To repeal the Gramm-Rudman-Hollings Act.
United States · United States Congress · 24 January 1990
Repeals the Balanced Budget and Emergency Deficit Control Act of 1985 (Gramm-Rudman-Hollings Act).
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United States · United States Congress · 24 January 1990
Repeals the Balanced Budget and Emergency Deficit Control Act of 1985 (Gramm-Rudman-Hollings Act).
United States · United States Congress · 23 January 1990
Amends the National Trails System Act to require the Secretary of the Interior to study the historical significance of the Underground Railroad, the route taken by escaping slaves during the Civil War. Requires the Secretary to designate such route the Underground Railroad Historic Trail and examine the possibility of extending it into Canada and Mexico. Authorizes appropriations.
United States · United States Congress · 23 January 1990
Designates May 6 through May 12, 1990, as Be Kind to Animals and National Pet Week.
United States · United States Congress · 23 January 1990
Designates September 1990 as International Visitors Month.
United States · United States Congress · 23 January 1990
Designates October 25, 1990, as National Arab-American Day.
United States · United States Congress · 23 January 1990
Designates May 6 through May 12, 1990, as National Drinking Water Week.
United States · United States Congress · 21 November 1989
Unsolicited Sexually Oriented Advertisements Prevention Act - Establishes a civil penalty for mailing sexually oriented advertisements to individuals included on the Postal Service's list of persons who have indicated a desire not to receive any such mailings. Eliminates the charge for being on such list.
United States · United States Congress · 21 November 1989
Amends Federal law to authorize and request the President to designate May as Asian/Pacific American Heritage Month annually, beginning in 1990. (Current law designates a seven-day period beginning on May 4, 1979).
United States · United States Congress · 21 November 1989
Federal Fire Service Pay Schedule Act of 1989 - Establishes a pay schedule for Federal fire service personnel. Excludes employees of the District of Columbia from such schedule. Provides for periodic and additional step increases, minimum hours of work, the computation of overtime, educational incentive service step increases, retirement, pay comparability, and additional compensation for technicians.
United States · United States Congress · 21 November 1989
Expedited Consideration of Proposed Rescissions Act of 1990 - Amends the Congressional Budget and Impoundment Control Act of 1974 to require a special message, in the case of budget authority proposed to be rescinded or reserved, to include language amending the law authorizing such programs to allow them to continue to function at the proposed new level of budget authority. Allows the President to transmit to both Houses of the Congress, for expedited consideration, one or more special messages proposing to rescind all or part of any item of budget authority provided in an appropriation bill. Requires that such special message be transmitted not later than three days after the President approves the appropriation bill and be accompanied by a draft bill or joint resolution that would, if enacted, rescind the budget authority proposed to be rescinded. Sets forth House and Senate procedures for the expedited consideration of such a proposal.
United States · United States Congress · 21 November 1989
Amends the Asbestos School Hazard Abatement Act of 1984 to remove per capita income as a factor to be considered in determining eligibility of educational agencies for asbestos removal assistance.
United States · United States Congress · 21 November 1989
Colombian Arms Export Control Act - Prohibits, except under specified circumstances, the issuance of export licenses under the Arms Export Control Act for the export of firearms or other munitions to Colombia.
United States · United States Congress · 21 November 1989
Assault Weapon Export Control Act of 1989 - Amends the Federal criminal code to prohibit the export of a machine gun or semiautomatic assault weapon without an export license, with exceptions for U.S. departments or agencies and for foreign governments not engaging in gross human rights violations or supporting international terrorism. Sets penalties for violations of this Act. Defines "semiautomatic assault weapon" as a semiautomatic firearm which is not generally recognized as particularly suitable for, or readily adaptable to, sporting purposes considering specified characteristics.
United States · United States Congress · 21 November 1989
Designates May 1990 as National Digestive Disease Awareness Month.
United States · United States Congress · 20 November 1989
Pornography Victims' Compensation Act of 1989 - Creates a cause of action against a producer, distributor, exhibitor, or seller of sexually explicit material by a victim of a rape, sexual assault, or sexual crime, or by the estate, guardian, or survivors of any such victim. Conditions the recovery of damages on proof by a preponderance of the evidence that: (1) the victim was a victim of a rape, sexual assault, or a sexual crime; (2) the material is obscene, in the case of sex crimes, is sexually explicit and violent, or in the case of sex crimes against minors, depicts minors participating in sexually explicit activity and was a proximate cause of the offense; and (3) the defendant is a producer or distributor of the material or exhibited or sold it to the sexual offender and should have known that the material was obscene, in the case of sex crimes, is sexually explicit and violent, or, in the case of sex crimes against minors, depicts minors participating in sexually explicit activity. Sets forth criteria by which the finder of fact may reasonably infer that such material was a proximate cause of the offense, including unusual similarities between the acts depicted and the actual offense, testimony of the offender, and testimony of experts who have examined the offender that such material influenced or incited the commission of the offense. Authorizes the award of damages for economic loss, compensation for pain and suffering, reasonable attorney's fees, and costs to prevailing plaintiffs. Sets a statute of limitations of six years from the date the right of action first accrued or, in the case of a legal disability, not later than three years after the termination of such disability.
United States · United States Congress · 19 November 1989
Waste Materials Management Act of 1989 - Authorizes appropriations for FY 1990 through 1993 to carry out the Solid Waste Disposal Act. Title I: Provisions Relating Primarily to Subtitles A and B of the Solid Waste Disposal Act - Amends the Solid Waste Disposal Act to revise provisions concerning congressional findings and objectives. Declares it to be U.S. national policy that: (1) the creation of surplus and remnant material from production processes shall be reduced and residuals from post-consumer products shall be managed as material resources; (2) materials are to be managed at Federal, State, and local levels using specified waste reduction and management strategies; and (3) the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the States shall not differentiate in the enforcement of this Act on the basis of whether an owner or person engaged in waste disposal activities is a public or private person, whether a facility is located on or off the premises where waste is generated, or whether an activity is carried out on or off the premises where the waste is generated. Requires the Inspector General of the EPA to report annually to the Congress on the implementation of, and compliance with, the Solid Waste Disposal Act. Adds specified annual reporting requirements. Directs the Administrator, for five years following the date of enactment of this Act, to identify five of the most toxic and common constituents of municipal waste. Requires the Administrator to consider, with respect to each of the constituents, imposing the following: (1) a ban on the use of such a constituent in production; (2) a ban on disposal in landfills or treatment in incinerators of any product containing such a constituent; (3) a requirement for special management standards for such products after discard; and (4) a requirement for the use of a substitute constituent. Permits the Administrator to impose such bans or requirements only by promulgating regulations. Requires the Administrator to publish annually in the Federal Register any information on such actions. Prohibits the disposal of used lead-acid batteries other than by recycling in accordance with this Act. Requires persons to dispose of such batteries only by delivery to: (1) battery retailers or wholesalers; or (2) secondary lead smelters or collection or recycling facilities permitted by a State or the Administrator. Sets forth battery disposal requirements for retailers, wholesalers, and manufacturers. Makes violators of such requirements subject to fines under the Federal criminal code. Requires battery retailers, wholesalers, and manufacturers to accept from customers used batteries of the same type as the batteries sold. Directs retailers to post a notice for customers containing information about the illegality of improperly disposed batteries, the requirements for accepting and disposing of batteries, and the merits of conservation. Permits the Administrator to inspect any establishment pursuant to this Act and to issue warnings and citations for noncompliance. Subjects persons who fail to post notices after receiving a warning to penalties of up to $1,000 per day. Requires battery wholesalers who sell batteries to retailers to provide for removal of batteries from the retailers' place of business. Prohibits the charging of fees for accepting batteries from customers. Considers violations of battery collection requirements to be misdemeanors. Requires the Administrator to study and report to the Congress on the disposal and potential recyclability of household dry-cell batteries and the need for legislation, regulation, or further study on the disposal and recyclability of such batteries. Title II: Provisions Relating Primarily to Subtitle C of the Solid Waste Disposal Act - Identifies as a hazardous waste a waste containing more than .1 percent of any constituent listed in appendix VIII to part 261 of title 40 of the Code of Federal Regulations, unless the Administrator establishes another level for such constituent. Provides that: (1) the mixing of a hazardous waste with any other matter constitutes treatment requiring a permit; and (2) dilution of a hazardous waste through such mixing, such that the resulting mixture does not exceed the established concentration levels, does not alter the character of the material as a hazardous waste. Authorizes the granting of petitions to remove from the list a hazardous waste for periods of up to five years. Permits subsequent renewals of such petitions. Requires the Administrator to charge fees for the submission of such petitions. Directs the Administrator to promulgate regulations on the following characteristics of hazardous waste: (1) acute and aquatic toxicity; (2) persistence and bioaccumulation potential; (3) radioactivity; (4) carcinogenicity; (5) mutagenicity; and (6) phytotoxicity. Directs the Administrator to promulgate regulations requiring: (1) owners or operators of facilities which use materials containing hazardous constituents listed in the Code of Federal Regulations in a manufacturing process to test the waste generated for the presence of such constituents; and (2) owners or operators of facilities generating hazardous waste subject to land disposal prohibitions to test the waste to determine if it meets applicable treatment standards. Provides for routine testing at least every two years and additional testing when a significant change in generation or waste management processes occurs. Requires the Administrator to carry out hazardous waste programs directly in States unless a State is authorized to administer such requirements. Requires the Administrator, if a State's program is equivalent, to grant interim authorization to such State to administer such program in lieu of direct administration by the Administrator. Directs States with hazardous waste programs to report annually to the Administrator on such programs. Prohibits the Administrator from identifying used oil as a hazardous waste under the Solid Waste Disposal Act. Provides that any fuel derived from used oil that does not meet used oil specifications established by the Administrator and would otherwise be identified as a hazardous waste shall be deemed to be a hazardous waste. Directs the Administrator to promulgate regulations for persons who generate, transport, recycle, or dispose of used oil. Requires the Administrator, in developing such regulations, to conduct an analysis of the economic impact of such regulations on the used oil recycling industry. Provides that regulations for used oil generators shall: (1) prohibit the storage of used oil in an underground storage tank unless such tank meets requirements under this Act; (2) prohibit the storage of used oil for more than 12 months; (3) require generators to transfer such oil to specified permitted used oil recycling or disposal facilities or transporters; and (4) require generators to keep specified records on such oil. Requires used oil transporter regulations to provide that such transporters: (1) acquire identification numbers from EPA; (2) meet applicable financial responsibility requirements; and (3) keep specified records. Provides that used oil recycler regulations shall require recyclers to: (1) keep specified records; (2) test fuel produced from the recycling process before departure from the facility; and (3) obtain certain permits. Requires used oil disposal regulations to prohibit mixing used oil with any hazardous waste identified under the Solid Waste Disposal Act unless the resulting mixture does not exhibit hazardous waste characteristics or the mixture is burned to recover useful energy in a device designed such that protection of human health and the environment is assured. Directs the Administrator to promulgate regulations requiring owners or operators of new and existing recycling facilities to have class permits. Provides for annual inspections of such facilities to assure permit compliance. Sets forth requirements for interim class permits. Exempts from permit requirements: (1) facilities which refine at least 10,000 barrels daily of crude oil into petroleum products, are classified as S.I.C. number 2911 (pursuant to the Office of Management and Budget Standard Classification Manual) facilities, and whose volume of refined used oil is less than one percent of the total crude oil refined into lubricant base stock annually; and (2) facilities which compound or blend lubricating base oil into finished lubricant products as their principal activity, are classified as S.I.C. number 2899 or 2992 facilities, and whose volume of used oil compounded or blended into such products is no more than ten percent of the lubricating base oil compounded or blended annually. Exempts from used oil regulation requirements on-site activities at facilities classified as S.I.C. number 4911 facilities. Directs the Administrator to promulgate regulations governing such facilities. Requires the Administrator to promulgate regulations establishing specification standards for fuel derived from used oil to be burned in furnaces and boilers. Sets forth requirements to be effective if the Administrator fails to promulgate used oil regulations by the applicable deadline. Requires the Administrator to implement education programs to inform the public and small businesses about the environmental and safety hazards associated with improper handling and disposal of used oil and the benefits derived from used oil recycling. Authorizes appropriations. Requires producers or importers of lubricating oil to recycle for a period of ten years an amount of used oil equal to at least the amount determined by multiplying the amount of lubricating oil produced or imported that year by such persons by the recycling percentage established by the Administrator. Authorizes such individuals to comply with this Act by: (1) recycling (through re-refining) used oil or purchasing re-refined oil for purposes of producing lubricating oil; or (2) purchasing recycling credits under this Act. Requires producers and importers to report annually to the Administrator on the amount of oil produced or imported by such persons. Directs the Administrator to establish a recycling percentage that is two points higher than the existing recycling rate for lubricating oil. Provides for increases in such percentage of two points annually for ten years. Requires the Administrator to promulgate regulations allowing recyclers to create credits for used oil recycling and producers or importers of lubricating oil to purchase such credits. Provides that such regulations shall require: (1) owners or operators of used oil collection centers to keep receipts issued by transporters who take delivery of such oil and copies of agreements under which the transporter agrees to take such oil to a recycling facility; (2) such owners or operators to certify that oil taken by transporters is not mixed with hazardous wastes; (3) owners or operators of recycling facilities to be the only persons to create a recycling credit for the recycling credit system; (4) recyclers to certify that the substance being recycled is used oil that has not been mixed with hazardous wastes; (5) oil proposed to be recycled to have come from a used oil collection place or a transporter with an identification number; (6) specified records to be kept by recyclers and by importers or producers; and (7) recyclers to sell or distribute in commerce such oil as specification used oil, off-specification used oil, industrial specification used oil, or re-refined oil. Directs the Administrator to report to the Congress on such regulations and to include: (1) a discussion of the effects of such regulations on the oil industry and the environment; and (2) an evaluation of the level of the recycling percentage and whether such percentage should be increased in future years. Requires an updated version of such report to be submitted within ten years of this Act's enactment. Applies recycling requirements to persons who import or produce more than 100,000 gallons of lubricating oil annually. Sets the recycling percentage at 40 percent if the Administrator fails to promulgate such regulations. Directs the Administrator to promulgate regulations requiring owners or operators of existing and new hazardous waste facilities to have class permits. Requires such permits to include provisions for: (1) public notice and comment; (2) environmental monitoring; (3) closure and post closure requirements; (4) financial responsibility; (5) annual on-site inspections; and (6) penalties for noncompliance. Requires the Administrator to impose additional requirements, as necessary. Requires the following facilities, unless excluded from regulation, to have such permits: (1) recycling facilities; (2) facilities engaged in precious metal recovery; (3) facilities engaged in spent lead-acid battery reclamation; and (4) hazardous waste storage facilities. Title III: Provisions Relating Primarily to Subtitle D of the Solid Waste Disposal Act - Subtitle A: Provisions Relating to Solid Waste Management Plans - Revises requirements for State solid waste management plans. Requires such plans to include: (1) an estimate of the capacity of the State to manage such waste; (2) permit programs; (3) solid waste recycling, reduction, incineration, and land disposal elements; (4) an overall waste materials strategy to cover one of two specified planning periods; (5) waste inventories; (6) personnel training and public education; (7) requirements for the management of household hazardous waste, tires, yard waste, and large household appliances; and (8) annual reporting requirements. Sets forth submission, approval, and implementation procedures for State plans. Authorizes a State with an approved plan and certification of compliance to: (1) prohibit the transportation of solid waste generated from another State into such State for disposal, storage, or incineration purposes; (2) prohibit the incineration, disposal, or storage of such waste; and (3) levy fees on solid waste or solid waste transporters that differentiate rates or other aspects of payment on the basis of waste origin. Requires such State, prior to exercising such authority, to certify to the Administrator that it has: (1) completed construction on facilities that will provide at least 70 percent of the capacity for solid waste management needed to implement the State plan; and (2) completed siting approval on facilities that will provide 100 percent of such capacity. Prohibits the interstate transport of solid waste in any State: (1) that does not have an approved plan within a specified time period; (2) that cannot certify continuing compliance; or (3) for which that the Administrator has withdrawn approval of the State plan. Permits the Administrator to develop a plan for, and charge, any State that has not submitted a plan. Requires States to establish permit programs and issue permits to solid waste management facilities in compliance with this Act. Prohibits the incineration, storage, or disposal of such waste at, or the transportation of such waste to, facilities without permits. Sets forth transitional permit requirements and deadlines. Limits permit terms to ten years and provides for permit modifications, as appropriate. Authorizes States to grant variances from permit requirements if demonstrated that no adverse effects to human health or the environment will result from such variances. Subtitle B: Provisions Relating to Federal Requirements - Directs the Administrator to promulgate standards, guidelines, and regulations for: (1) municipal solid waste landfills; (2) municipal solid waste incinerators; (3) industrial waste; (4) above-ground storage tanks; and (5) other waste categories, as appropriate. Permits State Governors to petition the Administrator for the promulgation of additional standards, guidelines, and regulations. Sets forth requirements for municipal solid waste landfills, to include: (1) specified detection and monitoring controls; (2) daily cover; (3) closure and postclosure requirements; (4) financial responsibility and corrective action requirements; (5) groundwater monitoring; (6) liners and leachate collection and removal systems, as appropriate; (7) construction quality assurance plans; and (8) prohibitions on landfills being located within the 100-year flood plain, within specified distances of faults, or within seismic impact zones or other unstable areas, unless certain conditions have been met. Requires the Administrator to publish guidelines for identifying materials which should be removed from solid waste before its incineration in a municipal solid waste incinerator. Directs the Administrator to promulgate regulations applicable to the operation and management of municipal solid waste incinerators and to the disposal or recycling and reuse of municipal solid waste incinerator ash. Prohibits the disposal of ash in units that are created as a result of vertical expansion of an existing waste disposal facility unless it is demonstrated that there will be no settling of waste that would impair the integrity of the liners. Requires that landfills into which such ashes are disposed provide for groundwater monitoring and: (1) place such ashes in a monofill having a leachate collection system and a single liner designed and operated to prevent the migration of any constituent into such liner; or (2) have two or more liners and a leachate collection system above and between such liners. Provides that landfill design requirements shall not apply to alternatively-designed units if demonstrated that such designs prevent such migration. Directs the Administrator to prescribe criteria and testing procedures for identifying the hazardous properties of municipal incinerator ash so that ash which does not exhibit such properties may be placed in sanitary landfills meeting current criteria under specified conditions. Requires ash which is hazardous to human health or the environment to be treated prior to recycling or reuse. Prohibits, four years after this Act's enactment, the operation of incinerators and the receipt of ash for treatment, storage, disposal, reuse, or recycling without a permit or prior approval under a State program. Requires civil penalties imposed against local governments for violations of this Act to be deposited into a trust fund for programs that serve to enhance the protection of human health and the environment. Sets forth transitional provisions. Requires the Administrator to identify, classify, and report to the Congress and States on specified types of industrial waste. Directs generators or transporters of such waste and owners or operators of facilities handling such waste to file notifications with the State concerning facility locations and descriptions of activities and wastes handled. Sets forth requirements for industrial waste management, to include: (1) authorizations to operate; (2) monitoring, recordkeeping, and reporting requirements; (3) performance standards; (4) financial responsibility assurances; (5) design, operating, closure, and postclosure criteria; and (6) corrective action requirements. Applies such requirements to the following facilities: (1) industrial waste facilities that produce such waste and are not implementing closure or postclosure plans; and (2) inactive or abandoned facilities that are reactivated. Requires the Administrator to study the adverse effects on human health and the environment of the disposal of other nonhazardous waste. Directs the Administrator to promulgate solid waste storage regulations. Excludes from such regulations storage at transportation-related facilities. Requires State plans and permits to include requirements for municipal solid waste landfills and incinerators and for industrial wastes. Subtitle C: Other Provisions - Directs the Administrator to compile and periodically update a non-hazardous solid waste inventory to determine, by State or region: (1) an estimate of the amount of such waste to be generated annually and likely to be generated in each of the next 20 years; and (2) the capacity of existing and proposed waste management facilities. Sets forth Federal enforcement provisions. Prescribes civil and criminal penalties for violations of solid waste management requirements. Title IV: Provisions Relating Primarily to Subtitle H of the Solid Waste Disposal Act - Requires the Administrator to: (1) develop model recycling programs for States and localities; and (2) carry out a continuing program to evaluate demonstrated waste management technologies that could be used by municipalities and report periodically on such program. Prohibits the Administrator from funding the development or demonstration of such technologies. Title V: Provisions Relating Primarily to Subtitle I of the Solid Waste Disposal Act - Directs the Administrator to promulgate regulations applicable to above-ground storage tanks. Applies such requirements to all tanks except those subject to the requirements of subtitle C of the Solid Waste Disposal Act. Exempts from this Act's requirements releases of small quantities of regulated substances which will not endanger human health and the environment and particular tanks, as appropriate. Requires such regulations to include requirements for field-erected tanks. Directs owners and operators of such tanks to implement release prevention plans which provide for release prevention systems capable of: (1) catching and holding 110 percent of the full capacity of the tank and preventing releases beyond tank boundaries; and (2) restraining drainage and preventing contamination of soil and water. Requires the plan and system to be inspected by a registered engineer who is not employed by the owner or operator. Directs the engineer, if the system does not reflect good engineering practices or the tank does not comply with the regulations, to notify the Administrator or the State. Provides for amendments of release prevention plans whenever there is a major modification in the tank which affects the tank's potential to release substances. Sets forth recordkeeping and reporting requirements for field-operated tanks. Prohibits the operation of such tanks after a release unless the Administrator determines that such prohibition is not necessary. Requires the regulations to include requirements for shop-fabricated tanks. Directs the Administrator to: (1) establish an inspection program for such tanks in the factory when construction is complete and before the tanks enter interstate commerce; and (2) require such tanks to bear labels with specified manufacturing, capacity, and use information. Provides for requirements relating to the installation of such tanks. Directs the Administrator, as necessary, to promulgate financial responsibility requirements for taking corrective action and compensating third parties for bodily injury and property damage caused by accidental releases from above-ground storage tanks. Permits the establishment of financial responsibility for a spill by any means the Administrator deems appropriate. Authorizes the assertion of claims against guarantors providing evidence of financial responsibility for claims against insolvent owners or operators of tanks. Limits guarantor liability to the aggregate amount which the guarantor has provided as evidence of financial responsibility to the owner or operator. Authorizes the Administrator to establish coverage requirements which may vary among particular classes or categories of above-ground storage tanks. Permits the Administrator to make grants to States for carrying out enforcement requirements. Authorizes a State to submit for the Administrator's review and approval a program under which such State would assume primary responsibility for the enforcement of regulations pertaining to above-ground storage tanks. Requires that State regulation and enforcement procedures be at least as stringent as those used by the Administrator. Requires the Administrator to: (1) monitor State programs for compliance with this Act's requirements; and (2) provide technical assistance to assist States, local governments, and owners and operators in complying with this title. Authorizes the Administrator to issue compliance orders or commence civil actions against violators of this Act's requirements, but requires that prior notification be given to States operating their own programs. Imposes criminal and civil monetary penalties for violations of this Act's requirements. Makes tank owners and operators liable for the Administrator's corrective action costs and damages. Authorizes the Administrator to require a tank owner or operator to undertake corrective action in response to any release of a regulated substance from the tank when such action will be done properly and promptly. Permits the Administrator, upon notification of a release, to prohibit operations in a facility until such action has been taken. Authorizes the Administrator to take corrective action where the owner or operator fails to take prompt and effective action and human health and the environment are endangered. Prohibits indemnification agreements from transferring liability under this title. Prohibits States or political subdivisions from enforcing requirements for shop-fabricated tanks that are more stringent than those imposed under this title. Authorizes appropriations. Prohibits the Administrator from enforcing financial responsibility regulations with respect to an owner or operator of an underground storage tank if such owner or operator has applied for insurance. Revises provisions concerning financial responsibility for such tanks. Requires the Administrator to evaluate and report to the Congress on the effects of financial responsibility regulations on the cost and availability of insurance used to demonstrate financial responsibility. Title VI: Waste Materials Reduction - Authorizes any person to petition a Federal agency to undertake a waste reduction action if such action would bring about at least a ten percent increase in recycling of the petitioned item, reduce by at least ten percent the total volume or toxic constituents of a waste described in the petition, or would bring about a net savings in true cost to the Federal Government or be neutral in effect or cost. Requires each Federal agency to designate a waste reduction officer to oversee compliance with Federal agency waste reduction requirements, prepare agency waste reduction plans, and report annually to the Administrator on the implementation of such plans. Directs the Administrator to establish a clearinghouse within EPA to collect and disseminate information on waste reduction and recycling. Makes such information available to the public. Requires the Administrator to establish a commission to study and report to the President and the Congress on waste reduction with respect to consumer products and packaging. Provides for the submission of periodic reports by the commission on the status of waste reduction efforts by the Federal Government and industry. Terminates the commission five years after the date of its establishment. Title VII: Procurement and Marketing of Recycled Materials - Applies Federal procurement requirements concerning recycled goods to States or other entities if such entities use funds appropriated to a Federal agency to which such procurement requirements apply. Directs the Administrator for Federal Procurement Policy to report to the Congress on the effect of a certain price preference concerning the procurement of recycled paper products. Requires affirmative procurement programs to include: (1) programs for monitoring compliance by States, political subdivisions, and contractors with recovered materials procurement requirements; and (2) a requirement that paper procured for uses which have enduring value be permanent paper. Requires such agencies to report annually to the Administrator on such programs and on the amount and value of recovered materials procured. Makes such report available to the public. Directs the EPA Administrator to: (1) report biennially to the Congress on the progress made by Federal agencies in implementing recovered materials procurement programs; and (2) review and revise, if necessary, guidelines concerning such programs which were prepared before this Act's enactment. Prohibits Federal agencies from entering into procurement contracts with any persons convicted of specified offenses of the Solid Waste Disposal Act if such a contract is to be performed at the facility at which the violation occurred. Authorizes the President to make exemptions to such prohibition. Requires the President to report annually to the Congress on the implementation of such prohibition. Directs the Secretary of Commerce to conduct a biennial survey that: (1) identifies the major domestic uses for, and users of, recovered and recycled materials; (2) documents or estimates the amounts of such materials used, exported, and imported annually; and (3) identifies the markets for such materials and the products made from such materials. Requires the Secretary and the Administrator to establish an interagency working group to: (1) promote markets in recovered and recycled materials and link sources of such materials with potential markets; (2) work cooperatively with generators, collectors, transporters, users, and regulators of such materials and with manufacturers of products containing such materials; (3) link businesses dealing in such materials with potential sources of capital; (4) educate government and business officials about potential commerce in such materials; (5) coordinate efforts to promote lawful commerce in such materials; (6) encourage reuse and recycling of solid waste; and (7) identify the institutional, economic, and technical barriers to the use of such materials. Directs the Secretary to take such actions as may be necessary to stimulate the development of new domestic markets for such materials. Requires the Secretary and the U.S. Trade Representative to: (1) identify foreign markets for recovered materials and products containing a high content of recycled materials; and (2) assist exporters in selling such materials and products in foreign markets. Title VIII: Financial Assistance - Authorizes the Administrator to provide financial assistance to States with approved solid waste management plans to develop programs to encourage and facilitate recycling. Permits the Administrator to: (1) provide financial assistance to States and local authorities for solid waste management planning; (2) make bonus grants to municipalities or other agencies that demonstrate achievement of a recycling rate greater than 25 percent; (3) make loans to States for waste reduction activities and programs in rural areas to collect household hazardous waste and waste from small quantity generators. Title IX: Other Provisions - Permits Government agencies to retain any amounts received from sales of materials or energy recovered from solid waste. Requires the Administrator to promulgate regulations for the use and composition of compost made from yard waste. Revises oil labeling requirements to direct the Administrator to promulgate regulations requiring packages of lubricating oil (of less than five gallons) sold in commerce to bear a label stating that used oil should be taken to collection centers. Directs the Administrator to promulgate regulations requiring rigid and semi-rigid plastic packaging and products sold in commerce to bear a label identifying the plastic resin used in such packaging and products. Authorizes the Administrator, subject to certain conditions, to: (1) treat Indian tribes as States under the Solid Waste Disposal Act; (2) delegate to such tribes primary enforcement responsibility for programs under such Act; and (3) provide such tribes grant and contract assistance to carry out such functions. Permits States and Indian tribes, subject to the Administrator's approval, to enter into cooperative agreements to administer such Act. Requires the Administrator to report to the Congress on measures for addressing hazardous and solid wastes and underground storage tanks in Indian country. Directs the Administrator to undertake a continuing program to establish an inventory of hazardous waste sites and solid waste open dumps in Indian country. Requires the Administrator to assist Indian tribes that operate such dumps in upgrading such facilities.
United States · United States Congress · 19 November 1989
Amends the Internal Revenue Code to impose an excise tax on the use of virgin materials in the manufacture or production of taxable products. Establishes the Recycling Assistance and Solid Waste Management Planning Trust Fund to support certain programs under the Solid Waste Disposal Act. Provides for financing the trust fund with the excise tax on the use of virgin materials.
United States · United States Congress · 19 November 1989
Waste Export Control Act - Amends the Solid Waste Disposal Act to incorporate requirements for the export of solid waste. Exempts from this Act's requirements waste paper, glass cullet, metal, or plastic that: (1) has been separated from solid waste before export; (2) is exported for incorporation into new products with recycled content; and (3) is not a hazardous waste under the Solid Waste Disposal Act. Authorizes persons to apply to the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency for the exemption of other recovered materials. Requires persons exporting exempted materials to notify the Administrator prior to such exporting. Prohibits the export of solid waste from the United States unless there is an agreement between the United States and the receiving country which provides for: (1) the exchange of information regarding such export and its management; (2) cooperation on compliance with, and enforcement of, such agreement; (3) biennial review and revision or suspension of such agreement under certain circumstances; and (4) a prohibition on further transport of such waste from the country of destination without the written consent of parties to the agreement. Deems any agreement concerning shipments of hazardous waste entered into by the United States and in force on this Act's enactment date to meet this Act's requirements for two years following such enactment date. Prohibits the export of solid waste from the United States unless the exporter has obtained a permit from the Administrator. Outlines information to be included in the permit application. Requires the Director of the National Enforcement Investigations Center to submit an investigative report on each applicant to the Administrator. Provides that permittees shall have the continuing duty to provide assistance or information requested by the Administrator or the Center and to cooperate in any inquiry conducted by the Center. Directs the Administrator, before issuing a permit under this Act, to determine that the solid waste will be managed in a manner protective of human health and the environment and which is no less strict than that which would be required if the waste were managed in the United States. Provides that such determination shall assure that certain facility operation and transportation requirements are met. Limits permit terms to a period of five years. Directs the Administrator to report annually to the Congress on all solid waste exports. Prohibits the issuance of any permit unless the Administrator determines that: (1) the waste generator has used reasonable efforts to eliminate or minimize waste generation prior to export; (2) the receiving facility is capable of treating, storing, and disposing of such waste in a manner protective of human health and the environment and no less strict than that which would be required if the waste were managed in the United States; and (3) the application meets the requirements of this Act. Directs the Administrator to make inspections of any permittee and of any facility handling waste subject to a permit, as necessary. Authorizes the Administrator to revoke a permit under specified circumstances. Directs the Administrator to establish a user fee to defray the cost of administering this Act. Requires such fee system to consist of a one-time permit application fee and a waste export permit fee to be paid over the life of the permit. Prescribes civil and criminal penalties for violations of this Act.
United States · United States Congress · 19 November 1989
Democracy in El Salvador Act of 1989 - Makes El Salvador ineligible for any American assistance or military financing, except for humanitarian assistance. Provides that such assistance shall be disbursed directly to private voluntary relief organizations. Makes such sanctions inapplicable if the President certifies (and the Congress approves such certification by joint resolution) that the Government of El Salvador: (1) has prosecuted those responsible for the murders of certain faculty members of the Jose Simeon Canas Central American University; (2) has removed from public office and responsibilities all those connected with death squad activity; (3) has established a judiciary free from political pressures; (4) is taking every measure to avoid civilian casualties and is allowing neutral humanitarian organizations to evacuate the dead and wounded and to provide emergency relief to civilians; (5) is abiding by the Geneva Convention with regard to combatants; and (6) is seeking to establish a cease-fire in the civil war. Provides that a motion to consider such a joint resolution shall be treated as highly privileged in the Congress.
United States · United States Congress · 19 November 1989
Amends the Internal Revenue Code to provide for the treatment of rental and nonrental real estate activities under the limitations on losses from passive activities.
United States · United States Congress · 19 November 1989
Amends the Internal Revenue Code to provide that payment under a life insurance contract to an insured who is terminally ill be treated as a death benefit, making such payment eligible for tax exclusion from gross income. Provides that any reference to life insurance shall be treated as referring to a qualified terminal illness rider. Provides for the tax treatment of such riders. Describes such a rider as one which provides for payments to an insured upon the insured's becoming terminally ill.
United States · United States Congress · 17 November 1989
Amends the Trade Act of 1974 to require the United States Trade Representative to impose practices that prohibit or limit the foreign investment in the United States on those foreign countries that have similar practices against U.S. investment.
United States · United States Congress · 17 November 1989
Economic Development Loan Assistance Program Act of 1989 - Authorizes the Secretary of Housing and Urban Development to make grants to community development corporations to reduce interest rates on urban economic development loans. Limits grant amounts to $2,000,000. Requires the Secretary to report annually to the Congress. Authorizes FY 1990 through 1992 appropriations.
United States · United States Congress · 17 November 1989
Designates April 1990 as National Prevent-A-Litter Month.
United States · United States Congress · 17 November 1989
Designates May 1990 as Neurofibromatosis Awareness Month.
United States · United States Congress · 15 November 1989
Designates the week beginning March 5, 1990, as Federal Employees Recognition Week.
United States · United States Congress · 8 November 1989
Authorizes the President, on behalf of the Congress, to present a gold medal to Laurance Spelman Rockefeller in recognition of his leadership on behalf of natural resource conservation and historic preservation. Authorizes appropriations. Authorizes the Secretary of the Treasury to provide for the sale of bronze duplicates of the medal.
United States · United States Congress · 7 November 1989
Directs the heads of Federal departments or agencies which hold or receive records and information which have or could possibly have been correlated to U.S. personnel listed as prisoners of war or missing in action in World War II and the Korean and Vietnam conflicts to publicly disclose such records and information, except where such disclosure would compromise national security. Requires the Department of Defense to publicly disclose a complete list of such personnel including those killed in action (body not returned) in such hostilities with each service member's current classification as well as any changes in such classification occurring during or after such hostilities.
United States · United States Congress · 2 November 1989
Benjamin Franklin Memorial Fire Service Bill of Rights Act - Title I: Minting of Benjamin Franklin National Memorial Commemorative Coin - Benjamin Franklin National Memorial Commemorative Coin Act - Provides for the sale of Benjamin Franklin commemorative coins at a surcharge of which 25 percent shall be paid to the Benjamin Franklin National Memorial and the remainder be distributed in specified percentages to the National Fire Center and Museum Account, the National Hero Scholarship Account, the Firefighter's Tuition Assistance Account, the Hazardous Materials Response Computer Account, the In Search of Excellence Research and Education Account, and the Burn Research Grant Account of the Firefighter Assistance Trust Fund (Fund). Prohibits the issuance of such coins from resulting in any net cost to the Federal government. Title II: Fire Service Bill of Rights - Fire Service Bill of Rights Act - Amends the Federal Fire Prevention and Control Act of 1974 to establish a fire service bill of rights. Establishes the National Fire Center and Museum in the District of Columbia to provide information about the fire service and safety to the public and fire services. Funds such museum exclusively through the Fund. Establishes a National Hero Scholarship to fund the higher education of the children or spouse of a deceased firefighter. Establishes a scholarship providing tuition assistance to firefighters for higher education in fire safety or protection. Authorizes the Administrator of the United States Fire Administration to use amounts in the In Search of Excellence Research and Education Account of the Fund to fund other specified programs under the Fire Prevention and Control Act of 1974. Establishes the Firefighters Assistance Trust Fund. Places the National Academy for Fire Prevention and Control within the United States Fire Administration. Directs the Administrator to use funds from the Hazardous Materials Response Computer Account of the fund to procure computer equipment for fire services that want such equipment. Directs the Administrator to make a grant from the Burn Research Grant Account of the Fund to one national firefighter's burn foundation dedicated to reducing burn injuries. Requires the Administrator to prepare and make available to State fire marshals, upon request, a manual describing Federal procedures for disposing of surplus property and highlighting how fire services could obtain such property. Directs the Administrator to distribute to such marshals information on the infectious diseases to which firefighters are particularly vulnerable.
United States · United States Congress · 2 November 1989
Amends the Internal Revenue Code to allow an individual income tax deduction for contributions to a savings account established to pay the educational expenses (tuition, supplies, meals, and lodging) of the taxpayer's child or certain other relatives at an institution of higher education or a vocational school. Limits the deduction to $1,500 annually (adjusted for inflation) for each account. Disallows the deduction for contributions to an account maintained for any individual aged 19 or older. Requires any account balance to be distributed after the beneficiary attains age 30. Excludes from gross income any account distributions that are: (1) used to pay educational expenses of the eligible beneficiary; or (2) transferred within 60 days to an individual retirement account. Exempts an account from taxation (except for the tax on unrelated business income of a charitable organization), unless a contributor or the beneficiary engages in specified prohibited transactions in connection with it. Imposes a ten percent surtax on distributions not used for educational purposes. Requires the account trustee to report to the Secretary of the Treasury and to the account's beneficiary concerning the account. Imposes a penalty for failure to report. Allows taxpayers who do not otherwise itemize deductions to deduct for contributions to an education savings account. Imposes penalty taxes in connection with excess contributions or prohibited transactions associated with an account. Exempts from contribution limitations any distributions from education savings accounts into individual retirement accounts. Excludes from gross income distributions from individual retirement accounts into education savings accounts.
United States · United States Congress · 31 October 1989
Designates December 1, 1989, as World AIDS Day.
United States · United States Congress · 25 October 1989
Designates May 1990 as National Trauma Awareness Month.
United States · United States Congress · 24 October 1989
Designates February 4 through February 10, 1990, as National Burn Awareness Week.
United States · United States Congress · 23 October 1989
Hurricane Hugo and Loma Prieta Earthquake Emergency Relief Act - Title I: Highway Emergency Assistance Program - Authorizes $1,000,000,000 in additional appropriations out of the Highway Trust Fund to the emergency relief fund for FY 1990 for the repair or reconstruction of highways, roads, and trails damaged from natural disasters or catastrophic failures within the United States. (Provides that obligations incurred and expenditures made from such funds shall not be charged against the Budget Act, the Gramm-Rudman-Hollings Act, or other ceilings.) Waives limitations on emergency relief fund expenditures and obligations with respect to projects resulting from Hurricane Hugo or the Loma Prieta Earthquake of 1989. Specifies that the Federal share of any such project on the interstate and Federal-aid highway systems shall be 100 percent of the costs incurred within 180 days of each such natural disaster. Makes projects on the San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge in California resulting from such earthquake eligible for emergency relief funds, provided the Governor of California certifies in writing to the Secretary of Transportation that the State has established and will maintain insurance or other evidence of financial responsibility for damages to, or destruction of, such bridge resulting from earthquakes. Specifies that allocations for emergency relief for highways, roads, and trails for projects resulting from Hugo or Loma Prieta shall be excluded for purposes of provisions regarding the allocation of funds for interstate and Federal-aid highway programs among the States. Requires the Secretary of Transportation to provide at least two technicians from the Federal Highway Administration to assist in repairing and reconstructing portions of the Federal-aid highway system in the Virgin Islands damaged or destroyed as a result of Hugo. Requires: (1) the Secretary of Transportation to transmit to the Congress a report on the adequacy of current Federal and State standards in areas which are likely to be subject to earthquakes for ensuring that highway, mass transit, and airport construction projects will withstand earthquakes; and (2) the Comptroller General to transmit to the Congress a report on the reasons for the failure of the Cyprus Street segment of Interstate Route I-880 and the San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge on Interstate Route I-80. Title II: Federal Emergency Management Agency and Other Emergency Assistance Programs - Directs the Chief of Engineers of the Corps of Engineers, upon request of the appropriate Governor, to: (1) provide assistance to the Virgin Islands in carrying out any project for repair, restoration, reconstruction, or replacement of any facility eligible for assistance under the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act (Stafford Act) with respect to damages resulting from Hugo; and (2) restore beaches in the Virgin Islands and Puerto Rico damaged by Hugo. Specifies the Federal share of the costs of such projects. Increases the maximum amount which may be allotted under the Flood Control Act of 1948 for the flood control project for Savan Gut, Virgin Islands. Provides for the reimbursement of the Administrator of General Services of expenses incurred for repair, restoration, reconstruction, or replacement of any public building damaged or destroyed by Hugo or Loma Prieta, and for relocating Federal employees. Requires the President to suspend and, for reasons of economic hardship, waive provisions of the Flood Disaster Protection Act of 1973 relating to coverage of flood insurance for approval of Federal financial assistance with regard to grants to individuals or families adversely affected by Hugo under the Stafford Act. Permits Federal assistance under such Act to be provided with respect to damages incurred as a result of Hugo or Loma Prieta by a nonprofit educational institution without regard to whether State assistance may be provided with respect to such damages.
United States · United States Congress · 23 October 1989
Designates the week of November 12 through November 18, 1989, as Community Foundation Week.
United States · United States Congress · 19 October 1989
Requires the Secretary of the Treasury to prohibit the importation of fish and marine animals from Japan, Taiwan, or the Republic of Korea if it is determined that such countries are engaged in the practice of driftnet fishing.
United States · United States Congress · 19 October 1989
Small Business Access Improvement Act of 1989 - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to allow a tax credit for small businesses for the expense of providing public accommodations access to the disabled. Reduces the tax deduction for expenditures to remove architectural and transportation barriers to the handicapped and elderly.
United States · United States Congress · 19 October 1989
Declares it is in the interests of the United States to support efforts to protect South Pacific marine resources (including albacore tuna, porpoises, whales, seals and other marine mammals, birds, sea turtles, and fish) from the slaughter of driftnet fishing. Supports the Tarawa Declaration and the South Pacific Commission resolution calling for an immediate ban on driftnet fishing in the South Pacific. Urges the Secretary of State to work toward an international convention banning driftnet fishing in the South Pacific. Urges Japan and Taiwan to immediately cease the use of driftnets in international South Pacific waters.
United States · United States Congress · 12 October 1989
Incarcerated Veterans Rehabilitation and Readjustment Act of 1989 - Title I: Incarcerated Veteran Assessment and Assistance - Directs the Attorney General to identify those individuals who may be veterans among those: (1) entering Federal prisons; and (2) who are incarcerated in such prisons and who are to remain incarcerated for more than 30 days. Requires the Attorney General to transmit to the Secretary of Veterans Affairs the names and locations of such prisoners. Directs the Secretary to inform such prisoners of their ability to have their veteran status determined and to inform those prisoners determined to be veterans of their rights to veterans' benefits and services as affected by their incarceration. Outlines other information to be provided. Requires the Secretary to suspend all debt collection activities being undertaken against any such prisoner for the entire period of incarceration and six months thereafter. Requires such debt collection suspension for both Federal and State or local inmates. Title II: Incarcerated Veteran Rehabilitation Counseling - Directs the Secretary to: (1) provide readjustment counseling services to those incarcerated veterans suffering from mental and psychological disorders stemming from their military service; (2) safeguard such veterans' possibility of being adjudicated as having service-connected disabilities to the same extent as non-incarcerated veterans; (3) designate an employee from a regional office of the Department of Veterans Affairs to act as a liaison between each Federal prison and the Department for such veterans; (4) review physical examinations of such veterans to determine whether they are eligible for benefits under the Veterans' Dioxin and Radiation Exposure Compensation Standards Act; and (5) ensure that the designated Department liaison provides liaison services between families of incarcerated veterans and Federal prisons. Directs the Attorney General to: (1) conduct physical examinations, with the incarcerated veterans' consent, for the purpose of aiding in the determination of eligibility for exposure benefits under such Act; (2) transmit such examination results to the Secretary; (3) inform the Secretary of an incarcerated veteran's impending release; and (4) encourage the organization of self-help groups and other similar programs that may contribute to the rehabilitation of incarcerated veterans. Title III: Readjustment Counseling Education - Directs the Secretary to develop a training curriculum, to be available to individuals, organizations, agencies, and health facilities, for assisting relevant professionals employed by the Bureau of Prisons in acquiring the expertise necessary to diagnose and treat psychiatric disabilities peculiar to veterans. Title IV: Post-Incarceration Readjustment Services - Requires the Secretary, upon receiving the names of those veterans about to be released from incarceration, to inform such veterans of readjustment benefits and services available to them. Requires the Assistant Secretary of Veterans Affairs to designate a disabled veterans' outreach program specialist in each State where a Federal prison is located to serve as liaison between such program and such prison. Directs the Chairman of the United States Parole Commission to: (1) integrate the services available from the readjustment counseling program of the Department into the Federal parole program for released veterans; and (2) encourage Federal parole officers to encourage paroled veterans to make use of vet centers and maintain contact with vet center personnel. Title V: State and Local Outreach Assistance - Directs the Secretary and Assistant Secretary, within six months after enactment of this Act, to implement a program to extend the benefits of this Act to State and local penal institutions with respect to veterans incarcerated in such institutions. Title VI: Miscellaneous - Directs the Attorney General, the Secretary, the Assistant Secretary, and the Chairman of the U.S. Parole Commission to report annually to the Congress on their activities in implementing this Act.
United States · United States Congress · 11 October 1989
Amends the Federal Aviation Act of 1958 to prohibit any person from acquiring any voting securities of a major air carrier or person who controls a major air carrier, if such acquisition constitutes 15 percent or more of the voting securities, unless such person complies with specified requirements under the Act and the Secretary of Transportation has not disapproved the acquisition. Requires the Secretary to disapprove an acquisition if he or she finds that: (1) it is likely to weaken the acquired person financially; (2) the intent of the acquired person is to make a major reduction of the air carrier; (3) the acquisition would result in a non-U.S. citizen having control over the air carrier; or (4) the acquiring person is not providing the documentary material and information required by the Secretary to make a decision regarding such acquisition.
United States · United States Congress · 11 October 1989
Directs the Secretary of the Treasury to: (1) instruct the U.S. Executive Director of each multilateral development bank to vote to give preference for debt reduction loans to those countries which show marked improvement in reducing the volume of cultivation, processing, trafficking, and export to the United States of illegal drugs; and (2) include in the detailed accounting required by the International Narcotics Control Act of 1986 a discussion of the steps taken to achieve the goals of this Act.
United States · United States Congress · 5 October 1989
Coal Industry Health Benefit Stabilization Act of 1989 - Authorizes the transfer of surplus assets from a coal industry pension plan to a coal industry health benefits plan, under specified conditions, without certain adverse effects in tax treatment under the Internal Revenue Code. Obliges specified employers to continue to contribute to multiemployer coal industry health benefits plans. Provides that nothing in this Act shall diminish or adversely affect any cause of action of such a plan, or its board of trustees, against an employer for contributions based on a collective bargaining agreement between the employer and a labor organization which is a settlor of the plan. Directs the United Mine Workers of America and the Bituminous Coal Operators' Association to report by February 1, 1994, on the effect of this Act on the delivery of retiree health benefits in the bituminous coal industry.
United States · United States Congress · 4 October 1989
Global Environmental Standards Reporting Act - Directs the Environmental Protection Agency to report annually to the Congress on: (1) environmental laws in major trading countries, including members of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, Brazil, Mexico, South Korea, and Taiwan; (2) progress in compliance with such laws in such countries and the United States; and (3) governmental financial assistance, including tax incentives, grants, and low interest loans to industry to achieve compliance with such laws.
United States · United States Congress · 4 October 1989
Designates December 3 through December 9, 1989, as National Cities Fight Back Against Drugs Week.
United States · United States Congress · 2 October 1989
Billboard Control Act of 1989 - Revises Federal provisions with respect to restrictions on outdoor advertising adjacent to interstate and Federal-aid primary highways. Specifies that a State shall be treated as failing to provide effective control of the erection and maintenance of outdoor advertising signs, displays, and devices (signs): (1) unless the State submits to the Secretary of Transportation by December 1st of each year an inventory of conforming and non-conforming signs in such State; and (2) if the State allows vegetation located on any land on which the State owns a right-of-way for a highway to be cut to improve the visibility of such signs. Requires the Secretary to submit to the Congress a detailed annual report on the extent to which each State has complied with the requirements of this Act, including a compilation of inventories and a description of the Secretary's efforts to assure that necessary directional information about facilities providing goods and services of interest to the traveling public is available to motorists. Makes exceptions to restrictions under this Act for signs which are lawfully in existence on September 1, 1989, and those located in industrial or commercial areas.
United States · United States Congress · 28 September 1989
Employee Health and Safety Whistleblower Protection Act - Sets forth uniform Federal procedures to protect employees, former employees, and applicants for employment who engage in whistleblowing with respect to employer activities which endanger employee or public health and safety. Prohibits employers from discharging or discriminating against any employee who: (1) discloses (or demonstrates an intent to disclose) an activity, policy, or practice that the employee believes is a violation of Federal health or safety law; (2) initiates, assists, or participates (or demonstrates an intent to do so in a proceeding with respect to an activity, policy, or practice that the employee believes is a violation of Federal health or safety law, or with respect to consideration of enactment, adoption, promulgation, issuance, or amendment of such a law, or with respect to administration or enforcement of such a law or of this Act; or (3) refuses to participate in an activity, policy, or practice that violates Federal health or safety law or that the employee reasonably believes poses a bona fide danger to the health or safety of the employee, other employees, or the public (and the employee promptly reported such danger to a representative of the employer). Voids as contrary to public policy any waiver or modification of employee rights under this Act, except under certain settlements or dispute resolutions. Makes this Act inapplicable to employees who, acting without consent from the employer, deliberately cause a violation of Federal laws. Sets forth procedures for remedy of violations under this Act. Provides that the statute of limitations for filing a complaint pursuant to this Act or an existing Federal whistleblower protection law shall be 180 days after the later of the date: (1) an alleged violation occurs; (2) the discharge or other discrimination has taken effect; or (3) the employee first learns or reasonably should have learned of the violation. Provides for filing complaints with the Secretary of Labor (the Secretary). Directs the Secretary to create or designate an identifiable office or unit within the Department of Labor to investigate such complaints and to issue orders providing relief where appropriate. Provides for administrative law hearings upon request when such orders are not issued, or are questioned. Allows the Secretary or complainant to petition any U.S. district court to enforce an order. Requires the investigation office, if it determines that there is reasonable cause to believe that a violation of this Act has occurred, to intervene on behalf of the complainant in proceedings under this Act. Provides for an administrative appeal procedure. Makes the decision of the administrative law judge the final order of the Secretary (subject to specified judicial review), unless there is a petition or order for review by the Secretary within a specified period. Directs the Secretary to issue a final order after such review within a specified period. Sets forth provisions for remedies. Provides for orders of abatement, reinstatement (with compensation and restoration of lost pay, benefits, and privileges), consequential damages, double damages for willful and wanton violations, equitable relief, and legal cost payments. Provides for judicial review of orders. Provides for settlements or alternative dispute resolutions. Requires employers to post specified information about this Act. Sets forth provisions for enforcement of orders under this Act by the parties in U.S. district court. Provides for complaint referral by directing the Secretary to send copies of final orders (including settlement orders) to each Federal agency with jurisdiction over the activity, policy, or practice alleged in the complaint. Directs such agency to take appropriate action and report on such action to the Secretary, the parties, and the relevant congressional committees. Provides that such provisions do not limit any Federal agency authority under any other law. Declares that rights and remedies under this Act: (1) are in addition to any other rights and remedies provided under a contract or State law; and (2) supersede existing Federal whistleblower protection laws with respect to any discharge or discrimination based on employee conduct protected by this Act. Provides that the enforcement and administration procedures of this Act supersede those of any existing Federal whistleblower protection laws in such respects.
United States · United States Congress · 28 September 1989
Amends the Rail Passenger Service Act to repeal an exemption from specified communicable disease control requirements of the Public Health Service Act for waste disposal from railroads operating in intercity rail passenger service.
United States · United States Congress · 28 September 1989
Authorizes the Secretary of Agriculture to make grants to aid businesses unable to secure credit and create jobs in rural areas. Amends the Consolidated Farm and Rural Development Act to increase annual water and waste facility assistance limits. Authorizes the Secretary to provide water and waste facilities loans to specified rural entities. Authorizes the Farm Credit System to provide loans and other financial assistance to rural sewer and water projects. Establishes in the Farmers Home Administration a national rural waste water circuit rider grant program. Amends the Rural Electrification Act of 1936 to establish: (1) a technical assistance unit; and (2) an Assistant Administrator for Economic Development. Amends the Consolidated and Rural Development Act to authorize a rural business development grant program. Directs the Secretary to establish within the National Agricultural Library a National Rural Assistance Information Clearinghouse. Treats a rural county experiencing specified population reduction as a labor surplus area.
United States · United States Congress · 28 September 1989
Designates March 3, 1990, as United States Naval Reserve Day in recognition of the Reserve's 75th anniversary.
United States · United States Congress · 27 September 1989
Amends the Federal Trade Commission Act to make it unlawful for any person to advertise any product unless the advertisement discloses: (1) the country in which the product is finally assembled; and (2) if parts constituting 50 percent or more of the cost to the assembler were manufactured in one or more foreign countries, then the name of the country or the disclosure that the parts are from a foreign country.