United States · United States Congress · 10 March 1988
Declares that the Congress should begin the immediate consideration of additional deficit reduction measures as part of the current budget process in order to achieve the FY 1989 fixed maximum deficit target.
United States · United States Congress · 9 March 1988
American Heritage Trust Act of 1988 - Title I: American Heritage Trust - Establishes the American Heritage Trust, comprised of the Land and Water Conservation Fund and the Historic Preservation Fund, to provide funding for the preservation of America's natural, historical, cultural, and outdoor recreational areas. Title II: Land and Water Conservation Fund - Amends the Land and Water Conservation Fund Act to require the Secretary of the Treasury to invest a portion of the Land and Water Conservation Fund in public debt securities. Requires that the interest from such investments be used to provide for the preservation of the Nation's recreational areas. Sets forth a formula for the allocation of such interest income to the Federal Government and the States. Sets forth specified requirements with respect to the apportionment of such income to local and State governments. Repeals a specified section concerning publicity and signing provisions. Title III: Historic Preservation Fund - Amends the National Historic Preservation Act to extend the Historic Preservation Fund through 2015. Requires the Secretary of the Treasury to invest a portion of such Fund in public debt securities. Requires that the interest from such investments be used for the preservation of historic sites. Title IV: Miscellaneous Provisions - Requires the owner of any site that benefits from moneys derived from the American Heritage Trust to install a sign indicating that fact.
United States · United States Congress · 9 March 1988
Employer Reversion Moratorium Act of 1988 - Amends the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 to prohibit distributions to an employer, before October 1, 1989, of plan assets in connection with any single-employer defined benefit plan termination announced on or after March 9, 1988. Makes plan fiduciaries jointly and severally liable for breach of fiduciary duty unless assets distributed upon plan termination are either distributed to plan participants and beneficiaries or paid into a trust whose terms provide for final disposition in accordance with applicable law in effect on October 1, 1989. Requires the dissolution of such a trust and the distribution of its assets during the month of October 1989.
United States · United States Congress · 9 March 1988
Job Enhancement for Families Act - Amends Internal Revenue Code provisions governing the earned income tax credit to: (1) increase from $5,714 to $7,143 the amount of earned income subject to the credit; and (2) increase the credit percentage incrementally from 14 percent to 35 percent, adjusted annually for inflation, as the number of the taxpayer's dependent children increases from one to four or more.
United States · United States Congress · 9 March 1988
Declares that the President should: (1) posthumously award the Presidential Medal of Freedom to Charles E. Thornton, Lee Shapiro, and Jim Lindelof in honor of their efforts to document the Afghan struggle for freedom; and (2) present the award to those individuals' families on March 21, 1988, the start of the new year in Afghanistan.
United States · United States Congress · 2 March 1988
Emergency Hunger Relief Act of 1988 - Title I: Family Self Sufficiency Improvement - Subtitle A: Food Stamp Program - Amends the Food Stamp Act of 1977 to increase the minimum food stamp program (program) allotments by one percent for the period January 1, 1989, through September 30, 1989, and by one percent during FY 1990. Amends the definition of "household" to repeal the provision providing separate household status for certain parents of minor children and for such children. Makes permanent categorical program eligibility based on eligibility for specified social security programs. Provides an additional excess shelter deduction. States that: (1) households not required to submit monthly income reports shall have their income calculated on a prospective basis; and (2) households required to submit monthly income reports shall have their income calculated on a retrospective basis, except under specified circumstances. Repeals the requirement of prior approval by the Secretary of Agriculture for less than monthly income reporting of certain household. Prohibits a state agency from requiring periodic reporting of households: (1) made up entirely of migrant or seasonal farm workers; (2) made up entirely of homeless persons; or (3) with no earned income and in which all adult members are elderly or disabled. Requires that households reporting monthly be provided with clear and understandable reporting forms. Adjusts the automobile limitation to reflect Consumer Price Index changes. Provides full program benefits for breaks in certification of 30 days or less. Permits households subject to benefit prorating to receive an aggregate benefit allotment. Extends the scope of program informational activities. Amends the HOmeless Eligibility Clarification Act to make permanent the authority for homeless persons in shelters to receive food stamps. Subtitle B: Related Programs - Amends the Temporary Emergency Food Assistance Act of 1983, as amended by the Stewart B. McKinney Homeless Assistance Act, to extend the temporary emergency food assistance program (TEFAP) through FY 1990. Increases the amount of TEFAP funds for emergency feeding organizations. Amends the Community Services Block Grant Act to authorize appropriations through FY 1993 for the community food and nutrition program. Directs the Secretary to: (1) conduct a study (through the National Academy of Sciences) of the kinds of medical problems commonly suffered by program participants and the resulting special diets; and (2) report to the Congress. Title II: Child Nutrition Promotion - Amends the Food Stamps Act of 1977 to exclude foster care and adoption assistance from program income determinations. Amends the Child Nutrition Act of 1966 to increase the school breakfast program reimbursement rate by three cents per meal as of July 1, 1989. Amends the National School Lunch Act to permit specified private nonprofit organizations to participate in the summer food program. Provides an additional meal or snack to children who attend day care centers which are open more than eight hours a day. Repeals the provision tying reduced price lunch eligibility to program eligibility. Title III: Effective Date - Sets forth the effective dates for provisions of this Act.
United States · United States Congress · 1 March 1988
Women in Development Act of 1988 - Requires the Administrator of the Agency for International Development (AID) to take specific steps to strengthen the Agency's women in development policy, including: (1) incorporating the active participation of local women and local women's organizations in its development activities; (2) instructing Agency staff and contractors to collect sex-disaggregated data and to insure that country strategies, projects, and programs are designed so that the percentage of women receiving assistance in proportion to the higher of their traditional participation in the targeted activities or their proportion of the population; (3) insuring that project and program evaluations include an assessment of the extent to which the project integrates women in the development process and of the project's impact on women; (4) increasing the number and responsibility of women in professional positions within AID; and (5) establishing within AID a task force on women in development. Amends the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 to require that a minimum (currently, maximum) of $10,000,000 in funds made available for foreign assistance programs be used for programs to promote the participation and integration of women in the development process in developing countries. Requires the Administrator to report to the Congress annually on the implementation of this Act. Authorizes appropriations to be made available for the United Nations Development Fund for Women and the United Nations International Research and Training Institute for the Advancement of Women.
United States · United States Congress · 1 March 1988
Wetlands Conservation Amendments Act of 1988 - Amends the Food Security Act of 1985 to revise the definition of wetland for land conservation purposes to mean land that supports hydrophytic (water) vegetation under current land use practices. Provides for agricultural committees in each State to set penalties for misuse of wetland based on the presence or absence of intent. Exempts certain previously farmed land from loss of benefits due to misuse of wetlands.
United States · United States Congress · 25 February 1988
Repeals a provision of the Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1987 which includes employee tips within the wages on which employer social security taxes are based.
United States · United States Congress · 25 February 1988
Amends the Agricultural Act of 1949 to set 1988 through 1990 soybean support prices at $5.02 per bushel. (Currently such levels are a minimum of $4.50 per bushel for 1988 through 1990.) Requires (current law authorizes) soybean loan repayment at the lesser of prevailing world prices or the crop loan level. States that if producers of any crop are permitted to repay loans at less than the crop's loan level, cottonseed and sunflower seed prices shall be supported at traditional soybean-based levels.
United States · United States Congress · 24 February 1988
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.) 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.
United States · United States Congress · 24 February 1988
Amends the Internal Revenue Code to exempt from the required application of uniform inventory cost capitalization rules any plant or animal produced by a taxpayer in a farming business, regardless of the product's preproductive period.
United States · United States Congress · 24 February 1988
Amends the Commercial Motor Vehicle Safety Act of 1986 to declare that its requirements do not apply to: (1) motor vehicles registered for farm use which are driven less than 15,000 miles per year; or (2) motor vehicles used solely for fire fighting purposes.
United States · United States Congress · 24 February 1988
Medical Rehabilitation Research Act of 1988 - Amends title IV (National Research Institutes) of the Public Health Service Act to establish the National Center for Medical Rehabilitation Research (Center) as an agency of the National Institutes of Health (NIH) to conduct research, research training, the dissemination of information, and other programs with respect to the rehabilitation of individuals with physical disabilities resulting from diseases or disorders of the neurological, musculoskeletal, or cardiovascular system (medical rehabilitation). Requires the NIH Director to develop and annually review a comprehensive plan for the conduct and support of medical rehabilitation research. Requires the Director to establish the Medical Rehabilitation Coordinating Committee to make recommendations with regard to the plan. Requires establishment of the Medical Rehabilitation Advisory Council to assist and make recommendations to the NIH Director and the Center Director. Authorizes appropriations for FY 1989 through 1991. Directs the Secretary of Health and Human Services and the heads of other Federal agencies to jointly review programs concerning medical rehabilitation research and, not later than one year after the effective date of this Act, enter into agreements for preventing duplication.
United States · United States Congress · 24 February 1988
Repeals specified provisions of the Tax Reform Act of 1986 that eliminated income averaging. Provides that the Internal Revenue Code (IRC) be applied and administered as if such provisions had not been enacted. Amends the IRC to restore income averaging for a person: (1) actively engaged in the trade or business of farming, including aquaculture; and (2) whose average annual gross income for the three preceding taxable years is at least 50 percent attributable to farming.
United States · United States Congress · 18 February 1988
Expresses the sense of the Congress that the President should commence negotiations with Mexico to establish, not later than five years after the adoption of this resolution, a free trade area between the United States and Mexico.
United States · United States Congress · 17 February 1988
Food and Nutrition Programs Protection Act of 1988 - Amends the Agricultural Act of 1949 to make discretionary certain purchase-based milk price support reductions which are currently mandatory. Increases the amount of purchases necessary for such reductions to become effective. Increases the amount of purchases necessary for certain milk price increases to become effective.
United States · United States Congress · 9 February 1988
Rural Small Business Fairness Act of 1988 - Amends the Small Business Act to empower the Small Business Administration to make disaster loans to assist small business concerns in effecting the continuation of or adjustments to facilities or operation methods necessitated by Government action or by Federal requirements, law, or regulation (or derivative State or local mandates), if the SBA determines that the concern is likely to suffer substantial economic injury or be unable to market a product or service without the loan assistance. Includes as eligible for these disaster loans any rural small business or small agricultural cooperative located in a county where specified percentages of commercial cropland have been lost as a result of various acreage reduction programs under the Agricultural Act of 1949, including enrollment in the conservation reserve program. Limits disaster loans to: (1) $200,000 ($400,000 if the recipient is determined to be a major source of employment in the county); and (2) an initial term of ten years or less. Sets the initial interest rate at two percent and provides for its progressive increase over the life of the loan. Permits loan funds to be used to restructure existing loans or other credit costs when such modifications are necessary to offset the adverse economic impact of the Government action triggering need for the loan. Directs the SBA, in administering the disaster loan program, to utilize, when possible, guaranteed loans originated by lenders in the county where the qualified loan recipient is located or in adjacent counties.
United States · United States Congress · 9 February 1988
Clean Grain Act of 1988 - Directs the Secretary of Agriculture to establish a schedule of Commodity Credit Corporation (CCC) grain quality premiums and discounts. Sets forth certain quality criteria. States that payment shall be made by: (1) payment-in-kind certificates; or (2) reduction of specified grain forfeitures on CCC loans.
United States · United States Congress · 4 February 1988
Amends rule XXI of the Rules of the House of Representatives to prohibit appropriations in continuing resolutions for any program, project, or activity not previously authorized by law. Prohibits appropriations in continuing resolutions for all or part of a fiscal year for funding any program, project, or activity at a level greater than its level of funding for the immediately preceding fiscal year.
United States · United States Congress · 3 February 1988
Amends the Internal Revenue Code to exempt from the required application of uniform inventory cost capitalization rules any animal produced in a farming business, regardless of the animal's preproductive period.
United States · United States Congress · 3 February 1988
Family Farm Tax Accounting Relief Act of 1988 - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to exempt from the required application of uniform inventory cost capitalization rules any animal produced in a farming business, regardless of the animal's preproductive period. Permits an exception from required use of the accrual method of accounting for family farm corporations having gross receipts of $5,000,000 or less for each prior taxable year after 1985.
United States · United States Congress · 2 February 1988
Amends the Internal Revenue Code to exempt from the gasoline excise tax any sale of gasoline to a State or local government (or to a purchaser for resale to such government) for its exclusive use.
United States · United States Congress · 2 February 1988
Amends the Toxic Substances Control Act to change to November 1, 1989 (or February 1, 1990, if no regulations have been promulgated by the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency) the date by which a local educational agency (LEA) must submit an asbestos management plan developed pursuant to regulations under such Act to the Governor of the State. Changes to August 1, 1990, the date by which each LEA must begin the implementation of such plan. Changes to May 1, 1989, the date by which the LEA must inspect for asbestos-containing material in each school building under its authority. Changes to November 1, 1989, the date by which such LEAs must implement an operation and maintenance plan with respect to friable asbestos-containing material in school buildings. Changes to February 1, 1990, the date by which LEAs must develop an asbestos management plan for submission to the Governor of the State.
United States · United States Congress · 28 January 1988
Air Travel Rights for Blind Individuals Act - Amends the Federal Aviation Act of 1958 to preclude an air carrier from establishing aircraft seating restrictions based upon a passenger's visual acuity or use of a white cane or dog guide or other such means of assistance.
United States · United States Congress · 28 January 1988
Farmers' Market Nutrition Enhancement Act - Amends the Child Nutrition Act of 1966 to authorize three-year demonstration projects in seven States to provide coupons (between ten and 20 dollars' worth) to special supplemental food program (WIC) recipients for use at farmers' markets. Requires State matching funds. Establishes minimum and maximum grant levels. Limits the use of funds for administrative costs. Requires annual State reports to the Secretary of Agriculture. Authorizes FY 1989 through 1991 appropriations.
United States · United States Congress · 27 January 1988
Parental Assistance With Tuition Bonds Act of 1987 - Amends Federal law relating to savings bonds and savings certificates to direct the Secretary of the Treasury to issue Tuition Bonds, a series of savings bonds, to be offered at varying maturities. Amends the Internal Revenue Code to permit an individual income tax deduction for the full amount paid to purchase Tuition Bonds, which must be owned by an eligible dependent under age 19. Decreases the permissible deduction for taxpayers having adjusted gross income above $30,000. Limits the amount of the deduction based on the number of persons under age 19 claimed as exemptions by the taxpayer, with a maximum of $10,000 and a minimum limit of $2,000 per person. Permits the deduction to taxpayers who do not otherwise itemize deductions. Excludes from gross income any amount received on Tuition Bond redemption to the extent these proceeds are used to pay attendance costs (tuition, fees, books, supplies, room and board) of the taxpayer-bondholder at any institution of higher education or postsecondary vocational school. Establishes penalties in the form of additional tax with respect to Tuition Bond redemption proceeds not used for educational purposes. Directs the Secretary to: (1) develop activities to support participation in the Tuition Bond program; (2) encourage payroll deductions for Bond purchase; (3) develop a program to stimulate individuals and both public and private organizations to provide needy children with access to the Bonds; (4) reinstate the Savings Stamp program to enable children to save toward Bond purchases; and (5) implement a system to effect transfer of Tuition Bonds to the relevant institutions.
United States · United States Congress · 27 January 1988
Amends the Internal Revenue Code with respect to the excise tax on diesel and aviation fuels. Prohibits imposition of the tax on the sale of these fuels to any purchaser (or purchaser for resale to a second purchaser) for use on a farm for farming purposes or for any other use not as a fuel in a diesel-powered highway vehicle or train. (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.)
United States · United States Congress · 27 January 1988
Parental Assistance With Tuition Savings Certificates Act of 1987 - Authorizes the Secretary of Education (the Secretary) to issue and redeem a postsecondary education savings certificate to be known as the Parental Assistance With Tuition Savings Certificate. Sets forth terms for such certificates. Directs the Secretary to prescribe regulations for such certificates and sets forth their method of issuance. Authorizes appropriations to cover the costs of selling and redeeming certificates. Provides for incentive payments to postsecondary education institutions which accept such certificates and whose tuition cost increases have not exceeded a specified rate. Provides that certificate funds shall not be considered as income or resources in determining eligibility for assistance under federally funded programs, except in the case of specified types of students applying for student assistance under the Higher Education Act of 1965. Sets forth nondiscrimination provisions. Directs the Secretary to support participation in the certificates program by: (1) encouraging the private sector and Government to promote employee participation in payroll deductions for the purchase of certificates; (2) encouraging businesses, nonprofit organizations, charitable groups, educational organizations, and individuals to participate in programs to provide needy youngsters with access to such certificates; and (3) work with the Secretary of the Treasury to reinstitute the Savings Stamp program to enable children to save toward the purchase of certificates.
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 · 27 January 1988
Expresses the sense of the House of Representatives that the Congress should freeze the Federal budget for FY 1989. States that discretionary programs in the Federal budget for FY 1989 should be frozen at FY 1988 levels.
United States · United States Congress · 25 January 1988
Amends the Internal Revenue Code with respect to the excise tax on diesel and aviation fuels. Prohibits imposition of the tax on the sale of these fuels 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.)
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 · 25 January 1988
Removes the earmark of a specified amount of funds appropriated to the Department of State by the Foreign Operations, Export Financing, and Related Programs Appropriations Act, 1988 for the construction of educational facilities for North African Jewish refugees in France.
United States · United States Congress · 18 December 1987
Local Government Infrastructure Financing Improvement Act of 1987 - Amends the Public Works and Economic Development Act of 1965 to direct the Secretary of Commerce to provide local governments technical assistance with respect to financing construction, repair, and expansion of public works facilities, including provision of information necessary to familiarize local governments about the use and availability of tax-exempt public works facility bonds for such financing. Requires the Secretary to report biennially to specified congressional committees on local government public works financing practices. Amends the Internal Revenue Code to: (1) raise from $5,000,000 to $25,000,000 the threshold amount of tax-exempt bonds that a small governmental unit may issue and still remain within the exception from arbitrage rebate requirements; and (2) increase from ten percent to 25 percent the amount of tax-exempt government bond proceeds that may be used by a nongovernmental entity for private purposes without triggering treatment of the bond issue as a taxable private activity bond. Limits the latter provision to governmental issuers whose reasonably anticipated amount of tax-exempt obligations to be issued during the calendar year is $25,000,000 or less. Caps at $25,000,000 the amount of bonds to which the issuer may apply the 25 percent private use test in any year.
United States · United States Congress · 18 December 1987
Indoor Air Quality Act of 1987 - Directs the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency to establish a national research, development, and demonstration program to assure the quality of indoor air, including coordinating and accelerating efforts related to the causes, detection, and correction of contaminated air. Requires such program to include information collection and dissemination, cooperative research, grants, studies, development of techniques, facility construction, and conferences. Requires that research focus on human health effects and the identification of types and levels of contaminants likely to cause harm, including the development of methodology and techniques for detection and control. Authorizes the Administrator to assist technology demonstration activities based on a technology's potential to cost effectively control sources of contaminants which pose the greatest risk. Limits Federal funding to 75 percent of costs. Directs the Administrator to report to the Congress by the start of FY 1989 on activities conducted under this Act. Directs the Administrator to publish and biennially revise a list of contaminants known to occur in indoor air. Provides for additions to such list upon application of a State Governor. Requires the Administrator to publish advisory materials addressing the human health effects of listed contaminants which describe the properties, effects, risks, and concentrations of such contaminants. Directs the Indoor Air Panel of the EPA Science Advisory Board to assist in the listing and advisories. Requires that advisories be updated every five years. Directs the Administrator to develop and publish a national indoor air quality response plan to meet applicable clean air standards, including the dissemination of information and education and the provision of technical assistance. Requires the response plan to identify the contaminant, the basis for the action, the nature of the response, the responsible Federal authority, and the necessary financial resources. Requires such plan to include a specific response plan for Federal buildings which lists buildings and the reduction and response actions to be taken, and identifies those buildings likely to exceed applicable standards. Exempts specified buildings for national security, demolition, or special use purposes. Requires response plans to be submitted to the Congress on a biennial basis. Authorizes grants to States for the development of management strategies and indoor air quality assessment and response programs similar to those of the Federal program. Directs the Administrator to establish the Office of Indoor Air Quality within EPA's Office of Air and Radiation to implement agency responsibilities of this Act. Directs the President to establish a National Indoor Air Quality Council within the Executive Office to coordinate Federal activities and advise the President. Requires that the Council report to the Congress on a biennial basis. Directs the Administrator to conduct an indoor air contaminant reduction demonstration program in new Federal buildings, including the development of design, purchasing, and management guidelines. Requires the Administrator to establish a national indoor air quality clearinghouse. Authorizes appropriations for FY 1988 through 1992.
United States · United States Congress · 14 December 1987
Expresses the sense of the Congress that, in exercising certain authorities to restrict exports, the executive branch should use a standard (and broad) definition of humanitarian donations.
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 · 9 December 1987
Amends the Federal Financing Bank Act of 1973 to state that specified loan guarantee agreements between the Rural Electrification Administration and the Federal Financing Bank shall remain in effect, notwithstanding their effective dates, until superseded by other such agreements.
United States · United States Congress · 8 December 1987
Amends the Internal Revenue Code with respect to the targeted jobs income tax credit. Extends the credit to employees who begin work in 1989 through 1991. (Current law terminates the credit for employees who begin work after December 31, 1988.) Includes as a targeted group individuals aged 65 or older who are members of economically disadvantaged families. Revises the minimum employment period requirement for purposes of this credit.
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 · 3 December 1987
AFDC Employment and Training Reorganization Act of 1987 - Title I: Two-Tier System under AFDC program - Amends part A (Aid to Families with Dependent Children) (AFDC) of title IV of the Social Security Act to establish a two-tier system under which a family applying for or receiving AFDC benefits is assigned to the first tier if it is not a two-parent family and includes a child under two years of age and to the second tier if the family does not qualify for tier-one. Exempts first tier families from this Act's registration, employment, and training requirements. Exempts caretaker relatives, and authorizes the exemption of adolescents, in tier-two families who do not have a high school diploma or its equivalent from such requirements if they participate in a program providing a high-school education or its equivalent. Authorizes States to restrict tier-one to families which have a child under six months of age. Requires a State plan to deny assistance to an individual under age 18 who is not and has never been married and who is responsible for the care of a dependent child (or is pregnant), unless such individual lives with a parent. Makes such requirement inapplicable if: (1) such individual has no parent who is living and whose whereabouts are known; (2) the health and safety of the child or individual would be jeopardized if such individual lived with the parent; or (3) such individual has not lived at home for at least one year prior to the child's birth or making a claim for AFDC payments. Title II: Comprehensive Employment and Training Program - Requires AFDC applicants and recipients to register with a State agency for employment counseling, training, and assignment. Authorizes AFDC recipients to refuse employment which results in a net loss in their income. Directs each State to: (1) establish a single intake and registration process for AFDC applicants and recipients; and (2) arrange for the participation of AFDC recipients in one or more of the work-related programs established under title IV of the Act or other Federal law, while coordinating such programs to enhance the availability and efficiency of services provided. Authorizes each State to: (1) make an assessment as to whether immediate employment is a realistic possibility or whether training or education is needed to prepare registered applicants and recipients for employment; (2) provide applicants and recipients with counseling regarding their prospects and needs; (3) require AFDC applicants to undertake an immediate program of job search; and (4) develop an employment plan for each AFDC recipient. Requires States to provide AFDC recipients who are assigned to employment, training, or education programs, and applicants who are required to participate in job search, with child care and transportation services, otherwise such applicants and recipients need not participate in such programs. Establishes participation standards which require State AFDC employment, training, and education programs to include a specified annual percentage (increasing from five percent in FY 1988 to 50 percent in FY 1997 and thereafter) of a State's mandatory AFDC population. Requires 60 percent of such population within the ages of 16 and 18 to be attending school on a full-time basis for each fiscal year beginning four years or more after this Act's enactment. Reduces Federal funding for States which fall short of such participation standards. Authorizes appropriations for AFDC employment, training, and education programs. Sets the Federal share of AFDC employment, training, and education costs in excess of FY 1987 costs at 50 percent. Authorizes increases in such percentage after FY 1989 to reflect a State's need for increased funding or its success in reducing welfare dependency. Requires Puerto Rico, the Virgin Islands, and Guam to each implement a coordinated program of activities affording individuals the opportunity to achieve self-sufficiency through employment. Authorizes appropriations for such programs for each fiscal year after 1987. Makes this Act's registration, employment, and training requirements inapplicable to such territories. Establishes, in the Office of Family Assistance, an Office of Work Programs headed by a Director responsible for overseeing the operation and effectiveness of this Act's employment and training programs. Sets forth recordkeeping and reporting requirements. Authorizes States to add the cash value of food stamps to AFDC payments which are divided by the greater of the Federal or State minimum wage in determining the number of hours a community work experience program participant who is a recipient of such benefits may be required to work. Title III: Certificate System for Child Care - Authorizes States to establish a program providing certificates for child care to families: (1) whose income is less than 150 percent of the Federal poverty level; (2) which have received AFDC benefits within the past three months, but are no longer eligible for such aid because of increased earnings; and (3) which are paying for from ten to 90 percent of the cost of such child care. Limits the applicability of such certificates to the child care necessary to permit their recipients' employment or search for employment. Provides for Federal reimbursement of program costs as though they were costs incurred in providing child care to individuals assigned to an AFDC employment, training, and education program. Requires providers participating in the child care certificate program to be licensed or certified by the State, but certain providers shall be given two years to comply with State licensing or certification requirements. Requires States to disseminate information regarding child care and the certificate program to parents, the public, and child care providers. Limits the certification program's administrative expenses to eight percent of the program costs which are subject to Federal reimbursement. Authorizes the Secretary of Health and Human Services to withhold Federal payments for certificate program costs upon a State's substantial failure to comply with program requirements. Sets forth reporting requirements. Title IV: Child Support Enforcement Amendments - Amends part D (Child Support and Establishment of Paternity) of title IV of the Social Security Act to direct States to establish binding guidelines for child support award amounts. (Currently, such guidelines need not be binding). Creates a rebuttable presumption that the child support award resulting from the application of such guidelines in a judicial or administrative child support proceeding is correct. Requires States to 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. Amends part A (General Provisions) of title XI of the Act to authorize up to ten States to carry out demonstration projects which require absent parents who owe child support, but whose income is insufficient to pay such support to participate in a employment or training program. Amends part D of title IV of the Act to require that the names and social security numbers of the father and mother of every child born in a State be recorded on such child's birth certificate. Requires States to adopt certain procedures with regard to paternity determinations and the standard of proof in paternity cases. Takes a State's paternity determinations into account in computing the State child support collection incentive payment. Requires each State to adopt procedures: (1) requiring employers to disclose certain information to the State child support enforcement agency regarding any employee who is under court order to pay child support; and (2) making certain legislation regarding the interstate enforcement of child support effective in the State. Provides that when the State in which the custodial parent resides requests the State in which the absent parent resides to modify a support order, the latter State shall not have jurisdiction to modify any other aspect of the order. Requires that by October 1992 every State have in effect an operational child support management information system. Reduces the Federal share of the costs for such systems. Requires the withholding of child support payments from the non-custodial parent's wages upon the issuance or modification of a child support order unless both parents agree in writing to an alternative arrangement or the parent paying child support posts a bond equal to six months of child support. Requires that the Parent Locator Service and the State agency administering the State child and spousal support plan be given access to all employment security information which is in the possession or control of any Federal or interstate telecommunications network or is available through any other data exchange method, and is to be used for child support enforcement purposes. Directs the Secretary to develop and publish standards within one year of this Act's enactment for the amount of time a State may take to complete each of several actions in child support cases. Penalizes States which fail to comply with such standards. 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. Makes this title's amendments effective one year after this Act's enactment. Directs the Comptroller General to evaluate State implementation of this title's amendments and report to the President and the Congress regarding such evaluation within four years of this Act's enactment. Title V: State Demonstration Programs - Requires States that wish to conduct demonstration programs which include Federal, federally-assisted, or non-Federal public programs designed to alleviate poverty to submit filings regarding such demonstrations to an Interagency Low-Income Opportunity Board. Requires the Secretary to select and approve those demonstrations judged worthy of implementation. Sets forth policy goals to be considered by the Secretary in selecting and evaluating such demonstrations. Directs that special consideration be given to demonstration programs designed to: (1) improve methods of helping welfare recipients achieve economic independence; (2) coordinate employment and training programs currently supported by Federal or State funds; (3) establish paternity and obtain child support orders in AFDC cases for which paternity was not established when the case was opened; and (4) facilitate efforts by nongovernmental organizations to help welfare clients achieve economic independence. Requires a Governor or his designee to submit a filing which describes in detail the demonstration program to be conducted, including: (1) employment-related activities required of individuals receiving assistance under the demonstration and the circumstances in which they will not be required to participate in such activities; (2) procedures for determining the initial and continuing eligibility of, and benefits for, individuals and families; and (3) a budget setting forth the amounts and sources of funding for the demonstration. Requires each Federal department or agency with responsibility for a program which is included in the demonstration program to make an estimate of Funding which, but for the demonstration, would be available for such programs so that the Secretary may compare State budgetary assumptions with such estimate. Provides that when the amount of Federal funds necessary to carry out the demonstration is less than the amount contained in the budget by reason of the effectiveness of the demonstration in achieving the objectives of this title, the State may use excess Federal funds to improve the demonstration or otherwise benefit individuals and families included in the demonstration. Provides that those within a class eligible to participate in a demonstration shall only be eligible for benefits under a program included in such demonstration. Requires the Secretary to conduct interim evaluations of, and have States submit annual reports on, demonstrations. Authorizes the submittal of demonstration changes for congressional approval if such changes improve the likelihood of accomplishing this title's objectives and participant benefits are not thereby reduced. Authorizes State Governors or the Secretary to terminate the demonstration (upon giving the Secretary or Governor at least three months advance notice) if the interests of the Federal Government, the State, or the participating individuals would be better served by returning to the separate conduct of the included programs. Requires a Governor, within six months of the completion of a demonstration, to submit a final report on such demonstration to the Secretary. Directs the Chairman of the Interagency Low-income Opportunity Board to report annually to the Congress on demonstrations. Directs the Secretary, after selecting and approving demonstration programs in accordance with criteria he or she esablishes, to prepare a single demonstration proposal containing all information pertinent to the programs selected. Provides that the proposal shall be submitted to the Congress and become effective unless the Congress passes legislation modifying or rejecting the proposal within 120 days after its submission by the Secretary. Limits the number of demonstration projects which may be in operation at any one time or approved in any one year under this title. Title VI: Evaluation of Employment and Training Programs and State Demonstration Programs - Directs the Secretary to convene an Interagency Panel within three months of this Act's enactment which shall design, implement, and monitor a series of studies assessing the methods and effects of the programs initiated under titles II and V of this Act. Requires the Panel to select an advisory board of not more than 12 members, within six months of this Act's enactment, to provide the Panel with advice and counsel on all aspects of its operation. Requires the Panel to ensure that a study of child care during the welfare-to-work transition period is conducted during the first three years of its operation. Sets forth Panel reporting requirements. Authorizes appropriations for the Panel. Title VII: AFDC Benefit Amounts; Miscellaneous and Related Provisions - Amends the AFDC program to require States to provide AFDC benefits with respect to dependent children of unemployed parents in two-parent families. Increases the maximum amount of an individual's earned income that is spent on child care in a month which will be excluded from AFDC need and eligibility determinations. Requires States to continue a family's Medicaid (title XIX of the Act) eligibility or provide the family with health care substantially equivalent to such assistance for eight months after the family's AFDC eligibility ends, unless such eligibility was terminated due to fraud or the imposition of a sanction. Terminates such extended coverage if the family ceases to include a dependent child or a family member engages in certain conduct which would warrant sanctions under the AFDC program. Requires families to pay from ten to 90 percent, the exact percentage depending upon a family's ability to pay, of the costs for such care. Authorizes the Secretary to approve a five-year demonstration project testing Washington State's Family Independence Program as an alternative to the AFDC program. Authorizes the Secretary of of Housing and Urban Development to require Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) program applicants or participants to: (1) disclose their social security or employer identification numbers; and (2) consent to wage information verification. Amends the Social Security Act to provide HUD with access to State employment records. Requires State administering agencies to independently verify such information before terminating or reducing any housing benefits. Establishes criminal and civil penalties for misuse of such information. Directs the Comptroller General to submit a report to the Congress, within one year of this Act's enactment, identifying areas of duplication, uncoordinated activity, and unnecessary or complicating variances in eligibility standards among various Federal public assistance programs. Title VIII: Funding Mechanism - 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.
United States · United States Congress · 3 December 1987
Pro Competition Cargo Allocation Act of 1987 - Amends the Merchant Marine Act, 1936 to repeal various provisions relating to cargo preference shipping requirements for certain agricultural exports, including provisions relating to preserving the percentage share or metric tonnage of certain commodities of waterborne cargoes exported from Great Lakes ports.
United States · United States Congress · 3 December 1987
Middle-Income Family Higher Education Savings Act of 1987 - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to allow an individual an income tax deduction for contributions to a savings account established to pay the educational expenses (tuition, supplies, meals, and lodging) of the taxpayer's child at an institution of higher education or a vocational school. Limits the deduction to $1,000 per year per child. Provides that no account may have more than one beneficiary. Permits a deduction with respect to only one account in cases of multiple accounts for the same beneficiary. Disallows the deduction for contributions made to an account after the beneficiary either attains age 25 or graduates from an eligible educational institution. Permits the exclusion from the gross income of the recipient beneficiary of payments and distributions from an education savings account as long as such amounts: (1) are used for the educational expenses of that individual; or (2) are rolled over into an education savings account established for a sibling of that individual. Exempts the education savings accounts themselves from taxation unless they cease to be proper education savings accounts because either the contributor taxpayer or the beneficiary engages in prohibited transactions or the beneficiary pledges the account as security. Establishes penalties in the form of additional tax when account funds or distributions are improperly used. Requires that the trustee of an education savings account report to the Secretary of the Treasury and to the account's benefactor on the maintenance of the account. Identifies the criteria and requirements applicable to an education savings account. Provides that contributions to an education savings account shall not be subject to gift tax. Establishes: (1) a five percent excise tax on amounts connected with any prohibited transaction with respect to an education savings account; and (2) a penalty for failure to file required reports concerning the education savings account.
United States · United States Congress · 20 November 1987
International Health Corps Act - Amends title III (General Powers and Duties of Public Health Service) of the Public Health Service Act to establish the International Health Corps (Health Corps), to consist of the International Health Development Corps (Development Corps) and the International Health Emergency Corps (Emergency Corps). Authorizes the Secretary of Health and Human Services, on request of a foreign government, to assign members of: (1) the Development Corps to serve in the country to assist the country in meeting the long-term basic health care needs of its people; and (2) the Emergency Corps to provide short-term assistance in the country with regard to an ongoing medical emergency. Directs the Secretary to disseminate information on the Health Corps and request health care professionals to provide services to the Corps without compensation. Directs the Secretary to establish the International Health Corps Loan Repayment Program. Authorizes the Secretary, for each year of obligated service an individual contracts to serve in the Health Corps, to pay, up to a specified amount, the principal, interest, and related expenses on government and commercial loans for tuition, reasonable educational expenses, and reasonable living expenses. Directs the establishment of a committee to advise the Secretary on policies concerning the activities of the Health Corps. Authorizes appropriations for FY 1988 through 1990.
United States · United States Congress · 18 November 1987
Antiterrorism and Arms Export Amendments Act of 1987 - Amends the Arms Export Control Act to prohibit the U.S. Government and U.S. persons from exporting or facilitating the export of any munitions item to any country which: (1) has repeatedly provided support for international terrorism; or (2) grants sanctuary from prosecution to any individual or group which has committed an act of international terrorism. Authorizes the President to waive such prohibition upon making specified certifications. Imposes criminal penalties for willful violations of such prohibition. Imposes civil penalties for violations of such prohibition and provides for enforcement of such civil penalties. Requires that the possibility of supporting international terrorism shall be a consideration in the issuance of arms export licenses or in arms sales. Amends the Export Administration Act of 1979 to provide that a validated license shall be required for the export of goods or technology to a country if the Secretary determines that: (1) such country grants sanctuary to or has repeatedly provided support for acts of international terrorism; and (2) such exports would contribute to the military potential of such country, would be destined to a military end-user or for military end use in such country, or would enhance the ability of such country to support acts of international terrorism. Amends the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 to prohibit the provision of any assistance under such Act, the Agricultural Trade Development and Assistance Act of 1954, the Peace Corps Act, or the Export-Import Bank Act to any country which the Secretary determines: (1) has repeatedly provided support for international terrorism; or (2) grants sanctuary from prosecution to any individual or group which has committed an act of international terrorism. Authorizes the President to waive such prohibition upon making specified certifications. Prohibits rescinding a determination that a country supports international terrorism, unless the Secretary of State, at least 90 days before the rescission would take effect, certifies to the Congress that: (1) the country has not provided support for international terrorism for the preceding six months; and (2) the country has made explicit assurances that it will not support international terrorism in the future. Amends the Arms Export Control Act and the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 to require the President to notify the Congress of third country transfers of items: (1) sold under the Foreign Military Sales (FMS) program; (2) exported pursuant to a munitions license; or (3) provided under the Military Assistance Program (MAP). Directs the President to include in required quarterly reports to the Congress concerning military exports a listing of all defense articles or defense services transferred by the Department of Defense to other agencies of the U.S. Government. Prohibits the transfer of any munitions item by the U.S. Government to any foreign country, group, or person under the authority of a presidential determination that such a transfer is important to the national security of the United States as a significant anticipated intelligence activity, unless the President notifies certain congressional committees of such a transfer in accordance with the procedures set forth in the National Security Act of 1947 for the reporting of any intelligence activities. Revises requirements for reporting the use of foreign assistance funds where it is inadvisable to specify the nature of the use of such funds to require that such a report be transmitted to the Committee on Foreign Affairs of the House of Representatives rather than to the Speaker of the House. Amends the Hostage Act to specify that the President may not use any means otherwise prohibited by law in attempting to cause the release of U.S. citizens imprisoned by foreign governments. (Current law specifies that the President may not use any means amounting to acts of war.)
United States · United States Congress · 18 November 1987
Vocational Rehabilitation Services Reimbursement Act of 1987 - Amends title II (Old Age, Survivors and Disability Insurance) (OASDI) of the Social Security Act to require payments for reimbursement of costs for rehabilitation services under the OASDI program to be made for each fiscal year in advance, in the amount of the reasonable and necessary costs of vocational rehabilitation services furnished during the preceding fiscal year ending September 30 of the preceding calendar year, increased or decreased by underpayments or overpayments in the preceding fiscal year. Amends title XVI (Supplemental Security Income) (SSI) of the Social Security Act to require that payments for rehabilitation services for blind and disabled individuals under SSI be made in the same manner and under the same requirements as OASDI payments.
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.
![Official portrait of Rep. Penny, Timothy J. [D-MN-1]](https://www.congress.gov/img/member/p000215_200.jpg)