and (3) the initiation of any capital acquisition or construction project exceeding a certain amount, which is not specified in the budget estimates submitted to the Congress for the fiscal year in which the project will commence. Authorizes the use of funds for pay increases for Commission employees which are not in excess of statutory increases granted for the same period in corresponding rates of compensation of other U.S. Government employees in comparable positions. Authorizes employees of the Panama Canal Commission who are U.S. citizens to purchase food and other goods at any commissary or exchange store in Panama which is operated by any military department of the United States. Directs the President, if he finds that the Panamanian Defense Forces have ceased the harassment of persons in the public areas of Panama and that food and goods are safely available to such employees so that operation of the Panama Canal is not jeopardized, to certify such finding to the Congress. Authorizes the President to terminate such commissary and exchange privileges by the later of: (1) 90 days after such certification; or (2) the date on which the national emergency declared April 8, 1988, is terminated. Title VIII - Committee on Post Office and Civil Service - 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 be exempt from sequestion and shall not be counted for purposes of calculating the Federal deficit. Makes the United States Postal Service liable for unfunded increases in payable benefits from the Civil Service Retirement and Disability Fund to: (1) Postal Service annuitants who separated from service after September 30, 1986; (2) their survivors; or (3) the survivors of Postal Service employees who died after such date, when such increases result from cost-of-living adjustments. Directs the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) to determine such increases. Requires the Postal Service to pay such increases to OPM in annual installments plus interest with the first payment due at the end of the fiscal year in which the cost-of-living adjustment becomes effective. Requires the first payment to include the total of amounts which would have been due if this Act had been enacted before October 1, 1986, plus interest. Provides for the funding of health benefit premiums for survivors of Postal Service annuitants or employees of the Postal Service who died after October 1, 1986. Increases the limitations on postal borrowing authority. Prohibits the Postal Service from selling its obligations to the Federal Financing Bank. Deems obligations issued and sold by the Postal Service to be exempted securities within the meaning of the Securities Acts of 1933 and 1934 and the Trust Indenture Act of 1939. Requires the Postal Service to prepay any note with the Federal Financing Bank at its par value. Repeals provisions requiring the Postal Service to advise the Secretary of the Treasury of the amount, proposed date of sale, maturities, terms and conditions, and expected maximum rates of interest of a proposed issue of obligations. Repeals certain provisions to give the Postal Service Control of deposits and investments in the Postal Service Fund formerly controlled by the Treasury. Mandates that required Postal Service payments to the Employees' Compensation Fund to cover costs paid from the Fund for Postal Service employee injury or death benefits must be deposited within 30 days after the Secretary of Labor furnishes a statement of the amount of such costs due from the Postal Service. Requires such deposits to remain available without fiscal year limitation. Amends the Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1987 to: (1) change the commencement date to any time between September 30, 1989, and October 1, 1991, for the partial deferred payment of lump-sum credit for certain individuals electing alternative forms of annuities; (2) decrease from 60 to 50 percent of the lump-sum credit the amount payable on the date the full lump-sum credit would have been payable before enactment of such Act; and (3) provide that provisions exempting certain individuals from applicability of such partial deferred lump sum credit provisions shall apply unless the affected individual indicates otherwise in writing to OPM. Treats any transfer resulting from this title as a result of a significant policy change for purposes of the Balanced Budget and Emergency Deficit Reaffirmation Act of 1987. Title IX: Committee on Veterans Affairs - Establishes a Veterans' Mortgage Indemnity Fund. Provides that the Indemnity Fund shall be available to the Secretary of Veterans Affairs for all operations with respect to guaranteed or insured Department of Veterans Affairs housing loans for which fees are collected, other than loans for property which has been disposed of by veterans to purchasers who will assume liability for such loan. Provides that the following sums shall be credited to the Indemnity Fund: (1) all fees collected from such housing loans, other than loans for property which has been disposed of by the veteran to a purchaser who will assume liability for such loan; (2) .25 percent of the original amount of all loans for which a fee is collected for the first three fiscal years beginning with the fiscal year in which such loan is guaranteed or insured; (3) all collections of principal and interest and the proceeds from property held or disposed of with respect to such loans; and (4) all income from investments of the Indemnity Fund that are required to be made by the Secretary of the Treasury in obligations of the United States. Increases the fee for a Department housing loan to 1.25 percent of the total loan amount. Provides that the following fees shall be collected: (1) one percent of the total loan amount with respect to housing loans obtained which are in default; and (2) .75 percent of the total loan amount with respect to loans for purchase or construction for which a down payment of at least five percent of the total purchase price or construction costs has been made. Provides for the waiver of such fees for veterans who are receiving compensation or for a surviving spouse of a veteran who died from a service-connected disability. Provides that any veteran who pays a fee for such loans, other than loans which are in default or loans for property which has been disposed, or who is exempt from paying such fee, shall have no liability to the Secretary with respect to such loan for any loss resulting from a default of the veteran. Revises provisions regarding the Loan Guaranty Revolving Fund to: (1) provide that it shall be available to the Secretary for all housing operations carried out by the Indemnity Fund; (2) limit the deposit of housing loan fees in such Fund, other than fees for loans for property which has been disposed of, to fees collected before the effective date of the Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1989; and (3) limit the deposit of principal and interest and the proceeds from property held or disposed of with respect to housing loans to loans guaranteed before the effective date of the Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1989. Changes from October 1, 1989, to October 1, 1991, the date before which the Secretary is authorized to sell notes evidencing loans which are in default. Provides that all amounts received from the sale of such notes shall be credited as offsetting collections of the Fund for which a fee was collected at the time the loan was originally guaranteed. Extends through October 1, 1991, the authority for the sale of such notes. Title X: Non-Revenue Provisions of the Committee on Ways and Means - Subtitle A: Social Security Administration, Old-Age, Survivors, and Disability Insurance, and Railroad Retirement - Social Security Administrative Reform Act of 1989 - Chapter 1: Administrative Changes - Subchapter A: Establishment of the Social Security Administration as an Independent Agency - Part 1: General Provisions - 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 programs established by titles II (Old Age, Survivors and Disability Insurance) (OASDI) and XVI (Supplemental Security Income) (SSI) of the Social Security Act. Requires the Board to study and make recommendations as to the most effective methods of providing economic security through social insurance and supplemental security income, and as to legislation and matters of administrative policy. Establishes in the Administration: (1) an Executive Director; (2) a Deputy Director of Social Security; (3) a General Counsel; (4) an Inspector General; (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; and (6) an Office of the Chief Administrative Law Judge. 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 to cause a seal of office to be made and judicial notice taken thereof. Requires the establishment of demonstration projects involving the delegation of authority from the Office of Personnel Management and the General Services Administration to the Board. 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. Part 2: 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. Subchapter B: Improvements in Social Security Services - Amends the OASDI program to require that the Federal Government collect OASDI overpayments on a schedule which does not cause financial hardship for the beneficiary. Limits the amount of OASDI overpayments which may be collected in a month from beneficiaries under title XVI (Supplemental Security Income) (SSI) of the Act. Directs the Secretary of Health and Human Services to establish one- to three-year demonstration projects implementing accountability procedures for at least three telephone service centers operated by the Social Security Administration (SSA). Requires that the Secretary promptly provide callers who provide certain identifying information with a written receipt which sets forth: (1) the name of the SSA representative with whom the caller spoke; (2) the date of the call; (3) a description of the nature of the call; (4) any action which the representative indicates will be taken in response to the call; and (5) the information or advice offered by the SSA representative. Requires that: (1) callers be notified that they will be provided with such receipt; and (2) the SSA retain a copy of such receipt. Authorizes the exclusion from such projects of routine calls unrelated to eligibility or benefits. Sets forth reporting requirements. Requires the Secretary to take into account a beneficiary's physical, mental, educational or linguistic limitations in specified situations when deciding whether his or her action or omission should result in the discontinuance of benefits or forfeiture of overpayments. Directs the Secretary to establish a program, within 180 days of this Act's enactment, under which homeless individuals who may be eligible for OASDI benefits will be identified and assisted in applying for such benefits. Requires that notices issued to individuals pursuant to the OASDI program: (1) be written in simple and clear language; and (2) contain the name, address, and telephone number of a responsible person to contact regarding the notice. Directs the Secretary to report to the Congress by July 1, 1990, regarding SSA procedures for issuing notices in foreign languages and reasonable options for expanding the use of notices in foreign languages. Provides that individuals who are applying for or receiving OASDI benefits on the basis of blindness may elect to receive notice of decisions made and actions taken with respect to their rights under the program: (1) by certified mail and by telephone five days after such mailing; or (2) by some alternative procedure established by the Secretary. Requires the Secretary to: (1) maintain the names of representatives of OASDI and claimants in the SSA's electronic information retrieval system; and (2) provide written notice to such claimants of the options for obtaining attorneys to represent them in presenting their cases before the Secretary. Allows OASDI claimants to reapply for payments which have been denied if such claimants' failure to request a review of such denials within 60 days of receiving notice of such determinations resulted from good faith reliance upon incorrect, incomplete, or misleading information provided by the SSA or State agencies making disability determinations. Requires the Secretary, in notifying claimants of adverse payment determinations, to describe in clear and specific language the consequences of choosing to reapply for payments instead of requesting a review of such determinations. Deems an individual who failed to apply for OASDI benefits due to misinformation presented by an officer or employee of the SSA to have applied for such benefits on the later of the date such information was provided to such individual or the date such individual met all eligibility requirements for such benefits. Guarantees that individuals whose visit to an SSA Office is occasioned by their receipt of a notice requiring a timely response or their loss or nonreceipt of OASDI benefits will be seen for an interview that same day. Restricts the Secretary's authority to amend wage records after the expiration of the time limit for such amendments. Subchapter C: Representative Payee Reforms - Directs the Secretary to promptly revoke the certification of a representative payee determined to have misused an individual's OASDI or SSI benefits. Prohibits a person's certification as a representative payee until an investigation has been conducted to verify such person's identification and determine whether such person has been guilty of fraud or the misuse of benefits under the OASDI or SSI program. Directs the Secretary to establish and disseminate a list of payees whose certification has been revoked due to their misuse of benefits. Excludes payees guilty of fraud or benefit misuse from certification, except, in the latter case, where the best interests of a beneficiary would be served by exempting such payee from exclusion. Requires the Secretary to conduct a study and report to the Congress, by July 1, 1990, on the feasibility of establishing and maintaining a current list, which would be available to local SSA offices of individuals who have been convicted of fraud. Directs the Secretary to prescribe maximum fees which may be charged for representative payee services by community-based nonprofit social service agencies that regularly provide such services simultaneously to five or more beneficiaries. Subjects those who overcharge to penalties and certification revocation. Requires the Secretary to implement a demonstration project in at least two States under which SSA servicing offices: (1) determine the suitability of individuals as representative payees on the basis of criminal records obtained and criteria established by the Secretary; and (2) have access to a centralized file of representative payees. Directs the Secretary to report to the Congress regarding such projects by July 1, 1990. Requires the Secretary to maintain a centralized, current file, accessible to local SSA offices, identifying all representative payees and beneficiaries utilizing the services of representative payees. Directs SSA servicing offices to maintain a list of public agencies and community-based nonprofit social service agencies in their areas which are qualified representative payees. Directs the Secretary to conduct a study and report to the Congress by July 1, 1990, on the need for a more stringent accounting system for high-risk representative payees. Requires the Secretary to implement a demonstration project in at least two States under which the State provides the State agency responsible for regulating care facilities or providing for child and adult protective services with a list of addresses at which OASDI and/or SSI benefits are being received by five or more individuals. Directs the Secretary to report to the Congress regarding such projects by July 1, 1991. Requires that the Secretary's annual report to the Congress include specified information concerning representative payees. Subchapter D: Other Amendments - Requires that the annual report of the Board of Trustees on the status of the OASDI Trust Funds include an analysis of the actuarial present value of the expected future income to, and the expected disbursements from, each Trust Fund and the combined Trust Funds over the ensuing 25, 50, and 75 calendar years. Chapter 2: Provisions Affecting Coverage - Makes individuals who attained age 18 prior to being adopted by parents who were already entitled to old-age or disability insurance benefits eligible for child's insurance benefits if they lived with or were dependent upon such parents for the year preceding their adoption. Amends the Internal Revenue Code to exempt certain church employees from the self-employment tax if their services are exempt from the employment tax on wages. Clarifies the inclusion of partnerships among employers eligible for religious exemption from employment taxes. Makes agreements to provide OASDI coverage of U.S. citizens and residents employed abroad by a foreign affiliate of an American employer effective until the foreign entity ceases to be a foreign affiliate. Amends the OASDI program to exclude from an employee's wages and compensation the refunds employers must provide to employees under the Catastrophic Coverage Act of 1988 for providing health care benefits that are duplicative of Medicare benefits. Chapter 3: Provisions Affecting Entitlement to Benefits - Subchapter A: Work Incentives for Certain Adult Disabled Children - Continues an individual's entitlement to child's insurance benefits on the basis of a disability, other than blindness, through the third month following the month in which such individual's disabling physical or mental impairment ceased. Reduces such individual's child's insurance benefits by 50 percent of his or her monthly earnings which are in excess of $85 and which are taken into account in determining whether he or she is engaged in substantial gainful activity. Applies the preceding benefit continuance and reduction rules to disability insurance benefits when an individual is entitled to such benefits and disability-based child's insurance benefits, but applies the benefit reduction against the total of such benefit. Subchapter B: Other Provisions - Extends permanently the provision of disability-based OASDI or Medicare (title XVIII of the Act) benefits pending an individual's appeal of a disability determination. Eliminates carryover reductions in retirement or disability benefits due to the receipt of widow's or widower's benefits before age 62. Requires the Secretary to review at least 50 percent of a State's disability determinations on applications for OASDI benefits and at least 25 percent of a State's disability determinations in continuing eligibility reviews; choosing, to the extent feasible, those determinations most likely to be incorrect. Amends the OASDI program and the Internal Revenue Code to provide for the recovery of OASDI overpayments by means of reductions in tax refunds. Exempts certain aliens receiving amnesty under the Immigration and Nationality Act from prosecution for misreporting earnings or misusing social security numbers or cards. Increases the amount of outside income which beneficiaries who have attained retirement age may earn without incurring a reduction in benefits. Directs the Congressional Budget Office to conduct a study and report to the Congress, by April 1, 1990, on the consequences of increasing the exempt earnings amount to various levels and the consequences of eliminating it altogether. Increases the dollar amount factored into the formula for determining a minimum primary insurance amount. Reduces the amount of wages or self-employment income an individual needs to earn a year of coverage applicable in determining his or her minimum primary insurance amount. Amends the SSI program to preserve the Medicaid eligibility of individuals who lose their SSI benefits due to an increase in OASDI benefits occasioned by this Act's amendments. Excludes the OASDI benefits received by individuals who are deemed to be SSI recipients for Medicaid purposes from Medicaid income eligibility determinations. Amends the OASDI program to make certain individuals ineligible for retroactive old-age, wife's, husband's, widow's, or widower's insurance benefits if the effect of such benefits would be to reduce the amount of benefits to which such individuals would otherwise be entitled. Includes deferred compensation in wages for OASDI purposes. Chapter 4: Railroad Retirement - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to subject to railroad retirement taxes: (1) payments for group-term life insurance which is includable in the employee's gross income as compensation; and (2) certain deferred compensation. Excludes the value of meals or lodging from railroad retirement taxes if at the time of such furnishing it was reasonable to believe that the employee could exclude such items from income. Transfers increases in FY 1990 railroad retirement tax liabilities to the Railroad Retirement Account. Subtitle B: Medicare - Medicare Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1989 - Part A: Provisions Relating to Part A of Medicare - Subpart 1: Payments for Inpatient Hospital Services - Amends title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act to reduce payments for the capital-related costs of inpatient hospital services for FY 1990 by 15 percent. Directs the Comptroller General to conduct a study and report to the Congress, by October 1, 1990, on the effects low hospital inpatient occupancy rates have on medicare inpatient hospital service costs. Increases Medicare payments for the operating costs of inpatient hospital services in FY 1990 by the market basket percentage increases in such costs: (1) plus two percent for rural hospitals; (2) minus 1.25 percent for hospitals in large urban areas; and (3) minus 1.75 percent for hospitals located in other urban areas. Requires the Secretary to annually recalibrate diagnosis-related group (DRG) weighting factors on a budget-neutral basis. Increases payments made to hospitals and rural referral centers serving a disproportionate share of low-income patients. Amends the Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1986 to continue the classification of certain hospitals as rural referral centers through FY 1992. Amends the Medicare program to alter the formula for determining the amount of payments to be made to sole community hospitals. Provides a payment adjustment to sole community hospitals which experience a decrease of more than five percent of their inpatient cases due to circumstance beyond their control so as to cover fixed costs. Redefines a sole community hospital as a hospital located more than 35 road miles from another hospital. Maintains the existing payment rules for current sole community hospitals which do not satisfy the new definition of such hospitals. Directs the Secretary to establish a procedure under which a hospital may apply: (1) for the reclassification of a county from a rural to an urban area or from one urban area to another urban area; or (2) if it is in an urban area, to change the area wage index applicable to the country. Requires that such applications be decided upon within one year of their receipt. Sets the floor for area wage indices at the wage index for rural areas in the State. Amends part A (Hospital Insurance) of the Medicare program to establish a demonstration program under which the Secretary makes grants to no more than ten States for use in: (1) planning and implementing a rural health care plan and rural health networks; (2) designating hospitals or facilities as essential access community hospitals or rural primary care hospitals; and (3) developing and supporting communication and emergency transportation systems. Authorizes hospitals and facilities in grant States to apply, subject to the State's approval, to the Secretary for a grant to finance the costs it incurs in converting itself to a primary care hospital or in becoming part of a rural health network in the State in which it is located. Requires that hospitals designated as essential access community hospitals be isolated rural hospitals that have at least 75 inpatient beds and provide emergency and medical backup services to rural primary care hospitals in their rural health network and throughout their service area. Requires that rural primary care hospitals provide 24-hour emergency care and no more than 72 hours of inpatient care for no more than six inpatients. Requires States, in designating facilities as rural primary care hospitals, to give preference to facilities participating in the rural health network. Defines a "rural health network" as an organization consisting of at least one essential access community hospital, rural referral center, or urban regional referral center and at least one rural primary care hospital which cooperate in the deliverance of health care. Authorizes appropriations for FY 1990 through 1992 for such demonstration program. Amends the Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1987 to extend the Rural Health Care Transition Grant Program through FY 1992, and permit hospitals to use grants received under such Program to develop a plan for converting to rural primary care hospitals or to develop a rural health network, if located in a State participating in the preceding demonstration program. Amends the Medicare program to treat essential access community hospitals as sole community hospitals. Covers cost increases they incur as a result of their becoming rural health network members. Covers inpatient rural primary care hospital services. Directs the Secretary to make recommendations to the Congress and the Prospective Payment Assessment Commission by October 1, 1990, regarding the establishment of a single national rate, rather than using large urban, other urban, and rural rates, in calculating payments for inpatient hospital services, with adjustments in such rate reflecting cost variations within a DRG. Requires the Prospective Payment Assessment Commission to submit an evaluation of the Secretary's report to the Congress by April 1, 1991. Imposes uniform reporting requirements on disproportionate share hospitals, sole community hospitals, rural referral centers, and essential access community hospitals. Exempts hospitals involved extensively in cancer treatment or cancer research from the prospective payment system (PPS). Sets forth a formula for establishing the target amount to be used in determining the amount of payments to be made to such hospitals. Directs the Secretary to publish instructions specifying the process PPS-exempt hospitals may use to apply for exemptions from or adjustments to the method of determining the amount of payments to such hospitals to account for uncontrollable or extraordinary circumstances. Subpart 2: Other Provisions - Sets payment rates for hospice care furnished in FY 1990 at 120 percent of such rates in effect on September 30, 1989. Directs the Secretary to conduct a study and report to the Congress, by October 1, 1990, on methods of compensating hospices for high-cost care. Permits individuals under age 65 who become ineligible for title II disability solely by reason of their earnings to enroll in part A (Hospital Insurance) of the Medicare program. Sets forth miscellaneous and technical provisions relating to the Medicare Hospital Insurance program. Part B: Provisions Relating to Part B of Medicare - Subpart 1: Payment for Physicians' Services - Amends part B (Supplementary Medical Insurance) of the Medicare program to reduce Medicare payments for a specified list of physicians' services furnished during 1990 after April 1. Reduces payments for radiology services. Directs the Secretary to conduct a study and report to the Congress, within one year after this Act's enactment, on whether payments for portable x-ray services should be made in the same manner as they are made for radiologists' services or on the basis of a separate fee schedule. Requires the Secretary to establish a relative value guide for all carrier localities in making payment for physician anesthesia services. Delays the Medicare economic index adjustment to payments for physicians' services from January 1, 1990, to April 1, 1990. Extends Medicare physician and supplier participation agreements for which a termination is not requested before December 31, 1989, through March 31, 1990. Limits increases in the Medicare economic index for the first three months of 1990 to: (1) zero percent for radiology services, anesthesia services and other physicians' services on a specified list; and (2) two percent for other physicians' services, excepting primary care services. Determines the amount of payments due for physicians' services beginning on October 1, 1991, pursuant to a fee schedule which takes into account the relative value of the work, overhead, and malpractice risks associated with each physician service. Prohibits payments for the same physician service from varying on the basis of whether or not the physician is a specialist. Provides for adjustments to such fee schedule to take into account: (1) geographical variations in costs; and (2) an excessive growth of volume or intensity in, or inadequate access to, a physician service. Sets limitations on increases and reductions in payment amounts for physician services. Limits bonus payments for physicians' services furnished in manpower shortage areas to primary care services. Sets forth reporting requirements. Increases the customary charge for a new physician's services, prior to implementation of the fee schedule, to 95 percent of the prevailing charge for such service. Limits payment amounts for services furnished by more than one specialty. Subpart 2: Payment for Other Services - Reduces payments for the capital-related costs of outpatient hospital services for FY 1990 by 15 percent, except when the hospital is a sole community hospital. Considers the average of the reasonable charge, rather than the average of the purchase prices, on claims paid on an assignment-related basis for durable medical equipment in computing payment amounts for such equipment. Reduces the monthly recognized rental amounts for certain miscellaneous items of durable medical equipment for months following the third month of a medical need period. Limits monthly Medicare payments for items which require frequent aid substantial servicing to a period of continuous use not exceeding 15 months. Delays, until April 1990, and reduces, to two percent, the 1990 cost-of-living increase in payments for durable medical equipment. Reduces the payment rate for oxygen and oxygen equipment for the final nine months of 1990. Sets a cap on payment amounts for durable medical equipment for the final nine months of 1990. Establishes special rules for determining payment amounts for parenteral and enteral infusion pumps and IV poles. Authorizes the Secretary to adjust charges for durable medical equipment that are not inherently reasonable. Requires the Secretary to: (1) reduce payment amounts for a seat-lift chair, motorized scooter, or transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulator furnished on or after April 1, 1990, by 15 percent; and (2) publish a list of other overpriced durable medical equipment and reduce payments for such items by 15 percent. Prohibits suppliers of durable medical equipment from distributing completed or partially completed forms required for showing that a covered item is medically reasonable or necessary. Requires suppliers to provide the Secretary with full and complete information as to the identity of each person having an ownership or control interest in the supplier or in any subcontractor in which the supplier has at least a five percent interest. Subjects the claims of suppliers in which a physician has an ownership or control interest to a higher level of review than claims of other suppliers. Requires payment and billing for durable medical equipment on an assignment-related basis. Directs the Secretary to establish a reasonable lifetime for items of durable medical equipment and provide payments for the replacement of items which reach their limit during a continuous period of medical need. Requires the Comptroller General to conduct a study and report to the Congress by April 1, 1990, on standards for the use of and payments for durable medical equipment. Replaces cost-of-living adjustments in payments for clinical diagnostic laboratory tests with annual two percent increases in such payments beginning in 1990. Reduces the cap on payments for such tests, pending the establishment of national fee schedules for such tests, from 100 to 95 percent of the median of all fee schedules established for such test. Delays, from January 1, 1990, to January 1, 1992, the date by which the Secretary must establish national fee schedules for clinical diagnostic laboratory tests. Covers a laboratory's second trip to a location in a day to collect samplers for a test which an individual's physician has ordered and for which results are required on an as-soon-as-possible basis. Eliminates the restriction of covered psychologist services to services furnished at community mental health centers. Reimburses psychologists on a reasonable charge basis. Directs the Secretary to develop criteria requiring covered psychologists to consult with their patients' physicians within a reasonable time after initiating treatment so as to consider physical conditions that may be contributing to their patients' symptoms. Eliminates the dollar limitation on part B coverage of mental health services. Sets a higher national conversion factor for the fee schedule payment rates of certified registered nurse anesthetists which are not under the medical direction of a physician than for those which are medically directed. Prohibits payments for the medical direction of certified registered nurse anesthetists by physicians. Covers outpatient services provided by health centers which: (1) are eligible for Public Health Service Act grants to migrant health centers, community health centers or for health care services to the homeless; or (2) which were comprehensive federally funded health centers as of January 1, 1989. Makes deductibles inapplicable to services provided by such health centers. Covers outpatient rural primary care hospital services. Directs the Secretary to develop and implement a prospective payment system for determining payments for such services by January 1, 1993. Sets forth miscellaneous and technical provisions relating to the Medicare Supplementary Medical Insurance program. Part C: Provisions Relating to Parts A and B of Medicare - Extends the periods of days within which claims must be paid under parts A and B of the Medicare program in FY 1990. Amends the Internal Revenue Code to provide for the disclosure of taxpayer identification information regarding a Medicare beneficiary for the determination of the extent to which such beneficiary is covered under a group health plan. Amends the Medicare program to require employers to disclose information concerning the status and nature of a beneficiary's coverage under a group health plan of the employer. Prohibits group health plans of employers of 20 or more employees from discriminating in the provision of benefits against individuals who are entitled to Medicare benefits by reason of their eligibility for old-age insurance benefits under the OASDI program. Prohibits large group health plans from discriminating against individuals who are entitled to Medicare benefits by reason of their eligibility for disability or disability-based insurance benefits under the OASDI program. Prohibits group health plans, for 12 months, from discriminating in the provision of benefits against individuals who are entitled to Medicare benefits by reason of their affliction with end stage renal disease. Makes such group health plans primary payers against whom the Federal government may bring action to recover Medicare payments. Establishes a private cause of action against primary payers who fail to pay. Amends the Internal Revenue Code to impose a penalty excise tax against nonconforming group health plans. Repeals the denial of a tax deduction to nonconforming group health plans. Amends the Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1986 to maintain the current base rate for routine dialysis treatment through FY 1990. Amends the Medicare program to prohibit payments for dialysis services which are determined under any method other than a method based on a single composite weighted formula from exceeding payments that would have been made under such formula. Requires suppliers of home dialysis supplies and equipment to a patient whose self-care home dialysis is not under the direct supervision of an approved provider to work under a written agreement under which it: (1) is the sole supplier to the patient; (2) agrees to receive payment only on an assignment-related basis; and (3) certifies that it has entered into a written agreement with an approved renal dialysis provider or facility under which such provider or facility agrees to furnish such patient with all self-care home dialysis support services and all other necessary dialysis services and supplies. End Stage Renal Disease Patient Protection and Quality Assurance Act of 1989 - Requires providers of end stage renal disease services to protect and promote listed patient rights regarding the quality of patient care and the provision of information about the renal disease facility. Requires providers to have a registered professional nurse experienced in dialytic therapy available during dialysis treatment to direct any technicians providing such treatment. Makes States responsible for certifying the compliance of end stage renal disease facilities with Medicare requirements on the basis of surveys conducted by a multidisciplinary team of professionals. Requires that an unannounced standard survey be conducted with respect to each facility at at least 15 month intervals (though the Statewide average interval may not exceed one year) and within two months of any change of ownership, administration, or management of the facility. Subjects facilities which perform poorly on such surveys to an extended survey, though any other facility may, at the discretion of the Secretary of Health and Human Services, or the State, be subject to an extended survey. Authorizes the Secretary to perform a special survey when there is reason to question a facility's compliance with Medicare requirements. Requires the disclosure of survey results. Requires a renal disease network administrative organization with which a patient files a grievance against a facility to disclose the findings and consequences of its investigation into such grievance to the facility administrator and the complainant. Authorizes States to award annual "excellence in quality" designations to facilities that have achieved outstanding quality in various categories of care. Directs the Secretary to establish a board of experts and at least one patient to advise the Secretary in establishing end stage renal disease service quality standards, survey protocols, minimum surveyor qualifications, and uniform instructional guidelines for surveyors and providers outlining the methodology by which facilities will be judged under surveys. Sets forth reporting requirements. Subjects end stage renal disease facilities to the same enforcement process as skilled nursing facilities are subject to when found out of compliance with Medicare requirements. Adjusts the duties of renal disease network administrative organizations so that while such organizations are no longer responsible for conducting on-site reviews of facilities and providers they are assigned new duties which include: (1) giving special attention to the correction of minority underrepresentation in transplantation and self-care options; (2) verifying each facility's implementation of a grievance mechanism as required by this Act and informing all patients of its own patient grievance mechanism; (3) developing and implementing specified informational services for patients and facilities; and (4) participating in special studies designed by the United States Renal Data System to help develop and evaluate indices of quality care or for other purposes relevant to the maintenance of such system. Sets forth study and reporting requirements concerning payments for the treatment of end stage renal disease patients. Amends part A (General Provisions) of title XI of the Social Security Act to require the Secretary to provide for research into the outcome, effectiveness, and appropriateness of specific treatments and medical conditions selected by a research coordinating group composed of specified officials of the Health Care Financing Administration. Directs the Secretary to: (1) report to the Congress, within one year of this Act's enactment, on the feasibility of linking the Department of Health and Human Services' treatment outcome research information with such information collected by other Federal departments; (2) disseminate research findings and educate providers and others in the application of such research; (3) update and develop on the basis of such research treatment-specific or condition-specific practice guidelines and forms for their use; (4) initiate, by 1991, a project to apply such guidelines to at least three clinical treatments or conditions that account for a significant portion of Medicare (title XVIII of the Act) expenditures and have a significant variation in the frequency or type of treatment provided; and (5) appoint an advisory council to provide the Secretary with assistance in research-related activities. Authorizes appropriations for such research-related activities through FY 1994. Amends the Medicare program to require that a hospital give an individual who comes to its emergency department a requested medical screening examination to determine whether or not an emergency medical condition exists if such examination is within the hospital's capability. (Currently, the examination must be within the emergency department's capability for such requirement to be applicable.) Requires hospitals to ensure that an individual's refusal of treatment for, or transfer for the treatment of, an emergency medical condition is an informed decision. Prohibits hospitals from transferring a patient who has an emergency medical condition that has not been stabilized, unless the patient gives written informed consent to the transfer. Revises the provisions of current law with respect to the process and standards for effecting such a transfer. Requires that hospitals which transfer a patient who has an emergency medical condition send all the medical records available at the time of the transfer to the receiving facility. Makes a hospital liable for the acts and omissions of its agents and the physicians through whom it carries out its duties in providing examinations and treatment for emergency medical conditions, except when it relies in good faith on the medical judgment of such a physician with respect to a patient's condition. Imposes penalties against physicians who engage in specified acts related to the examination, treatment, or transfer of individuals who have emergency medical conditions. Prohibits hospitals that have specialized capabilities or facilities from refusing to accept an appropriate transfer of an individual who requires such specialized capabilities or facilities. Prohibits hospitals from delaying the required examination and treatment for emergency medical conditions in order to inquire about an individual's method of payment or insurance status. Prohibits a health maintenance organization (HMO) from using potentially high-risk physician compensation arrangements unless the HMO provides information to the Secretary describing physician compensation arrangements and the mechanisms it uses to limit risk to individual physicians and assure the quality of services. Directs the Secretary to publish descriptions of physician compensation arrangements which place physicians at excessive risk or liability and which may lead to the withholding or limiting of medically necessary services. Excludes prisoners and individuals for whom a State or local government purchases health benefits as part of a general welfare assistance program from an HMO's enrollment in applying the rule that at least one-half of its enrollment must consist of individuals who are not Medicare or Medicaid beneficiaries. Directs the Secretary to disclose the methodology and assumptions used in arriving at a per capita rate of payment for each class of HMO enrollee at least 45 days before announcing such rates. Amends the Deficit Reduction Act of 1984 to make the authority for HMO benefit stabilization funds permanent. Prohibits a physician from referring a patient to an entity for Medicare-covered services or an entity from presenting a claim pursuant to such referral if the physician has a financial interest in, or receives compensation from, such entity. Makes exceptions to such prohibition. Sets forth entity investment and ownership disclosure requirements. Imposes sanctions against persons who present claims for services prohibited by this Act and against physicians or entities that enter into arrangements for the purpose of prohibited referrals or violate disclosure requirements. Directs the Comptroller General to conduct a study and report to the Congress by May 15, 1990, on the ownership of hospitals by referring physicians and joint ventures between hospitals and referring physicians. Amends part B (Peer Review) of title XI of the Social Security Act to require peer review organizations to give providers whose services are denied coverage under title XVIII (Medicare) of the Act an opportunity for reconsideration of the determination before patients and organizations responsible for paying claims are notified of such determination. Sets forth miscellaneous and technical provisions relating to parts A and B of the Medicare program. Part D: Medicare Part B Basic Premium - Amends part B (Supplementary Medical Insurance) of the Medicare program to extend the basic part B premium through 1990. Part E: Extension of COBRA Continuation Coverage for Disabled Employees - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to extend group health plan coverage of the spouse or dependent of an employee from 18 to 29 months after the employee's job is terminated, if such spouse or dependent was disabled at such time. Part F: Revisions to Medicare Catastrophic Coverage Act of 1988 - Subpart 1: Provisions Relating to Part A of Medicare Program and Supplemental Medicare Premium - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to reduce Supplemental Medicare Premium rates. Makes such premium applicable only to those who opt for Medicare Part B coverage. Amends the Medicare program to abolish the Federal Hospital Insurance Catastrophic Coverage Reserve Fund. Subpart 2: Provisions Relating to Part B of the Medicare Program - Gives individuals a one-time option of disenrolling from the part B program. Extends the basic part B premium through 1993. Increases such premium and the catastrophic drug deductible. Delays Medicare payments near and until the close of each fiscal year from FY 1990 through 1993. Revises catastrophic coverage funding formulas and accounts. Subtitle C: Human Resource Amendments - Human Resources Amendments of 1989 - Part 1: Children's Initiative-Subpart A: Social Services - Amends title XX (Block Grants to States for Social Services) of the Social Security Act to increase the amount authorized for such program in FY 1991 and thereafter. Subpart B: Foster Care and Child Welfare Amendments - Amends part E (Foster Care and Adoption Assistance) of title IV of the Social Security Act to extend through FY 1992: (1) the ceiling on Federal payments to States for foster care expenditures; and (2) the authority for States to use such payments to cover expenditures under part B (Child Welfare Services) of title IV of the Act. (Currently, such ceiling and authorization runs through FY 1989.) Increases the appropriations level which triggers the foster care ceiling. Amends part B (Child Welfare Services) of title IV of the Act to require each State to annually prepare and distribute a report to the Secretary and State agencies and courts on programs in the State providing children and families with preplacement preventive services or services designed to reunify children with the families from which they have been removed. Directs the Secretary to prepare an annual summary of such reports. Amends the Foster Care and Adoption-Assistance program to cover the short-term training of current or prospective foster or adoptive parents and the staff of licensed child care institutions. Requires that the written case plan developed for each foster care child include specified health and education records which are to be reviewed and updated when the child is placed in foster care and to be supplied to the foster care parent or provider. Extends, through FY 1992, Federal funding for State programs to assist children who have attained age 16 in making the transition from foster care to independent living. Redesignates such program as the Foster Care Adolescent Services Block grant program. (Currently, such program is known as the Independent Living Initiatives program.) Increases the amount to which States are entitled under such program. Authorizes the expenditure of unobligated funds through FY 1992. Permits States to expand program coverage to include children from age 10 to 16, through 70 percent of Federal funds are required to be expended for foster children age 16 or older. Expands the list of adolescent services which State programs may support or furnish, including alcohol and drug abuse prevention. Sets forth additional procedures to be followed and information to be considered prior to full implementation of an adoption and foster care data collection system by October 1, 1991. Includes within such system specified data pertaining to the Foster Care and Adoption Assistance program and Child Welfare program of each State. Directs the Secretary to submit to the Congress: (1) an annual report on information collected under the adoption and foster care data collection system; and (2) a biennial report on child abuse and neglect. Amends part B (Child Welfare Services) of title IV of the Social Security Act to triennially review each State's compliance with foster care protection requirements and annually review the compliance of States whose foster care program did not comply with such requirements on the preceding review. Penalizes States which are not in substantial compliance with such requirements, but suspends the application of such penalty against States which implement corrective action plans. Subpart C: SSI Disabled Children Amendments - Amends title XVI (Supplemental Security Income) (SSI) of the Social Security Act to require the Secretary to conduct an ongoing outreach program for children who are potentially eligible for SSI benefits by reason of disability or blindness and report to the Congress annually concerning the effectiveness of such outreach program. Directs the Secretary to conduct an individualized assessment of a child's mental and physical impairments in determining his or her eligibility for SSI benefits by reason of disability or blindness. Establishes a presumption that a child under age four with a genetic or congenital impairment is disabled or blind for SSI purposes if it is probable that when the child is older the application of clinical and laboratory techniques will prove such to be the case. Directs the Secretary to publish, within 60 days of this Act's enactment, a revision of specified listings of mental and emotional disorders which justifies each deviation from recommendations contained in the Revised Childhood Listings of Mental Impairments submitted by the Mental Impairment Listings Workgroup to the Associate Commissioner for Disability on April 1, 1986. Requires the Secretary to: (1) consider age-appropriate medical and functional criteria developed by experts in childhood disability in reviewing and revising medical criteria for the evaluation of impairments of children; and (2) publish a revised listing of impairments of children and explain deviations from the recommendations of experts within 18 months of this Act's enactment. Provides that when weekly or biweekly income renders individuals ineligible for SSI benefits they shall continue to be considered SSI recipients for Medicaid eligibility purposes if they would not be ineligible for SSI benefits were their income treated as being received on a regular monthly basis at the same annual rate. Makes children who are U.S. citizens and reside abroad with a parent eligible for SSI benefits, provided other eligibility criteria are met. Excludes parental income and resources from the determination of a disabled child's SSI eligibility if such child was receiving SSI benefits and Medicaid home care plan benefits while in a hospital, extended care, nursing, or intermediate care facility. Specifies the SSI benefit rate to which such children are entitled. Directs the Secretary to make grants to up to ten communities to determine the extent to which the use of volunteer senior aides to provide basic medical assistance and support to families with moderately or severely disabled or chronically ill children contributes to reducing the costs of care for such children. Authorizes appropriations for such grants through FY 1994. Excludes all work-related equipment from resources in SSI eligibility determinations. Subpart D: Child Support Enforcement Amendments - Amends part D (Child Support and Establishment of Paternity) of title IV of the Social Security Act to extend the authority of States to request the withholding of Federal tax refunds from persons owing past due child support from January 1, 1991, to January 10, 1996. Makes the collection of past-due support from Federal tax refunds applicable to past-due support owed to anyone who was determined to be disabled under the OASDI or SSI program when he or she was a minor. Amends the Child Support Enforcement Amendment of 1984 to permanently extend the provision continuing a family's Medicaid eligibility if such family loses eligibility under part A (Aid to Families with Dependent Children) (AFDC) of title IV of the Social Security Act due to the collection or increased collection of child support under part D. Extends the duration of continued Medicaid eligibility from four months to 12 months. Part 2: SSI Service Improvements - Subpart A: Initiative for the Poor Elderly - Amends the SSI program to increase SSI benefit payments. Directs the Secretary to annually notify all elderly individuals and disabled individuals who are OASDI recipients and may be or could become eligible for SSI benefits of the availability of SSI benefits and provide such notice to individuals when they attain age 65, apply for OASDI disability benefits before attaining age 65, and are notified of their eligibility for part B (Supplementary Medical Insurance) of the Medicare program. Requires the Secretary to annually report to the Congress on the effectiveness of such outreach program. Directs the Secretary to promptly terminate payments to a representative payee determined to have misused an individual's SSI or OASDI benefits. Prohibits the making of payments to a representative payee until an investigation has been conducted to verify such person's identification and determine whether such person has been guilty of fraud or the misuse of benefits under the SSI or OASDI program. Directs the Secretary to establish and disseminate a list of payees whose payments have been terminated due to their misuse of benefits. Excludes payees guilty of fraud or benefit misuse from payment, except, in the latter case, where the best interests of a beneficiary would be served by exempting such payee from exclusion. Directs the Secretary to prescribe maximum fees which may be charged for representative payee services by community-based nonprofit social service agencies that regularly provide such services simultaneously to five or more beneficiaries. Subjects those who overcharge to penalties and payment termination. Requires the Secretary to maintain a centralized, current file, accessible to local SSA offices, identifying all representative payees and beneficiaries utilizing the services of representative payees. Directs SSA servicing offices to maintain a list of public agencies and community-based nonprofit social service agencies in their areas which are qualified representative payees. Requires that the Secretary's annual report to the Congress include specified information concerning representative payees. Reduces the SSI benefits of a person who is living in another person's household and receiving support and maintenance in kind from such person by the lesser of 33 1/3 percent or the amount of such in-kind income. Requires the Secretary to report to the Congress, within two years after this Act's enactment, on the effects of such benefit reduction formula. Excludes the value of domestic commercial transportation tickets received as gifts and not converted to cash from income for SSI purposes. Reduces, from six months to one month, the amount of time during which a separated couple must be apart for their income and resources to be considered separately. Waives such period altogether if such separation induces a financial emergency. Excludes interest accrued on the value of the purchase of a burial space from the buyer's income for SSI purposes. Deems OASDI disability beneficiaries who lose disability benefits after their trial work period to have been eligible for SSI benefits and thus qualified to participate in the SSI work incentive program if yet disabled. Excludes amounts received from a State fund to aid victims of crime from an individual's income and resources for SSI purposes. Prohibits the denial of SSI benefits to individuals by reason of their rejection of amounts offered as compensation for a crime. Subpart B: Other Service Improvements - Directs the Secretary to consider an individual's physical, mental, educational, and linguistic limitations in determining, with respect to his or her SSI eligibility, whether he or she acted in good faith or was at fault, and in determining fraud, deception, or intent. Directs the Secretary to establish a program, within 180 days of this Act's enactment, under which homeless individuals who may be eligible for SSI benefits will be identified and assisted in applying for such benefits. Requires that notices issued to individuals pursuant to the program: (1) be written in simple and clear language; and (2) contain the name, address, and telephone number of a responsible person to contact regarding the notice. Directs the Secretary to report to the Congress by July 1, 1990, regarding SSA procedures for issuing notices in foreign languages and reasonable options for expanding the use of notices in foreign languages. Requires the Secretary to: (1) maintain the names of representatives of SSI claimants in the SSA's electronic information retrieval system; and (2) provide written notice to such claimants of the options for obtaining an attorney to represent them in presenting their cases before the Secretary. Allows SSI claimants to reapply for payments which have been denied if such claimants' failure to request a review of such denials within 60 days of receiving notice of such determinations resulted from good faith reliance upon incorrect, incomplete, or misleading information provided by the SSA or State agencies making disability determinations. Requires the Secretary, in notifying claimants of adverse payment determinations, to describe in clear and specific language the consequences of choosing to reapply for payments instead of requesting a review of such determinations. Deems an individual who failed to apply for SSI benefits due to misinformation presented by an officer or employee of the SSA to have applied for such benefits on the later of the date such information was provided to such individual or the date such individual met all eligibility requirements for such benefits. Guarantees that individuals whose visit to an SSA Office is occasioned by their receipt of a notice requiring a timely response or their loss or nonreceipt of SSI benefits will be seen for an interview that same day. Part 3: Miscellaneous Amendments - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to institute discretionary denial of unemployment benefits between academic terms to employees serving educational institutions in nonprofessional positions. (Under current law denial is mandatory.) Prohibits a finding of fact or law, judgment, conclusion, or final order made with respect to a claim for unemployment compensation benefits pursuant to a State unemployment compensation law from being conclusive, binding, or used as evidence in proceedings that do not arise under such law. Amends the Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1987 to extend the moratorium on the Secretary's implementation of a proposed regulation affecting assistance to homeless AFDC families from September 30, 1989, to October 1, 1990. Authorizes appropriations to cover State administrative expenses in operating demonstration projects under such Act which provide certain eligible individuals with self-employment allowances rather than unemployment compensation. Authorizes Minnesota to conduct a demonstration project to determine whether the State family investment plan helps families to become self-supporting and enhances the ability of families to care for their children more effectively than does the AFDC program. Sets forth project requirements, including the requirement that family assistance under such project be no less than the family would have received under the AFDC and Food Stamp programs. Pays Minnesota the amount it would have been paid under the AFDC program in the absence of such project plus 50 percent of its expenses in evaluating the project. Sets forth reporting requirements. Makes miscellaneous technical corrections to the Family Support Act of 1988 and the Tax Reform Act of 1986. Part 4: AFDC Quality Control Amendments - Subpart A: Resolution of Disallowance Backlog Through Fiscal Year 1990 - Amends the AFDC program to establish a formula for determining a State's excess erroneous payment rates for FY 1981 through 1991 which takes into account national average error rates. Gives States determined to have excess rates the option of utilizing a specified appeals process or waiving their right to appeal in exchange for a 25 percent reduction in their penalty for such rates. Subpart B: Permanent Modification of Quality Control System After Fiscal Year 1990 - Establishes a formula for determining the amount to be collected from States with combined excess AFDC overpayment and underpayment rates after FY 1990. Gives States determined to have excess rates for a fiscal year the option of utilizing a specified appeals process of waiving their right to appeal in exchange for a 25 percent reduction in the penalty for such rates. Makes incentive payments to States whose combined erroneous overpayment and underpayment rates don't exceed an incentive threshold rate. Requires States to collect data and report to the Secretary on AFDC underpayments and negative case actions. Directs the Secretary to conduct a study and report to the Congress by October 1, 1992, on incorporating improper negative case actions into State AFDC error rates. Subtitle D: Trade Agency Authorizations, Customs User Fees, and Other Customs Provisions - Part 1: Trade Agency Authorizations for Fiscal Year 1990 - Amends the Tariff Act of 1930 to authorize appropriations for FY 1990 for the United States International Trade Commission. Amends the Customs Procedural Reform and Simplification Act of 1978 to authorize appropriations for FY 1990 for the United States Customs Service for: (1) noncommercial and commercial operations; and (2) the air interdiction program. Amends the Trade Act of 1974 to authorize appropriations for the Office of the United States Trade Representative for FY 1990. Part 2: Customs User Fees - Amends the Consolidated Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1985 to require the Secretary of the Treasury to collect a customs user fee not exceeding $575 for the processing of merchandise that is entered, or withdrawn from warehouse for consumption, during FY 1990. Requires fees charged for Canadian goods to be in accordance with the U.S.-Canada Free-Trade Agreement. Declares that expenses incurred in conducting commercial operations do not include costs incurred in: (1) air passenger processing; (2) export control; and (3) international affairs. Makes user fees enforceable as customs duties. Exempts Israeli products from user fees as of the date on which the United States Trade Representative publishes in the Federal Register a determination that Israel has provided reciprocal concessions. Requires the Comptroller General to report to specified congressional committees on U.S. Customs Service costs and appropriate user fees. Extends the customs user fee program through September 30, 1991. Authorizes the Service to collect user fees for the operation of foreign trade zones at certain small airports that are not ports-of-entry. Part 3: Miscellaneous Customs Provisions - Declares that the Commissioner of Customs shall be appointed by the President, by and with the advice and consent of the Senate. Amends the Tariff Act of 1930 to require the Commissioner to report to the Congress on: (1) the value of the on-hand inventory of seized property as of the last day of the previous fiscal year; and (2) the sources of gross receipts of, and gross disbursements from, the Customs Forfeiture Fund during the previous fiscal year. Authorizes appropriations. Requires the appropriate customs officer to publish for at least three successive weeks a notice of the seizure of monetary instruments and the intention to forfeit and sell them. Requires the Commissioner to report to the Congress on the total dollar value of uncontested seizures of monetary instruments valued over $100,000 which have not been deposited into the Fund within 120 days of seizure. Authorizes the Secretary of the Treasury to transfer forfeited property, including non-jet aircraft, to the Civil Air Patrol. Part 4: Consistency of the Superfund Petroleum Tax With the General Agreement On Tariffs and Trade - Amends the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to increase the Hazardous Substance Superfund financing rate (part of the tax imposed on imported oil). Subtitle E: Caribbean Basin Economic Recovery - Part 1: Short Title and Findings - Caribbean Basin Economic Recovery Expansion Act of 1989 - Part 2: Amendments to the Caribbean Basin Economic Recovery Act and Related Provisions - Amends the Caribbean Basin Economic Recovery Act (the Act) to repeal the termination of duty-free treatment of beneficiary countries. Requires the United States Trade Representative (USTR) to establish with each beneficiary country guaranteed access levels for textile products assembled in the country from qualifying fabrics (fabrics formed and cut in the United States and certain fabrics of foreign manufacture which are cut in the United States). Authorizes the USTR to negotiate a bilateral agreement with each beneficiary establishing such guaranteed access levels. Makes such products eligible for duty-free treatment. Expresses the sense of the Congress that the USTR should obtain assurances from beneficiary countries which have been granted guaranteed access levels that they will administer export certificates or export visas in a manner ensuring fairness and nondiscriminatory treatment to any U.S. firms that seek allocations under specific limits rather than guaranteed access levels. Sets forth a formula for the duty rate for quota articles. Sets forth the rate of duty on certain non-leather footware, handbag, luggage, flat good, work glove, or leather wearing apparel from a beneficiary country. Provides that duty-free treatment shall not apply to: (1) textile and apparel articles subject to textile agreements; (2) certain articles to which reduced duties apply; (3) certain leather footwear; (4) canned tuna; (5) petroleum; and (6) watches and watch parts. Prohibits the President from designating any country as a beneficiary country if it has not taken steps to afford internationally recognized worker rights to its workers. Amends the Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States with respect to the allocation of quotas on sugars imported from beneficiary countries. Prohibits the USTR from adjusting certain restrictions on sugar imported from the Philippines and South Africa. Authorizes the President to enter into trade agreements with foreign governments for the purpose of granting compensation if the United States takes specified action inconsistent with its international obligations (including the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade). Grants duty-free treatment of articles (not over $600 in value) acquired in a beneficiary country. Prohibits any article (except a textile or apparel article) from being treated as a foreign article, or subject to duty, if certain U.S. components and exclusive sale requirements are met. Authorizes the President to proclaim new rules for determining whether articles originate in beneficiary countries. Amends the Tariff Act of 1930 to require the International Trade Commission, when determining material injury in antidumping and countervailing duty cases, to assess imports from a beneficiary country with respect to imports of like products from other beneficiary countries. Amends the Tax Reform Act of 1986 to treat certain ethyl alcohols produced in an insular possession or beneficiary country as indigenous products of that possession or country if certain requirements are met. Amends the Trade Act of 1974 to require the Secretary of the Treasury to prescribe regulations providing for the duty-free treatment of articles that are wholly the growth, product, or manufacture of beneficiary countries. Part 3: Scholarship Assistance and Tourism Promotion - Directs the Administrator of the Agency for International Development to establish an assistance program to provide scholarships enabling students from eligible countries in the Caribbean and Central America to study in the United States. Expresses the sense of the Congress that increased tourism should be developed in the Caribbean Basin region as a central part of the Caribbean Basin Initiative program. Directs the Commissioner of Customs to implement a pilot preclearance program during FY 1990 and 1991 to assess the extent to which the availability of preclearance operations can assist in the development of tourism in the Caribbean Basin. Subtitle F: Tariff Provisions - Declares that amendments to this subtitle shall be considered to be made to the Harmonized Tariff Schedules of the United States. Part 1: Temporary Suspensions and Reductions in Duties - Amends the Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States to make temporary suspensions and/or reductions in duties in specified items, including organic chemicals. Part 2: Other Tariff and Miscellaneous Provisions - Subpart A: Tariff Classification and Other Technical Amendments - Deletes imports of cane and beet sugar which are subject to quotas from the additional U.S. notes of the Harmonized Tariff Schedules of the United States. Sets forth the tariff treatment of certain: (1) woven fabrics of carded wool or carded fine animal hair; (2) woven fabrics of combed wool or of combed fine animal hair; and (3) gauzes. Declares that, for purposes of the tariff treatment of certain leather handbags, in determining the classification of such articles which are wholly or in part of a fabric coated with nontransparent rubber or plastics, the fabric shall not be regarded as a textile material but as rubber or plastic. Provides separate subheadings in the Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States for certain gloves, mittens, and mitts designed for use in sports. Grants duty-free treatment of chipper knife steel. Sets a duty on cantilever brakes for bicycles. Changes wheel size specifications with respect to 26-inch bicycles. Excludes from import restrictions provided under the Schedule blended syrups, if imported by a foreign trade zone user, to the extent that the annual quantity imported into the customs territory does not contain an amount of sugar of nondomestic origin greater than that authorized by the Foreign Trade Zones Board for processing by such user during FY 1985. Subpart B: Miscellaneous Provisions - Amends the Foreign Trade Zones Act to extend until December 31, 1992 (currently January 1, 1991) the exclusion of bicycle component parts from the exemption from customs laws provided by such Act. Requires the Commissioner of Customs to provide the facilities to make the port-of-entry at Chateaugay, New York, a commercial center under the Northern Border Enhancement Program. Directs the Secretary of the Treasury to grant duty-free treatment of bi-level rail passenger cars that are: (1) entered into the United States after March 14, 1988, and before January 1, 1989, and classified under the Tariff Schedules of the United States; and (2) designed for, and for the use of, the Florida Department of Transportation. Provides for the reliquidation (refund) of certain entries made under the Tariff Act of 1930. Provides that certain digital processing units for automated data processing machines that are imported into the United States after January 16, 1986, and before July 2, 1987, and are unliquidated as of December 31, 1987, shall be liquidated as duty free upon proper request filed with the appropriate customs officer. Provides that certain other entries shall be reliquidated as duty-free or at a specified percentage rate. Provides that a certain Protest relating to certain entries shall be deemed to have been filed with the appropriate customs officer within a specified period of time. Title XI: Revenue Measures - Revenue Reconciliation Act of 1989 - Subtitle A: Extension of Expiring Tax Provisions - Part I: Temporary Extensions - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to extend the tax exclusion for educational assistance programs for three years. Provides a tax exclusion for otherwise taxable employer-provided educational assistance that qualifies as a working condition fringe. Provides two year extensions for the following: (1) targeted jobs credit; (2) mortgage revenue bonds exemption; (3) qualified small issue bond exemption; (4) energy investment credit for geothermal property; and (5) deduction for health insurance costs of self-employed individuals. Part II: Permanent Extensions - Makes the low-income housing credit permanent. Modifies such credit with respect to the following: (1) one-year carryover of unused credit authority; (2) election of 15-year credit period; (3) agreements not to evict low-income tenants and the impact of tenant's right of first refusal to acquire property; (4) rehabilitation expenditures; (5) rent restrictions; (6) acquisitions of existing buildings; (7) increased credit for buildings in high cost areas; (8) rules for buildings for which credit may be allowed; (9) buildings financed with tax-exempt bonds; (10) community development block grant funding; (11) eligibility; (12) multi-building projects; (13) increased responsibilities for housing credit agencies; (14) credit percentage determinations; (15) certification; and (16) transitional housing for the homeless and denial of credit for substandard housing. Exempts the low-income housing credit and rehabilitation credit from the income phaseout of the exemption from passive loss rules. Makes permanent the credit for increasing research activities and makes changes in the computation of the incremental credit. Provides that the trade or business requirement shall be disregarded in the case of in-house research expenses of certain start-up ventures. Disallows a deduction for qualified research expenses which is equal to the credit for increasing research activities. Requires the deduction for research and experimental expenditures to be reasonable amounts. Requires the Secretary of the Treasury to report to specified congressional committees every five years on an evaluation of the credit for increasing research activities. Provides for the allocation of research and experimental expenditures with respect to sources of income within and without the United States. Subtitle B: Corporate Provisions - Requires the earnings and profits of affiliated groups to be computed on a consolidated basis. Provides for the treatment of: (1) certain original issue discount obligations as preferred stock; and (2) certain transfers to controlled corporations. Increases the percentage of the required distribution of ordinary income of regulated investment companies in the computation of the excise tax on the undistributed income of such companies. Provides for the treatment of certain mutual fund sales charges and dividends with respect to taxation of such companies and their shareholders. Provides a limitation on the threshold requirement for certain built-in gains and losses. Requires distributions on disqualified preferred stock to be treated as extraordinary dividends. Prohibits any reduction in gross income by reason of an excess loss account if such reduction is on account of a reduction in the basis of indebtedness. Sets forth provisions relating to the treatment of stock and debt concerning: (1) regulatory authority over the treatment of stock or indebtedness; and (2) reporting of certain acquisitions or recapitalizations. Directs the Secretary to report to specified congressional committees on: (1) whether the present law distinctions between debt and equity are meaningful and whether it is appropriate to limit interest deductions in certain cases; (2) the policy and revenue implications of proposals to integrate the corporate and individual income tax systems; and (3) the policy and revenue implications of the tax treatment of corporate distributions with respect to debt and equity held by tax-exempt entities and foreign persons. Requires S corporations to make estimated tax payments for certain taxes. Limits the deduction for certain interest paid by a corporation to a related person. Places limitations on refunds due to net operating loss carrybacks or excess interest allocable to corporate equity reduction transactions. Denies recognition of gain or loss on the distribution by a cooperative housing corporation of a dwelling unit to a stockholder who was entitled to occupy such dwelling unit by reason of ownership of stock in such corporation. Requires interest income from certain qualified leased property transactions of rural electric cooperatives to be offset by rental expenses of such transactions before allocating income or expense to members and nonmembers of such cooperatives for purposes of the accelerated cost recovery system of the Internal Revenue Code. Subtitle C: Employee Benefit Provisions - Part I: Repeal of Section 89 Nondiscrimination Rules - Repeals provisions relating to benefits provided under certain discriminatory employee benefit plans and restores prior antidiscrimination rules. Part II: Employee Stock Ownership Plans - Provides limitations on partial exclusion of interest on loans used to acquire employer securities. Requires that employer security loans be held only by qualified lenders. Requires employee stock ownership plans to file certain information reports. Places limitations on deductions for dividends paid on employer securities. Requires a three-year holding period before nonrecognition of gain is applicable on the sale of stock to employee stock ownership plans or certain cooperatives. Repeals: (1) the estate tax deduction relating to the sale of employer securities to employee stock ownership plans or worker-owned corporations; and (2) the current allocation of liability for payment of estate tax in the case of transfer of employer securities. Revises limitations on employee stock ownership plans as they affect allocations to highly compensated employees. Repeals special rules relating to net operating losses as they affect employee stock ownership plans. Part III: Tax Treatment of Retiree Health Accounts - Allows a one-time transfer of excess pension assets to retiree health accounts. Limits the amount of contributions which may be made to such accounts. Part IV: Treatment of Benefits Provided Under Discriminatory Employee Benefit Plans - Requires the gross income of a highly compensated employee participating in a discriminatory health plan to include the employer-provided benefit under such plan. Imposes an excise tax on health plans that do not satisfy certain regulatory requirements. Part V: Miscellaneous Provisions - Sets forth provisions relating to nontaxable benefits with respect to: (1) the dependent care assistance program and non-highly compensated employees; (2) group-term life insurance and highly compensated employees; and (3) separate line of business test guidelines. Subtitle D: Foreign Provisions - Provides for determining the taxable year of a controlled foreign corporation or a foreign personal holding company. Sets forth the deadline for paying dividends after the close of a taxable year in order to be considered as paid during such taxable year. Limits the use of deconsolidation to avoid foreign tax credit limitations. Makes reporting requirements for foreign-owned corporations applicable to corporations that are 25-percent foreign-owned. Sets forth U.S. recordkeeping requirements for such corporations and establishes penalties for failure to furnish information or maintain records. Provides for the taxation of the stock disposition by nonresident aliens or foreign corporations who are 10-percent shareholders in any domestic corporation. Requires a withholding agent to deduct and withhold a tax of 10-percent of the amount realized on such stock disposition. Amends the Tax Reform Act of 1986 regarding the foreign tax credit to repeal the transitional rule for the special treatment of high withholding tax interest on certain foreign loans. Requires foreign research and experimental expenditures to be treated as deferred expenses and to be deducted ratably over a five-year period. Provides for the allocation of interest expenses in the case of financial affiliated groups engaged in banking, insurance, financing, or similar business. Requires the inclusion as an item of gross income derived from an unrelated trade or business any disqualified amount derived by an organization from a foreign corporation in which such organization is a 10-percent shareholder. Subtitle E: Excise Tax Provisions - Revises the excise tax on gasoline, including: (1) imposing a tax on the receipt of gasoline at any terminal; (2) imposing a tax on gasoline not transferred in bulk to a registered terminal; (3) allowing a tax credit on certain prior taxes; and (4) reducing the rate of tax for gasohol. Revises registration and bond requirements. Provides for refunds through sellers in cases of gasoline used to produce gasohol. Imposes a floor stocks tax on certain gasoline that was not taxed prior to October 1, 1989. Provides a one-year suspension of certain automatic reductions in aviation-related taxes. Provides for the Oil Spill Liability Trust Fund tax to take effect on October 1, 1989. Specifies the schedule for the deposit of taxes on communications services and airline tickets. Provides for one-time filing of telephone excise tax exemption certificates. Makes the telephone excise tax permanent. Establishes an excise tax on the sale of chemicals which deplete the ozone layer and of products containing such chemicals. Exempts inactivated polio vaccines from the excise tax on vaccines. Authorizes the payment of administrative expenses from the Vaccine Injury Compensation Trust Fund. Provides for the taxation of bulk cigar imports. Subtitle F: Miscellaneous Provisions - Part I: Limitation on Nonrecognition for Certain Exchanges - Sets forth limitations on the nonrecognition of gain or loss on the exchange of property with respect to: (1) the similar use of such property for the one-year period prior to transfer; (2) special rules for exchanges between related persons, where there is substantial diminution of risk, and for foreign real property; and (3) the repeal of special treatment for involuntary conversions of real property. Part II: Minimum Tax Provisions - Removes the book limitations applicable to depreciation of property placed in service after 1989 when determining alternative minimum taxable income. Makes modifications to: (1) the corporate minimum tax credit; (2) the orphan drug credit; (3) certain home construction contracts; (4) certain research and experimental expenditures; and (5) the 90-percent limitation on foreign tax credit. Directs the Secretary of the Treasury to study the proper class life for cars and light trucks. Part III: Accounting Provisions - Requires that the percentage of completion method be used in determining the taxable income under any long-term contract. Limits the deductibility of contingent payments in transfers of franchises, trademarks, and trade names. Modifies provisions requiring interest on installment sales of timeshares and residential lots. Part IV: Employment Tax Provision - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to require income tax withholding for certain agricultural employees. Specifies the schedule and minimum amounts for the deposit of social security taxes and withheld income taxes. Part V: Other Provisions - Limits the tax exclusion for compensation for personal injuries or sickness to cases involving physical injury or physical sickness. Requires the recognition of gain or loss by any partner that contributes property to a partnership if the property is distributed by the partnership to other than the contributing partner. Allows a depreciation deduction for the business use of cellular telephones or other similar telecommunications equipment. Eliminates the retroactive certification of employees for the work incentive jobs credit. Disallows a depreciation deduction for any term interest in property for any period during which the remainder interest in such property is held by a related person. Requires a trade or business to report the amount of points received on mortgage loans and whether such points were paid directly by the borrower. Provides that a building shall not be treated as being ineligible for the rehabilitation credit by reason of being relocated if the rehabilitation began before the publication of a certain proposed Treasury Regulation. Designates the Overseas Private Investment Corporation a tax-exempt government corporation. Provides a tax exclusion for certain overseas allowances received by Department of Defense personnel. Authorizes the disclosure of tax information to the Department of Veterans Affairs for the verification of income for purposes of needs-based benefits and services. Requires the Secretary to provide notice of underreporting in information returns. Modifies the computational rules with respect to life insurance contracts with more than one insured. Increases the threshold above which refunds must be submitted to the Joint Committee on Taxation for review. Requires the Commissioner of Internal Revenue to report to specified congressional committees on methods of strengthening and improving the private letter ruling process. Provides for the nonrecognition of gain from the sale of property by certain persons subject to a certificate of divestiture to comply with conflict of interest requirements. Amends the Tax Reform Act of 1986 to revise provisions concerning the treatment of certain lump sum distributions received under certain terminated plans. Amends the Internal Revenue Code to establish an alternative full-funding limitation for employers when making deductible contributions to a defined benefit pension plan. Part VI: Tax-Exempt Bond Provisions - Makes transitional housing for the homeless eligible for financing through tax-exempt bonds. Authorizes certain issuers of qualified mortgage bonds to elect to rebate arbitrage earnings to the United States. Subjects to arbitrage rebate requirements certain tax-exempt bonds (hedge bonds) when certain percentages of the net proceeds are not spent by the end of each of five years from the date of issuance. Specifies exceptions to such requirements. Amends the Tax Reform Act of 1986 with respect to the tax-exempt status of qualified redevelopment bonds. Subtitle G: Revision of Civil Penalties - Improved Penalty Administration and Compliance Tax Act - Part I: Document and Information Return Penalties - Revises penalty provisions in connection with tax return administration. Imposes a uniform penalty of $50 per offense to a maximum of $250,000 per year on any person who fails to: (1) file timely and correct information returns; (2) furnish correct payee statements; or (3) comply with other information reporting requirements. Reduces penalties if corrections are made within a specified time period. Allows exceptions for de minimis failures. Lowers the penalty maximums for persons with gross receipts of less than $5,000,000. Increases penalties and removes the annual penalty ceiling in cases of intentional disregard of filing requirements. Revises requirements governing regulations prescribed by the Secretary of the Treasury in connection with returns that must be filed on magnetic media or in other machine-readable form. Directs the Comptroller General to study and report to specified congressional committees concerning: (1) ways to resolve discrepancies between taxpayer identity information shown on information returns and that in Internal Revenue Service (IRS) records; and (2) whether persons in the business of transmitting information returns and other documents to the IRS on behalf of others should be subject to registration. Part II: Revision of Accuracy-Related Penalties - Replaces current law governing additions to tax and other additional amounts with respect to tax administration violations with provisions that impose a 20 percent penalty in the form of additional tax in connection with underpayments attributable to at least one of the following: (1) negligence or disregard of relevant rules; (2) any substantial understatement of income tax; (3) any substantial valuation overstatement in connection with income tax; (4) any substantial overstatement of pension liabilities; or (5) any substantial estate or gift tax valuation understatement. Increases the penalty to 40 percent in cases of gross valuation misstatements. Imposes: (1) a 75 percent penalty in the form of additional tax with respect to any underpayment attributable to fraud; and (2) a 50 percent penalty in connection with underpayments of or failure to pay any stamp tax. Part III: Preparer, Promoter, and Protester Penalties - Revises provisions governing damages assessable for offenses related to Tax Court litigation to: (1) grant the Tax Court discretion in requiring a taxpayer to pay the United States a penalty (current law requires the penalty); (2) increase the amount of the permissible penalty from a $5,000 to a $25,000 maximum; (3) authorize the Tax Court to impose a penalty upon any attorney who unreasonably multiplies the proceedings in question. Authorizes similar sanctions in cases brought before other courts. Modifies penalty provisions associated with understatements of taxpayer liability by income tax return preparers to: (1) increase penalty amounts; and (2) institute penalties for understatements due to unrealistic positions or reckless or intentional disregard of tax laws. Increases from $25 to $50 (to an annual maximum of $25,000) the penalty imposed on income tax return preparers who fail to furnish copies to taxpayers, sign returns, or furnish identifying numbers. Modifies penalties imposed on tax preparers who fail to file correct information returns. Increases the possible penalty imposed on persons who promote abusive tax shelters. Broadens the scope of persons subject to penalties for aiding and abetting understatements of tax liability. Increases from $500 to $1,000 the penalty for filing a frivolous income tax return. Repeals a provision prohibiting injunctions against any income tax return preparer who files a surety bond. Requires that regulations governing disclosure or use of information by tax return preparers permit disclosures for quality or peer reviews. Part IV: Failures to File or Pay - Increases penalties imposed on persons whose failure to file any return is fraudulent or intentional. Revises penalty provisions in connection with failures to make deposits of taxes, varying the penalty rate as a function of the time involved in the deposit delay. Declares that a taxpayer who belatedly pays a tax that should have been deducted and withheld is still liable for interest or applicable penalties or additions. Subtitle H: Technical Corrections - Part I: Amendments Related to Technical and Miscellaneous Revenue Act of 1988 - Makes technical corrections with respect to: (1) corporate tax; (2) minimum tax; (3) accounting methods; (4) foreign tax; (5) estate and gift tax; (6) generation-skipping transfer tax; (7) estimated taxes of trusts and estates; (8) insurance; (9) pensions; (10) excise tax on undenatured distilled spirits; (11) tax-exempt bonds; (12) research tax credit; and (13) low-income housing tax credit. Part II: Amendments Related to Revenue Act of 1987 - Revises: (1) accounting provisions concerning installment sales, the election of taxable years other than required taxable year, corporate earnings and profit adjustments, and treatment of foreign insurance; (2) provisions relating to excise taxes on diesel fuel and aviation fuel; and (3) enforcement authority in the case of flagrant political expenditures. Part III: Amendments Related to Tax Reform Act of 1986 - Revises provisions with respect to: (1) modification of the accelerated cost recovery system; (2) low-income housing credit; (3) capitalization and inclusion in inventory costs of certain expenses; and (4) transitional rules on the application of future legislation to transitioned bonds. Part IV: Miscellaneous Changes - Makes technical amendments to provisions related to transfers incident to divorce or separation and to the special rules for simplified employee pensions. Part V: Amendments Related to Pension Provisions - Makes technical amendments to pension-related provisions of the Internal Revenue Code (IRC) and the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA) concerning: (1) excise tax on reversion of qualified plan assets to employer; and (2) minimum vesting standards. Subpart A: Amendments Related to Tax Reform Act of 1986 - Makes various and sundry changes to technical corrections made under the Tax Reform Act of 1986. Subpart B: Amendments Related to Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1986 - Makes technical amendments to the IRC and ERISA with respect to the normal retirement age of pension plan participants. Subpart C: Amendments Related to Pension Protection Act - Makes technical amendments to the IRC, ERISA and the Pension Protection Act dealing with: (1) limitations for multiemployer pension plans; (2) modification of the minimum funding standard for pension plans, including a special transition rule with respect to steel employees; (3) the time for making plan contributions; (4) funding waivers; (5) the interest rate to be used in connection with various plan funding rules; (6) plan terminations; and (7) reporting requirements. Subpart D: Additional Pension Provisions - Makes technical amendments to ERISA and the IRC relating to pensions under the Tax Reform Act of 1986, the Pension Protection Act, and the Single-Employer Pension Plan Amendments Act of 1986. Subtitle I: Child Care Provisions - Amends title XX (Grants to States for Services) of the Social Security Act to increase and make permanent grants to States for social services, with additional funds set aside for child care services. Prescribes State administration of child care funds. Requires the Secretary of Health and Human Services to establish a child care standards improvement incentive grant program to make grants to eligible States in improving child care standards. Authorizes appropriations for FY 1990 through 1997. Amends the IRC to increase the earned income tax credit and adjust such credit for family size. Subtitle J: Capital Gain Provisions - Part I: Reduction in Capital Gains Tax for Noncorporate Taxpayers - Provides for a temporary reduction in the capital gains tax for noncorporate taxpayers. Provides for the recapture of gain from real estate depreciation. Part II: Indexing of Certain Assets Acquired After 1991 for Purposes of Determining Gain - Provides for an inflation adjustment to the basis of certain assets for purposes of determining gain upon sale or other disposition. Defines such assets as any stock in a corporation and any tangible property which is a capital asset or property used in a trade or business. Part III: Treatment of Certain Timber Activities Under Passive Loss Rules - Provides that passive activities do not include certain interests in qualified timber property for purposes of determining any passive activity loss.
United States · United States Congress · 19 September 1989
Food Safety Assurance Act of 1989 - Title I: Cancellation and Suspension - Amends provisions of the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act (FIFRA) relating to cancellation and changes in classification or other terms or conditions of registration with respect to the authority of the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency. Requires that a rulemaking under such provisions be based on a validated test or other significant evidence raising prudent concerns of unreasonable adverse effects to man or to the environment. Sets forth procedural requirements for such a rulemaking. Provides for amendment of a rule and for judicial review. Allows the Administrator, in the case of a suspension, to waive certain requirements. Allows the Administrator to elect to proceed with a special review proceeding or a public interim administrative review proceeding, if published before January 1, 1990, under the law in effect before enactment of this Act. Requires the Administrator to reassess each tolerance and exemption from the requirement for a tolerance at certain times in connection with reregistration of pesticides. Establishes the Science Review Board to assist the Scientific Advisory Panel in reviews conducted by the Panel. Revises procedures applicable after denial of an application for registration. Allows the Administrator to deny an application for registration because it does not comply with the requirements of a rule issued under provisions of this Act. Repeals provisions regulating the authority of the Administrator to initiate a public interim administrative review process. Declares a decision made after a hearing in certain circumstances during phase three of reregistration to be final. Amends provisions regulating: (1) review by district courts of suspension of registrations; and (2) public hearings. Title II: Data Collection - Directs the Secretary of Agriculture to collect by surveys on a biennial basis pesticide use data of State-level significance for all the major crops and crops of dietary significance. Authorizes appropriations. Amends the National Agricultural Research, Extension, and Teaching Policy Act of 1977 to add to the responsibilities of the Secretary of Agriculture that of establishing, with the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), a committee to oversee coordination between the Department of Agriculture's conservation, commodity, research, and education programs and the EPA's pesticide regulatory activities. Requires the interagency coordinating committee to: (1) develop and oversee integrated pest management research and education initiatives targeted toward principal pests of crops, with an emphasis on crops which constitute significant human dietary exposure to pesticide residues and for which few pesticide alternatives exist; and (2) advise the Administrator regarding ways to take into account, in registration, reregistration, and cancellation actions, the implications of the emergency or severity of genetic resistance in pests to pesticides, or the viability and profitability of integrated pest management systems. Authorizes appropriations. Adds to the list of high priority research, for the purpose of grants by the Secretary of Agriculture under existing provisions, research to develop and refine integrated pest management techniques and other nonchemical or reduced chemical control technologies targeted toward crop pests, particularly those pests and crops which require applications of pesticides that may pose greater than a negligible risk to man or the environment. Title III: Authorizations - Increases the amount authorized to be appropriated to carry out the FIFRA for FY 1990 and 1991, earmarking the increased authorization for the implementation of regulations relating to certain ingredients in pesticide products. Title IV: Amendments to the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act - Amends the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act (FDCA) to define, subject to exception, "pesticide chemical" as it is defined in the FIFRA. Adds to the list of prohibited acts under the FDCA violation of provisions relating to confidentiality of data, as amended by this Act. Deems a food adulterated if it bears or contains: (1) a pesticide chemical residue that is unsafe; or (2) a new animal drug, or conversion product thereof, that is unsafe. Sets forth requirements relating to tolerances and exemptions from the requirement of a tolerance for pesticide chemical residues in food, including residues of degradation products. Prohibits establishment of a tolerance higher than a level the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency determines is adequate to protect the public health. Sets forth the factors the Administrator must consider. Allows a greater than negligible dietary risk if: (1) use protects from greater adverse health effects to humans or the environment; (2) use avoids greater risks from another pesticide; or (3) the unavailability of the pesticide would reduce the availability of an adequate, wholesome, and economical domestic supply of the food, and the adverse effects from the reduction would outweigh the risk posed by the residue. Allows the Administrator to issue an exemption from the requirement for a tolerance only if the Administrator determines that a tolerance is not needed to protect the public health, in view of the levels of dietary exposure that could reasonably be expected to occur. Sets forth the factors the Administrator must consider. Sets forth procedures and requirements in connection with: (1) petitions for tolerances or exemptions; (2) certain actions authorized on the Administrator's own initiative; (3) the required submission of additional data to support the continuation of a tolerance or exemption; and (4) confidentiality of data submitted to the Administrator. Provides for continuation of previously issued regulations. Sets forth transitional provisions. Prohibits a final rule that revokes, modifies, or suspends a tolerance or exemption until the Administrator has taken any necessary action under the FIFRA with respect to the registration of the pesticide involved. Requires the Administrator, if the Administrator takes certain actions with respect to the registration of a pesticide, to revoke any tolerance or exemption that allows the presence of the chemical or chemical residue. Requires the suspension of any tolerance or exemption upon the suspension of the use of an associated registered pesticide. Provides for: (1) tolerances for unavoidable residues in the case of a residue of a canceled or suspended pesticide chemical that will unavoidably persist in the environment and thereby be present in or on a food; and (2) residues resulting from an application which was lawful at the time of the application. Directs the Administrator to require the payment of fees sufficient for the Administrator's functions under these provisions. Prohibits, subject to exception, a State from establishing or enforcing any limit on a qualifying pesticide chemical residue in or on any food which is not identical to Federal requirements. Prohibits a State from enforcing a residue limit which was lawful at the time of application. Authorizes appropriations for increased monitoring by the Secretary of Health and Human Services of pesticide residues in imported and domestic food.
United States · United States Congress · 19 September 1989
Amends the Federal Water Pollution Control Act (FWPCA) to require the President to develop a Fish and Wildlife Response Plan. Specifies that such Plan shall include: (1) establishment of procedures, assignment of duties and responsibilities among Federal departments and agencies, and identification of resources to ensure rapid and effective response in protecting, rescuing, and monitoring fish and wildlife threatened or injured by oil or hazardous substance discharges; (2) identification and prioritization of habitats critical to the survival of fish and wildlife which are at substantial risk of damage from such a discharge; (3) establishment of procedures to provide and train personnel to protect, rescue, and rehabilitate fish and wildlife in case of such a discharge; (4) establishment of procedures to procure and maintain facilities, equipment, and supplies for the protection and rescue of threatened or injured fish and wildlife; and (5) establishment of procedures to maintain a communications network among Federal, State, and local governmental agencies and private entities engaged in activities under the Plan. Requires the President: (1) to revise the National Contingency Plan under the FWPCA and (2) to report to the Congress annually concerning the activities of Federal agencies responsible for implementing the Fish and Wildlife Response Plan.
United States · United States Congress · 18 September 1989
Designates the period of September 16 through October 9, 1989, as Coastweeks '89, recognizing the importance of coastal zones. Designates September 16, 1989, as National Estuaries Day and September 23, 1989, as National Beach Cleanup Day.
United States · United States Congress · 4 August 1989
Older Workers Benefit Protection Act - Amends the Age Discrimination in Employment Act of 1967 (ADEA) to specify that it prohibits discrimination against older workers in all employee benefits except when age-based reductions in employee benefit plans are justified by significant cost considerations. Declares that, as used in ADEA, the phrase "compensation, terms, conditions, or privileges of employment" encompasses all employee benefits, including those provided under a bona fide employee benefit plan. Requires that the actual amount of payment made or cost incurred on behalf of an older worker be no less than that made or incurred on behalf of a younger worker, for each benefit or benefit package, in order for an employee benefit plan not to violate ADEA. Places on the employer, employment agency, or labor organization the burden of proving, in any civil enforcement proceeding brought under ADEA, that specified actions are lawful. Requires a seniority system or employee benefit plan to comply with ADEA regardless of the date of adoption of such system or plan. Applies this Act to all actions or proceedings under ADEA that were brought after June 23, 1989, or that were pending on such date (which is the date on which the Supreme Court issued the decision in Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio v. Betts).
United States · United States Congress · 4 August 1989
Yosemite National Park Centennial Medal Act - Directs the Secretary of the Treasury to strike and sell not more than 750,000 gold, silver, and bronze medals in commemoration of the centennial of Yosemite National Park, California, in 1990. Requires that all sales of such medals include a surcharge of $35 per medal for the gold medals, $7 per medal for the silver medals, and $2 per medal for the bronze medals. Requires that all surcharges be paid to an endowment fund for the benefit of the Park to be administered by the National Park Foundation. Requires that the interest from the fund be paid to the Secretary of the Interior to fund special supplemental projects relating to back country trail development and rehabilitation and the preservation of Sequoia groves within the boundaries of the Park. Requires the Secretaries to enter into a memorandum agreement to allow: (1) the Secretary of the Treasury to deliver medals to the Secretary of the Interior; and (2) the Secretary of the Interior to provide for the sale of the medals in National Park facilities. Grants the Comptroller General the right to examine all records of the National Park Foundation which are related to such medals. Provides that no medals may be struck after December 31, 1991.
United States · United States Congress · 4 August 1989
Motor Vehicle Emission Control Act of 1989 - Amends the Clean Air Act to set standards for emissions of: (1) hydrocarbons and nitrogen oxides from light duty vehicles manufactured after model year 1992; (2) carbon monoxide and particulates from light-duty vehicles manufactured after model year 1991; (3) hydrocarbons, nitrogen oxides, and carbon monoxide from trucks manufactured after model year 1992; (4) nitrogen oxides from heavy-duty trucks manufactured after model year 1993; and (5) particulates from heavy-duty trucks and buses manufactured after model year 1990. Requires the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency to promulgate standards for motor vehicles burning low-emissions fuel. Provides for the revision of such standards, as necessary. Directs the Administrator to establish a minimum percentage of new motor vehicles to be certified as low-emissions vehicles to assure compliance with the Clean Air Act. Requires the Administrator to promulgate regulations that prohibit the manufacture or introduction into commerce of any vehicle or engine manufactured after model year 1990 that requires leaded gasoline. Directs the Administrator to promulgate standards for emissions of carbon monoxide, volatile organic compounds, and nitrogen oxides from internal combustion engines manufactured after 1992 that are used in vehicles or machinery. Directs the Administrator to promulgate regulations to add an idle test to the Federal Test Procedure for light-duty vehicles manufactured after model year 1991. Requires the Administrator to revise regulations regarding selective enforcement auditing of new light-duty vehicles manufactured after model year 1990 so that the maximum percentage of failing vehicles is ten percent. Requires the Administrator to review and revise, as necessary, regulations regarding testing of motor vehicles and engines to insure that vehicles are tested under circumstances which reflect actual driving conditions. Prohibits averaging of performance standards of various vehicles, engine families, or models manufactured by the same manufacturer for purposes of complying with emissions standards under the Clean Air Act. Provides that the useful life of vehicles and engines manufactured after model year 1994 shall be ten years of use or 100,000 miles, whichever occurs first. Requires all vehicles and engines manufactured after model year 1990 to comply with emissions standards under the Clean Air Act regardless of the altitude at which they are sold. Directs the Administrator to establish a high altitude testing center to insure that motor vehicles and engines comply with such Act. Authorizes appropriations. Requires manufacturers and importers to offer necessary incentives to insure at least a 75 percent response by vehicle owners to notifications of nonconformity with regulations. Requires State implementation plans for nonattainment areas to contain measures to increase compliance with recall notifications. Directs the Administrator to consider information from any State vehicle emission control inspection and maintenance program when making determinations of nonconformity. Authorizes States to petition the Administrator to make determinations based on such information. Permits the Administrator to issue regulations establishing minimum criteria for State programs to assure that they are suitable for effective enforcement. Directs the Administrator to promulgate regulations requiring States with vehicle inspection and maintenance programs to adopt quality control audits and reporting requirements to assure that such inspections detect and report to the Administrator any defects in a manufacturer's emissions control system. Requires the Administrator to report annually to the Congress on any significant finding of repeated or common emission system defects and the actions taken to remedy such nonconformities. Revises penalty provisions of the Clean Air Act, including those concerning the tampering with of emissions control devices. Requires the Administrator to amend certain regulations to require the use of best available technology to control evaporative emissions for a vehicle's useful life. Sets standards for emissions of hydrocarbons, carbon monoxide, and evaporative hydrocarbons from motorcycles and motorcycle engines manufactured after model year 1991. Requires the Administrator to amend certain regulations to require the installation of onboard emissions diagnostic systems on motor vehicles. Directs the Administrator to promulgate regulations to reduce evaporative emissions from motor vehicle fuels. Requires such regulations to include a gasoline volatility standard to be applied to all gasoline introduced into commerce for use during high ozone periods of the year. Sets a Reid Vapor Pressure (RVP) standard for gasoline used in Class C areas. Designates the period between May 16 and September 15, or such longer period as the Administrator establishes, as the high ozone period. Requires the Administrator to allow an increased RVP for oxygenated fuels. Prohibits the introduction into commerce of gasoline with less than a specified oxygen content in carbon monoxide nonattainment areas during October 1 through April 1 of each year. Requires the Administrator to report to the House Energy and Commerce Committee and the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee on the increased use of oxygenated fuels. Prohibits, after July 1, 1990, the introduction into commerce of diesel fuel which exceeds a specified sulfur content limit. Requires fuels used in certifications of heavy-duty vehicles and engines manufactured after model year 1992 to meet such standard. Directs the Administrator to report to the Congress on whether such standard is necessary for vehicles and engines to meet particulate emissions standards or regulations or to protect public health. Requires the Administrator to promulgate regulations prohibiting the introduction into commerce, after October 1, 1993, of diesel fuel which has an aromatic hydrocarbon content over ten percent by volume. Directs the Administrator to promulgate standards requiring all new light-duty vehicles to be equipped with onboard evaporative emissions control systems that provide emissions capture efficiency of 95 percent. Requires passenger cars and light-duty trucks manufactured after model year 1992 to be tested for carbon monoxide emissions at 20 degrees Fahrenheit. Sets specified emissions standards for such test. Directs the Administrator to promulgate regulations to achieve reductions in in-use motor vehicle emissions of carbon dioxide. Requires emissions reductions of at least 20 percent by 2005 and 50 percent by 2025. Directs the Administrator to undertake to enter into arrangements with the National Academy of Sciences to study the feasibility of meeting such reduction requirements. Applies certain requirements for another feasibility study under the Clean Air Act to such study.
United States · United States Congress · 4 August 1989
Calls on all countries that produce high explosives to: (1) cooperate in global efforts to develop suitable chemical taggants for preblast detection of high explosives; (2) refrain from selling high explosives to known supporters of terrorism; (3) develop controls to ensure that high explosives purchased by customers are not transferred to terrorist groups; and (4) formally agree to require that any high explosive produced in that country include a preblast detection taggant, as soon as one suitable for that form of explosive is developed.
United States · United States Congress · 4 August 1989
Expresses sorrow to the family of Lieutenant Colonel William Higgins over his reported murder and to the families of hostages of all nationalities being held in Lebanon. Recognizes that Iran is both directly and indirectly responsible for the captivity of the American hostages and the reported murder of Lt. Col. Higgins. Commends the President and the Secretary of State for doing everything in their power to deter further threats to the American hostages. Urges: (1) the President to express to the Government of Iran that the United States holds Iran responsible for Lt. Col. Higgins' death, the captivity of the remaining hostages, and all Hezbollah-sponsored terrorism; and (2) the President and the Secretary of State to continue exploring all possible channels for freeing the hostages and bringing those responsible for such acts to justice.
United States · United States Congress · 3 August 1989
Adult Literacy and Employability Act of 1989 - Title I: Literacy Coordination - Establishes a Joint Presidential-Congressional Task Force on Adult Literacy. Requires the Task Force to report to the Council for Literacy Coordination established by this Act. Terminates the Task Force six months after its last member is appointed. Authorizes appropriations for the Task Force for FY 1990. Establishes the Cabinet Council for Literacy Coordination (the Council). Requires the Council to report annually to the Congress and the President. Authorizes appropriations for the Council for FY 1990 through 1993. Amends the Department of Education Organization Act to establish in the Department of Education an Office of Adult Literacy, to be administered by a Director of such Office. Requires the Director to: (1) coordinate the administration of literacy programs within the Department; and (2) work with the Cabinet Council for Literacy to coordinate related activities. Establishes the National Center for Adult Literacy as a nonprofit corporation which will not be an agency or establishment of the Federal Government. Divides the Center into a research institute, a technical assistance and training institute, and a policy analysis institute. Requires an annual report to the Congress. Authorizes appropriations for the Center for FY 1990 through 1994. Directs the Chairperson of the Council to make grants to States for a network of State or regional adult literacy resource centers. Authorizes appropriations for such grants for FY 1990 through 1992 and succeeding fiscal years. Requires each State that receives adult literacy assistance under an applicable Federal program to: (1) establish a State advisory board on literacy; and (2) submit a State literacy coordination plan. Requires the State Governor to report annually to the Council. Title II: Investment in Literacy - Amends the Adult Education Act (AEA) to increase and extend through FY 1995 the authorization of appropriations for AEA programs. Revises allotment provisions. Requires limitations on the use of funds to: (1) eliminate a cap on high school equivalency certificate programs; and (2) require that a specified amount be used to support adult education and literacy services provided by community-based organizations and nonprofit volunteer agencies. Includes among projects for which State must expand a portion of their AEA allotments: (1) development and expansion of innovative programs; and (2) support for statewide volunteer technical assistance activities. Eliminates certain maintenance of effort requirements. Authorizes the Chairperson of the Council to make matching challenge grants to State for investment in adult literacy instruction staff training and educational technology. Allows States, for purposes of matching such grants, to reserve specified portions of funds for FY 1990 through 1995 under specified Federal laws. Requires that States receiving such grants make available federally-assisted adult literacy program equipment, facilities, or training services, when not in program use or when surplus capacity exists, to other adult literacy programs (without charge or in certain circumstances at cost). Authorizes appropriations for such challenge grants for FY 1990 and succeeding fiscal years. Establishes a Literacy Leader Training Fund. Directs the Secretary of Education (the Secretary), through the Office of Adult Literacy, to make scholarship grants from the Fund to individuals pursuing careers in adult education, instruction, management, research, or innovation, for education or research to expand their expertise. Authorizes appropriations for such purposes for FY 1990 and succeeding fiscal years. Amends the Library Services and Construction Act (LSCA) to establish a library literacy demonstration program. Directs the Secretary to make grants to State and local public libraries for model innovative programs for delivery of adult literacy services, including development of technology-based centers. Requires that a peer review panel advise on grant criteria and application review, and that an expert in library literacy activities administer such program in the Department of Education. Authorizes appropriations for FY 1990 through 1994 for such library literacy demonstration program. Extends through FY 1994 the authorization of appropriations for other LSCA library literacy programs. Title III: Family Literacy - Amends the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 to direct the Secretary to carry out through the Office of Adult Literacy the Secretary's functions under the Even Start program (which integrates early childhood education and adult education for parents). Title IV: Workplace Literacy - Amends the Job Training Partnership Act (JTPA) to provide for workplace literacy skills and programs. Revises State education coordination and grant programs to provide financial assistance for any State education, labor, or economic development agency (or consortia) to enhance provision of statewide workplace literacy training and education through cooperative agreements between appropriate agencies and organizations. Requires that at least 75 percent of funds for such activities be used to improve program quality by means such as application of learning technology, model program development, and investment in staff training and services targeted at participants lacking workplace skills. Revises general program requirements for the service delivery system to require private industry councils to give priority to participant placements with businesses and industries that have a workplace literacy program or are willing to develop one with other public and private agencies. Makes individuals lacking workplace literacy skills eligible for adult and youth training program services. Requires, beginning in program year 1990, that at least 40 percent of adult program participants in each service delivery area (SDA) be in need of and be offered basic training through an individual workplace literacy plan. Requires assessment and testing of each potential participant's workplace literacy skills and employment skills. Allows participants who have been placed in employment to continue workplace literacy training until they have achieved their goal or for at least two years, whichever is earlier. Requires SDAs to provide such training for such duration to participants who need and would benefit from it. Allows such training to include workplace literacy training and English-as-a-second-language. Requires such activities to be described in an individualized workplace literacy plan for each participant, including goals based on participant needs. Requires that eligible dislocated workers lacking workplace literacy be offered basic skills training for at least a two-year period from the date of entry into the program. Establishes a Workplace Literacy Demonstration Program. Authorizes the Secretary of Labor to make grants for joint ventures of business, industry, or labor (or consortia) cooperating with State, County, or local governments or private industry councils (or consortia) to provide large-scale model development approaches to improving the basic workplace skills of the workforce. Requires the use of such funds for: (1) basic skills training; (2) specific program offerings; (3) assessments of individual and workplace skill needs; (4) program evaluations; and (5) technology-based learning environments. Sets forth matching requirements for grantees. Requires independent evaluation of such programs. Authorizes appropriations for FY 1990 through 1995 for such programs.
United States · United States Congress · 3 August 1989
Municipal and Industrial Water Conservation Act of 1989 - Directs the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency to establish an Office of Water Conservation to perform specified duties, including: (1) the support of programs to reduce water use and loss in municipal, industrial, commercial, institutional, and residential sectors; (2) the support of dissemination of model water conservation programs; and (3) the promotion of least-cost approaches to water planning and regional approaches to management of water and sewer systems. Calls for intergovernmental coordination in water conservation efforts. Requires the Office to provide technical assistance to States, Indian tribes, utilities, local governments, and others in efforts to implement water conservation policies. Requires regular consultations with major water resources development agencies to target limited resources. Requires the Office to develop a series of model water conservation programs with policy options for States, Indian tribes, water utilities, and municipalities. Allows such water users to request feasibility studies of their current and potential water conservation activities. Allocates the costs of such studies, allowing smaller studies to be conducted at full Federal cost. Amends the Federal Water Pollution Control Act (as amended by the Water Quality Act of 1987) to require the Administrator to make capitalization grants to State water pollution control revolving funds for conducting municipal and industrial water conservation activities which will reduce operating and capital costs of and needs for waste water treatment facilities. Directs the Office to provide, upon request, technical assistance to businesses and institutions for water efficiency campaigns, plumbing system leak-detection, water use audits, and other water conservation measures. Requires the development of model water conservation programs for businesses and institutions and studies, upon request, of their programs. Directs the Administrator to establish a National Clearinghouse on Water Conservation to collect and disseminate, free of charge, information on water conservation technologies and practices. Establishes the Advisory Council on Water Conservation to make recommendations to the Administrator on activities under this Act. Requires the President's Council on Environmental Quality to require, by rulemaking authority, the consideration of water conservation activities in all relevant environmental impact studies conducted under specified provisions of the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969. Authorizes appropriations through FY 1994 to carry out this Act.
United States · United States Congress · 3 August 1989
Declares that the Congress acknowledges and appreciates the commitment, devotion, and sacrifices of present and former military families. Designates November 20, 1989, as National Military Families Recognition Day.
United States · United States Congress · 2 August 1989
Amends the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act to increase the amount of civil penalties that may be prescribed for violations of such Act. Requires the Secretary of the Interior to adjust such penalties triennially to reflect increases in the Consumer Price Index. Authorizes penalties to be assessed without regard to a required period for corrective action if a violation constitutes a threat of serious, irreparable, or immediate harm to life, property, mineral deposits, or the environment.
United States · United States Congress · 31 July 1989
Benjamin Franklin National Memorial Commemorative Coin Act - Requires the Secretary of the Treasury to issue a specified number of five-dollar gold coins, one-dollar silver coins, and half-dollar clad coins in commemoration of the bicentennial of the death of Benjamin Franklin. Provides that such coins shall be considered legal tender. Requires the Secretary to begin issuing such coins on October 1, 1989. Directs the Secretary to obtain silver for the minting of such coins from stocks of silver held by the Secretary or from any other federally owned stocks of silver and to obtain gold pursuant to authority under existing law. Provides that the design of such coins shall be selected by the Secretary after consultation with the Chairman of the Benjamin Franklin National Memorial at the Franklin Institute and the Chairman of the Commission of Fine Arts. Specifies the sales price of such coins as the face value plus costs. Requires that all sales of such coins include a surcharge of $35 per coin for five-dollar coins, $7 per coin for one-dollar coins, and $2 for half-dollar coins. Requires that all surcharges received by the Secretary from the sale of such coins shall be paid to the Benjamin Franklin National Memorial (The Franklin Institute): (1) to restore and renovate the Memorial; (2) to construct or renovate certain adjoining areas of the Franklin Institute; (3) to establish an endowment to ensure the continued upkeep and maintenance of the Memorial; (4) for exhibits in the Memorial or certain adjoining areas of the Institute; and (5) for funds for construction of certain facilities and for the acquisition and preservation of artifacts relating to Franklin. Authorizes the Comptroller General to audit such payments. Prohibits the minting of such coins under this Act after December 31, 1990. Requires the Secretary to ensure that the minting and issuance of such coins shall not result in any net costs to the Government.
United States · United States Congress · 28 July 1989
Designates the Agricultural Research Service, Department of Agriculture, animal health research building located at the Roman L. Hruska United States Meat Animal Research Center in Clay Center, Nebraska, as the Virginia D. Smith Animal Health Research Laboratory.
United States · United States Congress · 28 July 1989
Expresses the sense of the House of Representatives that: (1) the Exxon Company should dedicate whatever resources are necessary and pay all expenses required to compensate affected parties expeditiously, mitigate impacts, and complete cleanup of Prince William Sound and other Alaska lands and waters damaged by the Exxon Valdez oilspill; (2) the scope and thoroughness of the cleanup should not be determined by Exxon, but by the U.S. Coast Guard; (3) if the cleanup has not been completed to the Coast Guard's satisfaction by September 15, 1989, Exxon should renew the cleanup in the spring, until the Coast Guard has determined that the cleanup is complete; and (4) Exxon should maintain a contingency force in affected Alaskan communities from September 15, 1989, until full-scale cleanup efforts renew in the spring.
United States · United States Congress · 27 July 1989
Veterans PTSD Treatment and Psychological Readjustment Act of 1989 - Directs the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to increase the number of: (1) vet centers currently in existence by 20 additional units by December 31, 1991, and by 20 more units by December 31, 1994; and (2) post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) treatment facilities currently in existence by 15 additional units by December 31, 1991, and by 15 more units by December 31, 1994. Requires new vet centers to be established in cities which do not have such centers. Earmarks a specified amount of FY 1990 PTSD funding for contracts with private facilities and therapists for the provision of PTSD treatment. Requires the Secretary, in administering the Health Professionals Educational Assistance Program, to encourage the participation of individuals in the program who desire to become psychiatrists, psychologists, and psychiatric nurses specializing in the treatment of PTSD. Directs the Secretary to establish the Advisory Committee on Readjustment of Veterans. Requires the Secretary to consult with, and seek the advice of, the Committee with respect to: (1) the administration of Department benefits for veterans, particularly Vietnam veterans; (2) reports and studies pertaining to veterans, particularly Vietnam veterans; and (3) the needs of all veterans with respect to compensation, health care, readjustment, outreach, and other benefits and programs administered by the Department. Requires the Committee to report annually to the Secretary pertaining to the social, economic, educational, and psychological readjustment of veterans. Requires the Secretary to submit such reports to the Congress, along with comments and recommendations. Authorizes the Secretary to conduct a pilot program to contract for care and treatment and rehabilitative services in halfway houses, therapeutic communities, psychiatric residential treatment centers, and other community-based treatment facilities for eligible veterans suffering from PTSD. Requires the Chief Medical Director (CMD) to plan, design, and conduct such program. Requires the Secretary to approve the quality and effectiveness of a program operated by a contract facility before allowing veterans to be furnished treatment there under the pilot program. Directs the Secretary to: (1) urge all public and private entities to provide appropriate employment and training opportunities to veterans who have been provided treatment and rehabilitative services under this Act for PTSD and who have been determined to be sufficiently rehabilitated to be employable; and (2) provide all possible assistance to the Secretary of Labor in placing such veterans in such opportunities. Requires the Secretary to provide referral services and advice to veterans discharged or released from active service who are not eligible for PTSD treatment and services. Outlines provisions concerning the transfer of veterans to contract care facilities for treatment of PTSD, requiring such transfer only within 30 days of such member's enlisted tour of duty and only if such person requests such a transfer while on active duty. Limits the period of such care and rehabilitative services to five years after the fiscal year in which the pilot program is initiated. Requires the Secretary to report to the Senate and House Veterans' Affairs Committees on findings and recommendations pertaining to the operation of the pilot program authorized under this Act. Directs the CMD of the Department to conduct a research program relating to the treatment of PTSD.
United States · United States Congress · 27 July 1989
Commends the citizens of the Sioux City, Iowa, tri-State area for their heroism and volunteerism in providing assistance to the passengers and crew of crashed United Airlines Flight 232.
United States · United States Congress · 26 July 1989
Industrial Design Anti-Piracy Act of 1989 - Amends the copyright law to provide for the protection of industrial designs of useful articles (including typefonts), except designs that are: (1) not original; (2) staple or commonplace; (3) different from commonplace or staple designs in insignificant ways; (4) determined solely by a utilitarian function; (5) composed of three-dimensional features of shape and surface in wearing apparel; (6) a semiconductor chip product already protected under another provision; or (7) embodying a process or idea or system. States that protection for a design shall be available for subject matter usually excluded if the design is a substantial revision, adaptation, or rearrangement of such subject matter. Sets the term of protection at ten years. Requires the design to be marked with a design notice when it is made public. States that omission of such notice shall not cause loss of protection or prevent recovery for infringement against any person who receives written notice of the protection. Specifies the criteria for determination of infringement of a protected design. Provides that protection of a design shall be lost if application for registration is not made within one year after the date on which the design is first made public. Provides procedures for application for the protection of a design through a certificate of registration. Sets a fee schedule for such process. Specifies the ownership and transfer rights of designs subject to protection. Provides remedies for infringement of a registered design, including injunctive relief and damages. Allows judicial review of a final refusal of the Register of the Copyright Office to register a design. Prescribes penalties for fraudulent registration, false marking, and false representation of any design. Provides that this Act shall take effect one year after the date of enactment. States that no design made public prior to the effective date shall be protected.
United States · United States Congress · 25 July 1989
Veterans Agent Orange Exposure and Vietnam Service Benefits Act of 1989 - Provides that the disease of chloracne in Vietnam veterans shall be considered to have been service-connected if such disease became manifest to a ten percent or more degree of disability within one year after the last date on which the veteran performed such service in Vietnam. Presumes the following diseases to be service-connected for veterans who performed active service in Vietnam during the Vietnam era, notwithstanding that there is no record of evidence of such disease during the period of such service: (1) non-Hodgkins lymphoma; (2) soft-tissue sarcoma; and (3) melanoma and basal cell carcinoma. Provides a presumption of service-connection in the case of a Vietnam veteran suffering from a disease associated with effects of exposure to certain dioxins or other herbicide agents during such service in Vietnam. Directs the Secretary to prescribe regulations listing a positive association between any disease and the biological effects of exposure to an herbicide agent in Vietnam. Requires the Secretary to update such list continually. Requires the Secretary, in prescribing and revising such list, to obtain by contract the determinations and estimates of a contract scientific organization. Requires such organization to: (1) determine which diseases have any degree of association with the biological effects of exposure to an herbicide agent; and (2) estimate the extent of association between each such disease and each such biological effects. Requires the organization to determine such association specifically with respect to non-Hodgkins lymphoma, each soft-tissue sarcoma, lung cancer, and each other cancer. Outlines contract provisions required in such agreements between the Secretary and the scientific organization, including surveys, evaluations, and periodic determinations. Requires such scientific organization to provide reports to the Secretary and the Senate and House Veterans' Affairs Committees regarding its determinations and evaluations. Requires such organization to determine, in the effect of a positive association, whether there is a reasonable basis for concluding that a Vietnam veteran with the highest level of exposure to that herbicide agent in Vietnam was exposed to such agent under the circumstances necessary for such biological effects. Requires a report from the organization to the Secretary and the veterans' committees when there is no such reasonable basis found. Requires the Secretary to make certain determinations and follow-up reports after receiving such reports from the contract scientific organization, including the issuance of a report to the veterans' committees and the promulgation of positive association regulations, if necessary. Requires benefits to be continued even though a disease is removed from the regulations listing diseases having positive associations. Terminates such contracting authority ten years after the first day of the fiscal year in which a scientific organization transmits its first report to the Secretary. Provides special effective dates. Directs the Secretary to compile and analyze all clinical data that: (1) is obtained by the Department in connection with examinations and treatment of veterans for disabilities related to exposure to certain herbicides or to service in Vietnam; and (2) is likely to be scientifically useful in determining the association, if any, between the disabilities of such veterans and their exposure to such herbicides and other toxic substances. Requires the Secretary to submit an annual report to the veterans' committees concerning such analysis and its results. Directs the Secretary to consult with the Director of the National Institutes of Health Research and Grants Division (NIH) before compiling and analyzing such information. Requires the Director of NIH to review each annual report submitted by the Secretary and transmit to the Secretary an evaluation of the contents of each report. Directs the Secretary to establish and maintain a system for the collection and storage of voluntarily contributed samples of blood and tissue of veterans who performed active service in Vietnam during the Vietnam era. Outlines provisions concerning the security and authorized uses of such specimens, as well as limitations on the acceptance of such samples. Requires the Secretary to consult with the National Academy of Sciences (NAS) to the extent that an agreement has been reached with the NAS serving as the contract scientific organization for the Secretary. Requires the Secretary to consult with the Director of the Medical Follow-up Agency in the event of no agreement with NAS. Directs the Secretary to establish a program to provide for the conduct of studies of the feasibility of conducting additional scientific research on health hazards resulting from: (1) exposure to dioxin; (2) exposure to other toxic agents in herbicides used in support of U.S. and allied military operations in Vietnam during the Vietnam era; and (3) active military, naval, or air service there. Requires the Secretary to report to the veterans' committees on the results of such studies. Requires the Secretary to consult with the NAS before undertaking such studies and requires the NAS, to review such studies and report recommendations to the Secretary and the veterans' committees, to the extent provided under any agreement between the Secretary and NAS. Amends the Veterans' Benefits Improvement Act of 1988 to require the Secretary to annually furnish updated information to veterans listed in the Department of Veterans Affairs' Agent Orange Registry on health risks resulting from exposure to dioxin or other toxic agents in herbicides as a result of service in Vietnam during the Vietnam era. Directs the Secretary of Health and Human Services to report to the veterans' committees on the research being conducted to develop treatments for psychological absorption of dioxin and other toxic agents used in herbicides by the United States in Vietnam, including research relating to exposure to dioxin and other toxic agents outside Vietnam. Extends through December 31, 2000, the eligibility for hospital and nursing home care for veterans exposed to toxic substances in Vietnam. Amends the Veterans' Benefits Improvement Act of 1988 to authorize direct consultation between the Ranch Hand Advisory Committee and Department of the Air Force scientists conducting the Ranch Hand Study (a study of the long-term health effects of exposure to phenoxy herbicides and contaminants). Requires the preparation and submission of annual reports and a final report in connection with such study.
United States · United States Congress · 24 July 1989
Designates the week of October 22 through October 29, 1989, as National Red Ribbon Week. Recognizes and commends the hard work and dedication of certain individuals and organizations and urges activities that support community and alcohol education during such week. Encourages Americans to wear or display red ribbons during such Week to present and symbolize their commitment to a healthy, drug-free lifestyle, and to develop an attitude of intolerance to the use of drugs.
United States · United States Congress · 19 July 1989
Dolphin Protection Consumer Information Act of 1989 - Provides for the labeling of all tuna products as "DOLPHIN SAFE" if the products are, in their entirety: (1) not caught with specified nets or technologies; and (2) regardless of the country of origin, sold or consumed in the United States. Requires tuna products sold or consumed in the United States and not so labeled to bear the statement: "The tuna in this product has been captured with technologies that are known to kill dolphins." Deems a can, box, or package containing any tuna product mislabeled if it is not labeled as required by these provisions, or if its label contains any false or misleading information pertaining to dolphins, whales, or other cetaceans. Directs the Secretary of Health and Human Services, through the Food and Drug Administration, to conduct inspections to determine if tuna products are being labeled in accordance with provisions of this Act. Authorizes any person to commence a civil action against the Secretary where there is alleged a failure of the Secretary to perform the inspection. Provides for injunction proceedings, jurisdiction, burden of proof, trial by jury, and awarding of costs. Authorizes any U.S. citizen to seek an injunction or restraining order. Provides for criminal penalties.
United States · United States Congress · 19 July 1989
Farmer to Consumer Farm Produce Enhancement Act - Amends Federal highway law pertaining to outdoor advertising to permit the seasonal or temporary advertising on Interstate and Federal-aid primary highways of locations at which consumers may harvest and purchase agricultural commodities from farmers producing them. Limits the size of advertising displays to 150 square feet.
United States · United States Congress · 12 July 1989
Commodity Futures Improvements Act of 1989 - Title I: Limitations on Certain Trading Practices - Amends the Commodity Exchange Act to prohibit dual trading by a floor broker in any contract market in which the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) has determined the average daily trading volume to equal or exceed a threshold trading level. Exempts a board of trade from such prohibition if it can show adequate trading violation surveillance (audit trails). Limits trading among members of broker associations. Title II: Enhancement of Regulatory and Enforcement Activities - Sets forth audit trail requirements, including one-minute transaction recording. Prohibits a person who has solicited a new account by telephone from entering any orders for such account for three days after the customer has signed any contract and a risk disclosure statement. Continues CFTC authority to conduct undercover enforcement operations. Establishes CFTC contract market disciplinary committees. Provides for public representation on contract market governing boards. Requires floor trader registration. Revises provisions regarding: (1) registration; and (2) enforcement of money penalties. Requires ethics training for new registrants. Provides for nationwide service of process and venue in U.S. district courts. Title III: Assistance to Foreign Futures Authorities - Provides for cooperation with foreign futures authorities (as defined by this Act) with regard to: (1) subpoena authority; (2) investigative assistance; and (3) information disclosure and receipt. Title IV: Authorization of Appropriations; Effective Date - Authorizes FY 1990 and 1991 appropriations. Makes the provisions of this Act effective upon enactment.
![Official portrait of Rep. Panetta, Leon [D-CA-16]](https://www.congress.gov/img/member/p000047_200.jpg)