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United States · Official source
5,601 records where Rep. Vento, Bruce F. [D-MN-4] is listed as a sponsor, author, or other actor. Search with topics and years
United States · United States Congress · 11 August 1988
Amends the Food Stamp Act of 1977 to repeal the limitation on the eligibility of, and benefits available to, households that include a member who is on strike.
United States · United States Congress · 11 August 1988
States that the U.S. delegation to the United Nations Environment Program working group meeting in Geneva, Switzerland, for the purpose of drafting a global convention on the transboundary movement of hazardous waste should support inclusion in the convention of: (1) a global ban on all transboundary movements of hazardous waste; (2) a definition of hazardous waste that includes all wastes potentially adversely affecting human health; (3) provisions fostering environmentally sound technologies; and (4) a requirement that the ban apply even if the receiving country is not a party to the convention.
United States · United States Congress · 3 August 1988
Amends accounting provisions of the Internal Revenue Code to provide that the percentage completion method shall not be required in the case of any residential construction contract that the taxpayer expects to be completed within one year.
United States · United States Congress · 28 July 1988
Establishes, in the Library of Congress, the Library of Congress Equal Employment Opportunity Appeals Board. Requires that the Board's three members: (1) be appointed by the Librarian of Congress; (2) have experience in adjudicating or arbitrating equal employment opportunity matters; and (3) not be current or former Librarians of Congress or employees of the Library. Sets forth appointment procedures, including requirements for a candidates' list from, and consultation with, employees, employee representative organizations, other organizations in the Library, professional and civil rights organizations, and specified congressional committees. Authorizes the Board to consider and order corrective or disciplinary action in any case arising from: (1) an employee appeal of a decision of the Librarian relating to a formal complaint of alleged discrimination; (2) an employee appeal of a failure of the Library to decide the employee's formal complaint of alleged discrimination within 180 days after the filing date; (3) an action or personnel practice involving discrimination based on race, color, religion, sex, age, national origin, marital status, or handicapping condition; and (4) any issue about the Library's equal employment opportunity policies or practices that the Librarian by regulation decides the Board shall resolve. Directs the Librarian to carry out Board decisions, in cases in which the Librarian has authority to do so. Allows judicial review of a final decision of the Board in an appropriate U.S. circuit court of appeals.
United States · United States Congress · 28 July 1988
Expresses the sense of the Congress that the current income tax deduction for residential mortgage interest should not be changed.
United States · United States Congress · 26 July 1988
Designates September 10, 1988, as National Prune Day.
United States · United States Congress · 26 July 1988
Designates the week beginning September 11, 1988, as National Youth 2000 Week.
United States · United States Congress · 14 July 1988
Women's Business Ownership Act of 1988 - Title I: Congressional Findings and Purposes - Sets forth congressional findings and purposes with respect to small businesses owned and controlled by women. Title II: Demonstration Projects - Amends the Small Business Act to direct the Small Business Administration (SBA) to provide financial assistance to private organizations to conduct demonstration projects giving financial, management, and marketing assistance to small businesses, including start-up businesses, owned and controlled by women. Describes application criteria. Requires the SBA to report to the congressional Small Business Committees on the projects. Terminates authority for this pilot program on October 1, 1991. Authorizes appropriations. Title III: Procurement Assistance - Amends the Small Business Act to include small business concerns owned and operated by women as a discrete group for purposes of Government contracts and subcontracts and procurement programs. (Current law governing these programs refers expressly only to small business concerns and small business concerns owned and controlled by socially and economically disadvantaged individuals as groups targeted for assistance.) Instructs the Director of Small and Disadvantaged Business Utilization of each Federal agency to designate a Women-in-Business Specialist to be responsible for programs designed to assist concerns owned and controlled by women. Directs Federal agencies, in their procurement activities, to engage in affirmative action to identify and solicit offers from small businesses owned and controlled by either women or socially and economically disadvantaged individuals. Title IV: Access to Capital - Amends the Consumer Credit Protection Act to prohibit the Federal Reserve Board, except under limited circumstances, from exempting from such Act's provisions any class of transactions that are primarily for personal, family, or household purposes, or business or commercial loans made available by a financial institution. Limits to five years any exemption authorized under the circumstances specified in this Act, unless a subsequent determination is made that the exemption remains appropriate. Requires lenders to keep records relating to loans and to provide written notice to applicants of their right to receive notice of reasons for a loan denial. Authorizes the SBA to establish a certified loan program for lenders that display knowledge and proficiency with respect to SBA regulations and programs. Directs the SBA to encourage small business loans of $50,000 or less under both this new program and the preferred lenders program in FY 1989 through 1991 by permitting participating lenders to: (1) use their own forms without regard to SBA paperwork; and (2) retain one-half of the loan guarantee fee. Requires SBA reporting to specified congressional committees in connection with the certified loan program. Directs the Federal Reserve Board, the Comptroller of the Currency, the Department of Commerce, and the SBA jointly to study levels of availability of and demand for debt and equity capital by small businesses, as well as innovative financing techniques to meet any unmet demand. Requires reporting to the congressional Small Business Committees. Title V: National Women's Business Council - Establishes the National Women's Business Council to review the status of women-owned businesses nationwide and to develop detailed multiyear plans in connection with both private and public sector actions to assist and promote such businesses. Requires annual reporting to both the President and the Congress. Title VI: Statistical Data and Effect on Other Programs - Directs: (1) the Bureau of Labor Statistics to include in its census reports on women-owned businesses specified information on sole proprietorships, partnerships, and corporations; (2) the Bureau of the Census to include in its Business Census data the number of corporations that are 51 percent or more owned by women; (3) the SBA's Office of the Chief Counsel for Advocacy to report on the most cost-effective and accurate ways to gather and present the statistics required in these census reports; and (4) Federal agencies to report to the Office of Federal Procurement Policy the number of first-time contract recipients that are small businesses owned and controlled either by women or by socially and economically disadvantaged individuals. Requires the President's annual Report on Small Business and Competition to include in separate detail information relevant to small businesses owned and controlled either by women or by socially and economically disadvantaged individuals.
United States · United States Congress · 14 July 1988
Permanent Housing for Homeless Americans Act of 1988 - Directs the Secretary of Housing and Urban Development to provide FY 1989 and 1990 housing assistance for homeless or low-income individuals and families under the following programs: (1) section 8 assistance; (2) section 8 moderate rehabilitation assistance; (3) modernization of vacant public housing; (4) rental rehabilitation; and (5) funding for the rehabilitation of State and local government in rem properties. Requires an annual program report to the Congress.
United States · United States Congress · 14 July 1988
Designates the week beginning March 7, 1989, as Deaf Awareness Week.
United States · United States Congress · 14 July 1988
Designates the week of October 16 through October 22, 1988, as National Poetry Week.
United States · United States Congress · 13 July 1988
Amends the Export Administration Act of 1979 to prohibit the export of petroleum products (from Alaska and from the rest of the United States) that are domestically produced by oil refineries owned by non-U.S. citizens. Sets forth specified exceptions.
United States · United States Congress · 12 July 1988
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 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 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 · 12 July 1988
Prohibits the proposed sale of F/A-18C/D aircraft, Cluster bomb units, and Sidewinder, Sparrow, Harpoon, and Maverick missiles to Kuwait.
United States · United States Congress · 7 July 1988
Directs the Federal Communications Commission to establish and implement a telecommunications relay system to increase access to Federal departments and agencies for users of Telecommunications Devices for the Deaf (TDDs). Requires the system and its associated plans to include: (1) expansion of the existing relay system to a prescribed minimum service level; (2) accessibility of TDDs in Federal agencies; (3) publication of a TDD directory of Government access numbers; (4) adoption and display of logos identifying TDD stations; and (5) support for the development of cost-reducing technologies. Directs the FCC to complete its existing inquiry concerning an interstate relay system for TDD users. Requires that the Congress install TDDs and assure their accessibility in congressional offices as soon as practicable. Authorizes appropriations.
United States · United States Congress · 7 July 1988
Recyclable Materials Science and Technology Development Act of 1988 - Directs the Secretary of Commerce to study and report to the Congress concerning: (1) means to increase the use of degradable materials in manufactured goods; (2) technologies for recycling nondurable consumer products; and (3) ways to expand the marketing of recycled products. Directs the Secretary of Health and Human Services to study and report to the Congress concerning the feasibility of recycling nondegradable medical supplies and of substituting degradable for nondegradable materials in medical equipment and supplies. Directs the Secretary of Defense to study and report to the Congress on the national defense and security implications of requiring the use of degradable materials in defense items. Instructs the Secretary of Agriculture to initiate a pilot project to develop and demonstrate viable technology for composting municipal waste and sewage sludge. Prescribes required features of the project. Requires the Secretary to report project results to the Congress. Directs the Secretary of Commerce to appoint a Director of Recycling Research and Information to: (1) make grants to support research into innovative recycling technology; and (2) gather and disseminate information on recycling technology. Describes possible research grant activities. Authorizes appropriations. Prohibits, effective five years after this Act's enactment, the production, manufacture, distribution, sale, or delivery of nonrecycled consumer goods, fast food in nondegradable containers, and packaging for specified purposes that contains any material that is not naturally degradable. Establishes both civil and criminal penalties for violations. Directs the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency and the Secretary of Commerce jointly to issue regulations to govern the designation of goods and materials for noncompliance purposes. Prescribes criteria with respect to these regulations, including exemptions. Directs the Secretary to publish and periodically update lists of items and materials affected by the prohibition on activities involving nonrecyclable items.
United States · United States Congress · 7 July 1988
Merchant Mariner Memorial Act of 1988 - Authorizes the Secretary of Transportation to convey the right, title, and interest of the United States in vessels in the National Defense Reserve Fleet to nonprofit organizations for use in funding merchant marine memorials, provided the vessels have no usefulness to the Government and are scheduled to be scrapped and the organizations agree to sell the vessels for scrap, divide the proceeds, and use them for the memorial. Requires organizations to have raised a minimum amount from non-Federal sources before enactment of this Act in order to participate in the sale. Limits an organization to one grant under this Act. Terminates this Act two years after enactment.
United States · United States Congress · 30 June 1988
Designates September 14, 1988, as National Medical Research Day.
United States · United States Congress · 29 June 1988
Department of Defense Acquisition Reorganization Act of 1988 - Establishes within the Department of Defense a Defense Acquisition Agency. Provides that the Under Secretary of Defense for Acquisition shall be the head of such Agency. Specifies that the Agency shall be responsible for all functions of the Department of Defense (including the military departments) relating to acquisition of property and services (including construction). Terminates the procurement authority of the Secretary of the Army, the Secretary of the Navy, and the Secretary of the Air Force. Establishes in the Department of Defense a Defense Acquisition Corps (DAC) to be headed by the Under Secretary of Defense for Acquisition. Requires the Secretary to make appointments to the DAC from the best-qualified civilian applicants and military personnel. Directs the Secretary to establish by regulation a personnel system for civilian personnel within the DAC. Outlines information to be included in such regulations. Allows the Secretary to exempt civilian personnel of the DAC from any otherwise applicable competitive service requirements. Authorizes the Secretary to establish by regulation a merit pay system for such members of the DAC as the Secretary deems appropriate. Provides for the assignment of members of the DAC. Requires the Secretary, not later than one year after the enactment of this Act, to: (1) review existing acquisition-related positions in the military departments to determine which positions should be included in the DAC; and (2) make appointments to such positions. Directs the Secretary of Defense to review each major defense acquisition program before such program proceeds into the stages of: (1) initial research and development; (2) full-scale development; and (3) production. Sets forth evaluations to be included in each review. Prohibits the Secretary or the Secretary of a military department from obligating or expending funds with respect to a stage of a major defense acquisition program unless the Secretary of Defense approves such program at the beginning of such stage. Directs the Secretary of Defense to establish and operate a Defense Acquisition University which includes all existing acquisition-related defense schools.
United States · United States Congress · 28 June 1988
Wildfire Protection Assistance Act of 1988 - Authorizes agency heads to enter into reciprocal agreements with foreign fire organizations to provide wildfire protection for lands, resources, and other properties for which the agency normally provides such protection. Requires that such agreements allow for termination of the agreement by any party thereto after reasonable notice. Authorizes each agency head, in the absence of such agreement, to furnish emergency wildfire protection resources to any foreign nation and to accept such assistance from any any foreign fire organization when to do so is in the best interest of the United States. Requires an agency head to determine that no U.S. fire organization is reasonably available to provide such protection before spending funds for foreign wildfire protection.
United States · United States Congress · 28 June 1988
Clinical Laboratory Improvement Amendments of 1988 - Title I: Clinical Laboratories Under the Public Health Service Act - Amends the Public Health Service Act to prohibit soliciting or accepting specimens for laboratory procedures without a license or an accreditation. Requires certain criteria to be met for issuance or renewal of a license, including that the laboratory agrees: (1) not to provide services under referrals from physicians or any entity which has a financial interest in or receives compensation from the laboratory; and (2) to bill patients directly. Makes licenses valid for a maximum of two years. Directs the Secretary of Health and Human Services to issue standards to assure consistent performance, including standards regarding: (1) quality assurance and quality control; (2) maintenance of records, equipment, and facilities; (3) qualifications of certain personnel; and (4) participation in a proficiency testing program. Directs the Secretary to establish: (1) national standards for quality assurance in cytology services; and (2) an external proficiency evaluation system for cytological services. Amends provisions authorizing the Secretary to require payment of fees for the issuance and renewal of licenses to remove the limit on the amount of the fees. Directs the Secretary to annually compile information which is useful in evaluating the performance of a laboratory, including information relating to: (1) convictions for fraud and abuse, false billings, or kickbacks; (2) license revocations; (3) intermediate sanctions; (4) injunctions; (5) performance characteristics; (6) the results of the proficiency testing; (7) inspection deficiencies; and (8) exclusions from participation under title XVIII (Medicare) or XIX (Medicaid) of the Social Security Act. Declares that a laboratory which is accredited by an accreditation body approved by the Secretary is not required to be licensed. Allows the Secretary to approve an accreditation body if certain criteria are met, including that the body's standards must be at least as stringent as those for licensing. Sets forth procedures relating to: (1) withdrawal of an accreditation body's approval; and (2) accreditation of a laboratory. Authorizes the Secretary, on an announced or unannounced basis, to inspect a laboratory and all equipment, containers, records, and other materials. Allows the Secretary, after notice and opportunity for hearing, to revoke, suspend, or limit a license or accreditation for specified causes. Allows suspension before a hearing in certain circumstances. Requires a revocation to stay in effect for at least three years. Requires the suspension of the license of a laboratory which has been excluded from participation under title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act because of actions relating to quality. Allows temporary and permanent injunctions under suit by the Secretary. Provides for judicial review of license or accreditation revocation, suspension, or limitation. Provides for intermediate sanctions, including civil monetary penalties, and sanctions, including criminal fines and imprisonment. Permits the Secretary, by agreement, to use and pay for the services or facilities of any Federal, State, or local public agency or nonprofit private organization. Allows the Secretary to exempt laboratories from compliance where State laws are at least as stringent. Repeals provisions exempting from licensing requirements laboratories operated: (1) by certain health professionals solely as an adjunct to the treatment of their own patients; and (2) for any person engaged in the business of insurance solely for the purpose of making insurance decisions. Title II: Studies - Directs the Secretary, through the Public Health Service, to conduct studies on various aspects of validity, reliability, and accuracy of tests performed by clinical laboratories and to report the results to the Congress.
United States · United States Congress · 28 June 1988
Medicare and Medicaid Clinical Laboratory Improvement Amendments of 1988 - Amends titles XVIII (Medicare) and XIX (Medicaid) of the Social Security Act to require that clinical diagnostic laboratories be licensed under the Public Health Service Act. Limits Medicare payments for clinical diagnostic laboratory tests to no more than the lowest amount which the laboratory charged others for such tests. Directs the Secretary of Health and Human Services to report to the Congress within 18 months of this Act's enactment on the changes and Medicare and Medicaid savings wrought by such payment policy. Requires that health maintenance organizations' quality assurance programs assure that outpatient clinical diagnostic laboratory tests are provided only in laboratories which meet this Act's licensing requirements. Allows direct Medicare payments to a laboratory which refers a test to another laboratory only if such other laboratory has no ownership or management relationship with the referring laboratory. Prohibits an entity from providing clinical diagnostic laboratory tests at a physician's direction if such physician has a financial interest in the entity that poses a substantial risk of program abuse. Imposes a civil money penalty and assessment against a person who improperly bills for laboratory services. Requires a physician who orders an unnecessary clinical diagnostic laboratory test to reimburse the laboratory for the performance of such test, unless such physician: (1) did not or could not reasonably be expected to know that such test was unnecessary; or (2) informed the individual to be tested that Medicare will not pay for such test and such individual agreed to pay for it.
United States · United States Congress · 23 June 1988
Comprehensive Alcohol Abuse, Drug Abuse, and Mental Health Amendments Act of 1988 - Amends title XIX (Block Grants) of the Public Health Service Act to revise and reorganize provisions relating to mental health and substance abuse programs, replacing the current part B (Alcohol and Drug Abuse and Mental Health Services Block Grant) and part C (Primary Care Block Grants) with a new part B (Community Mental Health Services), part C (Alcohol and Drug Abuse Prevention, Treatment, and Rehabilitation Services), part D (Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome and Intravenous Drug Abuse), and part E (General Provisions). Directs, in the new part B, the Secretary of Health and Human Services, acting through the Administrator of the Alcohol, Drug Abuse, and Mental Health Administration, to make allotments and payments each fiscal year to each State for planning, developing, and providing community mental health services and related support services. Specifies application procedures and requirements, including a requirement that a State, in order to receive payments, agrees to establish and maintain a State mental health planning council with specified duties. Sets forth a formula for determining the amount of allotments, including special provisions for direct payment to an Indian tribe or tribal organization. Provides transition rules for States for FY 1989 and 1990. Directs the Secretary, acting through the Director of the National Institute of Mental Health, to develop and evaluate community mental health programs and services. Authorizes the use of grants, contracts, and cooperative agreements for such programs. Authorizes the Director of the National Institute of Mental Health to establish research centers to carry out the evaluations. Directs the Secretary, acting through the Director of the National Institute of Mental Health, to develop and make available a model plan for a community-based system for the care of chronically mentally ill individuals. Authorizes appropriations for FY 1989 through 1991 for: (1) mental health programs and services; (2) general provisions under part E; and (3) data collection, as provided in this Act, regarding mental health and substance abuse. Directs, in the new part C, the Secretary, acting through the Administrator of the Alcohol, Drug Abuse, and Mental Health Administration, to make allotments and payments each fiscal year to States for establishing and carrying out programs of prevention, treatment, and rehabilitation with respect to substance abuse and related activities. Specifies application procedures and requirements, including a requirement that a State must agree to use not less than specified portions of the payments for programs and activities related to: (1) alcoholism and alcohol abuse; (2) drug abuse; (3) prevention and early intervention regarding the abuse of alcohol and drugs; and (4) such programs and services designed for women. Sets forth a formula for determining the amount of allotments, including special provisions for direct payment to an Indian tribe or tribal organization. Provides transition rules for territories for FY 1989 and 1990. Directs the Secretary, acting through the Director of the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism and the Director of the National Institute on Drug Abuse, to develop and evaluate alcohol and drug abuse treatment programs. Authorizes the use of grants, contracts, and cooperative agreements for such programs. Authorizes appropriations for FY 1989 through 1991 for: (1) alcohol and drug abuse programs; (2) general provisions under part E; and (3) data collection, as provided in this Act, regarding substance abuse. Directs the Secretary, in the new part D, for each of the FY 1989 through 1991, to make an allotment for each State for prevention of the transmission of the etiologic agent for acquired immune deficiency syndrome (AIDS) by eradicating intravenous drug abuse. Requires non-Federal matching funds in FY 1990 and subsequent years and prohibits the Secretary from requiring them in FY 1989. Allows funds to be used for drug abuse treatment, training counselors, outreach, testing for infection with the etiologic agent, and renovation or construction of drug abuse treatment facilities. Sets forth program requirements, application procedures and requirements, and a formula for determination of the amount of allotments. Directs the Secretary, directly or through contracts, to provide for evaluations of programs, collection of data regarding AIDS and intravenous drug abuse, and dissemination of information on the evaluations and data. Authorizes appropriations for FY 1989 through 1991. Sets forth, in the new part E, general provisions, including: (1) a requirement that, in order for the Secretary to make payments under specified provisions of this Act, a State must submit a description of the purposes for which the State intends to expend such payments; (2) the content such statement must have for specified provisions of this Act; (3) a requirement of public notice and opportunity for comment; (4) restrictions on the use of payments, including restrictions on the portion used for administrative expenses; (5) agreements a State must make in order for the Secretary to make payments; (6) annual reports a State is required, for payments under specified provisions, to prepare and submit to the Secretary; (7) availability of the reports to the public; (8) evaluations, by the Comptroller General of the United States, of expenditures by States under specified provisions; (9) repayment of payments for failure to comply with agreements; (10) a prohibition against certain false statements; and (11) a prohibition of discrimination. Directs the Secretary to provide technical assistance to a State receiving payments under specified provisions of this Act, or entities designated by the State, without charge. Authorizes the Secretary to provide supplies and services in lieu of grant funds. Requires the Secretary, no later than October 1, 1989, to report to the Congress on the activities of the States carried out under specified provisions of this Act. Amends the Public Health Service Act to create a new title on counseling and testing with respect to acquired immune deficiency syndrome (AIDS), starting with a part on grant procedures for counseling and testing. Prohibits the Secretary of Health and Human Services from providing financial assistance unless the applicant agrees to ensure, in accordance with Federal law and with State and local law not superseded by Federal law, the confidentiality of information and records with respect to individuals counseled or tested. Requires a written, signed statement of informed consent by the individual to be tested, with special provisions relating to testing through the use of a pseudonym and anonymous testing. Requires recipients of Federal financial assistance to provide counseling which includes coverage of specified points before testing, after a negative test result, and after a positive test result. Allows recipients to use the grant to provide counseling without testing. Prohibits the Secretary from providing Federal financial assistance to a State unless the State requires that: (1) any entity carrying out testing confidentially report to the State public health officer information sufficient to perform statistical and epidemiological analyses of the incidence and demographic characteristics of cases of infection; and (2) the State public health officer, to the extent appropriate in the determination of the officer, carry out a program of contact tracing. Requires States, to the extent permitted under State law, to offer substantial opportunities for an individual to undergo counseling and testing anonymously and through the use of a pseudonym. Prohibits requiring testing as a condition of receiving other health services, unless the testing is medically indicated in the health services being sought. Creates another new part in the new subtitle established by this Act concerning confidentiality with respect to counseling and testing. Prohibits a described person, without regard to whether the described person receives Federal financial assistance, from disclosing identifying information with respect to a protected individual or a contact of such individual. Includes among the described persons anyone who obtains identifying information: (1) directly or indirectly in connection with counseling or testing with regard to AIDS, providing health care to the protected individual, or carrying out a disclosure authorized by this Act or ordered by a court under this Act; or (2) by directly perceiving any record developed in such counseling, testing, health care, or disclosure. Authorizes consensual disclosure of identifying information through a specified procedure, including consent by a guardian of a legally incompetent person and consent, after the death of the protected individual, by the claimant of life insurance proceeds, for disclosure to the insurance company. Provides for nonconsensual disclosure: (1) to a health care provider in connection with counseling or testing, to the protected individual, or to the guardian an incompetent individual; (2) to a health care provider who is likely to be occupationally exposed to the etiologic agent; (3) to a State public health officer if required by State law; (4) in connection with donation of blood, semen, breast milk, or an organ; (5) to a person preparing the body of a protected individual for burial; (6) intraorganizationally as necessary; (7) from a person receiving disclosure to any person authorized in these provisions for authorized purposes; and (8) in connection with certain sales, transfers, mergers, or consolidations of organizations. Authorizes a court of competent jurisdiction, with respect to the protected individual or contact involved, to: (1) order disclosure of identifying information to a State health officer in order to prevent a clear and imminent danger of transmission, by the individual or contact, of the etiologic agent; and (2) authorize the officer to disclose identifying information to the extent reasonably necessary to prevent such danger. Sets forth procedures, including in camera hearings, use of pseudonyms, and sealing of records. Authorizes physicians and counselors to make nonconsensual disclosures to spouses, sexual contacts, and people with whom the protected individual has shared a hypodermic needle, in certain circumstances. Requires, subject to exception, that: (1) disclosures be accompanied by a written declaration that redisclosure may be prohibited by law; and (2) in certain circumstances, the protected individual be notified in writing of the disclosure. Provides for civil money penalties and civil causes of action for intentional or negligent violation of disclosure provisions of this part. Authorizes injunctive relief initiated by the Secretary and a civil cause of action by any aggrieved individual. Provides for in camera proceedings, use of pseudonyms, and sealing of records. Provides for criminal penalties for intentional violation of disclosure provisions. Provides for termination of grants from and contracts with any Federal agency and suspension or debarment of any Federal grantee or contractor for violation of certain disclosure provisions of this part. Declares that the imposition of a penalty or the receipt of relief under specified provisions of this part does not preclude other penalties or relief under Federal law. Declares that this part supersedes any State law that provides penalties or causes of action for failure to make disclosures not authorized by this part or for making disclosures authorized by this part. Creates an additional new part containing general provisions setting forth definitions applicable to the new title created by this Act. Amends the Public Health Service Act to direct the Secretary, acting through the Director of the National Institute of Mental Health (Director), to develop and publish information regarding the causes of suicide and the means of preventing suicide, especially among individuals under 24 years of age. Directs the Secretary, acting through the Director, to make grants and enter into cooperative agreements for research on mental illness. Directs the Secretary, through the Director, to establish a National Mental Health Education Program to: (1) develop treatment and family assistance methods; (2) support research, training, and education; (3) collect and disseminate information; (4) provide technical assistance; and (5) establish a clearinghouse to collect and disseminate information. Authorizes the Secretary, acting through the Director, to make grants for mental health services demonstration projects for the planning, coordination, and improvement of community services, including outreach and self-help services, for chronically mentally ill individuals, seriously emotionally disturbed children and youth, elderly individuals, and homeless chronically mentally ill individuals, and for the conduct of research concerning such services. Authorizes the Secretary, acting through the Director, to make grants for prevention services demonstration projects for the provision of prevention services for individuals who are at risk of developing mental illness. Limits the duration of such a grant and the portion of the grant which may be used for administrative expenses. Authorizes appropriations for FY 1989 and 1990. Amends the Public Health Service Act to direct the Secretary, acting through the Administrator of the Alcohol, Drug Abuse, and Mental Health Administration, to collect data on the incidence, nationally and in selected major metropolitan areas, of the various forms of mental illness and substance abuse. Specifies the types of data to be included. Authorizes appropriations for FY 1989 through 1991 to carry out specified provisions of the Public Health Service Act relating to: (1) alcohol abuse and alcoholism; and (2) research with respect to drug abuse. Authorizes the Secretary, acting through the Director of the National Institute on Drug Abuse, to make grants for demonstration projects: (1) to determine the feasibility and efficacy of providing drug abuse treatment and vocational training in exchange for public service; (2) to conduct outreach to intravenous drug abusers with respect to AIDS; and (3) to provide drug abuse treatment services to pregnant and postpartum women and their infants. Directs the Secretary, directly or through contracts, to provide for evaluations of the projects and for dissemination of information developed. Authorizes appropriations for FY 1989 through 1991 for the Office of Substance Abuse Prevention. Directs the Secretary, acting through the Director of the Office of Substance Abuse Prevention, to make grants for prevention, education, and treatment regarding drug and alcohol abuse relating to pregnant and postpartum women and their infants, giving priority to projects: (1) for low-income women; and (2) to develop innovative approaches regarding the use of the drugs about which there exists insufficient information, including cocaine and crack. Requires that grants be distributed among projects that provide inpatient, outpatient, and residential treatment. Requires the Director to evaluate the projects. Amends the Public Health Service Act to state that the Office of Substance Abuse Prevention is an entity of the Alcohol, Drug Abuse, and Mental Health Administration (Administration). Changes from annual to not less than once each three years the requirement that the Administrator, acting through the Associate Administrator for Prevention, report to the Congress regarding prevention activities undertaken by the Administration. Directs the Administrator to establish a process for responding to reports of scientific misconduct in connection with projects using funds under title V of the Public Health Service Act. (Current law requires such a process for scientific fraud.) Repeals provisions dealing with the duties, composition, and operation of the Alcohol, Drug Abuse, and Mental Health Advisory Board. Authorizes the Administrator to: (1) accept voluntary and uncompensated services; and (2) conduct and support certain research training. Amends provisions relating to drug abuse research and to drug abuse demonstration projects to require special consideration regarding pregnant women and their children. Amends provisions relating to mental health clinical traineeships to impose a service obligation on individuals receiving such a traineeship in marital and family therapy. Amends the Anti-Drug Abuse Act of 1986 to require the Secretary to report to the Congress with respect to the results of a study regarding insurance coverage of drug abuse treatment, within 18 months after the execution of the contract for the study. (Current law requires such a report within one year of the enactment of that Act.) Authorizes the Secretary to make grants to expand programs of treatment for drug abuse, limiting eligibility to applicants whose treatment programs have a waiting period of one month or more. Authorizes appropriations. Directs the Secretary, directly or by contract, to provide for an independent evaluation of federally funded programs of: (1) treatment for drug abuse; and (2) research into methods of such treatment. Sets forth reporting requirements. Mandates that butyl nitrite be considered a banned hazardous product under provisions of the Consumer Product Safety Act, subject to exception. Declares that any conviction of a person for certain violations of the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act involving anabolic steriods or human growth hormone shall be considered a conviction for purposes of specified provisions of the Controlled Substances Act. Directs the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency to: (1) develop guidelines and provide counseling for law enforcement agencies for dealing with illegal drug laboratories to protect the public health and environment; and (2) carry out demonstration projects to clean up substances associated with illegal drug laboratories. Amends the Controlled Substances Act to allow proceeds from the sale of forfeited property to be used to pay for demonstration projects for and expenses of cleanup of substances associated with illegal drug laboratories.
United States · United States Congress · 23 June 1988
Public Housing Gateway Act of 1988 - Authorizes the Secretary of Labor (the Secretary) to make gateway program grants to public housing agencies to use public housing in the provision of employment training and services to economically disadvantaged public housing residents who are not more than 25 years of age. Requires that such grants be made with the advice and participation of the Gateway Task Force established under this Act. Requires public housing agencies to meet specified requirements to receive such grants. Requires that the following training and services be made available to eligible individuals by public housing agencies through the gateway program they must establish when they receive such a grant: (1) information on training, education, or services offered by the agency; (2) literacy training and bilingual training; (3) remedial education and training in basic skills (including communication skills, arithmetic, and problem-solving); (4) development of work habits and other personal management skills; and (5) free child care to facilitate participation in training and other services. Requires that such child care: (1) be designed to employ and train economically disadvantaged residents of the public housing project involved; and (2) include daytime care for children not attending school and adult dependents, after-school care, and irregular, periodic, and evening care. Specifies additional training and services which may be offered by public housing agencies as part of their gateway grant programs to eligible individuals who are qualified through literacy training, training in basic and employment skills, and support services, subject to certain limitations. Requires that participants in gateway program training and services be: (1) residents of public housing; (2) not more than 25 years of age; (3) economically disadvantaged; and (4) educationally disadvantaged (either having encountered barriers to employment because of a deficiency in a basic skill or, if over 16 years of age or beyond the age of compulsory school attendance, not having a certificate of graduation from a secondary school and not having achieved an equivalent educational level. Limits mandatory child care services to: (1) participants in gateway program training or services during participation; (2) unemployed former participants who have successfully completed the program, for a specified period; and (3) employed former participants who have successfully completed the program, during the 12-month period beginning with commencement of employment in a position not funded under this Act. Requires agencies to assure that child care services provided under this Act comply with applicable State and local laws. Permits support services to continue for up to 18 months to any individual after termination of participation in program training or services only if the individual has completed the training or services. Requires public housing agencies receiving such grants to attempt to employ qualified residents of the public housing project involved in positions relating to the administration and delivery of training and services under gateway programs. Prohibits consideration of earnings of and benefits to any individual resulting from participation in gateway training and services as income for public assistance or rent limitation purposes during specified periods of participation or post-participation employment. Provides that the use of the facilities of a recipient public housing agency in the provision of gateway training or services shall have no effect on the amount of operating assistance to such agency under specified provisions of the United States Housing Act. Establishes an interagency task force, to be known as the Gateway Task Force (the Task Force), to advise and assist the Secretary in carrying out this Act. Directs the Secretary to provide the Task Force with necessary information and facilities. Directs the Secretaries of Labor, Housing and Urban Development, Education, and Health and Human Services to each appoint members of the Task Force. Terminates the Task Force five years after its first regularly called meeting, not including an initial organizational meeting. Directs the Secretary to review at least annually compliance with this Act by public housing agencies receiving gateway program grants. Directs the Task Force to: (1) review gateway programs at least annually to determine their merits in enhancing the employability of public housing residents; (2) advise the Secretary of such determinations; and (3) make recommendations regarding the grant program and the various training and services. Sets forth procedures for withholding grant payments in cases of agency noncompliance. Directs the Secretary to transmit to the President and the Congress: (1) annual reports on Task Force activities and recommendations; and (2) a final report, by the date of Task Force termination, on Task Force findings, conclusions, and recommendations. Directs the Secretary to issue regulations to carry out this Act. Authorizes appropriations for FY 1989.
United States · United States Congress · 23 June 1988
Title I: Municipal Incinerator Emissions - Amends the Clean Air Act to direct the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to promulgate performance standards to control emissions of particulate matter, sulfur dioxide, oxides of nitrogen, carbon monoxide, lead, cadmium, dioxins, dibenzofurans, hydrogen chloride, and mercury from municipal waste incineration units. Requires that such standards reflect the greatest degree of emission limitation achievable through application of the best available control technologies and practices. Deems specified practices and control technologies to be available. Requires that such standards be promulgated within one year of this Act's enactment, take effect within 18 months of enactment, and be reviewed and, if necessary, revised within three years of promulgation and every five years thereafter. Sets forth emission control standards which will be applicable should the EPA fail to promulgate standards. Requires the EPA to promulgate a timetable, within one year of this Act's enactment, for existing municipal waste incineration units to comply with emission control standards, taking into account the remaining useful life of the unit and the threat the unit poses to human health and the environment. Sets forth the maximum number of years which such timetable may allow for the compliance, providing more time as a unit's additional pollution control equipment costs represent a larger proportion of its capital costs. Requires owners or operators of municipal waste incineration units to monitor emissions at the point such emissions move into ambient air and at such other points as necessary to protect human health and the environment and to report the results of such monitoring. Sets monitoring standards, including ones for continuous and periodic monitoring. Sets a 20-year limit on unit permits. Provides for the termination of such a permit if: (1) the unit is not in compliance with permit terms and conditions; (2) compliance with additional conditions is necessary to protect human health and the environment, or will impose minimal costs on the unit owner or operator and reduce air emissions below levels specified in the permit; or (3) enforceable contracts for the treatment or disposal of the unit's ash for the succeeding five years do not exist. Requires that a permit be reviewed at least once every five years. Authorizes concurrent State enforcement of unit emission standards, provided such enforcement is equivalent to Federal enforcement under this Act. Requires that civil penalties imposed against municipalities pursuant to this Act be applied in support of public programs and activities that enhance the protection of the health and environment of their residents. Directs the EPA to establish a model State program, within 18 months of this Act's enactment, for the training and certification of municipal waste incinerator personnel. Requires that incinerator personnel be certified pursuant to a State or EPA training and certification program which is consistent with such program. Subjects any person engaged in the manufacture or sale of municipal waste incineration units or components who misrepresents the performance characteristics of incinerator technology or equipment to a civil monetary penalty plus costs and damages caused by such misrepresentation. Includes as major emitting facilities under the Clean Air Act municipal incinerators capable of charging more than 50 tons of refuse per day. (Currently, only incinerators charging more than 250 tons per day are included.) Title II: Solid Waste Disposal Act Amendment - Amends the Solid Waste Disposal Act to direct the EPA to promulgate regulations, within one year of this Act's enactment, for the safe management of municipal incinerator ash. Requires that landfills into which such ashes are disposed be monofills with groundwater monitoring, two synthetic liners, an additional lower liner, a leachate collection system above all liners, and a leak detection system between the two synthetic liners. Authorizes the disposal of ash in a landfill other than a monofill if requirements more stringent than those imposed on monofills apply. Authorizes the EPA to waive the applicability of this Act's landfill design requirements to solid waste management units receiving incinerator ash if an alternative design will provide at least as effective protection of human health and the environment as such requirements. Prohibits a State from issuing a permit to any new or modified municipal waste incineration unit after 18 months after this Act's enactment unless the State prepares a solid waste management plan which provides cost-effective maximization of resource conservation and the protection of human health and the environment through solid waste reduction, source separation or control, recycling, and other measures. Prohibits the issuance of a permit to a unit unless an ash management plan demonstrating compliance with this Act's requirements has been submitted for the ash from such unit. Requires that before a new or modified unit begins operations it have sufficient capacity to treat or dispose of its ash for the succeeding five years. Directs the EPA, in developing regulations for the management of municipal incinerator ash, to issue criteria and testing procedures for identifying the characteristics of such ash which may pose a hazard to human health or the environment. Authorizes the EPA to require the owner or operator of a municipal incinerator or any facility involved in ash management to test the ash in accordance with such criteria and testing procedures. Requires that any ash which is identified as posing a hazard to human health or the environment be: (1) disposed of pursuant to this Act's requirements; or (2) treated, in accordance with regulations to be promulgated by the EPA, so as to remove the hazards associated with such ash, including the migration of hazardous constituents. Subjects facilities receiving municipal incinerator ash to a permit or other prior approval program and conditions in accordance with a State's solid waste management program. Provides public notice and the opportunity or an informal public hearing prior to the issuance of a permit to an ash management facility. Authorizes the EPA to issue a corrective action order or commence a civil action against the offending facility when there has been a release of a hazardous ash constituent. Directs the EPA to publish guidelines, within one year of this Act's enactment, identifying items or materials that should be removed from municipal waste prior to incineration in order to reduce air emissions.
United States · United States Congress · 23 June 1988
Palau Compact of Free Association Implementation Act - Authorizes the entry into force of the Compact of Free Association between the United States and Palau (the Compact), subject to specified determinations of approval by the Appellate Division of the Supreme Court of Palau or by referendum. Directs the President to negotiate: (1) an agreement with the Government of Palau to establish an office of public auditor; (2) an agreement regarding responses to an audit by the Comptroller General of the United States or the Secretary of the Interior; (3) agreements for the establishment of an independent office of special prosecutor and for the provision of law enforcement assistance and U.S.-Palau law enforcement cooperation; (5) an agreement providing for the submission by the Palau Government of a national development plan; and (6) agreements for the provision of medical, capital improvement, and further referendum cost assistance. Directs the Secretary to: (1) provide assistance for the development and promulgation of regulations regarding expenditures; and (2) negotiate an agreement guaranteeing purchase by the Federal Financing Bank of Palau Government obligations issued to refinance indebtedness related to the Palau electric power generating and distribution system. Provides funds for construction of medical facilities in Palau and debt assistance to Palau, the Federated States of Micronesia, and the Marshall Islands for use of medical facilities prior to implementation of the territories' compacts. Directs the Comptroller General to conduct annual audits of assistance provided to the Federated States of Micronesia and the Marshall Islands. Extends Pell Grant, Supplemental Educational Opportunity Grant, and College Work-Study assistance to students who are or will be citizens of the Federated States of Micronesia, Palau, or the Marshall Islands. Authorizes the Presidents of the United States and Palau to make agreements regarding compensation for and the transfer of land for defense uses. Directs the United States to provide funds for capital improvements. Directs the Secretary to: (1) establish field offices in Palau, the Federated States of Micronesia, and the Marshall Islands; and (2) provide sums as may be necessary for a further referendum or other costs of Compact implementation. Authorizes appropriations. Provides for continuing availability of unobligated balances of funds provided to Palau. Directs the Secretary to assist the President of Palau in implementing the requirements of the fiscal procedures and law enforcement assistance agreements and to report annually to the House Committee on Interior and Insular Affairs and the Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources. Provides a 180-day transitional rule for granting of U.S. nonimmigrant status. Amends the Act approving the Compact to provide that the authorizations for transition purposes shall decline over the first through third fiscal years after the Compact's effective date (under current law, FY 1987 through 1989).
United States · United States Congress · 23 June 1988
Designates the week of October 2 through October 8, 1988, as National Wild and Scenic Rivers Act Week, marking the 20th anniversary of the Act.
United States · United States Congress · 22 June 1988
Designates the period of November 28 through December 5, 1988, as National Book Week.
United States · United States Congress · 21 June 1988
Authorizes the Vietnam Women's Memorial Project, Inc., to construct a commemorative statue within the Vietnam Veterans Memorial to recognize and honor the women of the U.S. armed forces who served in the Vietnam war. Directs the Secretary of the Interior to select a site for the statue within the Memorial. Makes the design proposal subject to the approval of the Secretary, the National Planning Commission, and the Commission of Fine Arts. Prohibits the United States and the District of Columbia from paying any expense of constructing the statue. Expresses the sense of the Congress that: (1) it is fitting and appropriate that such a statue be constructed at the site of the Vietnam Memorial; (2) the Secretary and each of the Commissions should give consideration to the sense of Congress that such a statue should be constructed at that site; and (3) after the addition of such statue no further commemorative works should be added to the Memorial. Requires the Secretary and Administrator of General Services to prepare, transmit to the Congress, and update periodically a list and a description of those commemorative works which have been completed and are located in the District of Columbia and its environs. Prohibits any significant modification to any commemorative work located in the District of Columbia and its environs unless specifically authorized by the Congress.
United States · United States Congress · 21 June 1988
Expresses the sense of the Congress that the Secretary of the Treasury should not regulate the donation of articles intended to relieve human suffering in Nicaragua, except as authorized for the President under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act.
United States · United States Congress · 20 June 1988
Drug Free Mothers and Babies Act of 1988 - Directs the Secretary of Health and Human Services to: (1) carry out a program to research drug and alcohol abuse among pregnant women and its effects on their infants; and (2) establish demonstration projects for prevention, education, and treatment regarding drug and alcohol abuse relating to pregnant and postpartum women and their infants. Authorizes the Secretary, through the Directors of the National Institute on Drug Abuse and the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism, to make grants to health research facilities for such research, giving priority to projects researching widely available drugs about which exist insufficient information, including cocaine and crack. Authorizes the Secretary, through the Director of the Office of Substance Abuse Prevention, to make grants to medical facilities for such demonstration projects, giving priority to projects for low-income women and their infants and projects designed to develop innovative approaches. Requires grants to be distributed among projects that provide inpatient, outpatient, and residential treatment. Sets forth reporting requirements. Authorizes appropriations for FY 1989 through 1991.
United States · United States Congress · 15 June 1988
Condemns the use of chemical weapons by Iraq and calls upon Iraq to halt the use of such weapons. Commends the President for his prompt condemnation of Iraq's recent chemical weapons attack on civilians. Urges the President to: (1) seek allied cooperation to tighten controls on the export of chemical compounds to countries seeking to develop a chemical weapons capability; (2) make appropriate diplomatic efforts to prevent Iran from developing or using chemical weapons; and (3) intensify American efforts at the Geneva Conference on Disarmament and in bilateral discussions with the Soviet Union to achieve an arms control agreement banning the production, use, and transfer of chemical weapons.
United States · United States Congress · 15 June 1988
Expresses the sense of the House of Representatives regarding the importance of homeownership and the role of the United States in ensuring decent and affordable housing.
United States · United States Congress · 15 June 1988
Requires the President to provide the House of Representatives with specified documents (with respect to the assistance for Central America provided for in Public Law 100-276) concerning: (1) interpretations of such Act by the Legal Advisor of the Department of State or the Office of the General Counsel of the Agency for International Development (AID); (2) standards, procedures, and controls for the accountability of funds which have been adopted by AID pursuant to such Act; (3) the procurement outside of the United States, the receipt, and the end-use of any equipment, supplies, or other goods for the Nicaraguan democratic resistance using the funds made available by such Act; (4) funds made available by such Act for the Verification Commission established by the Sapoa Agreement of March 23, 1988; (5) the selection of, and agreements with, organizations to distribute assistance under such Act for children who are victims of the Nicaraguan civil strife; and (6) compliance with the requirements for the distribution to and use of such assistance by children.
United States · United States Congress · 14 June 1988
Directs the Secretary of the Interior to establish the National Park of Samoa. Provides for the management of such park. Directs the Secretary to establish an Advisory Board to provide advice on the management of such park. Authorizes appropriations.
United States · United States Congress · 14 June 1988
Amends the Military Lands Withdrawal Act of 1986 to expand the lands withdrawn for certain military purposes to include specified lands in Lincoln County, Nevada.
United States · United States Congress · 10 June 1988
Amends the Federal Cigarette Labeling and Advertising Act to require manufacturers and importers of cigarettes to place warnings on packages and in advertisements that the nicotine in cigarettes is an addictive drug.
United States · United States Congress · 10 June 1988
Temporary Emergency Food Assistance Solicitation Amendment of 1988 - Amends the Temporary Emergency Food Assistance Act of 1983 to direct the Secretary of Agriculture to solicit at least annually applications for unprocessed agricultural commodities available for distribution under such Act.
United States · United States Congress · 10 June 1988
Designates August 1988 as Cajun Music Month.
United States · United States Congress · 9 June 1988
Prohibits the proposed sale to Japan of the AEGIS Combat System and related defense articles and defense services.
United States · United States Congress · 8 June 1988
Designates July 2 and July 3, 1988, as United States-Canada Days of Peace and Friendship.
United States · United States Congress · 7 June 1988
Amends the Pennsylvania Avenue Development Corporation Act of 1972 to authorize appropriations for operating and administrative expenses for FY 1989 through 1992.
United States · United States Congress · 2 June 1988
Urges the Government of Iran to uphold the human rights of all its nationals, including members of the Baha'i faith, and to restore fully the rights guaranteed by the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. Calls upon the President to: (1) monitor and report on developments affecting the Baha'i minority in Iran and in other countries; (2) cooperate with other governments in continuing to make appeals to Iran concerning the situation of the Baha'is; (3) initiate and support efforts in the United Nations and its agencies on behalf of the Baha'is; and (4) 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 · 1 June 1988
National Gleaning Clearinghouse Act of 1988 - Establishes in the Extension Service of the Department of Agriculture a National Gleaning Clearinghouse to promote the collection and distribution of gleaned agricultural products and crops to assist persons in need.
United States · United States Congress · 26 May 1988
Agricultural Commodity Embargo Limitation Act - Provides that the President may not prohibit or restrict the export of U.S. agricultural products to any country unless: (1) a state of war exists between such country and the United States; or (2) the President certifies to the Congress that such country is engaged in military hostilities against the United States, and such certification is in effect.
United States · United States Congress · 26 May 1988
Forest Wildfire Emergency Pay Equity Act of 1988 - Allows Federal forest firefighters to be paid overtime without limitation while serving during forest wildfire emergencies.
United States · United States Congress · 26 May 1988
Amends the Federal Savings and Loan Insurance Corporation Recapitalization Act of 1987 to extend for one year the moratorium on thrift institutions' voluntarily terminating deposit insurance provided by the Federal Savings and Loan Insurance Corporation.
United States · United States Congress · 26 May 1988
Designates the month of September 1988 as National Sewing Month.
United States · United States Congress · 26 May 1988
Designates the week of October 24 through October 30, 1988, as Drug-Free America Week.
United States · United States Congress · 26 May 1988
Designates the week beginning May 21, 1989, as National Tourism Week.