United States · United States Congress · 25 June 1987
New York Bight Restoration Act of 1987 - Amends the Marine Protection, Research, and Sanctuaries Act of 1972 to direct the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency to report to the Congress, within three years, a New York Bight Restoration Plan to identify and control pollutant inputs affecting the Bight. Requires the Administrator to submit to the Congress a detailed schedule for completing such plan and a report on the technological and economic feasibility of establishing and implementing quality standards for the disposal of municipal sludge through ocean or land-based methods. Requires such standards to include permissible concentrations of specified pollutants. Authorizes appropriations for FY 1987 and 1988.
United States · United States Congress · 25 June 1987
Amends the Clean Air Act to direct the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency to promulgate performance standards for emissions of specified air pollutants, including particulate matter, sulfur dioxide, and lead, from new or modified municipal waste combustion units. Requires such standards to reflect the greatest degree of emission limitation achievable through application of the best available control technologies achieved in practice by similar units or contained in a State implementation plan. Makes specified technologies available, including spray dry scrubbers source separation, and catalytic oxidation. Requires initial standards to be promulgated within 12 months, in effect within 18 months, and reviewed every five years. Sets a standard of emission equivalent to that achieved by the five lowest emitting units should the Administrator fail to promulgate a standard for any of the specified pollutants. Directs the Administrator to promulgate regulations requiring existing units to meet the emissions standards promulgated under this Act according to a timetable which requires compliance at least within six years. Requires owners or operators of municipal waste combustion units to monitor emissions at the point such emissions move into the ambient air and at other points as necessary to protect human health and the environment. Sets monitoring standards, including continuous and periodic monitoring. Requires unit permits to be terminated five years after their issuance unless the Administrator or an authorized State certifies such unit's compliance with emissions requirements. Permits States to submit for Administrator approval a State program of enforcement, treating the State as the enforcing entity under this Act. Authorizes the Administrator to withdraw such authority if the State is not adequately enforcing these requirements.
United States · United States Congress · 18 June 1987
Administrative Law Judge Corps Act - Amends Federal law to establish, in Washington, D.C., an Administrative Law Judge Corps (the Corps) comprised of all current administrative law judges. States that the chief administrative law judge shall be the chief administrative officer of the Corps as well as its presiding judge. Specifies the qualifications for chief judge. States that such judge shall be appointed by the President, with the advice and consent of the Senate. Directs the chief judge to submit annual reports to the President and the Congress. Establishes divisions (to number between four and ten) within the Corps, with each division headed by a division chief judge appointed by the chief administrative law judge, with the approval of the Council of the Administrative Law Judge Corps (the first division chief judge of each division shall be appointed by the President, with the advice and consent of the Senate). Sets forth qualifications for division chief judges. Identifies initial divisions and their respective areas of jurisdiction. States that the Corps' policymaking body shall be the Council of the Corps (the Council), comprised of the chief judge and the division chief judges. Authorizes the Council to determine matters of general Corps policy, including: (1) issuance of regulations for Corps proceedings; (2) creation or abolition of divisions or regional offices; (3) contractual transactions; and (4) delegation of functions to division chief judges. Establishes a Judicial Nomination Commission to submit a list of qualified nominees for positions of chief judge and division chief judges. Prescribes a procedure for recommending appointments to the President. Directs the Corps to appoint new judges from a register maintained by the Office of Personnel Management. Confers jurisdiction upon members of the Corps to adjudicate cases under specified sections of the Administrative Procedure Act. Requires cases arising under such sections to be referred to the Corps. Directs the Council to issue regulations for assigning such cases. Provides guidelines for the removal and discipline of administrative law judges. Establishes a Complaints Resolution Board within the Corps to recommend action upon complaints against the official conduct of judges. Details the membership of such Board and the procedures to be followed. Declares Board proceedings and the contents of complaints to be privileged and confidential. Exempts documents and reports considered by the Board from the disclosure and publication requirements of the Freedom of Information Act. Exempts the Board from compliance with the public meeting requirements of specified Federal law. Authorizes appropriations.
United States · United States Congress · 18 June 1987
National Training Incentives Act of 1987 - Declares that it is the policy and responsibility of the Federal Government to encourage cooperation between employers and employees to promote training programs which will assist employees, should they be displaced from the work force, in training for a trade or occupation for which present and future employment opportunities exist. Title I: Amendments to Internal Revenue Code of 1986 Relating to Employee Training - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to establish an employee training credit for employers. Adds such employee training credit to those credits which are included in the current year business credit for purposes of determining the general business income tax credit for a taxable year. Makes such employee training credit for any taxable year equal to 25 percent of the excess, if any, of: (1) the qualified training expenses of the taxpayer for such taxable year, over (2) the base period training expenses of such taxpayer. Defines "qualified training expenses" as the aggregate amount of expenses paid or incurred by the taxpayer during the taxable year in connection with the training of employees under approved training programs. Defines "base period training expenses" as the average of the qualified training expenses for each year in the base period. Defines "base period" as the five taxable years of the taxpayer immediately preceding the taxable year for which the determination is being made ("the determination year"). Sets forth transitional rules for the first four determination years beginning after December 31, 1984. Sets minimum base period training expenses by providing that, in the case of any determination year of the taxpayer for which the qualified training expenses exceed 200 percent of the base period training expenses, "50 percent of such qualified training expenses" shall be substituted for "the base period training expenses" in the formula to determine the amount of the credit. Defines "approved training program," for purposes of such employee training credit, to include: (1) any apprenticeship program registered or approved by Federal or State agencies; (2) any employer-designed or employer-sponsored training program which meets certain requirements prescribed by the Secretary of Labor (Secretary); (3) any cooperative education; (4) any training program designated by the Secretary which is carried out under the supervision of an institution of higher education; or (5) any other training program approved by the Secretary. Sets forth the special tax rules for the aggregation of qualified training expenses, allocations of such credits, and adjusted to such employee training credit amount for acquisitions and dispositions of a trade or business. Specifies that the employee training credit shall be in addition to any other deduction or credit allowed for the same expenses under the Federal tax law. Amends the Internal Revenue Code to exempt from any penalty tax early withdrawal from an individual retirement plan of a displaced worker if such withdrawals are made to pay training expenses, do not exceed the allowable amount, and are made in accordance with the requirements of this Act. Title II: Withdrawals from Individual Retirement Accounts and Annuities for Job Training for Displaced Workers - Entitles a displaced worker to apply to the Secretary of Labor (Secretary) for certification of such individual's status as a displaced worker. Defines a "displaced worker" as any individual, as of the time of application for a certificate, who has at least 20 quarters of coverage under title II (Old Age, Survivors and Disability Insurance) of the Social Security Act, who has received employment counseling within the past year from an agency approved by the Secretary, and who is in one of the following categories: (1) receiving regular State unemployment compensation; (2) exhausted the right to receive such compensation; (3) unemployed, or received notification of termination of employment within six months, due to permanent closure of a plant or facility; or (4) unemployed for six months or more and with limited opportunity for employment in a similar trade or occupation within a reasonable commuting distance. Permits displaced workers to withdraw amounts from their individual retirement account or annuity (IRA) to pay the expense (tuition, fees, books, supplies, or required equipment) of an eligible training program. Limits the amounts of such IRA withdrawal to $5,000 per year (with cost-of-living adjustments), minus aggregate amounts distributed for training expense payments in the four immediately preceding taxable years. Requires withdrawals from an IRA for training expenses to be made only through the use of a voucher issued by the account trustee or insurance company custodian upon presentation to such trustee or custodian by the displaced worker of a displaced worker certificate and an invoice or statement evidencing that such worker has enrolled in an eligible training program. Sets forth requirements for the presentation and redemption of vouchers for payment of job training expenses. Prohibits depository institutions from assessing any penalty against a displaced worker for early withdrawals from an IRA to pay such training expenses. Permits adjustments in the rate of return on certain investments when IRA funds are withdrawn to pay such training expenses. Treats participation by a displaced worker in an eligible training program at a qualified institution as being in training with the approval of the State agency for purposes of State unemployment compensation law. Defines "eligible training program" as a training program offered by an institution of higher education, a postsecondary vocational institution, a proprietary institution of higher education, or any other institution approved by the Secretary which prepares students for gainful employment in a trade or occupation in which present and future employment opportunities exist. Requires the Secretary to promulgate regulations for: (1) the application of an educational institution for qualification of its training program; and (2) criteria for determining whether such a job training program qualified as an eligible training program under the terms of this Act. Directs the Secretary, for purposes of determining whether certain job training programs qualify as eligible training programs, to consider any determination relating to such programs made by: (1) the Administrator of Veterans Affairs or a State approving agency for veterans' educational programs; (2) a private industry council established under the Job Training Partnership Act or other official or group empowered to make determinations under such Act; (3) the Secretary of Education; (4) any State education agency; or (5) a nationally recognized accrediting agency which the Secretary determines to be reliable in evaluating the quality of job training programs. Sets forth nondiscrimination requirements for institutions offering such job training programs. Requires the Secretary to minimize the amount of paperwork and time necessary to certify any individual as a displaced worker or any training program as an eligible training program. Title III: State Employment Service Responsibilities - Directs the Secretary of Labor to allocate funds to States to reimburse administrative costs of public employment offices which provide certification for displaced workers, labor market and training information, and job search services. Authorizes appropriations for such purpose for FY 1988 and thereafter. Directs the Secretary to submit a report to the Congress on a nationwide computerized job bank and matching program authorized under the Job Training and Partnership Act. Title IV: Miscellaneous Provisions - Amends the Job Training Partnership Act to direct the private industry councils established under such Act to make information on job training programs available throughout their service delivery areas. Exempts such councils from limitations on expenditures imposed by such Act in providing such information. Excludes from the computation of the amount of the expected family contribution to a student for Pell Grant purposes any unemployment compensation received by such student or any IRA distribution used to pay training expenses of such student, provided such student is certified as a displaced worker under the terms of this Act.
United States · United States Congress · 11 June 1987
Acid Deposition Control Act of 1987 - Title I: Stationary Sources - Amends the Clean Air Act to require each Governor to submit to the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency for approval a two-phased plan establishing emission limitations and compliance schedules for sulfur dioxide and oxides of nitrogen emissions from fossil fuel fired electric utility steam generating units in the State. Requires reductions in sulfur dioxide emissions by 1993 and reductions in oxides of nitrogen and further reductions in sulfur dioxide by 1997. Directs each Governor to submit to the Administrator for approval an emissions limitations plan for such units, other than electric utilities' units, requiring both sulfur dioxide and oxides of nitrogen emissions reductions by 1997. Requires the Administrator to conduct and update an inventory of such emissions from stationary sources, identifying the total statewide potential reductions in such emissions and transmitting such information to the State by the close of 1990. Requires each Governor to submit to the Administrator by June 1, 1994, a plan for establishing emission limitations from stationary sources of industrial process emissions to achieve such State's potential reductions by 1997. Directs the Administrator to promulgate guidelines for State plans which shall ensure that emissions reductions do not have an unnecessarily disproportionate effect on electric utility ratepayers. Requires the Administrator to study and report to the Congress by June 30, 1993, on the reductions achieved during phase I, granting the Congress an opportunity to legislate by the start of 1994 against the implementation of phase II. Grants States an opportunity to modify disapproved plans. Establishes emissions standards and Administrator-promulgated plans for States without an approved plan. Directs the Administrator to impose a fee on the generation and importation of electric energy if any electric utility is eligible for a sulfur dioxide emissions reduction subsidy. Sets fees in such a way as to raise sufficient subsidy revenue and protect low income residential electric consumers. Establishes civil penalties for violations of fee-related requirements. Establishes in the Treasury the Acid Deposition Control Fund to make subsidy payments to electric utilities to cover a portion of rate increases attributable to emission reduction compliance. Requires the Secretary of the Treasury to report annually to the Congress on such Fund. Requires a State to assure that rate increases so attributable are substantially equivalent for ratepayers throughout the State and substantially levelized over the period of their application in order to be eligible for the subsidy. Requires the Administrator to determine subsidy eligibility, based in part on the reasonableness of a utility's compliance costs. Authorizes the Administrator to provide financial assistance to owners and operators of stationary sources to promote innovative emissions technologies which are cost-effective. Requires State plans which include the use of such technologies to meet its emission limitation reductions to include contingent limitations and compliance schedules for stationary sources. Requires such contingent limitations to be at least equivalent to the reductions the innovative technology failed to achieve. Permits States to later modify their plans to include innovative technology. Authorizes the Administrator to impose fees on the generation of electricity in a State at its request to promote the use of innovative technologies. Requires the Administrator to report on the status of such technologies before 1994. Directs the Administrator to revise performance standards for emissions of nitrogen oxides from electric utility steam generating units which burn bituminous or subbituminous coal. Requires the Administrator to promulgate performance standards for oxides of nitrogen emissions from certain fossil-fuel-fired steam generating units. Requires all primary nonferrous smelters to be in compliance with the applicable emission limitation or standard for sulfur oxides by January 2, 1988. Title II: Control of Emissions From Mobile Sources - Amends the Clean Air Act to establish emissions standards for oxides of nitrogen for motor vehicles during and after model year 1989. Establishes hydrocarbon standards for trucks during and after model year 1990. Limits the sulfur content of motor vehicle diesel fuel after January 1, 1989. Requires the Administrator to require either onboard hydrocarbon control technology or the use of gasoline vapor recovery of hydrocarbon emissions emanating from the fueling of motor vehicles.
United States · United States Congress · 11 June 1987
International Child Abduction Act - Title I: Provisions Implementing the Convention - Grants State courts, the courts of the District of Columbia and the territories and possessions of the United States, and U.S. district courts original jurisdiction with regard to actions arising under the 1980 Hague Convention on the Civil Aspects of International Child Abduction (Convention) and this Act. Sets forth requirements with regard to notice and burden of proof for such actions. Allows any court exercising jurisdiction over a petition filed pursuant to the Convention or this Act to take provisional measures under Federal or State law to protect the well-being of the child or prevent the child's removal or concealment. Prohibits any court from ordering the provisional removal of a child from the person having physical control unless the applicable requirements of State law are satisfied. States that any application submitted to the Central Authority for the United States or petition submitted in accordance with the terms of the Convention shall be admissible in court without regard to the need for legalization or authentication. Directs the President to designate a Federal agency to serve as Central Authority for the United States for the purpose of: (1) issuing regulations to implement the Convention and this Act; (2) obtaining information from the Federal Parent Locator Service; and (3) collecting, maintaining, and disseminating information for purposes relating to the Convention and this Act. Directs the Secretary of State, the Secretary of Health and Human Services, and the Attorney General to designate Federal employees and private citizens to serve as an interagency coordinating group to monitor the operation of the Convention and provide advice on its implementation. Authorizes appropriations to carry out the purposes of the Convention and this Act. Title II: Amendments to Other Laws - Amends the Social Security Act to provide the Central Authority for the United States access to the services of the Parent Locator Service. Amends the Internal Revenue Code to permit the disclosure of tax returns and return information to Federal, State, and local child support enforcement agencies for the purpose of locating individuals in connection with the abduction or wrongful restraint or retention of a child.
United States · United States Congress · 11 June 1987
Amends the Internal Revenue Code to provide that the income tax exclusion from gross income for qualified scholarships shall include scholarships or fellowship grants received for travel, research, and living expenses.
United States · United States Congress · 10 June 1987
Amends the Internal Revenue Code to extend through 1992 the period during which qualified mortgage bonds may be issued. (Under current law, authority to issue these bonds expires as of 1989.)
United States · United States Congress · 9 June 1987
Housing and Community Development Act of 1987 - Title I: Housing Assistance - Subtitle A: Programs Under United States Housing Act of 1937 - Part 1: General Provisions - Amends the United States Housing Act of 1937 to increase FY 1988 and 1989 budget authority for lower income housing programs, including public housing, Indian housing, elderly and handicapped housing, regular housing, and comprehensive improvement assistance. Provides for public housing phased-in rent increases in cases of tenant employment. Part 2: Public Housing - Amends the United States Housing Act of 1937 relating to the administration of public housing management. Authorizes grants for public housing development costs. Directs the Secretary of Housing and Urban Development (Secretary) to provide payments for operating lower income housing projects through a performance funding system that is based on a certain system and that establishes standards for operating costs and income projections. Authorizes FY 1988 and 1989 appropriations. Authorizes grants for comprehensive improvement assistance. Revises the conditions of approval for project demolition applications. Authorizes public housing comprehensive grants. Requires the Secretary to include such operations in his annual report. Provides for a pilot program of public housing resident management, including establishment of resident management corporations (RMCs). Provides families residing in public housing projects with the opportunity to purchase dwelling units through an RMC. Establishes a seven-year public housing comprehensive transition demonstration program in Charlotte, North Carolina, to demonstrate the effectiveness of providing comprehensive services to public housing tenants to ensure their transition to private housing. Requires interim and final congressional reports. Part 3: Section 8 Assistance and Other Programs - Amends the United States Housing Act of 1937 to require annual October 1 adjustments for section 8 fair market rentals. Repeals the requirement that section 8 rent increases be based only on operating costs. Authorizes annual housing voucher adjustments. Provides for the portability of section 8 certificates and vouchers. Sets forth section 8 administrative fee provisions. Requires a General Accounting Office report to the Congress regarding such fee structure. Gives section 8 priority to economically depressed areas. Prohibits landlords with section 8-assisted projects from not renting to a section 8 certificate or voucher holder. Authorizes FY 1988 and 1989 appropriations for the rental rehabilitation grant program. Terminates the rental development (section 17) grant program. Subtitle B: Multifamily Housing Management and Preservation - Amends the Housing and Community Development Amendments of 1978 regarding the management and preservation of HUD-owned multifamily housing projects. Provides for tenant participation in multifamily housing projects. Authorizes FY 1988 and 1989 appropriations for capital improvements in the troubled multifamily housing project program. Establishes the Capital Improvements Assistance Fund in the Treasury for such purposes. Subtitle D (sic): Other Housing Assistance Programs - Amends the Housing Act of 1959 to authorize FY 1988 borrowing authority and FY 1988 and 1989 loan authority for elderly and handicapped housing. Provides for a demonstration (three year maximum) of prototype handicapped designs. Terminates section 8 assistance in handicapped projects (primarily nonelderly) where contract funds are appropriated under such housing for the handicapped families program. Amends the Congregate Housing Services Act of 1978 to authorize FY 1988 and 1989 appropriations for the congregate services program. Amends the Housing and Community Development Act of 1980 to exempt from HUD regulations limiting alien eligibility for public housing: (1) alien families with an American member; (2) current housing residents; and (3) affirmed citizens over age 62. (Retains the student-alien restriction.) Authorizes the Secretary to require HUD program participants or applicants to disclose their social security or employer identification numbers. Directs the Secretary to establish energy conservation standards for use in assisted housing development and rehabilitation projects. Amends the Housing and Urban-Rural Recovery Act of 1983 to authorize FY 1988 and 1989 appropriations for housing demonstration projects. Requires a program report to the Congress. Amends the Housing and Urban Development Act of 1965 to give tenant preference to persons who are in substandard housing, pay more than 50 percent of their income as rent, or are involuntarily displaced. Title II: Rural Housing - Amends the Housing Act of 1949 to authorize FY 1988 and 1989 appropriations for: (1) subsidized homeownership loans; (2) farmworker rental housing loans; (3) low income and elderly subsidized rental housing loans; (4) site loans; (5) home repair loans; (6) construction defects payments; (7) repair grants; (8) farmworker rental housing grants; (9) mutual and self-help grants; (10) rental assistance payments; and (11) housing preservation grants. Extends authority through FY 1989 for rental assistance payment contracts and rural voucher contracts. Provides that maximum income levels for rural housing programs in the Virgin Islands shall be the same as those for Guam, American Samoa, the Northern Mariana Islands, and the Trust Territory of the Pacific Islands. Amends the Housing Act of 1949 to provide for rural housing escrow accounts. Extends the existing "rural area" classification through September 30, 1989. Requires a study of mortgage credit in rural areas. Revises the definition of very-low income families for purposes of rural housing assistance eligibility. Requires local governmental consultation under the programs for insured loans and financial assistance for domestic farm labor housing. Prohibits reduction, cancellation, or refusal to renew rural housing assistance due to an increase in borrower income if the borrower will be unable to reasonably afford the resulting higher payments. Obligates a specified percentage of FY 1988 home ownership loan guarantees for moderate income families. Establishes a rural rental housing displacement prevention program. Title III: Mortgage Insurance and Secondary Mortgage Market Programs - Subtitle A: FHA Mortgage Insurance Programs - Amends the National Housing Act to extend authority permanently for: (1) title I financial institution insurance for housing renovation and modernization; (2) general mortgage insurance; (3) low and moderate income and displaced families mortgage insurance; (4) mortgage co-insurance, including rental rehabilitation and development projects; (5) graduate payment and indexed mortgage insurance; and (6) mortgage insurance for land development. Terminates new mortgage insurance authority for servicemen after September 30, 1987. Provides a specified FY 1988 and 1989 amount for Federal Housing Administration (FHA) mortgage insurance commitments. Authorizes the Secretary to fix premium charges for FHA mortgages or loan insurance, but not more than certain percentages of principal calculated according to specified formulae. Permits the Secretary to insure a mortgage secured by a one- to four-family dwelling, or approve of a substitute mortgagor who assumes any mortgage, only if the mortgagor is to occupy the dwelling as a principal or secondary residence. Excludes from eligibility certain public and private nonprofit investors. Repeals the vacation and seasonal home mortgage insurance program. Specifies certain actions which the Secretary must take to reduce losses under the single family mortgage insurance program. Requires State approval of, or an independent certification of need for, hospital mortgage insurance. Transfers mortgage insurance programs for Hawaiian homelands and Indian lands from the Mutual Mortgage Insurance Fund to the General Insurance Fund of the Treasury. Permits Native Hawaiians to transfer FHA-financed property to their children or surviving spouses who do not meet the legal definition of native Hawaiians. Increases from ten to 20 percent of the aggregate number of insured mortgages and loans for the preceding fiscal year the ceiling on the aggregate number of such insured mortgages and loans for any particular fiscal year. Raises the fine for equity skimming from $5,000 to $250,000, and the possible prison sentence from a maximum of three years to a maximum of five years. Subjects skimming on cooperatives and condominiums to such penalties. Revises the definition of one kind of equity skimming practice to mean failing to make payments under the mortgage or deed of trust as the payments become due, regardless of whether the purchaser is obligated on the loan. Authorizes the Secretary to impose civil money penalties on a mortgagee for certain violations of requirements of such Act, up to a maximum of $1,000 per violation, or $1,000,000 for all violations by a particular mortgagee during a one-year period. Provides for judicial review of an agency determination to assess such penalties. Authorizes the Secretary to conduct a demonstration program of insurance of home equity conversion mortgages of elderly homeowners through FY 1991. Limits the total number of such mortgages to 2500. Repeals the provision requiring the publication of certain prototype housing costs. Provides for a double damages remedy in U.S. district court to recover housing project assets or income. Prohibits a mortgage or lender from setting minimum principal loan amounts (including refinancings). Increases the maximum single family mortgage amount from 133 1/3 percent to 150 percent of the prevailing home sales price. Amends the definition of veteran, for specified mortgage insurance purposes, to require that persons who enlisted in the armed forces after September 7, 1980, or who entered active duty after October 16, 1981, shall have their eligibility determined in accordance with specified Federal law. Permits the use of approved individual residential water purification units if the existing water supply does not meet HUD standards. Authorizes increased multifamily project mortgage limits in high-cost areas. Authorizes operating loss loan insurance for certain projects with existing mortgages insured by the Secretary. Subtitle B: Secondary Mortgage Market Programs - Prohibits (with specified exceptions) fees from being charged on: (1) Federal National Mortgage Association (FNMA) mortgages; or (2) Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corporation mortgages. Extends Federal National Mortgage Association and Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corporation mortgage purchase authority permanently. Amends the Federal National Mortgage Association Charter Act to set FY 1988 and 1989 limits on Government National Mortgage Association guarantees of mortgage-backed securities. Title IV: Community Development and Miscellaneous Programs - Subtitle A: Community and Neighborhood Development and Preservation - Amends the Housing and Community Development Act of 1974 to authorize appropriations through FY 1990 for the community development block grant (CDBG) program, including a specified amount for the special discretionary fund. Makes specified amounts available for existing grant programs to minority graduate and undergraduate students in the areas of community development and planning. Authorizes FY 1988 appropriations for the urban development action grant program (UDAG). Extends community development block grant entitlement authority for certain metropolitan city and urban county areas through September 30, 1989. Permits CDBG funds to be used for Great Lakes flooding and erosion control. Permits a CDBG grantee to use more than 15 percent of annual funds for public service activities (with specified maximum limits). Allows any appropriate State agency or official to certify for the receipt of CDBG funds in nonentitlement areas. (Currently, only the Governor has such authority.) Authorizes multiyear CDBG funding in nonentitlement areas. Revises UDAG selection criteria to add certain job-creation and minority small business considerations. Specifies points to be awarded for each factor in consideration and the percentage of fund distribution to applicants meeting different criteria. Requires the Comptroller General to report every three years to the Congress an evaluation of such selection criteria and the eligibility standards to which they apply. Prohibits the use of urban development action grants for business relocations. Authorizes appropriations through FY 1989 for the urban homesteading program. Amends the Neighborhood Reinvestment Corporation Act to authorize FY 1988 and 1989 appropriations for the Neighborhood Reinvestment Corporation. Requires a privatization study. Authorizes the retention and use of closed-out urban land disposition proceeds for CDBG purposes by the following local governments and specified projects: (1) Hartford, Connecticut; (2) Lebanon, Pennsylvania; (3) Richmond, Virginia; and (4) Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Amends the Housing and Community Development Act of 1974 to terminate the loan guarantee program. Subtitle B: Flood Insurance Program - Amends the National Flood Insurance Act of 1968 to extend authority for national flood insurance, including emergency implementation and flood-risk zones, through September 30, 1989. Authorizes FY 1988 and 1989 appropriations for flood insurance studies. Establishes a six-month moratorium on certain flood insurance regulations relating to mobile homes. Subtitle C: Miscellaneous Programs - Authorizes a fair housing initiatives program. Authorizes FY 1988 and 1989 appropriations. Sets forth program provisions. Directs the Secretary of Housing and Urban Development and the Secretary of Agriculture to collect at least annually data on the racial and ethnic characteristics of persons eligible for or benefiting under each community development, housing assistance, and mortgage and loan insurance and guarantee program the Secretary administers. Amends the Housing and Urban Development Act of 1970 to authorize FY 1988 and 1989 appropriations for housing research and development, including energy improvements and lower-cost building technologies. Amends the Home Mortgage Disclosure Act of 1975 to make mortgage disclosure authority permanent. Amends the Housing and Urban Development Act of 1968 to authorize FY 1988 and 1989 appropriations for housing counseling. Amends the National Manufactured Housing Construction and Safety Standards Act of 1974 to require manufactured home construction and safety standards to include energy conservation standards. Amends the Lead-Based Paint Poisoning Prevention Act to require mortgagees to provide purchasers of 1978 or prior constructed homes with lead-based paint information. Directs the National Institute of Building Sciences and HUD to develop such information. Title V: Enterprise Zone Development - Authorizes the Secretary to designate up to 100 enterprise zones (to be identified by State and local authorities, or Indian reservation governing bodies) to provide economic revitalization, job creation, and community development. Requires a specified number of rural designations. Sets forth area and eligibility requirements. Prohibits business relocation assistance. Requires program reports to the Congress every four years. Authorizes the waiver or modification of housing and community development rules in enterprise zones. Provides for the coordination of community development block grant, urban development action grant, and other HUD programs in such zones.
United States · United States Congress · 4 June 1987
Children's Home Video Protection Act of 1987 - Amends the Federal criminal code to provide criminal penalties for the sale, rental, or transfer of obscene videotapes to minors.
United States · United States Congress · 4 June 1987
Residential Mortgage Credit Fairness Act of 1987 - Amends the Truth in Lending Act to prohibit a creditor from: (1) imposing terms and conditions for a residential mortgage transaction which are less favorable to the consumer than the terms and conditions which were originally disclosed to the consumer; or (2) limiting the availability or effectiveness of such terms and conditions to a specified period. Allows an exception to such requirements if: (1) the disclosure contains a clear and conspicuous statement that such terms and conditions are subject to charge; or (2) any delay in consummating the transaction is due to an unreasonable delay caused by the consumer. Requires that any disclosure made in connection with a residential mortgage shall: (1) be mailed or delivered before the earlier of the date on which the credit is extended or three days after the creditor receives the consumer's application; and (2) include a statement of the rights and duties of the creditor and the consumer and any form to be used by the consumer to exercise the right to withdraw the application. Allows a consumer to withdraw a mortgage application without incurring any obligation to the creditor (other than certain reasonable fees) if the consumer provides the creditor written notice within three days after receiving the required disclosure statement from the creditor. Specifies that for purposes of such required disclosure statements the term "finance charge" shall include any fee imposed by the creditor for any such extension of credit. Increases the civil penalty for failure to make a required disclosure for a residential mortgage from a minimum of $100 and a maximum of $1,000 to a minimum of $1,000 and a maximum of $10,000.
United States · United States Congress · 2 June 1987
Foreign Ownership of United States Banks Limitation Act - Amends the Federal Deposit Insurance Act to require the appropriate Federal banking agency to disapprove any proposed acquisition of an insured bank by a prohibited foreign national. States that such foreign national may be: (1) any country that appears on the list of controlled countries (which includes communist countries) of the Export Administration Act of 1979; (2) any national, agency, or instrumentality of such a country; or (3) any person who such Federal banking agency has reason to believe is an agent of such country, national, agency, or instrumentality. Requires a proposed acquirer of an insured bank to notify such Federal banking agency of the acquirer's nationality. Imposes a criminal penalty for willful failure to provide such information. Extends from 60 to 90 days the period for issuing a notice of disapproval if such Federal banking agency has reason to believe that the proposed acquisition may result in the ownership or control of an insured bank by a prohibited foreign national. Prohibits the responsible Federal banking agency from approving a proposed merger or consolidation of an insured bank if the responsible agency has reason to believe that the resulting bank would be owned or controlled by such a prohibited foreign national. Amends the Bank Holding Company Act of 1956 to prohibit the Federal Reserve Board from approving any acquisition, merger, or consolidation which the Federal Reserve Board has reason to believe would result in the ownership or control of a bank by a prohibited foreign national. Extends for 90 days the period for issuing notice of disapproval if the agency has reason to believe that the proposed acquisition may result in the ownership or control of an insured bank by such a prohibited foreign national. Prohibits the Comptroller of the Currency from issuing a certificate of banking authority to any national banking association which the Comptroller has reason to believe is owned or controlled by a prohibited foreign national. Prohibits the Comptroller from approving the conversion of any bank if the Comptroller has reason to believe that the bank is owned or controlled by any such prohibited foreign national. Amends the Federal Reserve Act to prohibit the Federal Reserve Board from approving an application to become a member of the Federal Reserve System by a bank which the Board has reason to believe is owned or controlled by any such prohibited foreign national. Amends the Federal Deposit Insurance Act to prohibit approval by the Board of Directors of the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) of an application for insurance by any bank if such bank is owned or controlled by a prohibited foreign national. Requires the appropriate Federal banking agency to require each insured bank to include in the first report of condition filed by such bank after enactment of this Act the nationality of any person who controls such bank. Amends the National Housing Act to require the Federal Savings and Loan Insurance Corporation (FSLIC) to disapprove any proposed acquisition if the FSLIC has reason to believe that the proposed acquisition would result in ownership or control of an institution by a prohibited foreign national. Requires a proposed acquirer of a depository institution to notify the FSLIC of the acquirer's nationality. Imposes a criminal penalty for willful failure to provide such information. Extends from 60 to 90 days the period for issuing a notice of disapproval if the FSLIC has reason to believe that the proposed acquisition may result in the ownership or control of an insured institution by such a prohibited foreign national. Prohibits the FSLIC from approving any acquisition that would result in the ownership or control of any savings and loan holding company, insured institution, or uninsured institution by a prohibited foreign national. Amends the Home Owners' Loan Act of 1933 to prohibit the Federal Home Loan Bank Board from granting a charter if the grant of such charter would result in the control of an institution by a prohibited foreign national. Prohibits the conversion of any association that is a member of the Federal Home Loan Bank, any Federal savings and loan association, any Federal savings bank, or any State-chartered savings bank into certain types of institutions if, after such conversion, such resulting institution would be controlled by a prohibited foreign national. Prohibits the FDIC from approving certain mergers and consolidations if the FDIC has reason to believe that the resulting bank, association, or institution would be owned or controlled by a prohibited foreign national. Amends the Federal Home Loan Bank Act to prohibit any building and loan association, savings and loan association, cooperative bank, homestead association, insurance company, or savings bank from becoming a member of, or a non-member borrower of, a Federal Home Loan Bank if such institution is controlled by a prohibited foreign national. Requires the Federal Home Loan Bank Board and the FSLIC to require each institution that is required to file reports of conditions with such Board or FSLIC to include in the first such report filed after enactment of this Act the nationality of any person who controls such institution.
United States · United States Congress · 27 May 1987
Amends the Solid Waste Disposal Act to direct the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency to develop and promulgate criteria and testing procedures for identifying municipal incinerator bottom and fly ash controlled by flue gas emissions control equipment which presents a substantial hazard to human health or the environment. Requires such criteria and procedures to determine leaching, total chemical analysis, respirability, and toxicity. Requires owners or operators of each such unit to separately test the bottom and fly ash, if possible. Requires that test results be kept and submitted to the Administrator, or the State if it is administering an authorized program. Directs the Administrator to promulgate and revise treatment standards to reduce the hazards associated with such ash, including the migration of hazardous constituents. Requires permits for new and existing treatment facilities which include management plans describing methods of testing, dispersion prevention methods, employee protection methods, and handling methods. Requires all municipal waste combustion units to comply with this Act. Establishes civil and criminal penalties for noncompliance. Authorizes States to administer and enforce an Administrator-approved program. Authorizes citizen suits for violations of this Act.
United States · United States Congress · 21 May 1987
Airline Passenger Protection Act of 1987 - Amends the Federal Aviation Act of 1958 to mandate that air carriers engaged in air transportation of persons provide transportation to passengers and employees of bankrupt air carriers. Directs the Secretary of Transportation to pay out of the Air Carrier Ticket Account (established by this Act) transportation expenses incurred by: (1) ticket holders of bankrupt air carriers; and (2) air carriers providing transportation to such ticket holders. Confers rights of subrogation for payment upon: (1) an air carrier providing the service mandated under this Act; and (2) the Secretary, Amends the Internal Revenue Code to establish in the Airport and Airway Trust Fund the Air Carrier Ticket Account. Directs the Secretary of the Treasury to transfer specified amounts into such Account.
United States · United States Congress · 21 May 1987
National Flood Insurance Improvement Act of 1987 - Amends the National Flood Insurance Act of 1968 to establish a schedule of payments for a structure covered by flood insurance if such structure is condemned by a State or local authority because it is located on land along the shore of a body of water that is subject to imminent collapse. Sets forth a schedule of payments following condemnation and demolition before the structure collapses. Limits the amount of payment if such land collapses or subsides before the owner demolishes and removes the structure, but after the owner has a reasonable period of time following condemnation (or after the date of enactment of the Housing, Community Development, and Homelessness Prevention Act of 1987, whichever occurs later) to demolish and remove it.
United States · United States Congress · 14 May 1987
Surrogacy Arrangements Act of 1987 - Amends the Federal criminal code to provide criminal penalties for anyone who, on a commercial basis, knowingly makes, engages in, or brokers a surrogacy arrangement. Amends the Federal Trade Commission Act to provide criminal penalties for anyone who advertises the availability of such an arrangement.
United States · United States Congress · 30 April 1987
General Aviation Standards Act of 1987 - Amends the Federal Aviation Act of 1958 (relating to aviation accident investigations) to apply such Act, with specified exceptions, to any action for damages for harm arising out of a general aviation accident brought against a general aviation manufacturer, owner, or operator of a general aviation aircraft, or a person who supports or maintains such aircraft. Establishes guidelines for uniform standards of liability of general aviation manufacturers for general aviation accidents. States that all actions for harm arising out of a general aviation accident shall be governed by the principles of comparative responsibility. Establishes, with specified exceptions, a limitation of actions period of 12 years from delivery of aircraft or harm-causing part to the purchaser for general aviation civil liability brought against a general aviation manufacturer. Declares admissible as evidence certain income tax and payroll tax liability for purposes of establishing financial harm arising out of a general aviation accident. Permits the award of punitive damages if a claimant establishes by clear and convincing evidence that the harm suffered was the direct result of conduct manifesting conscious, flagrant indifference to safety. Establishes a two-year limitation of actions period for actions arising out of a general aviation accident. Confers original jurisdiction upon the Federal district courts, concurrently with State courts, for all civil actions for harm arising out of a general aviation accident. Provides procedures for removal from State to Federal district courts of such actions. Declares that this Act supersedes any State law regarding recovery of damages for harm arising out of a general aviation accident. Declares the intent of the Congress that sanctions be strictly enforced for violations of Rule 11 of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure, including orders to pay to the other party the reasonable costs of legal fees.
United States · United States Congress · 30 April 1987
Ground Water Research, Development, and Demonstration Act - Directs the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency to establish a research, development, and demonstration program for the protection, maintenance, and restoration of groundwater resources. Authorizes the Administrator to contract or cooperate with other government or private entities, including using existing Federal facilities on a reimbursable basis. Requires the Administrator to establish a media-specific research committee for groundwater resources to annually summarize major research issues, including State and local needs. Requires the Administrator to establish a standing subcommittee on groundwater resources within the Science Advisory Board established under the Environmental Research, Development, and Demonstration Act of 1978 to review and report to the Congress on the research committee's report. Directs the Administrator to carry out a program of research, evaluation, testing, development, and demonstration of practices, methods, technologies, and processes which may be effective in controlling sources or potential sources of groundwater contaminants. Authorizes the Administrator to contract out or make grants for demonstration projects selected on the basis of their potential for mitigating contaminants which pose the greatest risk to human health and the environment, their broad-based applicability, and cost effectiveness. Sets forth monitoring and quality control requirements. Authorizes the Administrator to make grants or enter into cooperative agreements or loans with State and local governments for activities under this Act, limiting the Federal share of research and survey costs. Authorizes the Administrator to research the effects of groundwater contaminants on human health, including laboratory, clinical, and epidemiological studies. Authorizes the Administrator to conduct training and establish research fellowships. Directs the Administrator to make grants to research institutions to establish and operate three groundwater research institutes for research and information dissemination. Requires such institutions to be located in areas making significant use of groundwater which has experienced significant contamination problems. Limits the Federal share of such institutional costs. Sets forth program approval procedures. Directs the Administrator to establish a national groundwater clearinghouse and a technology transfer program. Authorizes appropriations.
United States · United States Congress · 22 April 1987
Medicare Home Health Services Improvement Act of 1987 - Amends title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act to permit patients to receive Medicare home health services on a daily basis for up to 60 days and longer when the patient's physician certifies that exceptional circumstances require continued daily services. Provides Medicare coverage of up to three weeks of post-hospital skilled nonskilled home health care, as long as the cost of such benefits does not exceed the cost of care in a skilled nursing facility for an equivalent period of time. Defines as "homebound" (as prerequisite of eligibility for Medicare home health services) any person who has a condition which restricts his or her ability to leave the home without support or for whom leaving the home is medically contraindicated. Provides Medicare home health coverage for homebound individuals in need of occupational therapy. (Currently, occupational therapy is included only after an individual qualifies for home health services by reason of needing skilled nursing care or speech or physical therapy.) Requires Medicare fiscal intermediaries which perform home health payment services to provide an explanation of claim denials for home health services and promptly notify the parties requesting a reconsideration of such determinations of the result of such reconsideration. Requires fiscal intermediaries to make partial payments of disputed claims when such notice has not been transmitted within 60 days of receipt of the reconsideration request. Makes an intermediary's performance on appeals of home health care payment determinations part of the Secretary of Health and Human Services' overall appraisal of the intermediary. Requires a Medicare home health agency to: (1) protect and promote the rights of each individual under its care; (2) furnish the State licensing entity with the name and social security number of any individual hired by the agency as well as information as to whether such individual has been convicted of a felony; (3) inform the State licensing entity of changes in agency ownership or control; (4) furnish items and services through licensed health professionals or persons who have completed or are enrolled in a training program which meets minimums standards established by the Secretary by July 1988; and (5) include the patient's plan of care within its clinical records. Requires an appropriate State or local agency to conduct a standard survey every nine to fifteen months and upon a change in the ownership of, or significant number of complaints against, a home health agency, of the quality of patient care provided by such agencies. Subjects home health agencies which perform poorly on such surveys to an extended survey. Directs the Secretary to evaluate the assessment process, report to the Congress on the result of such evaluation, and make appropriate modifications to such process by 1992. Requires the Secretary to develop and implement criteria and procedures for evaluating plans of correction submitted by home health agencies found out of compliance with Medicare participation requirements. Authorizes the Secretary to impose intermediate sanctions on agencies whose failure to correct deficiencies pursuant to approved plans of correction does not immediately jeopardize the health and safety of health care beneficiaries. Requires the Secretary to promulgate major Medicare rules, requirements, or policy statements through the regulatory process. Sets forth publication requirements. Directs the Secretary to publish and make available to the public without change a directory of home health agencies certified to participate in the Medical program, including certain information garnered with respect to each agency during the latest certification survey. Requires appropriate State or local agencies to maintain: (1) toll-free hotlines to receive complaints and answer questions regarding home health agencies in the State or locality; and (2) units with enforcement authority and access to consumer medical records and survey reports to investigate such complaints. Directs the Secretary to: (1) report to the Congress before 1988 on the appropriateness of reimbursing home health agencies on either a rural or urban basis rather than considering an agency's mix of urban and rural clientele; and (2) determine home health agency cost limits on the basis of recent agency cost reports.
United States · United States Congress · 22 April 1987
Designates the week beginning August 2, 1987, as International Special Olympics Week and designates August 3, 1987, as International Special Olympics Day.
United States · United States Congress · 21 April 1987
Amends the Internal Revenue Code to increase the excise tax on cigarettes from: (1) $8 to $16 per thousand for small cigarettes; and (2) $16.80 to $33.60 per thousand for large cigarettes. Imposes a floor stocks tax on small and large cigarettes manufactured in or imported into the United States that are removed before the effective date of the excise tax increase and are held on such date for sale by any person. Sets the amount of such tax to equal the amount of the excise tax increase for the respective cigarette types. Appropriates one-fourth of the revenue raised by such excise taxes to the Federal Hospital Insurance Trust Fund (Medicare). Establishes in the Treasury the Tobacco-Related Disease Research Trust Fund, to be available for the funding of research by the National Institutes of Health. Appropriates to such Trust Fund one-fourth of the revenue raised by such excise taxes.
United States · United States Congress · 9 April 1987
Amends title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act to provide that nursing care and home health aide services may be provided on a daily basis as home health services for up to 60 days with monthly physician certification of the need for such services, and after the 60-day period on a physician certification of exceptional circumstances. Covers the nursing care and home health aide services (for up to 30 home health service visits) that are reasonable and necessary for the safety and maintenance of an individual in the home after such individual's need for home health services in the form of skilled nursing or speech or physical therapy ends.
United States · United States Congress · 9 April 1987
Stratospheric Ozone Protection Act of 1987 - Amends the Clean Air Act to direct the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency to promulgate regulations controlling aggregate emissions of fully halogenated alkanes from the United States, setting a schedule which ultimately requires a 95 percent reduction from 1986 levels within seven years of enactment. Sets forth an emissions calculation formula which multiplies each fully halogenated alkane by its ozone depletion weight, adjusting aggregate amounts for imports, exports, production, and destruction or encapsulation. Requires the Administrator to establish a monitoring network to detect or predict modifications in the ozone layer. Requires the Administrator to conduct a detailed scientific assessment before implementing each stage of required reductions, adjusting the control measures as necessary. Prohibits, within one year of enactment, the import of fully halogenated alkanes in bulk from any nation without sufficiently stringent control measures. Prohibits, within three years of enactment, the import of all products containing fully halogenated alkanes from any nonequivalent nation. Sets forth a schedule of trade restrictions concerning the import or export of such alkanes, the technologies used to produce them, and the products produced by them. Requires the Administrator to report to the Congress annually on aggregate emissions and compliance. Sets forth enforcement provisions, including provisions allowing citizen suits.
United States · United States Congress · 9 April 1987
Amends the Rural Electrification Act of 1936 to permit Rural Electrification Administration borrowers to prepay Federal Financing Bank loans without penalties if: (1) private capital is used to replace such loans; and (2) any savings will be used to avoid future rate increases, passed on to customers, or used to improve the borrower's financial strength.
United States · United States Congress · 9 April 1987
Hazardous Materials Rail Safety Act - Amends the Hazardous Materials Transportation Act to direct the Secretary of Transportation to issue regulations regarding emergency response procedures for rail carriers in accident or emergency situations involving the transportation and storage of hazardous materials. Prescribes the contents of such requirements. Prohibits railroad tank cars built before November 6, 1971, from being used in commercial hazardous materials transportation unless they meet all safety and design requirements imposed by the Secretary. Directs the Secretary to enter into a contract with the National Academy of Sciences for a study of railroad tank car design, and to report the results of such study to the Congress. Authorizes appropriations.
United States · United States Congress · 8 April 1987
Designates the week of May 24 to May 30, 1987, as Fight Leukemia Week. Authorizes and requests the President to issue a proclamation calling upon the people of the United States to support research being performed to eradicate leukemia and its related diseases.
United States · United States Congress · 7 April 1987
Pension Portability Act of 1987 - Title I: Rules Generally Applicable to Simplified Employee Pensions - Amends the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA) to define a "simplified employee pension plan" as a pension plan consisting of one or more individual retirement accounts or annuities that meet certain requirements of the Internal Revenue Code. Directs the Secretary of Labor to prescribe an alternative method of compliance with requirements for simplified employee pension plans. Establishes participation and vesting requirements for such plans. Requires each simplified employee pension plan and portable pension plan to provide that: (1) the distribution of the accrued benefit with respect to each participant will be only in a permitted retirement income form; (2) no distribution may be made without the consent of the participant or beneficiary; and (3) the benefit will be distributed in accordance with a timely application in accordance with the terms of the plan. Describes a standard retirement income form for simplified employee pension plans as: (1) a qualified joint and survivor annuity; (2) any other joint life annuity, including a cash refund annuity; (3) a single life annuity, including a refund annuity; or (4) any series of substantially equal periodic payments described under the Internal Revenue Code. Allows participants to elect a form of distribution other than distribution over life expectancy, if such spousal consent requirements are met. Requires the administrator of a simplified employee pension plan, prior to making a distribution, to provide to the individual who is to receive the distribution a written explanation of: (1) the provisions under which the distribution may be subject to tax or penalty under the Internal Revenue Code; and (2) the terms and conditions of the applicable permitted retirement income form, the participant's rights with respect to electing other forms of distribution, and spousal rights. Declares that for simplified employee pension plans a beneficiary means a spouse of the participant or any other person designated by the participant or by the terms of the plan. Specifies conditions under which spousal consent requirements are to be met. Amends the Internal Revenue Code to make conforming amendments. Exempts simplified employee pension plans from specified funding provisions of ERISA. Authorizes employees to elect alternative salary reduction arrangements under such plans where the employer may make elective contributions to the pension on behalf of the employee or directly to the employee in cash for any year. Specifies the maximum salary reduction amount. Establishes rules governing employer contributions, including participation requirements, the method of determining employer contributions and compensation amounts, and tax reporting requirements. Allows employees to establish simplified employee pension plans with respect to separate lines of business. Title II: Portable Pensions - Amends the Internal Revenue Code and ERISA to define a portable pension plan as an arrangement of one or more individual retirement accounts or annuities which: (1) meets the requirements of a simplified employee pension; and (2) provides for the transfer of plan investment accumulations to other tax-qualified plans. Makes provisions relating to favorable tax treatment inapplicable to cash distributions from rollovers from portable pension plans. Preserves the five-year income averaging treatment for lump sum distributions from portable pension plans which are separately accounted for under such plans. Provides that amounts exceeding the maximum rollover allowable shall not be taxable if such amounts are transferred to a portable pension plan in a direct trustee-to-trustee transfer. Establishes special rules for portable pension plans under ERISA. Relieves the administrators of such plans of liability for reliance in good faith on information provided by an employer, participant, or beneficiary which constitutes a misrepresentation or mistake of fact. Sets forth the responsibilities of the plan sponsor, administrator, and employer. Requires a portable pension plan to: (1) meet employee self-directed account regulations; (2) designate a fiduciary; and (3) provide at least one investment option in U.S. securities. Directs the Secretary and the Secretary of the Treasury to prescribe by regulation one or more prototype portable pension plans. Amends ERISA and the Internal Revenue Code to provide for the direct transfer to a portable pension plan from any other pension plan of the entire nonforfeitable benefit of a participant under such other pension plan.
United States · United States Congress · 7 April 1987
Pension Portability Act of 1987 - Title I: Rules Generally Applicable to Simplified Employee Pensions - Amends the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA) to define a "simplified employee pension plan" as a pension plan consisting of one or more individual retirement accounts or annuities that meet certain requirements of the Internal Revenue Code. Directs the Secretary of Labor to prescribe an alternative method of compliance with requirements for simplified employee pension plans. Establishes participation and vesting requirements for such plans. Requires each simplified employee pension plan and portable pension plan to provide that: (1) the distribution of the accrued benefit with respect to each participant will be only in a permitted retirement income form; (2) no distribution may be made without the consent of the participant or beneficiary; and (3) the benefit will be distributed in accordance with a timely application in accordance with the terms of the plan. Describes a standard retirement income form for simplified employee pension plans as: (1) a qualified joint and survivor annuity; (2) any other joint life annuity, including a cash refund annuity; (3) a single life annuity, including a refund annuity; or (4) any series of substantially equal periodic payments described under the Internal Revenue Code. Allows participants to elect a form of distribution other than distribution over life expectancy, if such spousal consent requirements are met. Requires the administrator of a simplified employee pension plan, prior to making a distribution, to provide to the individual who is to receive the distribution a written explanation of: (1) the provisions under which the distribution may be subject to tax or penalty under the Internal Revenue Code; and (2) the terms and conditions of the applicable permitted retirement income form, the participant's rights with respect to electing other forms of distribution, and spousal rights. Declares that for simplified employee pension plans a beneficiary means a spouse of the participant or any other person designated by the participant or by the terms of the plan. Specifies conditions under which spousal consent requirements are met. Exempts simplified employee pension plans from specified funding provisions of ERISA. Title II: Portable Pensions - Amends ERISA to define a portable pension plan as an arrangement of one or more individual retirement accounts or annuities which: (1) meets the requirements of a simplified employee pension; and (2) provides for the transfer of plan investment accumulations to other tax-qualified plans. Establishes special rules for portable pension plans under ERISA. Relieves the administrators of such plans of liability for reliance in good faith on information provided by an employer, participant, or beneficiary which constitutes a misrepresentation or mistake of fact. Sets forth the responsibilities of the plan sponsor, administrator, and employer. Requires a portable pension plan to: (1) meet employee self-directed account regulations; (2) designate a fiduciary; and (3) provide at least one investment option in U.S. securities. Directs the Secretary and the Secretary of the Treasury to prescribe by regulation one or more prototype portable pension plans. Amends ERISA to provide for the direct transfer to a portable pension plan from any other pension plan of the entire nonforfeitable benefit of a participant under such other pension plan.
United States · United States Congress · 6 April 1987
National Professional Liability Reform Act of 1987 - Establishes a program to provide development and incentive grants to States for enacting medical malpractice liability reforms. Sets forth the reforms which must be in effect for States to receive incentive grants, including: (1) requiring that future damage awards exceeding $100,000 be made by periodic payments; (2) limiting damages for noneconomic losses to $250,000; and (3) requiring that attorney fees be in accordance with a provided schedule. Allows the Secretary of Health and Human Services to require additional or alternative reforms. Requires each State receiving an incentive grant to prepare and transmit a report to the Secretary every two years describing: (1) State liability reforms enacted, adopted, or in effect; (2) activities conducted by the State with grants received under this Act; and (3) any current problems with respect to health care professional liability or health care professional liability insurance. Requires the Secretary to transmit periodic reports to the Congress summarizing the information provided by the States. Authorizes appropriations.
United States · United States Congress · 2 April 1987
Social Security Transitional Benefit Computation Act of 1987 - Amends title II (Old Age, Survivors and Disability Insurance) of the Social Security Act to alter the formula for computing the primary insurance amount of individuals who attain age 65 in or after 1982 and would otherwise be subject to the benefit computation rules of the Social Security Amendments of 1977. Extends the application of such transitional benefit computation rules to those who become eligible for benefits before 1989. (Currently those who become eligible after 1983 are subject to the benefit computation rules of the Social Security Amendments of 1977.)
United States · United States Congress · 2 April 1987
Small Business Export Innovation Act - Amends the Small Business Act to establish within the Small Business Administration the Small Business Export Innovation Office. Requires the Office to administer a Small Business Export Innovation Program under which the Office shall make competitive awards to small businesses to develop export trade strategies and knowledge of foreign markets. Requires the first phase of awards to involve matching awards of $25,000 to fund the export trade objectives described in export increase proposals submitted by selected applicants. Requires the second phase to involve additional $10,000 awards to those recipients who best developed export trade strategies and knowledge of foreign markets. Provides that a small business must have been in operation for at least two years to be eligible to apply for such an award. Requires the Office to ensure that at least one small business from each State receives an award. Requires the Office to: (1) make an annual public announcement of the Program specifics; (2) make direct mail solicitations to small businesses and intermediary service firms which could help publicize the Program; (3) report to the Congress annually on the awards made and the success of recipients in attaining award objectives; and (4) issue rules specifying a simplified, standardized funding process for such Program. Requires each recipient to report to the Office on its use of funds under the Program and its success in meeting export trade objectives. Makes one percent of the amounts appropriated for FY 1989 through 1993 for program and financing, loan investment, and the bond guarantee revolving fund under the Small Business Act available to carry out this Act.
United States · United States Congress · 1 April 1987
Home Health and Hospice Care Waiver Extension Act of 1987 - Amends the Consolidated Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1985 and the Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1986 to continue, until FY 1990, waivers of liability which provide that home health agencies and hospice programs which keep their services for which Medicare coverage (under title XVIII of the Social Security Act) is denied below specified percentages shall not be denied payment for such care. (Currently, the home health agency waiver expires one year after certain regional intermediaries begin to service such agencies and the hospice program waiver expires on November 1, 1988.)
United States · United States Congress · 1 April 1987
Home Health Communications Act of 1987 - Amends part A (Hospital Insurance) of title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act to direct a fiscal intermediary to provide each home health agency it serves a copy of a written notice and communication of a nonwritten notice of any change in Medicare home health policy within seven days of receiving such notice from the Department of Health and Human Services.
United States · United States Congress · 1 April 1987
Home Health Informed Consumers Act of 1987 - Amends title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act to require the publication, distribution, and periodic revision of a booklet informing current and potential consumers of home health services regarding Medicare coverage of such services. Requires that such booklet include a description of the: (1) process for the review and appeal of coverage denials; and (2) guidelines applied in determining whether an individual is homebound and whether he or she needs skilled nursing care on an intermittent basis. Requires that such booklet be published and distributed within one year of this Act's enactment.
United States · United States Congress · 1 April 1987
Home Health Medical Necessity Standards Act of 1987 - Amends title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act to provide that in determining whether home health services meet the Medicare requirement that covered services be reasonable and necessary: (1) medical care prescribed by a physician shall be considered reasonable and necessary unless it is deemed by expert, unbiased medical evidence to be otherwise; and (2) the individual's particular circumstances shall be taken into account, but not whether the individual's condition is acute or chronic.
United States · United States Congress · 1 April 1987
Home Health Prompt Reconsideration Act of 1987 - Amends part A (Hospital Insurance) of title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act to direct a fiscal intermediary to act fully on reconsideration of a payment denial for home health services and give the individual and home health agency involved notice of its findings within 90 days after the reconsideration request is filed. Requires intermediaries to pay interest on the claim for the period during which the reconsideration findings are past due, regardless of whether or not the claim is ultimately paid. Makes such interest penalty inapplicable when the home health agency receives periodic interim payments for its services.
United States · United States Congress · 30 March 1987
Higher Education Technical Amendments Act of 1987 - Amends provisions of the Higher Education Act of 1965 relating to: (1) the selection criteria for institutional challenge grant eligibility, including provisions for the waiver of certain requirements in certain cases when the Secretary of Education determines that such a waiver will substantially increase higher education opportunities appropriate to the needs of American Indians; (2) the value of a principal residence for the purpose of computations to determine Pell grant eligibility in certain cases involving dislocated workers or displaced homemakers; (3) the definition of "untaxed income and benefits" for the purpose of computing annual adjusted family income for Pell grant eligibility determinations; (4) the formula used in assessing institutional need for purposes of the allocation of funding for supplemental educational opportunity grants; (5) authorizations for FY 1987 through 1991 for the high school equivalency and the college assistance migrant programs; (6) special child care services for disadvantaged college students; (7) per student aggregate loan limits; (8) variable interest rates on supplemental and PLUS loans, and limitation, repayment, and refinancing criteria applicable to such loans; (9) PLUS loan deferments; (10) consolidation loans; (11) insurance program agreements to qualify loans for interest subsidies; (12) guaranty agreements for reimbursing loans; (13) the computation of the interest rate on loans under the income contingent direct loan demonstration project; (14) the financial needs assessment of students, including provisions governing the discretion of a student financial aid administrator to make necessary adjustments to allow for the treatment of individual students with special circumstances; and (15) the eligibility of preschool teachers for the Congressional Teacher Scholarship program. Amends the Higher Education Amendments of 1986 relating to: (1) effective dates; and (2) the conduct of certain required studies. Amends the General Education Provisions Act concerning the disposition of certain funds received by the Center for Education Statistics.
United States · United States Congress · 26 March 1987
Petroleum Marketing Practices Act Amendments of 1987 - Amends the Petroleum Marketing Practices Act to provide that, with respect to the sale, consignment, or distribution of motor fuel, the term "franchise" includes any contract between specified parties which is economically necessary to the operation of the leased marketing premises. Provides that the termination or non-renewal of a franchise relationship, upon expiration of an underlying lease for a marketing premises, is reasonable in the event that the franchisor: (1) has an option to renew or purchase an underlying lease or premises and, at least 90 days before such option expires, provides the franchisee with the name, address, and phone number of the owner or lessor; and (2) agrees not to terminate the franchise relationship solely because of the lease and option expiration during any term during which the franchisee is able to retain possession of the premises as a result of entering into an agreement with the owner or lessor.
United States · United States Congress · 26 March 1987
Amends the National Labor Relations Act to provide that in the construction industry a collective bargaining agreement may not be repudiated unless the National Labor Relations Board certifies election results in which a majority of the employees in a bargaining unit select a bargaining representive other than the representative with whom the agreement was made, or choose not to be represented by a labor organization. States that upon expiration of such agreement, the employer and the labor organization shall be under no obligation to bargain collectively unless the majority status of the labor organization has been established by election. Requires the National Labor Relations Board to prescribe procedures for the conduct of such elections.
![Official portrait of Rep. Roukema, Marge [R-NJ-5]](https://www.congress.gov/img/member/r000465_200.jpg)