United States · United States Congress · 5 April 1989
Urges the Government of Iran to uphold the human rights of all its nationals, including members of the Baha'i faith, and to extend the rights guaranteed by the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. Calls upon the President to continue to: (1) emphasize human rights improvements as an important factor in the development of relations between the U.S. and Iranian Governments; (2) cooperate with other governments to initiate and support actions by the United Nations and its agencies to promote the protection of the religious rights of the Baha'is; and (3) provide, and urge others to provide, for refugee and humanitarian assistance for those Baha'is fleeing their homelands to escape religious repression.
United States · United States Congress · 23 March 1989
Wayport Development Act of 1989 - Directs the Administrator of the Federal Aviation Administration to establish a program for making loans to designated wayports (airports used primarily as locations at which passengers and cargo may be transferred between connecting flights of air carriers) for wayport planning and development. Prohibits the Administrator from establishing such loan program if the Congress enacts a joint resolution disapproving the final report of the Wayport Development Commission (established by this Act). Sets forth specified requirements and terms and conditions for such loans. Establishes the Wayport Revolving Loan Fund. Authorizes appropriations to such Fund from unobligated amounts in the Airport and Airway Trust Fund for FY 1991 through 1993. Makes such Fund available to the Administrator for making loans to wayport authorities for financing wayport planning and development projects. Directs the Secretary of the Treasury to invest amounts in the Fund in U.S. interest-bearing obligations. Requires interest earned during FY 1991 through 1993 to be deposited into the Airport and Airway Trust Fund. Establishes in the Department of Transportation the Wayport Development Commission to identify areas of the country suitable for the location of wayports. Requires specified reports to the Administrator and the Congress. Provides for congressional consideration of the Commission's final report on the location of wayports in the United States. Requires the Administrator to transmit to the Congress an annual report concerning: (1) the loans made under this Act; (2) repayment of such loans; (3) the status of the wayport planning and development projects; and (4) the financial condition of the Wayport Revolving Loan Fund.
United States · United States Congress · 23 March 1989
Common Sense Budget Act of 1989 - Amends Federal law to require both the President and the Congress to draft a budget based on estimates of current fiscal year spending, proposing increases or decreases based on this level (rather than on an estimated baseline). Amends the Congressional Budget Act of 1974 to require the Congressional Budget Office to use such a current fiscal year baseline in its report to the congressional budget committees, projecting growth for entitlement and discretionary spending based on current fiscal year spending.
United States · United States Congress · 23 March 1989
Used Oil Recycling Act of 1989 - Amends the Solid Waste Disposal Act to prohibit the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency from listing or identifying as a hazardous waste any: (1) recycled oil; (2) used oil transferred to a person who certifies that such oil will be rerefined, processed, or reclaimed for a beneficial purpose or stored less than 12 months prior to such transfer; and (3) used oil which has been removed from the engine of a light duty motor vehicle or household appliance by the owner, transferred to a service station dealer, and stored by the dealer for less than 12 months. Requires the Administrator to determine whether to list as a hazardous waste used oil which is a solid waste and does not satisfy the above-listed criteria. Directs the Administrator to establish management standards for the storage, testing, transportation, treatment, exportation and importation, and processing of used oil. Requires such standards to be designed to protect human health and the environment by encouraging and expanding reliance on recycling of used oil. Exempts generators of used oil from recordkeeping or reporting requirements if such generators: (1) enter into an agreement for delivery of such oil to a recycling facility whose owner or operator certifies compliance with such standards or recycles such oil; (2) do not mix the oil with any hazardous wastes; and (3) maintain necessary records relating to the oil. Prohibits mixing used oil with any hazardous waste identified under such Act except where: (1) such mixing involves an identified hazardous waste and the resulting mixture does not exhibit a characteristic identified in such Act; and (2) the used oil mixture is burned to recover useful energy such that protection of human health and the environment is assured. Deems owners or operators of facilities which process used oil for fuel to have permits for recycling activities if in compliance with management standards. Directs the Administrator to conduct inspections of such facilities to determine compliance with such standards. Requires the Administrator to implement educational programs to inform the public about the environmental and safety hazards associated with improper handling of used oil and the benefits of used oil recycling. Authorizes appropriations. Directs the Administrator to promulgate regulations concerning the procurement of used oil fuel by Federal agencies subject to the requirements of the Solid Waste Disposal Act.
United States · United States Congress · 23 March 1989
Amends title VII (Administration) of the Social Security Act to place the Office of Rural Health Policy under the direction of a Deputy Under Secretary for Rural Health responsible for reporting directly to the Secretary and Deputy Under Secretary of Health and Human Services. Makes such Office independent of other offices, services, and components of the Department of Health and Human Services. Elaborates upon the duties of the Office of Rural Health Policy.
United States · United States Congress · 23 March 1989
Comprehensive National Nutrition Monitoring System Act - Amends the Food and Agriculture Act of 1977 to replace provisions relating to nutritional status monitoring with provisions directing the Secretary of Agriculture and the Secretary of Health and Human Services (the Secretaries) to jointly establish: (1) a National Nutrition Monitoring System (Monitoring System) to carry on assessment and surveillance regarding nutrition-related health problems; and (2) an Interagency Committee on Nutrition Monitoring to assist the Secretaries in the coordination of nutrition monitoring efforts within the Federal Government. Directs the Secretaries to jointly prepare and implement a Ten-Year National Nutrition Monitoring Plan (Plan) to commence with FY 1991. Requires the General Accounting Office to conduct an evaluation of the Monitoring System and the implementation of the Plan. Directs the Secretaries to contract with experts in nutrition data analysis for the analysis of the data collected from the Monitoring System and the Plan. Directs the Secretary of Agriculture to submit to the Congress a catalog of all nutrition education programs conducted by all Federal departments and agencies. Directs the Secretary of Health and Human Services to submit to the Congress a report on the appropriate Federal role in ensuring that medical students and practicing physicians have access to adequate nutrition training. Directs the Secretaries, at least every five years, to jointly publish a report containing nutritional and dietary information and guidelines for the general public. Requires the report to be promoted by each Federal agency in carrying out any Federal food or nutrition program. Requires any Federal agency that proposes to issue any dietary guidance to submit the text to the Secretaries for their joint approval. Requires the approval of both Secretaries for either of the Secretaries to issue any dietary guidance. Repeals provisions of the Food Security Act of 1985 relating to nutrition monitoring.
United States · United States Congress · 23 March 1989
Directs the Secretary of Health and Human Services to conduct a study into the adequacy and appropriateness of Medicare (title XVIII of the Social Security Act) payments for ambulance services and report the results of such study to the Congress within one year of this Act's enactment.
United States · United States Congress · 23 March 1989
Rural Emergency Medical Services Improvement Act of 1989 - Amends the Public Health Service Act to create a new title on emergency medical services for rural areas. Directs the Secretary of Health and Human Services to make an allotment for each State each fiscal year for improving the availability and quality, in rural areas, of emergency medical services and emergency medical services systems provided to victims of emergencies prior to the arrival of the victims at medical facilities. Requires, after FY 1990, non-Federal matching contributions in a specified ratio. Allows a State to expend payments received for: (1) recruitment, training, and retention of personnel; (2) purchase, upgrading, and maintenance of equipment; (3) planning, coordination, and support of local emergency medical services and systems; and (4) public education. Requires that the State plan for emergency services provide for adequate services in rural areas. Sets forth a formula for determination of the amount of allotments. Authorizes appropriations for FY 1990 through 1992. Authorizes the Secretary to make grants for research into and demonstration projects concerning ways to improve the availability and quality of prehospital emergency medical services in rural areas by using communications technologies, making continuing education more accessible, improving curricula, undertaking outcome studies, and developing innovative financing mechanisms. Authorizes the Secretary to make grants for pilot projects to develop community-based centers to coordinate and deliver comprehensive occupational health and safety services to rural communities. Authorizes appropriations for FY 1990 through 1992 for improving rural prehospital emergency services and for centers for rural occupational health and safety services.
United States · United States Congress · 23 March 1989
Recycling Information Clearinghouse Act of 1989 - Amends the Solid Waste Disposal Act to require the Environmental Protection Agency to establish a clearinghouse for information about the recycling of municipal solid waste, to be administered by the Office of Solid Waste. Requires that the information collected and disseminated to the public by such clearinghouse include: (1) an annual estimate of the volume and rate of recycling of materials from the municipal solid waste stream; (2) an annual estimate of the balance of trade in recycled materials and products; (3) economic data comparing the costs and benefits of recycling various materials from the municipal solid waste stream; (4) a catalog of State and local laws that encourage or require the recycling of materials from the municipal solid waste stream; (5) a list of all purchases of recycled materials or products by the Federal Government, organized by agency and the type of recycled materials or products purchased; (6) a register announcing all solicitations by Federal agencies for the purchase of recycled materials or products; (7) information about state-of-the-art recycling methods, programs, or technologies; and (8) a register of all potential purchasers of recycled materials. Requires that a toll-free telephone hotline be established and made available to those seeking information from the clearinghouse. Provides that, to the extent feasible, such information should be computerized to facilitate its analysis and retrieval. Makes a State ineligible for solid waste disposal assistance after December 31, 1990, unless the State maintains and publicizes a register of potential purchasers of recycled materials known to the State solid waste planning authorities. Requires such register to be periodically updated and submitted to the clearinghouse. Authorizes appropriations for such clearinghouse.
United States · United States Congress · 23 March 1989
Rural Hospital Recovery Act of 1989 - Directs the Secretary of Health and Human Services to draft and submit to the Congress and the Prospective Payment Assessment Commission, within one year of this Act's enactment, legislation eliminating the differences in average standardized Medicare payments (under title XVIII of the Social Security Act) to large urban, other urban, and rural hospitals while recognizing certain cost differences among hospitals and within diagnosis related groups. Amends the Medicare program to require the Secretary to pay additional amounts to Medicare-dependent, small, rural hospitals before October 1, 1994, and to critical access facilities thereafter to ensure that their reasonable operating costs for inpatient hospital services are covered. Establishes an application process for rural hospitals which choose to be treated as urban hospitals by reason of their proximity to urban areas. Requires the recomputation of Medicare sole community hospital payment rates using the most recent information on hospital-specific costs per case and, if greater, national rather than regional prospective payment rates. Treats hospitals which are located 30 miles or more from other like hospitals, or hospitals which provide inpatient hospital services to at least 60 percent of the residents or part A (Hospital Insurance) Medicare beneficiaries within a 30-mile radius of the hospital as sole community hospitals. Requires the Secretary to report to the Congress by October 1, 1990, on the process by which sole community hospitals may appeal the Secretary's decision not to make a volume adjustment to its Medicare payment. Establishes the Medicare Geographical Classification/Critical Access Facility Review Board which shall: (1) designate certain hospitals as critical access facilities; (2) hear appeals from rural hospitals which the Secretary determines do not qualify for treatment as being located in an adjacent urban area; and (3) conduct hearings with respect to the Secretary's refusal to consider a hospital to be a sole community hospital. Defines a "critical access facility" as a small, rural hospital which due to its location, prolonged severe weather conditions, or the availability of other hospitals to serve part A Medicare beneficiaries residing in the area must receive additional payments in order to continue to deliver critical health care services. Extends the regional referral center classification of hospitals so classified as of September 30, 1989, and the Medicare payment rates applicable to such hospitals until the implementation of unified average standardized Medicare payments for large urban, other urban, and rural hospitals. Amends the Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1987 to alter the Rural Health Care Transition Grant Program by: (1) extending from two to three years the limit on the provision of grants to small, rural hospitals for modification of their services; (2) permitting the Secretary to waive the hospital grant limit; and (3) increasing and extending the authorization of appropriations for such program through FY 1992. Requires the Secretary to submit a report to the Congress by April 1, 1990, identifying laws, rules, and regulations which prevent rural hospitals from providing innovative patient services. Directs the Secretary to conduct a five-year demonstration program in five rural hospitals treating the costs of nursing services obtained pursuant to an existing agreement with a nursing school as the costs of approved educational activities for Medicare payment purposes. Amends the Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1987 to expand, from four to ten hospitals, a Medicare demonstration program covering additional costs incurred by teaching hospitals in sending their residents to small rural hospitals for training. Extends the permissible duration of such training from three months to two years. Favors projects which provide small rural hospitals with resident physicians for longer periods of time and give physicians from the small rural hospital the opportunity to work or study at the sponsoring hospital. Makes consortiums of small rural hospitals eligible to accept the services of such a resident physician.
United States · United States Congress · 23 March 1989
Amends the Internal Revenue Code to allow an income tax deduction for education loan interest accrued by a physician, nurse, or allied health professional while serving in a medically underserved area.
United States · United States Congress · 23 March 1989
Expresses the sense of the Congress that the disparity between rural and urban physician fees under title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act must be reconciled.
United States · United States Congress · 22 March 1989
Energy Independence Act of 1989 - Amends the Energy Policy and Conservation Act to direct the Secretary of Energy (Secretary), for the purpose of obtaining petroleum products for the Strategic Petroleum Reserve (SPR) and to the extent that amounts are credited to the SPR Petroleum Account (Account), to purchase either U.S. stripper well oil or crude oil exchanged for U.S. stripper well oil. Requires the purchases to be made on a competitive bid basis, subject to a minimum price of $22 per barrel, adjusted annually for inflation. Makes available to the Secretary for SPR development funds from the Account in an amount equal to 25 percent of the aggregate amount of revenue collected during the previous quarter from the excise tax imposed by this Act on imported crude oil and petroleum products. Limits the use of such funds for SPR petroleum acquisition to periods when: (1) the SPR contains less than 1,000,000,000 barrels of crude oil; and (2) the world price of crude oil is $22 or less per barrel, adjusted for inflation. Authorizes alternative energy security uses of the tax revenue when the world oil price exceeds the $22 reference price for a specified time. Directs the President, to the maximum extent practicable, to take the steps necessary to: (1) enter into international voluntary agreements in connection with the international energy program (IEP) in the interest of developing parity with respect to oil import fees; and (2) enforce certain existing agreements with other IEP countries. Amends the Internal Revenue Code to impose, until 1995, an excise tax on the first sale within the United States of imported crude oil and petroleum products. Sets a variable rate for the tax, as follows: (1) for crude oil, the greater of 50 cents per barrel or the difference between the world price per barrel of crude oil and $22 (the reference price, adjusted annually for inflation); and (2) for petroleum products, in accordance with a specified formula based on the amount of tax per barrel of crude oil, the barrel-of-oil equivalent of the particular product attributable to crude oil, and a three dollar per barrel environmental outlay adjustment. Exempts from the import tax: (1) any sale of crude oil or petroleum product destined for export; and (2) sales during any period when the President determines that it is in the national interest to refrain from such taxation.
United States · United States Congress · 21 March 1989
Title I: Statehood Centennial Coin - Statehood Centennial Commemorative Coin Act of 1989 - Directs the Secretary of the Treasury to mint and issue not more than a specified number of one-dollar silver coins and five-dollar palladium coins in commemoration of the 100th anniversary of the statehood of Idaho, Montana, North Dakota, South Dakota, Washington, and Wyoming. Sets forth certain features of such coins and provides for their design, issuance, and sale. Requires the Secretary to provide a specified amount of all surcharges to the Documents West exhibition program with the remaining amount of surcharges to be deposited in the Treasury to be used to reduce the national debt. Requires the Secretary to obtain silver for the one-dollar coins only from stockpiles established under the Strategic and Critical Materials Stock Piling Act. Requires the Secretary to obtain palladium for the five-dollar coins by purchase of palladium mined and refined in the United States. Grants the Comptroller General the right to examine records and other data of the Idaho Centennial Commission. Title II: Silver Proof Sets - Silver Coin Proof Set Act - Authorizes the Secretary to mint and issue silver coin proof sets. Sets forth certain specified features of such coins and provides for their sale to the public. Requires the Secretary to obtain silver for such coins by purchase from stockpiles established under the Strategic and Critical Materials Stock Piling Act and from Treasury stocks on hand.
United States · United States Congress · 16 March 1989
Amends the Internal Revenue Code to make natural gas found in tight sands formations eligible for the income tax credit for producing fuel from a nonconventional source. Makes this credit permanent with respect to gas found in such formations and to gas produced from Devonian shale. Applies the nonconventional fuels tax credit to alternative minimum tax calculations.
United States · United States Congress · 15 March 1989
Veterans' Home Loan Mortgage Indemnity Act of 1989 - Establishes a Veterans' Mortgage Indemnity Fund. Provides that the Indemnity Fund shall be available to the Secretary of Veterans Affairs for all operations with respect to guaranteed or insured Department of Veterans Affairs housing loans for which fees are collected, other than loans for property which has been disposed of by veterans to purchasers who will assume liability for such loan. Provides that the following sums shall be credited to the Indemnity Fund: (1) all fees collected from such housing loans, other than loans for property which has been disposed of by the veteran to a purchaser who will assume liability for such loan; (2) .25 percent of the original amount of all loans for which a fee is collected for the first three fiscal years beginning with the fiscal year in which such fee is collected; (3) all collections of principal and interest and the proceeds from property held or disposed of with respect to such loans; and (4) all income from investments of the Indemnity Fund that are required to be made by the Secretary of the Treasury in obligations of the United States. Increases the fee for a Department housing loan to 1.25 percent of the total loan amount. Provides that the following fees shall be collected: (1) one percent of the total loan amount with respect to housing loans obtained which are in default; and (2) .75 percent of the total loan amount with respect to loans for purchase or construction for which a down payment of at least five percent of the total purchase price or construction costs has been made. Provides for the waiver of such fees for veterans who are receiving compensation and whose disability is rated at least 30 percent. Provides that the provision prohibiting fee collection with respect to all loans closed after September 30, 1989, shall apply after such date only to loans which are in default or loans for property which has been disposed of to another purchaser. Provides that any veteran who pays a fee for such loans, other than loans which are in default or loans for property which has been disposed of, or who is exempt from paying such fee, shall have no liability to the Secretary with respect to such loan for any loss resulting from a default of the veteran. Revises provisions regarding the Loan Guaranty Revolving Fund to: (1) provide that it shall be available to the Secretary for all housing operations except those carried out by the Indemnity Fund; (2) limit the deposit of housing loan fees in such Fund, other than fees for loans for property which has been disposed of, to fees collected before the effective date of this Act; and (3) limit the deposit of principal and interest and the proceeds from property held or disposed of with respect to housing loans to loans guaranteed before the effective date of this Act. Revises a provision authorizing the Secretary to sell notes evidencing loans which are in default to permit such sale only if the amount received at the time of the sale is at least 90 percent of the unpaid balance of such loan. Revises a provision regarding basic entitlement to housing loans to authorize the Secretary, in computing the amount of guaranty entitlement available to a veteran, to exclude the amount of entitlement used for any loan which has been repaid in full. Allows only the presence of fraud (currently, fraud, misrepresentation, material fault, or lack of good faith) as a bar to the waiver of recovery of payments, overpayments, or benefits made by the Department when the Secretary determines that recovery would be against equity and good conscience. Prohibits the Secretary, in waiving indebtedness following the default of a veteran on a housing loan, to base such waiver on the balancing of fault or on whether such veteran may be able to repay the indebtedness.
United States · United States Congress · 15 March 1989
Provides for the appointment of enlisted members of the armed forces to the American Battle Monuments Commission. (Currently, such appointments are limited to commissioned officers.)
United States · United States Congress · 15 March 1989
Resolution on a Plebiscite in Cuba - Expresses the sense of the Congress that: (1) the Cuban people should be allowed to express their view on the country's political future by a secret ballot of approval or rejection of Fidel Castro's continued rule; (2) the Government of Cuba should allow opposition and human rights groups to organize publicly, grant opposition groups equal access to the national media, release all political prisoners, and invite a neutral, international commission to oversee the voting and ensure the legitimacy of the results; (3) should the rejection vote prevail, the regime should respect the will of the people and hold prompt national elections through which the Cuban people could freely choose their leaders; and (4) normalized relations between the Governments of the United States and Cuba should be restored if a democratic Cuban Government is elected by all the people.
United States · United States Congress · 14 March 1989
Mandatory Fish Inspection Act of 1989 - Directs the Secretary of Agriculture, within one year of enactment of this Act, to initiate a mandatory comprehensive and statistically representative inspection program of the commercial processing of fish, shellfish, and their products used for human consumption.
United States · United States Congress · 14 March 1989
Eliminates post-1968 service in the National Guard as a prerequisite to civil service retirement credit for former National Guard technicians. Amends the National Guard Technicians Act of 1968 to eliminate post-1968 service as a prerequisite for National Guard technicians for receipt of credit in the determination of length of Federal civil service for purposes of leave, Federal employees' death and disability compensation, group life and health insurance, severance pay, tenure, and status. Sets forth rules for applying provisions of this Act to affected individuals.
United States · United States Congress · 14 March 1989
Fair Labor Standards Amendments of 1989 - Amends the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 (the Act) to increase the minimum wage per hour from $3.35 in 1989 to: (1) $3.65 in 1990; (2) $3.95 in 1991; and (3) $4.25 in 1992 and thereafter. Increases the tip credit under the Act from 40 percent to 45 percent for 1990 and to 50 percent for 1991 and thereafter. (The tip credit deems the amount paid to a tipped employee, for minimum wage purposes, to be increased by an amount determined by the employer, but not by an amount in excess of the specified percentage of the applicable minimum wage rate). Increases the small business exemption by revising the definition of an enterprise engaged in commerce, for purposes of coverage under the Act ("the enterprise test"). Exempts from such coverage enterprises whose annual gross volume of sales or business is less than $500,000 (currently $362,500), effective in 1989. Requires employers who were covered in 1988, but who are exempt under the new threshold, to continue to pay the $3.35 per hour minimum wage. Allows employers to pay newly hired workers 80 percent of the minimum wage or $3.35, whichever is higher, for up to 180 days. Prohibits any displacement of other employees because of such lower rate of pay.
United States · United States Congress · 14 March 1989
Constitutional Amendment - Prohibits any law varying the compensation of Members of Congress from taking effect until an election of Representatives has intervened and the terms for the Representatives have begun.
United States · United States Congress · 13 March 1989
Regional Presidential Primaries and Caucuses Act of 1989 - Prohibits any State from conducting a presidential primary election except in accordance with the provisions of this Act. Establishes seven regional primaries to be held in each presidential election year. Sets the dates for such primaries. Requires the Federal Election Commission to determine the order by lot. Provides that the first region to hold a primary may not be first in the next primary. Authorizes the Attorney General to bring a civil suit in U.S. district court when there is reason to believe that a State is holding a primary in violation of this Act. Authorizes appropriations.
United States · United States Congress · 9 March 1989
Requires at least 90 days of continuous active-duty service in order for veterans to become eligible for veterans' educational assistance under the Montgomery GI Bill. Revises the Montgomery GI Bill Selected Reserve Program to provide the monthly educational assistance allowance payable to an individual pursuing a full-time program of apprenticeship or other on-the-job training under such Program. Reduces proportionately the amount of such monthly allowance for each month in which an individual pursuing such a program fails to complete at least 120 hours of such training. Charges each individual's general entitlement to such educational assistance for each month that such individual is paid a monthly educational assistance allowance. Provides that the monthly allowance payable to an individual pursuing a cooperative program under such Program shall be 80 percent of the monthly allowance otherwise payable to such individual. Outlines the amount of educational assistance allowance payable to an individual pursuing a program of education exclusively by correspondence. Charges such individual's general entitlement a specified amount for each month the individual receives the correspondence education allowance. Prohibits an individual who serves in the Selected Reserve from receiving educational assistance credit under both the armed forces' educational assistance program and the veterans' educational assistance program. Requires such individual to elect the program to which such service shall be credited. Revises provisions concerning the secondary school education required before an individual becomes eligible for basic educational assistance. Includes as eligible for veterans' educational assistance under the Montgomery GI Bill those individuals who: (1) commenced their third academic year at one of the service academies or as a member of the Senior Reserve Officer Training Corps in a program of educational assistance before January 1, 1977; (2) served on active duty for a period of more than 180 days as a commissioned officer; (3) were discharged or released from such duty under conditions other than dishonorable; and (4) submit to the Secretary of Veterans Affairs before January 1, 1990, an irrevocable election to be eligible for such assistance. Directs the Secretary to refund to any person fulfilling such requirements his or her unused contributions to the Post-Vietnam Era Veterans Education Account. Increases the rates of subsistence allowances for veterans with service-connected disabilities. Revises provisions concerning the computation of the veterans' educational assistance allowance to state the specific amounts of such monthly allowance for full-time, three-quarter-time, and half-time pursuit of educational assistance under the program. Increases such allowance in certain instances. Revises the amount of monthly educational assistance to be paid to an eligible person pursuing an independent study program leading to a standard college degree, providing a different computation of the eligible amount if the individual is pursuing such degree entirely on an independent-study basis or if independent study is combined with resident training. Requires an individual's general entitlement to be charged for a combination of such independent study and resident training on the basis of the applicable monthly training time rate as determined by the Secretary. Outlines the amounts of general entitlement to be charged to the eligible spouse or surviving spouse of a veteran who pursues a program of education exclusively through correspondence and is paid a monthly educational assistance allowance. Increases the amount of the monthly educational assistance allowance available to eligible persons pursuing special restorative training. Provides the specific amount of monthly allowance available to eligible veterans or eligible persons pursuing a program of apprenticeship or other on-the-job training. Requires an individual to begin service in the Selected Reserve within one year of completing certain active duty in order to become entitled to basic educational assistance for service in the Selected Reserve. (Currently, there is no one-year requirement.) Entitles individuals who are discharged or released from active duty for a preexisting medical condition, service-connected disability, hardship, or for the convenience of the Government and who elect to participate in the veterans' educational assistance program by revoking an earlier decision not to participate in such program to the number of months of basic educational assistance equal to the number of months such individuals served on active duty after June 30, 1985.
United States · United States Congress · 9 March 1989
Veterans' Compensation Amendments of 1989 - Increases the rates of compensation, dependency and indemnity compensation, and the clothing allowance payable to veterans with service-connected disabilities and their survivors. Authorizes the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to adjust administratively the rates of disability compensation payable to persons who are not in receipt of compensation for service-connected disability or death.
United States · United States Congress · 9 March 1989
Amends Federal veterans' benefits provisions to remove a limitation on pension payments to veterans without spouses or children who are receiving Veterans Administration (effective March 1989, Department of Veterans Affairs) hospital care for a period of over three months.
United States · United States Congress · 9 March 1989
Fetal Tissue Regulation Act of 1989 - Amends the Public Health Service Act to prohibit the Secretary of Health and Human Services from: (1) using human fetal tissue from an induced abortion for research or therapy; and (2) providing a grant, contract, or cooperative agreement unless the recipient agrees not to expend the assistance for such purposes. Requires the Secretary to terminate assistance to any recipient who violates the agreement.
United States · United States Congress · 8 March 1989
General Aviation Standards Act of 1989 - Amends the Federal Aviation Act of 1958 (with respect 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 manufacturer, owner, or operator of a general aviation aircraft, or a person who supports or maintains such aircraft or any other person or governmental entity. Establishes guidelines for uniform standards of liability of general aviation manufacturers for such 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 such an 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. Requires the Secretary of Transportation to report to the Congress, within one year after the date of enactment of this Act, the results of a study determining whether persons awarded damages for general aviation accidents under this Act are unable to collect such damages, and the amount of any uncollectible damages.
United States · United States Congress · 8 March 1989
Nuclear Decommissioning Reserve Fund Act of 1989 - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to: (1) decrease from 34 percent to 15 percent the rate of the tax imposed on the income of any Nuclear Decommissioning Reserve Fund; and (2) remove restrictions on permitted investments of Fund monies.
United States · United States Congress · 8 March 1989
Designates September 15, 1989, as National POW/MIA Recognition Day. Recognizes the National League of Families POW/MIA flag as the official symbol of the United States' commitment to resolving the fates of Americans still prisoner or missing in action in Southeast Asia.
United States · United States Congress · 7 March 1989
Amends the Internal Revenue Code to eliminate the age (55 or older) and dollar ($125,000) restrictions with respect to the one-time income tax exclusion of gain on the sale of a principal residence.
United States · United States Congress · 7 March 1989
Designates April 16, 1989, the 87th birthday of Rabbi Menachem Mendel Schneerson, as Education Day, U.S.A. Calls on heads of state of the world to join the President of the United States in this tribute by signing scrolls of honor commemorating the 40th anniversary of Schneerson's leadership of the Lubavitch movement. Welcomes the cooperation of the Department of State in extending the good office of the U.S. missions to the Lubavitcher emissaries.
United States · United States Congress · 7 March 1989
Requires the Architect of the Capitol to establish and implement a voluntary program for recycling paper disposed of in the operation of the House of Representatives.
United States · United States Congress · 2 March 1989
Title I: Pay-As-You-Go-Budget - Budget Reform Act of 1989 - Prohibits the President's budget and that adopted by the Congress in a concurrent resolution on the budget from including: (1) total budget outlays that exceed those for the preceding fiscal year, unless at least equivalent revenue increases and their sources are identified; and (2) a reduction in revenues from the preceding fiscal year, unless at least equivalent reductions in outlays are identified, along with the affected programs. Authorizes the Congress to waive the prohibition with respect to its budget resolution by a two-thirds vote. Makes it out of order in both the Senate and the House of Representatives to consider a concurrent budget resolution under which fiscal year revenues exceed outlays, unless the purposes for which the excess is to be allocated are specified. Title II: Biennial Budget - Biennial Budgeting Act of 1989 - Amends the Congressional Budget Act of 1974, the Congressional Budget and Impoundment Control Act of 1974, and other Federal law to revise the Federal budget process by: (1) establishing a two-year budgeting and appropriations cycle and timetable, beginning in the 102d Congress; and (2) requiring separate consideration of authorizations, appropriations, the concurrent resolution on the budget, and the reconciliation bill or resolution. Devotes the first session of any Congress to committee work and includes the following deadlines: (1) June 30 for completion of oversight hearings and reports; (2) July 1 for beginning legislative work for the two-year budget period; (3) November 30 for the Budget Committee report of the concurrent resolution on the budget; and (4) December 1 for committee reports of legislation authorizing new budget authority and providing new spending authority. Establishes the following deadlines, among others, with respect to the second session: (1) March 10 for completion of congressional action on authorization legislation; (2) March 31 for completion of congressional action on the concurrent resolution on the budget; (3) April 15 for Appropriations Committee reports of legislation providing new budget authority; (4) the week following Labor Day for completion of congressional action on legislation involving new budget and entitlement authority; and (5) September 25 for completion of congressional action on reconciliation legislation implementing the budget resolution. Directs each standing committee of the Congress to review the laws and programs under its jurisdiction in every odd-numbered year to determine whether they should be continued, curtailed, or eliminated and whether new legislation is necessary to comply with congressional intent. Conforms provisions governing the President's budget to the biennial framework. Directs the President to transmit to the Congress during the first 15 days of the second session any budget revisions with respect to the budget transmitted in the first session. Title III: Line Item Veto - Grants the President, for the two-year period following this Act's enactment, line item veto authority with respect to appropriations legislation, except for any item of appropriation for the legislative or judicial branch of the Government.
United States · United States Congress · 2 March 1989
Prohibits the Federal Communications Commission from adopting revisions of the rules and policies in the proceeding "Policy and Rules Concerning Rates for Dominant Carrier," CC Docket 87-313, unless the changes expressly provide for: (1) the proper functioning of the long-term support mechanisms for the carrier common line rates administered by the National Exchange Carrier Association; (2) the maintenance of uniform nationwide long distance telephone rates by dominant interexchange carriers; and (3) the use of an industry-wide rate of return to determine costs for access tariffs and to calculate the Universal Service Fund. Requires the FCC to report to the Congress the compliance of revisions with these conditions. Postpones the effectiveness of any rule or policy revisions until 60 days have elapsed during which both Houses of the Congress are in session.
United States · United States Congress · 1 March 1989
Veterans Nurse Pay Act of 1989 - Directs the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to restructure the current nurse grades of the Department of Veterans Affairs so as to provide four grade levels for nurses. (Current law provides for eight grade levels.) Specifies the relationship the new grade levels have with the current nurse grades and to pay grades under the General Schedule.
United States · United States Congress · 1 March 1989
Federal Law Enforcement Officers Death Penalty Act of 1989 - Amends the Federal criminal code to subject any person who is found guilty of the first degree murder of a Federal law enforcement officer, or certain other Federal officials or employees, to the penalty of death. Establishes procedures for the imposition of the death penalty in such cases. Provides that no person who was less than 18 years of age at the time of the offense may be sentenced to death. Sets forth mitigating and aggravating factors to be considered by the jury in determining whether the death sentence will be imposed. Requires the Government to serve notice upon the defendant a reasonable time before trial or acceptance of a plea that it intends to seek the death penalty, as well as notice of the aggravating factors upon which it will rely. Provides that no presentence report shall be prepared in such cases. Requires a separate sentencing hearing before a jury or the court (upon motion by the defendant) when the defendant is convicted and the Government has filed notice that it intends to seek the death penalty. Allows the Government and the defendant to present any information relevant to a mitigating or aggravating factor without regard to the rules of evidence, but permits information to be excluded where its probative value is substantially outweighed by the danger of creating unfair prejudice, confusing the issues, or misleading the jury. Conditions imposition of the death penalty on a unanimous finding by the jury or, if there is no jury, the court, that: (1) the aggravating factors found to exist sufficiently outweigh any mitigating factor found to exist; or (2) in the absence of a mitigating factor, the aggravating factors alone are sufficient to justify a sentence of death. Specifies that: (1) the jury or the court, regardless of its findings with respect to aggravating and mitigating factors, is never required to impose a death sentence; and (2) the jury shall be so instructed. Requires the court to instruct the jury not to consider the race, color, national origin, creed, or sex of the defendant in its consideration of the death sentence. Directs the court to impose the death sentence upon a finding that such sentence is justified. Establishes procedures for appeal from a death sentence. Requires the court of appeals, upon consideration of the record and the information and procedures of the sentencing hearing, and any special finding, to affirm the decision if: (1) the sentence was not imposed under influence of passion, prejudice, or arbitrariness; and (2) the information supports the special finding of the existence of an aggravating factor. Requires the court to provide a written explanation of its determination. Establishes procedures for the implementation of the death sentence.
United States · United States Congress · 1 March 1989
Rural Enterprise Zone Act of 1989 - Title I: Designation of Enterprise Zones - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to authorize the Secretary of Housing and Urban Development (Secretary) to designate rural enterprise zones for purposes of providing tax and regulatory relief and improving local services. Limits choices to areas nominated by States and local governments. Limits to 100 the total number of areas that may be designated, and the time period of the designation. Authorizes the Secretary to designate a zone only if the area meets certain locational, demographic, unemployment, and poverty criteria. Requires nominating local governments, as a condition of the Secretary's designation, to agree in writing to follow a course of action that may include reducing tax rates, improving local services, simplifying or streamlining regulation of business, and providing job training to area residents. Describes areas to which the Secretary must give preference in selecting areas for designation. Requires the Secretary to report to the Congress every four years on the effects of such enterprise zones' designation in accomplishing the purposes of this Act. Title II: Federal Income Tax Incentives - Subtitle A: Credits for Employers and Employees - Allows employers located in enterprise zones a nonrefundable income tax credit for qualified increased employment expenditures and employment of the disadvantaged. Sets the credit amount at ten percent of the increase in payroll plus a specified percentage of wages paid to certain disadvantaged workers through the first 20 years of the enterprise zone designation. Allows a nonrefundable income tax credit to enterprise zone employees for five percent of wages earned. Phases out both credits in the last four years of the enterprise zone designation. Subtitle B: Credits for Investment in Tangible Property in Enterprise Zones - Allows businesses an additional investment tax credit for investments made in certain enterprise zone construction property. Limits the credit to ten percent for new property, including rental property. Requires the recapture of credit amounts upon the early disposition of the property. Subtitle C: Nonrecognition of Qualified Enterprise Zone Capital Gain Where Acquisition of Enterprise Zone Business Property - Provides for the nonrecognition of capital gain on the sale of enterprise zone property if, within one year after the sale, the taxpayer acquires qualified replacement property (generally defined as property related to an enterprise zone or to a business within a zone). Subtitle D: Deduction for Purchase of Enterprise Stock - Allows a taxpayer to deduct up to $100,000 of the aggregate amount paid for the purchase of enterprise stock on its original issue by a qualified issuer. Requires any gain from the disposition of the stock to be treated as ordinary income. Subtitle E: Rules Relating to Industrial Development Bonds - Declares that: (1) limitations on the cost recovery deductions for property financed with tax-exempt bonds shall not apply to enterprise zone property; and (2) the termination of the small issue exemption shall not apply to bonds whose proceeds are used to finance facilities in enterprise zones. Requires that five percent of the private activity bond volume cap for a State that has one or more enterprise zones be set aside exclusively for use in such zones. Subtitle F: Ordinary Loss Deduction for Securities of Enterprise Zone Business Which Become Worthless - Permits an ordinary loss deduction for securities of enterprise zone business that become worthless during the taxable year. Subtitle G: Increase in Research Credit for Research Conducted in Enterprise Zones - Increases from 20 percent to 30 percent the tax credit for increasing research conducted in enterprise zones. Applies this subtitle retroactively to taxable years 1987 and thereafter. Subtitle H: Sense of the Congress with Respect to Tax Simplification - Expresses the sense of the Congress that the Secretary of the Treasury should simplify the administration and enforcement of any provision of the Internal Revenue Code affected by this Act. Subtitle I: Regulations - Directs the Secretary of the Treasury to issue regulations to carry out the provisions of this Act not later than six months after enactment. Title III: Regulatory Flexibility - Amends Federal law to revise the definition of "small entity" for purposes of the analysis of regulatory functions to include qualified business, government, and nonprofit enterprises operating within enterprise zones. Authorizes Federal agencies, upon request by a designating government, to waive or modify rules and regulations pertaining to the implementation of projects or activities within an enterprise zone. Requires agencies to approve the request if the resulting benefits of job creation, community development, or economic revitalization outweigh the public interest in retaining the rule unchanged. Disallows waiver or modification of a rule that would directly violate a statutory requirement or present a danger to the public health and safety. Amends the Department of Housing and Urban Development Act to direct the Secretary of Housing and Urban Development to promote the coordination of all enterprise zone programs and to consolidate all periodic reports required under such programs into one summary report. Title IV: Establishment of Foreign-Trade Zones in Enterprise Zones - Requires the Foreign-Trade Zone Board to consider on a priority basis and to expedite the processing of applications for the establishment of foreign-trade zones within enterprise zones. Requires the Secretary of the Treasury to give priority to, and expedite applications for, the establishment of ports of entry necessary to establish such zones. Title V: Enterprise Zone Business Incubator Program - Directs the Secretary of Housing and Urban Development to establish a business incubator program to provide loans and grants to State and local governments to give start-up assistance to small businesses in distressed rural areas.
United States · United States Congress · 1 March 1989
Amends Federal law to prohibit any State from imposing an income tax on the pension income of any individual who is not a resident or domiciliary of that State.
United States · United States Congress · 1 March 1989
Administrative Law Judge Corps Act - Establishes, 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 · 1 March 1989
Urban Homestead Act of 1989 - Amends the United States Housing Act of 1937 to make the tenant ownership program authority permanent. Directs the Secretary of Housing and Urban Development to provide financial assistance directly to resident management corporations for homeownership technical assistance. Expands resident management corporation authority to replace purchased public housing units.
![Official portrait of Rep. Stenholm, Charles W. [D-TX-17]](https://www.congress.gov/img/member/s000851_200.jpg)