United States · United States Congress · 27 January 1988
Commends the President, Secretary of State, and Administrator of the Agency for International Development for their response to the drought and food emergency in Ethiopia and other nations of sub-Saharan Africa, and urges them to continue efforts to preclude the onset of famine and to ensure the timely delivery of medical and other emergency relief supplies. Declares that: (1) the Government response to these food emergencies should include initiatives to prevent the dislocation of large numbers of persons across national borders and/or into relief camps; and (2) the plight of the refugees or displaced should be addressed by emphasizing the provision of basic human needs, such as food, water, and shelter.
United States · United States Congress · 25 January 1988
Farmer Fuel Tax Relief Act - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to prohibit imposition of the excise tax on the sale of diesel or aviation fuel to any purchaser (or purchaser for resale to a second purchaser) for use on a farm for farming purposes. (Although fuel sold for these purposes is tax-exempt under current law, provisions of the Revenue Act of 1987 require purchasers to pay the tax and subsequently apply for a refund based on nontaxable uses of the fuel.) Permits wholesale distributors of gasoline who have registered with the Secretary of the Treasury and posted the required bond to pay the gasoline tax (in lieu of the person otherwise liable for the tax.) Prohibits imposition of the gasoline tax on the sale or removal of gasoline by any person (or for resale to a second person) for use on a farm for farming purposes. Requires that the reduced gasoline tax rate (3.4 cents instead of 9.1 cents) be applied with respect to gasoline used to produce gasohol after the time of the relevant removal or sale.
United States · United States Congress · 18 December 1987
Declares that the President should award the Presidential Medal of Freedom to Martha Raye in honor of her service in the form of entertainment and nursing care to members of the U.S. armed forces.
United States · United States Congress · 10 December 1987
Authorizes the Secretary of Agriculture to make competitive research grants to: (1) develop a statistical framework to measure the extent to which microbiological and chemical agents in agricultural products pose human health risks; (2) identify such agents; and (3) devise appropriate testing and control procedures. Creates a peer review committee to evaluate grant applications. Requires the Secretary to report to the appropriate congressional committees no later than one year after enactment of this Act, and annually thereafter. Authorizes FY 1988 through 1992 appropriations.
United States · United States Congress · 8 December 1987
Great Lakes Pollutant Discharge Inventory Act - Directs the Under Secretary for Oceans and Atmosphere, Department of Commerce, to inventory the categories and quantities of pollutants entering the Great Lakes during a two year period. Lists the categories of pollutants and sources of pollution that must be included in such inventory. Authorizes agreement with Canada to obtain pollutant information. Requires that such inventory be made public upon completion. Authorizes appropriations for FY 1988 and 1989.
United States · United States Congress · 8 December 1987
Expresses the sense of the Congress that, in celebration of the millennium of the Christianization of Kievan-Rus', the Soviet Union should: (1) comply with its international obligations and allow Christians to practice their faith without harassment; (2) grant a general amnesty for all Christians who have been imprisoned because of their religious beliefs; (3) allow religious believers to practice their faith freely; (4) permit unlimited publication, distribution, and importation of religious materials; and (5) allow closed churches to reopen, new churches to be built, and theological seminaries to open or expand.
United States · United States Congress · 19 November 1987
Act for Better Child Care Services of 1987 - Authorizes appropriations for FY 1988 and such sums as necessary for FY 1989 through 1992 to carry out the purposes of this Act. Specifies the manner of making allotments for child care services. Requires the designation of a lead agency in each State which participates in the programs under this Act. Requires States to submit, in order to qualify for assistance under this Act, an application and plan to the Secretary of Health and Human Services. Requires each plan to cover a five-year period and to meet specified requirements for providers of child care services. Authorizes the use of State allotments: (1) by contracts with or grants to eligible child care providers, or public or private nonprofit agencies, to enable such providers or agencies to operate programs directly or by subcontract; or (2) by distributing child care certificates that parents may use as payment for child care services. Requires that a percentage of funds be reserved to enable part-day programs to extend existing hours of operation and provide full-day child care services. Authorizes the Secretary to make planning grants to States which desire to participate under this Act but cannot fully satisfy the requirements of a State plan without financial assistance. Provides for a review of the operation of a State plan during the five-year period to determine its continued eligibility for funds. Requires the Governor of each participating State to establish: (1) a State interagency advisory committee on child care to assist the lead agency in carrying out its responsibilities; and (2) a State committee on licensing to review the licensing requirements, the law, and the policies regulating child care services and programs within the State. Requires each participating State to recognized private nonprofit community-based organizations, or public organizations, as resources and referral agencies for particular geographic areas. Requires each participating State to require that all employed or self-employed persons providing licensed or regulated child care complete at least 15 hours per year of inservice, continuing education, or other training as described in this Act. Directs the Secretary to establish within the Department of Health and Human Services an Administrator of Child Care to carry out the provisions of this Act. Establishes enforcement provisions for review of State plans and monitoring of State compliance. Declares the Federal share of child care programs to be 80 percent and requires the State to demonstrate that the remaining 20 percent will be provided from other sources. Requires the Secretary to establish a National Advisory Committee on Child Care Standards to: (1) review Federal policies on child care services and such other data as appropriate; (2) submit to the Secretary proposed minimum standards for child care programs; and (3) develop and make available to lead agencies model regulations for resources and referral agencies. Terminates the committee 90 days after the date of publication of final minimum child care standards. Prohibits the use of funds under this Act for: (1) sectarian purposes or activities; (2) capital improvements to sectarian institutions; and (3) tuition.
United States · United States Congress · 18 November 1987
Dwight David Eisenhower Commemorative Coin Act of 1987 - Directs the Secretary of the Treasury to mint and issue not more than a specified number of one dollar silver coins in commemoration of the 100th anniversary of the birth of Dwight David Eisenhower. Sets forth certain features of such coins and provides for their design, issuance, and sale. Terminates the minting of the coins after December 31, 1990. Requires the Secretary to deposit in the Treasury all surcharges received from the sale of the coins, to be used to reduce the national debt.
United States · United States Congress · 17 November 1987
Raoul Wallenberg Monument Resolution - Authorizes the Raoul Wallenberg Tribute Committee to establish a monument to honor Raoul Wallenberg on Federal land in the District of Columbia or its environs. Prohibits the United States from paying any expense of the establishment of the monument.
United States · United States Congress · 16 November 1987
Family Welfare Reform Act of 1987 - Declares that, hereafter, the Aid to Families with Dependent Children program (part A of title IV of the Social Security Act ) shall be known as the Family Support Program (FSP) and the aid paid to needy families with dependent children shall be called family support supplements. Title I: National Education, Training, and Work (Network) Program - Amends the Aid to Families with Dependent Children (AFDC) program to require States to establish an education, training, and work program (Program) which helps needy children and parents avoid long-term welfare dependence. Requires private sector involvement in planning and Program design to assure that participants are trained for jobs that will actually be available in the community. Requires adult recipients of family support supplements to participate in the Program if it is available in the political subdivision where he or she resides and State resources otherwise permit. Directs the State to fully inform such recipients of the opportunities offered under the Program. Lists recipients who are exempt from mandatory participation in the Program, including individuals who: (1) are ill, incapacitated, pregnant, or age 60 or older; (2) are needed at home due to the illness or incapacity of another family member; (3) work 20 or more hours a week; (4) are children under age 16 or attending, full time, an elementary, secondary, or vocational school, except in the case of certain minor parents; or (5) care for a child under age three, but such exception shall apply to only one parent in two-parent families. Prohibits States from requiring the participation of a parent or relative of a child under age six unless day or infant care is guaranteed by the State and participation is on a part-time basis. Authorizes the Secretary of Health and Human Services to permit States to require the participation of a parent or relative of a child who has attained age one but not age three if infant care is guaranteed by the State, within certain dollar limitations, and participation is on a part-time basis and emphasizes education and training. Provides that if the caretaker relative or dependent child is attending a school or a course of vocational or technical training designed to lead to employment when he or she would otherwise commence participation in the Program, such attendance may constitute satisfactory participation in the Program, though the costs of such schooling or training shall not be covered by the FSP. Directs States to give priority in Program participation to families: (1) with teenage parents and parents who were under age 18 when their first child was born; (2) that have been receiving family support supplements continuously for two or more years; (3) with parents who lack a high school diploma or its equivalent; and (4) whose youngest child is within two years of being ineligible for family support supplements. Requires States to make an initial assessment of the educational, child care, and other supportive service needs as well as the skills, prior work experience, and employability of each Program participant and on that basis negotiate a family support plan with each participant which, to the maximum extent possible, reflects the participant's preferences. Requires each participant to then negotiate a contract with the State which specifies the duration of his or her participation as well as the activities the State will conduct and services it will provide in the course of such participation. Directs the State to assign a case manager to each participating family who is responsible for: (1) obtaining, on the family's behalf, any other services which may assure the family's effective participation; (2) monitoring a participant's progress; and (3) periodically reviewing and renegotiating the family support plan and the participant's contract with the State. Requires State Programs to provide a broad range of services and activities. Authorizes any State to institute a work supplementation program under which such State reserves sums which would otherwise be payable to program participants as family support supplements and uses such sums instead to subsidize jobs for such participants. Authorizes any State to establish a community work experience program to provide experience and training for individuals who have not been employed during the preceding six months and are not otherwise able to obtain employment. Limits such programs to projects which serve a useful public purpose utilizing, if possible, the participant's prior training, experience, and skills. Prohibits Program participants from filling established unfilled position vacancies. Limits community work program participants to work or training (or both) for up to six months or unpaid work experience or training for up to three months. Requires that: (1) a reassessment be made and a new employability plan developed for participants who do not obtain employment after participation in a community work program; and (2) other Program activities be coordinated with the community work program so that job placement has priority over participation in such program. Prohibits an individual from participating in job search without participating in one or more other Program services or activities if job search has continued for eight weeks or longer without the individual obtaining a job. Provides that when a mandatory Program participant fails without good cause to comply with any requirement imposed on his or her participation in such Program: (1) such participant's needs shall not be taken into account in determining the family support supplement; and (2) if such participant's spouse is not participating in the Program, the spouse's need shall not be taken into account in determining the family support supplement. Continues sanctions for a minimum of three months if the participant failed to comply on a previous occasion. Directs States, after three months of a participant's noncompliance, to remind the participant in writing of his or her option to end the sanction. Prohibits a State from requiring an individual to accept a Program position which would result in a loss of income to such individual or his or her family. Sets the Federal matching rate at 90 percent of the expenditures for education and training under the Program to the extent such expenditures do not exceed allotments to the State under part C (Work Incentive Programs) of title IV of the Act for FY 1987, 65 percent of such expenditures which do exceed FY 1987 allotments, and 50 percent of the administrative costs of such Program. Amends part A (General Provisions) of title XI of the Act to authorize up to five States to conduct demonstration projects testing whether eliminating durational standards, used in defining unemployment for family support supplement eligibility purposes, and requiring parents to accept reasonable job offers while preserving their eligibility for supplement payments would encourage their entrance into the permanent work force and thereby reduce FSP costs. Authorizes the Secretary to make grants to States to assist in financing such projects. Amends part C (Work Incentive Program) of title IV of the Act to create a new part C entitled "Education, Training, and Work Program." Requires that each State FSP plan contain specified provisions and assurances, including assurances that: (1) Program activities are coordinated and not duplicative of existing activities; and (2) local governments and the private sector are involved in Program planning and design so that participants are trained for jobs that are likely to be available in the community. Requires that Program activities be coordinated with Job Training Partnership Act programs and any relevant employment, training, and education programs available in the State. Requires that the proposed State plan be made available to the public and the State job training coordinating council for review and comments before being submitted to the Secretary of Labor. Authorizes the State job training coordinating council to appeal to the State Governor for acceptance of its recommendations when they differ from proposed State plan provisions. Sets forth the range of services and activities which State Programs may provide, including: (1) high school or equivalent education; (2) remedial education; (3) job search, training, and placement services; (4) counseling, information, and referral for participants experiencing personal and family problems which may be affecting their ability to work; and (5) supportive services. Gives any participant lacking a high school diploma the opportunity to participate in a program addressing the education needs identified in the participant's initial assessment without interference from required participation in other programs and activities. Requires that children in participating families be encouraged to engage in the education or training activities available under the Program and be provided with additional services and incentives designed to keep them in school and help them obtain marketable job skills. Deems an individual who attends an accredited postsecondary institution to be satisfactorily participating in the Program for so long as such individual is making satisfactory progress in a vocational or undergraduate education or training program consistent with his or her employment goals. Requires each work assignment to be consistent with the physical capacity, skills, experience, health, family responsibilities, and place of residence of each participant. Prohibits work assignments which displace a currently employed worker or position, impair existing contracts for services or collective bargaining agreements, fill the job of a worker who has been laid off or fired, or infringe on the promotional opportunities of a currently employed worker. Requires that the wage rate for any position to which a participant is assigned be at least equal to the highest of the applicable Federal or State minimum wage or the pay rates of individuals employed in the same or similar occupations by the same employer. Establishes a grievance procedure for complaints about the Program which are received from participants, subgrantees, subcontractors, and other interested persons. Requires the Secretary to: (1) issue performance standards, within one year of this Act's enactment, for the Programs; (2) develop a legislative proposal for modifying the Federal AFDC matching rate so that it reflects the relative effectiveness of the various States in carrying out the Programs; (3) provide for the continuing evaluation of State Programs and the conduct of research on making such Programs more effective; and (4) establish uniform reporting requirements requiring each State to periodically furnish specified Program information to the Secretary. Sets forth transitional provisions. Requires each State, within six months of this Act's enactment, to: (1) evaluate its welfare population demographics, giving particular attention to the demands of the State labor market, the training needed to meet those demands, and necessary changes in current service delivery systems; and (2) submit such evaluation to the Secretary. Authorizes appropriations under part C for FY 1988 and 1989. Authorizes States to provide individuals who have been Program participants for at least six months and have been unable to secure unsubsidized employment with transitional subsidized employment with a public or nonprofit private employer for a period which does not exceed six months, unless an extension is determined to be necessary in a review and modification of the family support plan. Amends title XI (General Provisions) of the Act to authorize States to conduct demonstration projects testing: (1) financial incentives and interdisciplinary approaches to reducing school dropouts, encouraging skill development, and avoiding the welfare dependence of children receiving family support supplements; (2) the effect of in-home early childhood development and pre-school center-based development programs on families receiving family support supplement payments and participating in this Act's Program; (3) the effectiveness of private organizations and nonprofit community development corporations in creating employment opportunities for supplement recipients; and (4) more effective methods of ensuring long-term family self-sufficiency through community-based comprehensive family support services. Requires each State to institute a program providing grants for training child care personnel. Authorizes States to institute a program providing grants to: (1) local nonprofit child care programs to establish or renovate child care centers and family day care homes; or (2) local child care agencies to recruit, train, and provide other essential supports to new family day care providers. Authorizes appropriations for such demonstration and grant programs. Title II: Day Care, Transportation, and Other Work-Related Expenses - Requires States to either: (1) provide day care for dependent children and incapacitated individuals living in the same home as a dependent child; or (2) reimburse the caretaker relative for the cost of such care, if and to the extent such care is directly related to an individual's participation in the Program, reasonably necessary for such participation, and cost-effective. Requires entities providing such care to ensure parental access and post in clear public view the telephone number for filing complaints regarding child care quality or health or safety violations. Provides coverage for certain transportation and other work-related costs. Continues day care coverage for at least one year after a family's eligibility for support supplements ceases, but permits States to reduce such coverage on the basis of a family's ability to pay and exclude it altogether when the family's income equals or exceeds 150 percent of the Federal poverty level. Authorizes State demonstration projects testing: (1) whether the employment of parents receiving family support supplements as day care providers for children receiving such aid will make additional day care services available while creating employment opportunities for such parents; and (2) the effect of increasing the maximum excludable value of automobiles for FSP eligibility purposes. Directs States to regularly assess the availability and reliability of child care services available to Program participants, and when necessary, develop new child care resources and coordinate FSP child care with other child care programs. Authorizes States to use FSP child care funds to supplement early childhood development programs. Title III: Real Work Incentives - Excludes, in determining a family's eligibility for supplement payments: (1) the earned income of students who are not full-time employees; (2) $100 plus 25 percent of any family member's monthly earned income; (3) $50 of monthly child support payments; and (4) earned income credits payable to the family under the Internal Revenue Code. Authorizes States to disregard certain of the income of dependent children or minor parents applying for family support supplements if the dependent children are full-time students or the income is derived from a Job Training Partnership Act program. Prohibits application of the $100 and 25 percent earned income exclusion in the case of individuals who, without good cause: (1) terminate their employment or reduce their income; (2) refuse a bona fide offer of employment; or (3) fail to make a timely report of their monthly earned income. Authorizes States to increase the amount of an individual's earned income excluded under this Act in making family support supplement eligibility determinations. Title IV: Transitional Services for Families; Extension of Medicaid Eligibility - Extends a family's eligibility for coverage under title XIX (Medicaid) of the Act when the family becomes ineligible for family support supplements due to the caretaker's employment and such family has received supplements in at least three of the preceding six months. Increases the period of extended Medicaid coverage, from four to six months, for families who lose supplement eligibility as the result of the collection or increased collection of child or spousal support under part D (Child Support and Establishment of Paternity) of title IV of the Act. Title V: Child Support Enforcement Amendments - Amends part D (Child Support and Establishment of Paternity) of title IV of the Act to direct States to establish binding guidelines for child support award amounts. (Currently, such guidelines need not be binding.) Creates a rebuttable presumption in any judicial or administrative proceeding that the child support award which results from the application of such guidelines is correct. Requires States to review and, if necessary, update such guidelines once every three years and review and update all child support orders at least once every two years to ensure that they continue to comply with child support award guidelines. Requires States to abide by State due process requirements when updating child support awards. Directs States to: (1) determine the paternity of every child within the State whose family receives family support supplements as soon as possible after the child's birth but in no event later than its 18th birthday; and (2) require the parties in a contested paternity case to submit to genetic tests upon the request of a party in such case, using a 95 percent probability index from blood tests as a rebuttable presumption of paternity. Encourages States to establish and implement simple civil processes for voluntarily acknowledging paternity and a civil procedure for establishing paternity in contested cases. Sets performance standards for paternity determinations from FY 1989 through 1993. Alters the formula for determining the incentive payment to be paid to a State for its child support collection efforts to take into account cases in which a child's paternity has been established but support collection has not begun or amounts to less than $100 a month. Amends part A (General Provisions) of title XI of the Act to authorize States to conduct demonstration projects identifying and testing possible solutions to problems arising in connection with visitation by absent parents and child custody. Authorizes the Secretary to make grants to States to assist in financing such projects. Requires the Department of Health and Human Services to establish time limits within which a State must respond to requests for assistance in locating absent parents or establishing paternity, and begin proceedings to establish child support awards. Requires States to have an operational automatic data processing and information retrieval system for the child support enforcement and establishment of paternity determination process by October 1, 1992. Excludes the cost of certain interstate child support enforcement projects from the computation of the incentive payment to a State for its child support collection efforts. Lowers the Federal matching rate for part D expenses to 66 percent for States which are not fully in compliance with the Child Support Enforcement Amendments of 1984 at any time after the expiration of six months after this Act's enactment. Requires States, with specified exceptions, to immediately withhold court-ordered child support from the wages of parents residing in the State. Establishes a commission to examine the problems of interstate child support enforcement and develop a new model interstate law to facilitate and strengthen such enforcement. Requires such commission to report its findings to the President and the Congress within one year of this Act's enactment. Authorizes appropriations. Directs the Secretary to conduct a study of the patterns of expenditures on children in two-parent families, in single-parent families following divorce, and in single-parent families in which the parents were never married, giving particular attention to the relative standards-of-living in households in which both parents and all of the children do not live together. Directs the Secretary to report to the Congress on such study within two years of this Act's enactment. Authorizes appropriations for such study. Requires the Secretary to make grants to States for demonstration projects under which absent parents who owe child support, but whose income is insufficient to pay such support, are encouraged to participate in work, education, and training activities available in the State. Directs the Secretary to collect and maintain up-to-date child support enforcement data. Requires the Secretary of Labor to make the name, social security number, current address, and place of employment of any specified individual available to the Parent Locator Service and State child support enforcement agencies which request such information. Title VI: Pro-Family Welfare Policies - Requires States to pay family support supplements with respect to dependent children of unemployed parents in two-parent families. Includes within the definition "quarter of work," for the purpose of determining a family's eligibility for assistance, the parent's: (1) full-time attendance as an elementary or secondary school student; (2) full-time attendance in a vocational or technical training course; and (3) participation in a Job Training Partnership Act education or training program. Directs the Comptroller General to conduct a study of State FSP administration in cases involving unemployed parents and recommend changes to the Congress, within six months of this Act's enactment, which would make such administration less cumbersome and prone to error. Directs States to assign an individual case manager to each family receiving family support supplements which is headed by a minor parent. Requires unmarried minor parents to live with a parent, legal guardian, other adult relative, or in a foster home, maternity home, or other supportive living arrangement, unless the State determines that, given specified circumstances, it is impossible or inappropriate for them to do so. Treats the minor parent and minor parent's children as a family separate from the parent and parent's children with whom the minor parent resides in determining the minor parent's eligibility for supplement payments. Authorizes States to condition a minor parent's eligibility on his or her: (1) part-time school attendance; or (2) training in parenting and family living skills. Repeals the requirement that part of the income of the parent of a minor parent with whom such minor parent resides be attributed to the dependent child in a minor parent family. Title VII: Benefit Improvements - Directs each State to re-evaluate annually its FSP need and payment standard, giving particular attention to whether the amount it has assumed to be necessary for shelter is adequate. Sets forth reporting requirements. Increases by 25 percent the Federal share of family support supplements which represent an increase in the supplement level in effect on September 30, 1988. Requires the National Academy of Sciences to conduct a study of a new national system of welfare benefits for low-income families with children giving particular attention to what an appropriate national minimum benefit might be and how it should be calculated. Directs the Academy to report its recommendations to the Secretary (for prompt transmittal to the Congress) within two years of this Act's enactment. Title VIII: Miscellaneous Provisions - Establishes a Commission on the Coordination of Family Support and Food Stamp Policies to conduct a study and make recommendations to the President and the Congress within one year of this Act's enactment regarding the coordination of the food stamp program under the Food Stamp Act of 1977 and the Family Support Program. Directs the Secretary to establish uniform reporting requirements requiring each State to periodically furnish the Secretary with information regarding FSP implementation. Amends title XX (Block Grants to States for Social Services) to require each State to submit an annual report to the Secretary containing specified information regarding the use of such funds. Directs the Secretary to convene an Interagency Panel to design, implement, and monitor a series of implementation and evaluation studies to assess the methods and effects of the programs initiated under this Act. Requires the Panel to report to the President and the Congress annually over the five year period beginning with this Act's enactment on such studies. Establishes a program providing grants to States selected to conduct demonstration projects testing whether FSP housing costs can be reduced by constructing and rehabilitating permanent housing for rental to FSP families who would otherwise require FSP emergency assistance in the form of temporary housing. Provides that, to be eligible for selection as one of three States authorized to conduct such a project, a State must: (1) be currently providing FSP emergency housing assistance; (2) have an acute need for Federal assistance by virtue of the large number of homeless FSP families, and shortages of low-income housing, in the jurisdiction(s) where such project would be conducted; and (3) submit a plan to achieve significant cost saving over a ten-year period through the conduct of such project. Requires that such grants be used to provide permanent housing which is: (1) owned by the State, an instrumentality of the State, or a nonprofit organization; (2) available to families who have been unable to find decent housing at rents that can be paid with FSP aid for shelter; and (3) located in jurisdictions experiencing a critical shortage of such housing. Requires that: (1) the most costly temporary housing be retired from use in the emergency assistance program as permanent housing becomes available for occupancy, unless temporary housing is demonstrably needed; and (2) the costs of providing permanent housing be lower than costs which would be incurred if, instead, the State made FSP emergency assistance payments providing temporary housing. Sets the State contribution for the cost of constructing or rehabilitating such housing at not less than the current State FSP share increased by ten percent. Authorizes appropriations for the grant program for each of the first five fiscal years following FY 1987. Authorizes the Secretary to approve, as alternatives to the Family Support Program: (1) a five-year demonstration project testing New York State's Child Support Supplement Program; and (2) a five-year demonstration project testing Washington State's Family Independence Program. Requires the Secretary of Health and Human Services and the Secretary of Housing and Urban Development to establish an interagency working group to conduct a study and report to the Congress within six months of this Act's enactment on the housing problems faced by FSP families. Provides that in determining a family's support supplement level the needs of a family member who is a drug addict or alcoholic shall not be taken into account if such individual terminates his or her enrollment in a treatment program before such treatment is completed and does not resume treatment. Amends part A (General Provisions) of title XI of the Act to include American Samoa in the Family Support Program. Limits Federal funding for American Samoa's program to $1,000,000 for any fiscal year. Increases the total amount of Federal payments which may be made to Puerto Rico, Guam, and the Virgin Islands in any fiscal year under titles I (Grants to States for Old-Age Assistance for the Aged), X (Grants for States for Aid to the Blind), XIV (Grants to States for Aid to the Permanently and Totally Disabled), XVI (Grants to States for Aid to the Aged, Blind, or Disabled), and parts A (Aid to Families with Dependent Children) and E (Foster Care and Adoption Assistance) of title IV of the Act. Title IX: Funding Provisions - Amends the Deficit Reduction Act of 1984 to extend for three years the authority of the Internal Revenue Service to offset against any refund of Federal taxes the amount of certain non-tax debts owed to Federal agencies. (The extension would make the offset provisions applicable to refunds payable before January 1, 1991.) Expresses the congressional intent that such offset provisions extend to all Federal agencies and not be construed as exempting any debts. Directs the Comptroller General to report to the Congress by April 1, 1989, on a study into the operation and effectiveness of such offset provisions. Amends the Internal Revenue Code to exclude the expenses of overnight camps from the income tax credit for employment-related dependent care expenses. Reduces the dependent care tax credit available to individuals whose income exceeds $65,000. Eliminates such credit when an individual's income equals or exceeds $95,000. Prohibits tax credits or deductions for expenditures made in connection with a trade or business consisting of criminal activities. Title X: Food Stamp Program - Food Stamp Family Welfare Reform Act of 1987 - Amends the Food Stamp Act of 1977 to make food stamp program (program) eligibility permanent for households made up solely of members who receive aid to dependent children, supplemental security income assistance or aid to the aged, blind, or disabled under the provisions of the Social Security Act. Excludes from income for purposes of program eligibility: (1) educational assistance for training programs and secondary school equivalency programs; (2) child support payments received under the aid to families with dependent children program (AFDC); (3) certain agricultural commodity two-party payments; (4) advance earned income tax credit payments; and (5) dependent care payments received under specified employment and training programs. Sets maximum monthly dependent care deductions at $200 for each dependent under two years old and $175 for each other dependent. (Current deduction is $160 per month regardless of age.) Provides for annualizing self-employment farm income and expenses. Prohibits the use of post self-employment farm income as an indicator of anticipated income if income changes have occurred or are anticipated. Excludes certain property (including land, equipment, and supplies) from financial resources determinations for one year after a person ceases to be self-employed in farming. Permits higher education students living in households receiving food stamps to retain their program benefits under specified conditions. Sets maximum monthly dependent care reimbursements for employment and training program participants at $200 for each dependent under two years old and $175 for each other dependent. Increases individual maximum transportation and related reimbursable employment and training costs. Revises performance standards criteria, including the requirement that the Office of Technology Assessment develop model performance standards. Directs the Secretary of Agriculture to develop an incentives payment proposal. Authorizes: (1) outreach activities for farm households; and (2) special training for personnel who certify farm households. Requires the Secretary of Agriculture to publish training materials annually. Requires State food stamp offices and points of issuance to be open sufficient hours and at sufficient locations to ensure access by participants who work or study. Requires State agencies to insure that each participating household receive a notice of expiration prior to the start of the last month of certification. Requires coordination of applications for program and AFDC benefits. Authorizes a five-year Family Independence Demonstration Project in the State of Washington as an alternative to providing benefits under the food stamp program. Sets forth Project provisions, including: (1) a combination of AFDC and program benefits into a basic cash grant; (2) assistance to the homeless; (3) minimum cash assistance for food at not less than program equivalents; (4) outreach services; (5) employment and training requirements; (6) assurances that the State will permit continued program participation; (7) audit and congressional reporting requirements by the Comptroller General of the United States; (8) a Project evaluation requirement by the Secretary of Agriculture and the Secretary of Health and Human Services; and (9) the ineligibility of persons receiving only child care or medical benefits under the Project from receiving Project food assistance (although they may continue to receive program benefits). Authorizes up to ten State projects under the terms and conditions of the Washington Project, except that such projects could not replace food stamps with cash payments. Directs the Secretary of Agriculture to issue implementing rules by January 1, 1988. Provides for the severability of amendments under this Title. Sets forth effective dates.
United States · United States Congress · 10 November 1987
Authorizes the Vietnam Women's Memorial Project, Inc., to establish a commemorative statue within the Vietnam Veterans Memorial to recognize and honor the women of the U.S. armed forces who served in the Vietnam war. Expresses the sense of the Congress that after the addition of such statue, no further commemorative works should be added to the Memorial. Directs the Secretary of the Interior to select a site for the statue within the Memorial. Makes the design proposal subject to the approval of the Secretary and the National Capital Planning Commission. Prohibits the United States and the District of Columbia from paying any expense of establishing the statue.
United States · United States Congress · 10 November 1987
Expresses the sense of the Congress that the U.S. Government should not provide any support for military or paramilitary operations in Angola until the President has informed the Congress and the public that such support is important to the national security and the Congress has approved such support. Authorizes any U.S. agency, during FY 1988 and 1989, to use its funds to conduct military or paramilitary operations in Angola or to provide aid to any group engaged in such operations only if such use of such funds is the openly acknowledged U.S. policy. Provides that such policy is considered openly acknowledged only if: (1) the President determines that U.S. support for such operations is important to national security and requests the Congress to approve support for such operations; and (2) the Congress enacts a joint resolution approving support for such operations.
United States · United States Congress · 9 November 1987
Amends the Uniformed Services Former Spouses' Protection Act by directing the Secretary of Defense to prescribe regulations to provide commissary and exchange benefits to certain unremarried former spouses of members or former members of the uniformed services who performed at least 20 years of creditable service, without regard to the date of the final divorce, dissolution, or annulment decree.
United States · United States Congress · 4 November 1987
Designates the building on Orange Avenue, Cleveland, Ohio, known as the General Mail Facility of the United States Postal Service, as the John O. Holly Station of the United States Postal Service.
United States · United States Congress · 3 November 1987
CIA Accountability Act of 1987 - Directs the Comptroller General to audit the financial transactions and evaluate the programs and activities of the Central Intelligence Agency: (1) on the initiative of the Comptroller General; or (2) when requested by the Chairman or the ranking minority member of the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence or the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence. Requires the Comptroller General to provide the results of such audit to the Committees and the Director of Central Intelligence. Authorizes the Comptroller General to inspect and copy any written or recorded information in the possession or control of the Agency. Requires that the Comptroller General be provided access to officers and employees of the Agency unless the President determines, in a written report, that access to certain personnel is not in the national interest. Requires the Comptroller General, in consultation with the congressional committees, to establish procedures to protect all classified and other sensitive information from unauthorized disclosure. Requires all workpapers of the Comptroller General and all records and property of the Agency used during an audit to remain in Agency facilities. Directs the Director of Central Intelligence to expedite security clearance reviews on General Accounting Office personnel who may have access to classified or other sensitive information during an audit or evaluation.
United States · United States Congress · 28 October 1987
Amends the Federal Aviation Act of 1958 to establish a fine of not more than $50,000, or imprisonment for up to five years, or both, as criminal penalties for any person who knowingly and without authority tampers with a smoke detection device of an aircraft used for air transportation.
United States · United States Congress · 28 October 1987
Designates the week of May 2 through May 8, 1988, as National Drinking Water Week to enhance awareness of drinking water issues and recognition of the difference that drinking water makes to health, safety, and quality of life.
United States · United States Congress · 20 October 1987
Decennial Census Improvement Act of 1987 - Requires the Secretary of Commerce to adjust the population data of the decennial census to correct for any undercounts or overcounts and to report to the appropriate congressional committees, not later than one year in advance of such census, on the proposed plan for making such adjustment.
United States · United States Congress · 19 October 1987
Pesticide Monitoring Improvements Act - Directs the Secretary of Health and Human Services to implement a computerized data management system for the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to better monitor pesticide residues in food products. Requires the FDA to use such system to summarize information on: (1) the types, amounts, and origins of food products; (2) the types and amounts of pesticides detected; and (3) the rate of violations and their disposition. Requires the Secretary to make summarized data from such system available to interested agencies and persons on an annual basis. Amends the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act to require imported raw agricultural commodities to be accompanied by documents identifying the pesticides used in their production. Requires the Secretary to amend such documents for subsequent shipments where analysis finds unreported pesticides. Directs the Secretary to keep current information on the contents and administrators of pesticide registration and monitoring programs of countries which export significant quantities of food to the United States. Requires the Secretary to keep the FDA and such countries informed of information compiled, including violations. Directs the Secretary to report annually to the appropriate congressional committees. Requires the Secretary to issue guidelines for laboratory audit procedures to assure the reliability of pesticide residue monitoring results. Directs the Secretary and the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency to develop and report to the appropriate congressional committees on a research plan for pesticide analytical methods.
United States · United States Congress · 19 October 1987
Amends the Deficit Reduction Act of 1984 to permanently disregard in-kind assistance provided by nonprofit organizations to recipients of benefits under title XVI (Supplemental Security Income) or part A (Aid to Families with Dependent Children) of title IV of the Social Security Act in determining the need or eligibility of such recipients for program benefits.
United States · United States Congress · 14 October 1987
Farm Program Payments Integrity Act of 1987 - Amends the Food Security Act of 1985 to define "person" for purposes of farm program benefits limitations to include active farmers, including specified corporations, landowners, and sharecroppers not having beneficial interests in more than three entities receiving program benefits. Subjects any person who adopts a scheme or device to evade the restrictions of such Act to loss of benefits. Directs the Secretary of Agriculture to provide Department of Agriculture personnel with education and training in applying such payment limitations. Limits benefits to U.S citizens and legal permanent residents only. Makes State and local governments and agencies ineligible for certain farm program benefits.
United States · United States Congress · 14 October 1987
Veterans' Agent Orange Disabilities Act of 1987 - Creates a non-rebuttable presumption that, for the purposes of wartime disability compensation for Vietnam veterans, the following diseases shall be considered to have been incurred in, or aggravated by, active military, naval, or air service in Vietnam during the Vietnam era: (1) non-Hodgkin's lymphoma; (2) lung cancer becoming manifest within 25 years of service; and (3) a disease that, in accordance with this Act, is determined to be reasonably associated with damage to or suppression of the immune system resulting from exposure to dioxin or any other toxic herbicide used in Vietnam and that is listed in regulations prescribed by the Administrator of Veterans Affairs. Requires the Administrator to enter into an agreement with an appropriate nonprofit private scientific organization to: (1) conduct a survey of all scientific studies of the effects of dioxin and other toxic herbicides used by the United States in Vietnam on humans or animals; and (2) determine what (if any) diseases are reasonably associated with damage to or suppression of the human immune system as a result of exposure to such herbicides. Designates the National Academy of Sciences (NAS) as the appropriate nonprofit organization, unless: (1) the NAS does not enter into such an agreement with the Administrator; (2) the Administrator has notified the veterans' committees of an alternative organization; and (3) 90 days have elapsed since such notification. Requires that the scientific organization report to the Administrator and the veterans' committees on the name of each disease determined to be reasonably associated with human immune system damage or suppression within one year after enactment of this Act. Directs that the Administrator prescribe regulations listing each such disease within 90 days of receipt of such report, unless a disease is specifically excluded by law. Directs the Administrator to periodically (but not less than annually) survey additional completed studies to determine whether any diseases should be added to the list. Requires that the Administrator: (1) compile and analyze, on a continuing basis, all clinical data obtained by the VA in connection with physical examinations and treatment furnished after November 3, 1981, to veterans who were exposed to dioxin or any other such toxic substance; and (2) submit to the Senate and House Committees on Veterans' Affairs a semiannual report containing such compilation and analysis, along with a discussion of the disabilities identified or treated by the VA, the Administrator's explanation for the incidence of such disabilities, and other reasonable explanations for the incidence of such disabilities.
United States · United States Congress · 13 October 1987
Omnibus Taxpayers' Bill of Rights Act - Requires the Secretary of the Treasury (Secretary) to prepare a statement setting forth in nontechnical terms: (1) the rights and obligations of a taxpayer and of the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) during a tax audit; (2) the procedures by which a taxpayer may appeal adverse decisions, prosecute refund claims, and file complaints; and (3) the procedures that the IRS may use in enforcing revenue laws. Directs the Secretary to transmit drafts of such statement to specified congressional committees and to distribute the final statement to all taxpayers receiving annual tax filing forms from the IRS. Requires the IRS, upon taxpayer request, to conduct any interview regarding the determination or collection of any tax at a reasonable time and place convenient to the taxpayer and to the IRS, and to permit the taxpayer, at his or her own expense, to record the interview. Authorizes the IRS interviewer to record such interview if the taxpayer has been given prior notice and is provided, upon request and payment of reproduction costs, with a transcript of the recording. Requires the interviewer to explain to the taxpayer the audit process, including the taxpayer's rights with respect to the process. Requires the Secretary to abate any penalty or interest imposed on any deficiency attributable to erroneous advice in writing given to a taxpayer by an IRS officer or employee in response to such taxpayer's specific inquiry. Authorizes the IRS Ombudsman, upon application filed by a taxpayer, to issue a Taxpayer Assistance Order if, in the determination of the Ombudsman: (1) the taxpayer is suffering or is about to suffer from an unusual or irreparable loss as a result of the manner in which the internal revenue laws are being administered by the Secretary; and (2) the Secretary has failed to carry out any of his or her duties or has violated any provision of law. Allows the terms of a Taxpayer Assistance Order to require the Secretary to release property of the taxpayer levied upon or to cease or refrain from certain actions. Requires the Secretary to obey any Taxpayer Assistance Order issued by the Ombudsman. Directs the Secretary, within 90 days of this Act's enactment, to issue regulations with respect to Taxpayer Assistance Orders, including provisions to assure full, fair, and impartial due process for affected taxpayers. Amends the Inspector General Act of 1978 and other Federal law to establish within the Department of the Treasury an Office of Inspector General. Transfers to such Office the existing audit and investigation units of the Department. Sets forth criteria with respect to: (1) the authority of the Inspector General to conduct an investigation; and (2) the authority of the Secretary in cases of audits or investigations requiring access to information of a sensitive or confidential nature. Allows the Secretary to prohibit investigations under specified circumstances. Restricts disclosure by the Inspector General of tax returns and return information. Prohibits records of tax enforcement results from being used to evaluate certain IRS personnel or to impose or suggest production quotas. Requires district directors to certify compliance with this mandate on a monthly basis. Requires the Secretary to certify that a rule proposed by the IRS is substantially the only alternative that meets the mandate of the relevant statute in order for the rule to be considered an interpretative rule (and thereby not subject to analyses under the Regulatory Flexibility Act). Amends the Regulatory Flexibility Act to require regulatory flexibility analyses to include consideration of both the direct and indirect beneficial and negative effects of a proposed or final rule. Amends the Internal Revenue Code to direct the Secretary, with limited exceptions, to send a preliminary letter of deficiency to a taxpayer prior to the mailing of a deficiency notice. Specifies required contents for tax due notices and deficiency notices, including the basis of the deficiency and a breakdown of the total amount into tax, interest, and penalty. Directs the Secretary, within 90 days of this Act's enactment, to issue regulations requiring all IRS personnel to explain and support their position in assessing any penalties or additions to tax. Requires the Comptroller General to study IRS procedures with respect to such assessments and to present findings to specified congressional committees no later than December 31, 1988. Authorizes the Secretary to enter into a binding agreement with a taxpayer under which the taxpayer may pay tax liability in installments if the Secretary determines that such an agreement will facilitate collection of the liability. Permits the Secretary, after proper notice and a hearing, to modify or annul the agreement upon the finding that the financial condition of the affected taxpayer has significantly changed. Renders such an agreement nonbinding if the taxpayer fails to pay any installment or any other tax liability when due. Extends from ten to 30 days the period between the required notice to a person who neglects or refuses to pay tax liability and a levy on such person's salary, wages, or other property. Specifies information that must be incorporated in such notice, including possible alternative actions and the appropriate appeals procedures. Adds to the circumstances triggering termination of such a levy: (1) an agreement between the taxpayer and the Secretary for payment of the liability; and (2) the Secretary's determination that the taxpayer's financial condition precludes enforceability of the liability. Revises the list of property exempt from levy to: (1) increase the exempt amount permitted for certain personal effects, the property of a business, and wages; (2) add an exemption for certain deposits in qualified institutions; and (3) provide an express exemption, except under limited circumstances specified in this Act, for the taxpayer's principal residence, a motor vehicle used by the taxpayer as the primary means of transportation to work, and any tangible personal property essential to the operation of the taxpayer's business in cases when a levy would prevent the taxpayer from carrying on such business. Prohibits a levy on any property when levy and sales expenses would exceed either the liability for which the levy is made or the fair market value of the levied property. Permits the Secretary to demand surrender of bank accounts only after 21 days in escrow have passed since service of the notice of levy on the accounts. Sets forth situations in which the Secretary must release a levy. Applies to jeopardy levies the administrative and judicial review procedures currently applicable to jeopardy assessments. Permits a taxpayer to bring a civil action against the United States in the Tax Court for judicial review of jeopardy levies and assessments. (Under current law an action for judicial review of jeopardy assessments may be filed only in district court.) Increases the time during which a taxpayer may petition for such review. Describes the jurisdictional requirements to be applied to such actions. Allows an administrative appeal of tax liens. Grants to the Tax Court exclusive jurisdiction to enjoin premature assessments if the taxpayer has filed a timely petition for review. Provides for review of such injunctive orders by the U.S. Court of Appeals. Grants to the Tax Court jurisdiction to enforce payment by the Secretary of refunds of overpayment and interest to taxpayers. Places on the Secretary the burden of proof of justifying any failure to refund, credit, or offset relevant amounts with respect to a taxpayer. Entitles a prevailing taxpayer to: (1) an interest rate of 120 percent of the overpayment rate with respect to refunds; and (2) reasonable litigation costs. Grants to the Tax Court jurisdiction to: (1) review jeopardy assessment sales of assets; and (2) redetermine interest under certain circumstances when a taxpayer claims an overpayment of the interest. Vests in the Tax Court original jurisdiction over any civil action against the Secretary for the recovery of any tax, additions to tax, and penalties with respect to income, estate, gift, and certain excise taxes. Authorizes an award of reasonable litigation costs to the prevailing party in proceedings by taxpayers before the Internal Revenue Service. Permits a taxpayer to bring a civil action in district court for actual damages resulting from the failure of any Federal officer or employee to release a tax lien on the taxpayer's property. Permits a civil cause of action in district court for damages resulting from the careless, reckless, or intentional disregard of internal revenue laws by any Federal officer or employee. Denies damage awards in cases of contributory negligence. Authorizes a damage award, to a $10,000 maximum, to the United States in cases of frivolous or groundless claims by a taxpayer. Amends the Internal Revenue Code to prescribe criminal penalties for: (1) any investigation or surveillance authorized or conducted by an officer or employee of the United States in connection with Federal tax laws that inquires into the beliefs, associations, or activities of any individual or organization; or (2) the maintenance of any records containing information derived from such an investigation. Establishes in the Internal Revenue Service the Office for Taxpayers Services, under the supervision of an Assistant Commissioner of Internal Revenue. Directs this Assistant Commissioner to: (1) be responsible for telephone, walk-in, and educational services, and for the design and production of tax and information forms; and (2) prepare annually, for presentation to specified congressional committees, a joint report (with the Chief Problem Resolution Officer for the IRS) on the quality of taxpayer services.
United States · United States Congress · 13 October 1987
Department of Veterans Affairs Act - Redesignates the Veterans Administration (VA) as the Department of Veterans Affairs (the Department), an executive department within the executive branch of the Government. Provides that the Department shall be headed by the Secretary of Veterans Affairs, to be appointed by the President, by and with the advice and consent of the Senate. Designates as other principal officers of the Department the Deputy Secretary, the Chief Medical Director, and the Chief Benefits Director. Provides for the temporary continuation of service of the current Administrator, Deputy Administrator, Chief Medical Director, and Chief Benefits Director of Veterans Affairs. Establishes within the Department eight Assistant Secretaries, each of whom shall be appointed by the President, by and with the advice and consent of the Senate, to perform such functions as the Secretary may prescribe. Directs the Secretary to assign to one such Assistant Secretary all functions regarding the National Cemetery System and the State cemetery grant program. Outlines functions which the Secretary shall assign to the Assistant Secretaries. Provides for the temporary continuation of the performance of such functions by present personnel until such functions are assigned to an individual appointed as Assistant Secretary under this Act. Redesignates the current VA's Department of Medicine and Surgery as the Veterans Health Services Administration of the Department. Redesignates the VA's current Department of Veterans Benefits as the Veterans Benefits Administration of the Department, whose primary function shall be to administer nonmedical programs which provide assistance to veterans, their dependents, and their survivors. Establishes within the Department the Office of the General Counsel. Redesignates the current Office of Inspector General of the VA as the Office of Inspector General of the Department. Provides that any references to departments or positions under the current VA system shall be considered to be references to such departments and positions of the Department as modified under this Act. Provides continuing effect of all legal documents, suits, actions, and property and resources of the current VA. Directs the Secretary of Veterans Affairs, after appropriate congressional consultation, to prepare and submit to the Congress proposed legislation containing technical and conforming amendments to reflect the changes made under this Act. Requires such legislation to be submitted no later than six months after the enactment of this Act. Provides that any spending authority of the Department is subject to available amounts as provided in appropriation Acts.
United States · United States Congress · 9 October 1987
Declares that the House of Representatives: (1) honors U.S. firefighters for their efforts and sacrifices during the summer fire season of 1987; (2) commends those who gave their lives and conveys condolences to their families and loved ones; and (3) expresses gratitude to all firefighters who fought to protect lives and land in the western United States.
United States · United States Congress · 8 October 1987
Poultry Producers Financial Protection Act of 1987 - Amends the Packers and Stockyards Act, 1921 to remove live poultry handlers from marketing practices regulation under such Act. Establishes a statutory trust for the benefit of unpaid cash sellers or poultry growers which consists of the assets of live poultry dealers with average annual live poultry sales, or average annual value of poultry obtained by purchase or growing arrangement, greater than $100,000. States that a dishonored payment instrument shall not be considered as payment. Provides that an unpaid cash seller or poultry grower shall lose such trust benefit if he or she fails to give written notice of nonpayment or dishonored payment within specified time periods to the poultry dealer and then by filing such notice with the Secretary of Agriculture. Provides a cause of action for violations under such Act relating to poultry sales, purchases, or growing arrangements. Eliminates poultry handler recordkeeping provisions. States that the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) shall have power and jurisdiction over all (marketing) transactions in commerce of poultry products. States that the Secretary may exercise jurisdiction over poultry products in prompt payment or trust proceedings (as established by this Act) in order to avoid impairment of the Secretary's jurisdiction. Requires the Secretary to: (1) notify the FTC of any intended action; and (2) not proceed further if notified within ten days that an FTC proceeding is pending involving the same subject matter. Authorizes the Secretary to seek injunctive relief for nonpayment of live poultry transactions, including growing arrangements. Requires poultry dealers to pay poultry producers within the following time limits: (1) for a cash sale, full payment by the close of business on the day after the sale; and (2) for a growing arrangement, full payment within 15 days after the week of slaughter. States that a payment delay or attempted delay shall be considered an "unfair practice" violation under such Act. Directs the Secretary, whenever he has reason to believe that a poultry dealer has violated the prompt payment or trust provisions created by this Act, to issue a written complaint and hold a hearing at least 30 days after service of the complaint. Authorizes the Secretary to issue a cease and desist order, and also to assess a civil penalty of up to $20,000 per violation, if he finds the dealer in violation of such provisions. Makes the Secretary's order final unless a poultry dealer files an appeal with the appropriate court of appeals within 30 days after service. Subjects a poultry dealer or his agents to fines of between $1,000 and $20,000 for failure to comply with the Secretary's order. Repeals title V of the Packers and Stockyards Act, 1921.
United States · United States Congress · 6 October 1987
Amends the Food Stamp Act of 1977 and the Social Security Act to exclude from income certain charitable cash donations and payments for contributed blood for purposes of the food stamp program and the aid to families with dependent children program.
United States · United States Congress · 1 October 1987
Federal Employees' Political Activities Act of 1987- Prohibits an employee from using or attempting to use official authority or influence to interfere with or affect the result of any election. Prohibits an employee from using or attempting to use official authority to intimidate, threaten, coerce, command, or influence: (1) any individual for the purpose of interfering with the right of any individual to vote as the individual may choose, or of causing any individual to vote, or not to vote, for any candidate or measure in any election; (2) any person to give or withhold any political contribution; or (3) any person to engage, or not to engage, in any form of political activity. Prohibits an employee from using or attempting to use, or permitting the use of, any official information unless such information is available to the general public. Prohibits an employee from: (1) giving or offering to give a political contribution to any individual either to vote or refrain from voting, or to vote for or against any candidate or measure, in any election; (2) soliciting, accepting, or receiving a political contribution to vote or refrain from voting, or to vote for or against any candidate or measure, in any election; or (3) giving or handing over a political contribution to a superior of the employee. Prohibits an employee from soliciting, accepting, or receiving, or from being in any manner concerned with soliciting, accepting, or receiving, a political contribution: (1) from another employee (or a member of another employee's immediate family) with respect to whom the employee is a superior; or (2) in any room or building occupied in the discharge of official duties by a Federal employee or official or an individual receiving salary or compensation from the Treasury. Prohibits an employee from soliciting, accepting, or receiving a political contribution from, or giving a political contribution to, any person who: (1) has, or is seeking to obtain, contractual or other business or financial relations with the employing agency; (2) conducts operations or activities which are regulated by that agency; or (3) has interests which may be substantially affected by the performance of the employees' official duties. Directs the Special Counsel of the Merit Systems Protection Board to prescribe regulations which exempt employees from such prohibitions. Prohibits an employee from engaging in political activity: (1) while on duty; (2) in any room or building occupied in the discharge of official duties by a Federal employee or official; (3) while wearing a uniform or official insignia identifying the office or position of the employee; or (4) while using any vehicle owned or leased by the Government. Exempts certain high level political appointees from such prohibitions if the costs associated with the political activity are not paid for by money derived from the Treasury. Describes such a political appointee as one: (1) whose duties and responsibilities continue outside normal duty hours and while away from the normal duty post; (2) who is paid from an appropriation for the Executive Office of the President; (3) whose position is located within the United States; and (4) who determines policies to be pursued by the United States in its relations with foreign powers or in the nationwide administration of Federal laws. Authorizes leave without pay or accrued annual leave to an employee who is a candidate, upon request, to allow such employee to engage in activities relating to that candidacy. Declares that such request may be denied if the exigencies of the public business so require. Declares that such employee may be required to take leave without pay or accrued annual leave in order to be a candidate if activities relating to the candidacy interfere with the employee's performance of duties. Directs the Special Counsel to prescribe rules and regulations to implement this Act. Applies this Act to postal employees and employees of the Postal Rate Commission.
United States · United States Congress · 30 September 1987
Prohibits the importation of all products from Iran. Authorizes the President to delay the implementation of such prohibition for up to 180 days if he determines that it is not in the national interest of the United States. Requires the President, if he delays implementation of the prohibition, to submit to the Congress a report explaining the reasons for the decision, including how the national interest would be jeopardized by implementing the prohibition. Permits the Congress to extend such 180-day period by joint resolution.
United States · United States Congress · 29 September 1987
National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders Act - Amends title IV (National Research Institutes) of the Public Health Service Act to establish the National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders (Institute) as an agency of the National Institutes of Health (NIH). Removes communicative disorders from the title and purpose of the National Institute of Neurological and Communicative Disorders and Stroke. Requires the Director of the Institute, with the advice of the Institute's advisory council, to establish a National Deafness and Other Communications Disorders Program (Program). Requires the Director to prepare and transmit to the Director of NIH a plan to initiate, expand, intensify, and coordinate activities of the Institute respecting disorders of hearing, balance, voice, speech, taste, and smell. Requires activities under the Program to be coordinated with other national research institutes and describes the minimum activities of the Program. Requires the Director to establish a National Deafness and Other Communication Disorders Data System for the collection, storage, analysis, retrieval, and dissemination of data and a National Deafness and Other Communication Disorders Information Clearinghouse. Requires the Director, after consultation with the advisory council, to provide for the development, modernization, and operation of new and existing centers for studies of disorders of hearing and other communication processes. Sets forth requirements for the centers, including conducting research, training programs and information and continuing education programs for health professionals, and public information programs. Authorizes centers to provide stipends for health professionals in their training programs. Describes other programs the centers may undertake. Requires the Director to provide for an equitable geographical distribution of centers and to give appropriate consideration to the need for centers for the elderly and for children. Limits support of a center to seven years, with one or more additional periods of not more than five years, if recommended by a peer review group established by the Director, with the advice of the advisory council. Authorizes appropriations. Sets forth transitional and savings provisions.
United States · United States Congress · 23 September 1987
Food Stamp Family Welfare Reform Act of 1987 - Amends the Food Stamp Act of 1977 to make food stamp program (program) eligibility permanent for households made up solely of members who receive supplemental security income assistance or aid to the aged, blind, or disabled. Excludes from income for purposes of program eligibility: (1) educational assistance for training programs and secondary school equivalency programs; (2) child support payments received under the aid to families with dependent children program (AFDC); (3) certain agricultural commodity two-party payments; (4) advance earned income tax credit payments; and (5) dependent care payments received under specified employment and training programs. Sets maximum monthly dependent care deductions at $200 for each dependent under two years old and $175 for each other dependent. (Current deduction is $160 per month regardless of age.) Provides for annualizing self-employment farming income and expenses. Prohibits the use of past self-employment farm income as an indicator of anticipated income if income changes have occurred or are anticipated. Excludes certain property (including land, equipment, and supplies) from financial resources determinations for one year after a person ceases to be self-employed in farming. Permits higher education students living in households receiving food stamps to retain their program benefits under specified conditions. Sets maximum monthly dependent care reimbursements for employment and training program participants at $200 for each dependent under two years old and $175 for each other dependent. Increases individual maximum transportation and related reimbursable employment and training costs. Revises performance standards criteria, including the requirement that the Office of Technology Assessment develop model performance standards. Directs the Secretary of Agriculture to develop an incentives payment proposal. Authorizes: (1) outreach activities for farm households; and (2) special training for personnel who certify farm households. Requires the Secretary to publish training materials annually. Requires State food stamp offices and points of issuance to be open sufficient hours and at sufficient locations to ensure access by participants who work or study. Requires State agencies to insure that each participating household receive a notice of expiration prior to the start of the last month of certification. Requires coordination of applications for program and AFDC benefits. Authorizes a five-year Family Independence Demonstration Project in the State of Washington as an alternative to providing benefits under the food stamp program. Sets forth Project provisions, including: (1) combination of AFDC and program benefits into a basic cash grant; (2) assistance to the homeless; (3) minimum cash assistance for food at not less than program equivalents; (4) outreach services; (5) employment and training requirements; (6) assurances that the State will permit continued program participation; (7) audit and congressional reporting requirements by the Comptroller General of the United States; (8) a Project evaluation requirement by the Secretary and the Secretary of Health and Human Services; and (9) the ineligibility of persons receiving only food assistance from Project participation. Authorizes up to ten State projects under the terms and conditions of the Washington Project, except that such projects could not replace food stamps with cash payments.
United States · United States Congress · 22 September 1987
Directs the Secretary of the Interior to study, by the end of FY 1988, the suitability of areas adjacent to the Mississippi and Upper Mississippi Rivers for inclusion in a Mississippi River National Park.
United States · United States Congress · 22 September 1987
Federal Equal Employment Opportunity Reporting Act of 1987 - Requires each Federal entity, in the 90-day period beginning on the first October 1 in each five fiscal year period beginning in FY 1988, to send the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission a written plan pertaining to each of the five previous fiscal years with respect to job applications, hiring, training, and promoting of employees. Requires such plan to detail data for each separate component and installation of the entity and for the entity as a whole. Prescribes the contents of such plans, including data for each EEO group on whether underrepresentation, under-utilization, or an adverse impact exists and, if so, data on affirmative action goals for each employment category affected. Requires that, for each fiscal year (after the first) of each five-year period, each Federal entity submit an annual report concerning the status of the entity's plan, including an update on progress made in achieving the goals and timetables specified in such plan. Directs the Commission to review such reports and, if a continuing manifest imbalance is found, to require an entity to: (1) take additional steps to identify and remove barriers to equal employment opportunity; and (2) develop additional affirmative action goals and timetables. Requires the Commission to publish in the Federal Register, by June 1 of 1988 and of each fifth calendar year thereafter, the identity of each Federal entity which fails to file such a plan, and by January 31 of each fiscal year, the identity of each Federal entity that fails to timely submit the report required under such plan. Requires the head of any Federal entity which fails to file such a plan or report to submit a statement of reasons for the failure to the Commission, or to request an informal hearing to state such reasons orally by December 31. Authorizes the Commission to summon witnesses and compel the production of evidence in the course of investigating such failure. Requires the Commission to issue an order mandating the submission of such plan or report by March 31. Directs the Commission to commence a civil action to compel submission of such plan or report if the entity has not complied with the order by April 30. Authorizes any employee of or applicant for employment with such entity, or a labor organization recognized by such entity, to commence a civil action in an appropriate district court to compel the head of the entity to submit such plan or report if the Commission has failed to commence such an action within two years after the appropriate April 30 deadline. Requires the Commission, at least once every five years, to make an on-site examination with respect to at least one component or installation of each Federal entity, of the program management, data collection monitoring and evaluation, personnel practices, barrier analysis, employee training and recruitment, and sexual harassment prevention measures of such entity. Requires the Commission to conduct a full program audit of each Federal entity that: (1) is subject to this Act's filing and reporting requirements and that fails to develop and implement an effective affirmative action plan or to show sufficient progress in carrying out such plan; or (2) receives complaints from a substantial number of employees alleging a violation of title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. Requires the Commission to: (1) conduct full program audits of at least five Federal entities per year; (2) communicate its proposed audit findings to the head of the Federal entity audited and allow such entity an opportunity to respond before issuing such findings; (3) include in each such audit a thorough examination of the entity's strategies, procedures, resources, and commitment with respect to affirmative action; and (4) conduct such an audit within one year after commencing a civil action to compel the head of such an entity to submit a plan or report under this Act.
United States · United States Congress · 16 September 1987
Amends part B (Supplementary Medical Insurance) of title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act to limit the rate of increase of the part B premium to the rate of increase of part B benefits.
![Official portrait of Rep. Panetta, Leon [D-CA-16]](https://www.congress.gov/img/member/p000047_200.jpg)