United States · United States Congress · 18 May 1989
Disaster Assistance Act of 1989 - Title I: Emergency Crop Loss Assistance - Amends the Disaster Assistance Act of 1988 to extend disaster assistance to winter wheat and other winter crops planted in 1988 for harvest in 1989. Title II: Emergency Livestock Assistance - Amends the Agricultural Act of 1949 to make funds available for emergency livestock transportation and water assistance in 1989. Title III: Businesses - Amends the Disaster Assistance Act of 1988 to extend Federal principal and interest guarantees on rural business loans based on 1989 winter crop losses. Title IV: Planting of Alternate Crops on Permitted Acreage - Amends the Agricultural Act of 1949 to extend alternate crop authority through 1990. Title V: Implementation - Offsets disaster payments made under this Act by deficiency payment reductions.
United States · United States Congress · 16 May 1989
Expresses the sense of the Congress that legislation should be considered as soon as practicable that would equalize payments under title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act to rural and urban hospitals.
United States · United States Congress · 10 May 1989
Amends the Public Utility Holding Company Act of 1935 to cite conditions under which a holding company which has only one subsidiary that is solely a gas utility company is exempt from the provisions of such Act.
United States · United States Congress · 10 May 1989
Pecan Promotion and Research Act of 1989 - Establishes a Pecan Marketing Board to carry out a coordinated program of research and promotion to strengthen the pecan industry's domestic and foreign market position. Funds such program through an assessment on all pecans produced in, or imported into, the United States. Provides for a pecan producer referendum of program approval.
United States · United States Congress · 10 May 1989
Designates the Labor Day Weekend beginning on September 2, 1989, as National Drive for Life Weekend. Calls on people to observe that weekend with a pledge to be responsible by driving sober.
United States · United States Congress · 9 May 1989
Americans with Disabilities Act of 1989 - Title I: General Prohibition Against Discrimination - Declares that it shall be discriminatory, on the basis of disability, to deny opportunities or to afford them unequally, to provide opportunities less effectively (or differently or separately, unless necessary for effectiveness), to assist an organization or individual that discriminates, or to otherwise limit opportunities enjoyed by others. Prohibits the use of standards, criteria, or administrative methods that have the purpose or effect of discrimination or perpetuate discrimination. Declares it discriminatory to deny equal opportunities because of the relationship or association of an individual with another individual with a disability. Allows as a defense to a charge of discrimination that an application of standards or criteria has been demonstrated to be both necessary and substantially related to the ability of an individual to take advantage of the essential components of the opportunity, and that the taking advantage cannot be accomplished by reasonable accommodations, modifications, or the provision of auxiliary aids or services. Title II: Employment - Prohibits discrimination by any employer, employment agency, labor organization, or joint labor-management committee against any qualified individual with a disability in job application procedures, hiring or discharge, compensation, advancement, training, and other terms, conditions, and privileges of employment. Lists types of actions construed to be discrimination. Makes the remedies set forth in specified provisions of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and other specified Federal law available to any individual who believes that he or she is being or is about to be subjected to discrimination in violation of this Act. Title III: Public Services - Declares that no qualified individual with a disability shall be excluded from the participation in, denied the benefits of, or subjected to discrimination by a State, or by an agency, political subdivision, or other instrumentality of a State. Lists types of actions deemed, for purposes of this Act and specified provisions of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, to be discrimination with regard to public transportation. Makes the remedies and rights set forth in specified provisions of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 available to any individual who believes that he or she is being or is about to be subjected to discrimination in violation of this Act. Title IV: Public Accommodations and Services Operated by Private Entities - Prohibits discrimination on the basis of disability in the enjoyment of any place of public accommodation. Lists types of actions construed to be discrimination. Prohibits discrimination on the basis of disability in public transportation services provided by a private entity that is primarily engaged in transporting people, but that is not in the principal business of air transportation. Lists types of actions construed to be discrimination. Makes specified provisions of the Fair Housing Act relating to enforcement available, subject to exception, to any aggrieved individual. Title V: Telecommunications Relay Services - Defines "telecommunications relay services" to mean services that enable simultaneous communication between individuals who use telecommunications devices for the deaf (TDDs) or other nonvoice terminal devices and individuals who do not use such devices. Declares it discriminatory for any common carrier that offers telephone services to the public to fail to provide interstate or intrastate telecommunication relay services that are equal to those provided to their customers who are able to use voice services, except in any State in which services are provided through an entity designated by the State. Declares it discrimination by a State that makes such a designation if the State fails to provide interstate or intrastate relay services that are equal to those provided to their voice customers. Makes specified provisions of the Fair Housing Act relating to enforcement available, subject to exception, to any aggrieved individual. Requires the Federal Communications Commission to enforce this title. Makes specified provisions of the Communication Act of 1934 apply with respect to the enforcement of this title. Provides for cease and desist orders by the Commission and for monetary penalties. Title VI: Miscellaneous Provisions - Prohibits retaliatory discrimination against any individual because of actions related to this Act. Declares that a State shall not be immune under the 11th Amendment to the Constitution from an action in Federal court for a violation of this Act. Requires the Architectural and Transportation Barriers Compliance Board to issue minimum guidelines to supplement the existing Minimum Guidelines and Requirements for Accessible Design. Allows the awarding of reasonable attorney's fees, in certain circumstances, in any action or proceeding under this Act.
United States · United States Congress · 3 May 1989
Authorizes and requests the President to designate the weeks of November 19 through November 25, 1989, and November 18 through November 24, 1990, as National Family Week.
United States · United States Congress · 3 May 1989
Expresses the sense of the Senate that: (1) Japan has not lived up to the terms of the 1986 agreement regarding the Japanese semiconductor market; (2) the administration should convey this message to Japan; (3) the President, the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR), the Secretary of State, and the Secretary of Commerce should seek full access to the Japanese market for semiconductors; and (4) the President and the USTR should take measures to achieve compliance with such agreement.
United States · United States Congress · 2 May 1989
Disaster Assistance Amendment Act of 1989 - Amends the Disaster Assistance Act of 1988 to extend disaster assistance to winter crops planted in 1988 for harvest in 1989.
United States · United States Congress · 2 May 1989
Relieves a named individual of all liability for repayment to the United States of a specified sum plus accrued interest representing an amount such individual owed the Department of Defense for certain travel and relocation expenses erroneously stated to be reimbursable by an agent of the Department. Authorizes and directs the Secretary of the Treasury to pay a specified sum to such individual in full settlement of all claims against the United States for certain real estate costs incurred in such relocation.
United States · United States Congress · 1 May 1989
National Voter Registration Act of 1989 - Requires each State to establish procedures with respect to presidential and congressional elections to permit voter registration by: (1) application in person simultaneously with application for a motor vehicle driver's license; (2) mail application; or (3) application in person at designated Federal, State, and private sector locations. Declares that this Act does not apply to any State that has no voter registration requirement with respect to presidential and congressional elections. Requires each State to: (1) assure that any eligible applicant who submits his or her application 25 days before the election is registered to vote in the election; (2) require the appropriate State election official to notify each applicant of the disposition of the application; and (3) provide that the name of a voter may not be removed from the official list of eligible voters except by reason of death, criminal conviction, mental incapacity, change in residence, failure to vote in two consecutive elections, or voter request. Requires each State to designate a chief State election official to coordinate State functions under this Act. Provides a private right of action for an individual aggrieved by a violation of this Act.
United States · United States Congress · 19 April 1989
Consumer Protection Against Price-Fixing Act of 1989 - Amends the Sherman Act to set forth evidentiary standards for price-fixing actions. Requires the court to allow the issue of concerted action to fix prices to be decided by the trier of fact if there is sufficient evidence from which a trier of fact could reasonably conclude that: (1) the supplier of a good or service received from a competitor of a reseller an express or implied suggestion, request, or demand that the supplier take steps to curtail or eliminate price competition; and (2) sales or supplies to the reseller were terminated by the supplier because of such communication. Prohibits the court from allowing the trier of fact to consider whether an individual and a competitor engaged in concerted action to set prices in violation of this Act if the court determines that the trier of fact could only find concerted action by making implausible inferences. Provides that the fact that a supplier and a reseller entered into an agreement to establish the resale price of a good or service shall be sufficient to constitute a price fixing violation, except when the agreement is to establish the maximum resale price of a good or service. Specifies that an agreement between the seller and the purchaser of a good or service to terminate another purchaser as a dealer or to refuse to supply such other purchaser because of that purchaser's pricing policies violates this Act, regardless of whether or not a specific price or price level is agreed upon.
United States · United States Congress · 18 April 1989
Relieves a named Texas corporation of all liability for payment to the United States of a specified sum representing an amount such corporation owed the United States for certain postage expenses based upon erroneous postal rates specified by the appropriate postmaster. Authorizes and directs the Secretary of the Treasury to pay to such corporation an amount equal to the sum of any payments paid by it to the United States on account of such liability.
United States · United States Congress · 18 April 1989
Declares that it is a shared responsibility of both the public and private sectors at the Federal, State, and local levels to take the necessary steps to remove existing barriers to access to quality health care for every child and pregnant woman.
United States · United States Congress · 17 April 1989
Amends the Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States to treat as duty-free any tobacco grown in the United States and processed in a Caribbean Basin country.
United States · United States Congress · 17 April 1989
Amends administrative provisions of the Internal Revenue Code to require the Secretary of the Treasury to notify a taxpayer if information returns show at least $5 more tax withheld than is shown on the taxpayer's tax return.
United States · United States Congress · 13 April 1989
National Endowment for Children's Educational Television Act of 1989 - Amends the Communications Act of 1934 to establish, under the direction of the Secretary of Education, a National Endowment for Children's Educational Television for the purpose of creating and producing television programming specifically directed toward the development in children of fundamental intellectual skills. Directs the Secretary, in administering the Endowment, to make grants to persons creating and producing educational television programming for children. Requires the Secretary to consult with the Advisory Council on Children's Educational Television in making such grants. Authorizes the Secretary to make grants to persons using other forms of media and to apply conditions to such grants. Authorizes the Secretary to waive grant conditions in certain circumstances. Directs the Secretary to establish the criteria for making such grants. Outlines grant application requirements. Limits amounts authorized for such grants. Directs the Secretary to establish an Advisory Council on Children's Educational Television. Requires members appointed to have expertise in the fields of education, psychology, child development, television programming, or related disciplines. Requires each grant recipient to maintain such records as are reasonably necessary to enable the Secretary to carry out functions under this Act. Gives the Secretary and the Comptroller General access to all documents of grant recipients for auditing and examination purposes. Authorizes appropriations for FY 1990 to carry out this Act.
United States · United States Congress · 13 April 1989
Natural Gas Wellhead Decontrol Act of 1989 - Amends the Natural Gas Policy Act of 1978 to declare that the price guidelines for the first sale of natural gas do not apply to: (1) expired (and expiring) or terminated (and terminating) contracts and any contracts executed after enactment of this Act; and (2) certain renegotiated contracts. Repeals wellhead price controls as of January 1, 1993.
United States · United States Congress · 11 April 1989
Redesignates the Federal hydropower generating facilities located at Dam B on the Neches River at Town Bluff, Texas, as the Robert Douglas Willis Hydropower Project.
United States · United States Congress · 11 April 1989
Declares that the purpose of this Act is to implement the Bipartisan Accord on Central America of March 24, 1989. Authorizes the President to transfer to the Agency for International Development (AID) unobligated funds from specified defense appropriations accounts for: (1) humanitarian assistance (including transportation expenses) to the Nicaraguan Resistance to be available through February 28, 1990; and (2) operating expenses of AID. Limits the total amount of funds that may be transferred for such purposes. Requires the transportation of such assistance to be arranged solely by AID in a manner consistent with the Bipartisan Accord. Prohibits the transportation of any assistance not specified by this Act. Authorizes the President to transfer to AID an additional amount from the specified accounts for medical assistance for the civilian victims of Nicaraguan civil strife. Requires such assistance to be transported and administered by the Nicaraguan Catholic Church. Encourages the President to submit proposals for actions to: (1) provide additional economic assistance to the democratic countries of Central America; (2) facilitate the ability of Central American economies to grow through the development of infrastructure, expansion of exports, and increased investment opportunities; (3) provide a plan to assist Central American countries in managing debt; and (4) develop such initiatives in concert with Western Europe, Japan, and other democratic allies. Prohibits the obligation or expenditure of funds available under this Act to assist the Nicaraguan Resistance in military or paramilitary operations. Prohibits providing assistance under this Act to any group including an individual who has been found to engage in: (1) gross violations of internationally recognized human rights; or (2) drug smuggling or significant misuse of funds. Grants congressional oversight for assistance under this Act to specified congressional committees. Applies provisions of a specified Act concerning management and delivery of assistance to the Nicaraguan Resistance to assistance under this Act. Prohibits additional assistance to the Nicaraguan Resistance unless authorized specifically by a subsequent Act. Repeals title IX (Assistance for the Nicaraguan Resistance) of the Department of Defense Appropriations Act, 1989. Requires the Secretary of State to report to the Congress on progress in the peace and democratization process, including the use of assistance under this Act.
United States · United States Congress · 7 April 1989
Animal Research Facilities Protection Act of 1989 - Makes it unlawful for any person to: (1) release, steal, or intentionally cause the loss of any research facility animal; (2) damage, vandalize, or steal any animal research facility property; (3) falsely obtain access to any research facility for unauthorized purposes; (4) break into a facility with an intent to destroy, alter, duplicate, or obtain unauthorized possession of records, equipment, or animals; (5) gain control over or to use the records, material, data, equipment, or animals of any such facility knowing or reasonably believing that they have been obtained by theft or deception; or (6) enter or remain on a research facility with the intent to commit an act prohibited by this Act. Imposes a $5,000 fine and/or one year imprisonment for violations of this Act. Provides for a private right of action for any research facility injured in its business or property by a violation of this Act. Directs the Secretary of Agriculture and the Attorney General to jointly conduct a study on the extent and effects of domestic and international terrorism on facilities in which animals are used for research, food production, exhibition, or pets and to submit a report on the results of such study to certain congressional committees.
United States · United States Congress · 6 April 1989
Amends the Water Resources Research Act of 1984 to reauthorize the grant program for water resources research and technology institutes on a dollar-for-dollar matching basis for FY 1989 through 1993. Requires that such funds be used only for the reimbursement of direct cost expenditures incurred for the conduct of the water resources research program. Directs the Secretary of the Interior to conduct an evaluation of each institute every five years to determine if it qualifies for further support. (Currently the Secretary must make such determination every four years.) Extends the authorization of appropriations for the grant program from FY 1989 through 1993. Authorizes appropriations for FY 1989 through 1993 only for the reimbursement of the direct cost expenses of additional research by institutes which focuses on water problems and issues of a regional or interstate nature beyond those of concern only to a single State and which relates to specific program priorities identified jointly by the Secretary and the institutes. Requires such funds when appropriated to be matched on a not less than dollar-for-dollar basis by non-Federal sources. Extends the authorization of appropriations from FY 1989 through 1993 for the matching grant research program concerning any aspect of a water resource-related problem which the Secretary deems to be in the national interest. Authorizes appropriations to extend the technology grant program from FY 1989 through 1993. Requires rules and regulations issued prior to the date of enactment of the Water Resources Research Act of 1984 to remain in effect until superseded by new rules and regulations promulgated under this Act.
United States · United States Congress · 17 March 1989
National Highway Traffic Safety Administration Authorization Act of 1989 - Title I: Authorization of Appropriations - Amends the following Acts to authorize appropriations for FY 1990 and 1991: (1) the National Traffic and Motor Vehicle Safety Act of 1966; (2) the Motor Vehicle Information and Cost Savings Act with respect to bumper standards, automobile consumer information, and odometer requirements; and (3) the National Driver Register Act of 1982. Authorizes the Secretary of Transportation (the Secretary) to derive a specified maximum amount from unobligated highway safety program funds to implement a national community education program regarding drunk driving prevention and the use and effectiveness of airbag technology. Title II: Side Impact Protection and Crashworthiness Data - Directs the Secretary to: (1) issue a final rule amending Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard 214 to establish performance criteria for improved occupant protection in side impacts; and (2) issue an Advance Notice of Proposed Rulemaking to extend the applicability of such Standard to multipurpose passenger vehicles. Directs the Secretary to enter into arrangements with the National Academy of Sciences to study means of establishing a method for calculating a uniform numerical rating enabling consumers to compare meaningfully crashworthiness data for passenger automobiles and multipurpose passenger vehicles. Prescribes the contents of such study. Requires that a report of such study be submitted to the Secretary and the Congress within 19 months after the date of enactment of this Act. Prescribes schedules for: (1) obtaining public comment on implementation of National Academy recommendations; (2) determining whether an objectively based system of comparative crashworthiness data can be established; (3) promulgating a rule to establish such a system, if the determination is positive; (4) submitting the proposed rule for review to specified congressional committees; (5) waiting 60 calendar days after such submission, unless both committees notify the Secretary that they have no objection to the rule; and (6) establishing (by rule) procedures requiring auto dealers to make comparative crashworthiness data available to prospective customers. Title III: Miscellaneous Provisions - Amends the National Traffic and Motor Vehicle Safety Act of 1966 to direct the Secretary to: (1) establish a schedule for use in ensuring compliance with each Federal motor vehicle safety standard established under this Act which the Secretary determines is capable of being tested; (2) establish written guidelines and procedures for conducting investigations regarding noncompliance with the regulations issued under this Act; and (3) establish criteria for the determination and imposition of civil penalties for such noncompliance. Amends Federal law to prohibit the Secretary from approving, after 18 months after the date of enactment of this Act, any State highway safety program which does not provide for a uniform system for handicapped parking according to prescribed guidelines. Directs the Secretary to complete rulemaking to: (1) revise specified motor vehicle safety standards regarding multipurpose passenger vehicles; (2) review the classification system for vehicles with a gross weight under 10,000 pounds to determine if such vehicles should be reclassified; (3) amend Federal motor vehicle safety standards to provide that lap and shoulder seatbelt protection for outboard rear seat passengers should be installed in passenger automobiles after specified dates and to provide for head restraints for multipurpose passenger vehicles; and (4) establish a standard to protect against unreasonable risk of rollover of multipurpose passenger vehicles. Mandates that a specified percentage of certain authorized appropriations shall be used to disseminate consumer information regarding retrofitting passenger automobiles with lap and shoulder rear seatbelts. Directs the Secretary to establish a program requiring airbags for Federal passenger vehicles. Amends the Motor Vehicle Information and Cost Savings Act to direct the Secretary to: (1) promulgate regulations establishing passenger motor vehicle bumper system labeling requirements; and (2) arrange with the National Academy of Sciences to conduct a study of specified aspects of the effectiveness of State motor vehicle safety inspection programs for transmittal to certain congressional committees. Amends the National Traffic and Motor Vehicle Safety Act of 1966 to: (1) conduct a rulemaking to increase the safety of child booster seats used in passenger automobiles; and (2) authorize the Secretary of Transportation to direct the manufacturer of a defective motor vehicle or motor vehicle part to send a second notification if the Secretary determines that the first notification sent by such manufacturer has not resulted in an adequate number of vehicles (or items of equipment) being returned for remedy. Requires any lessor who receives notification of a defective motor vehicle part pertaining to any leased motor vehicle to send a copy of such notice to the lessee. Provides that a dealer may sell or lease a motor vehicle (or motor vehicle item) for which a safety defect notice has been received only if: (1) the defect or failure to comply has been remedied before delivery under sale or lease; or (2) an enforcement order has been set aside or restrained. Directs the Administrator of the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration to conduct a study of the use of darkened windshields and window glass in passenger automobiles, and to submit the results of such study to certain congressional committees. Amends the Motor Vehicle Information and Cost Savings Act to allow a manufacturer to apply to the Secretary for modification of an average fuel economy standard applicable to such manufacturer for model years subsequent to model year 1991. Amends the National Traffic and Motor Vehicle Safety Act of 1966 to provide for judicial review of agency actions on certain petitions with respect to exemptions from safety standards of motor vehicles. Directs the Secretary to amend the bumper standard published in the Code of Federal Regulations to ensure that such standard is identical to that in effect on January 1, 1982. Directs the Secretary to make grants to States which adopt and implement seatbelt and child restraint programs which include specified measures to foster the increased use of seatbelts and the correct use of child restraint systems. Sets conditions for the use of such grants by such States. Authorizes appropriations for FY 1990 through 1992.
United States · United States Congress · 16 March 1989
Authorizes the Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity to establish a memorial to Martin Luther King, Jr., in the District of Columbia and its environs. Prohibits the United States from paying any expense of establishing the memorial.
United States · United States Congress · 16 March 1989
Authorizes the Indian American Forum for Political Education to establish a memorial on Federal land in the District of Columbia or its environs to honor Mahatma Gandhi. Prohibits the United States from paying any expense of establishing the memorial.
United States · United States Congress · 16 March 1989
Designates the week of July 24 to July 30, 1989, as National Week of Recognition and Remembrance for Those Who Served in the Korean War. Authorizes and requests the President to urge that the American flag be flown at half staff on July 27, 1989, in honor of those Americans who died as a result of their service in Korea.
United States · United States Congress · 15 March 1989
Amends the Public Health Service Act to extend until September 30, 1989, the termination date of provisions authorizing the Secretary of Health and Human Services to make grants to States to assist in the provision of drugs determined to prolong the lives of individuals with acquired immune deficiency syndrome (AIDS) and related conditions.
United States · United States Congress · 15 March 1989
Fairness in Broadcasting Act of 1989 - Expresses the findings of the Congress that the Fairness Doctrine: (1) fairly reflects the statutory obligations of broadcasters; (2) received statutory approval from the Congress in 1959; and (3) reasonably balances first amendment rights. Amends the Communications Act of 1934 to require broadcast licensees to provide a reasonable opportunity for the discussion of conflicting views on issues of public importance. Requires enforcement and application of such requirement to be consistent with the rules and policies of the Federal Communications Commission in effect on January 1, 1987.
![Official portrait of Sen. Bentsen, Lloyd M. [D-TX]](https://www.congress.gov/img/member/b000401_200.jpg)