United States · United States Congress · 16 March 1989
General Aviation Accident Liability Standards Act of 1989 - Declares that this Act supersedes any State law regarding liability for general aviation accidents. Establishes guidelines for uniform standards of liability of general aviation manufacturers for general aviation accidents. States that all actions for harm arising out of a general aviation accident shall be governed by the principles of comparative responsibility. Establishes, with specified exceptions, a limitation of actions period of 20 years from delivery of aircraft or harm-causing part to the purchaser for general aviation civil liability brought against a general aviation manufacturer. Declares admissible as evidence certain income tax and payroll tax liability for purposes of establishing financial harm arising out of a general aviation accident. Permits the award of punitive damages if a claimant establishes by clear and convincing evidence that the harm suffered was the direct result of conduct manifesting conscious, flagrant indifference to safety. Establishes a two-year limitation of actions period for actions arising out of a general aviation accident. Declares the intent of the Congress that sanctions be strictly enforced for violations of Rule 11 of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure, including orders to pay to the other party the reasonable costs of legal fees. Confers original jurisdiction upon the Federal district courts, concurrently with State courts, for all civil actions for harm arising out of a general aviation accident. Provides procedures for removal from State to Federal district courts of such actions.
United States · United States Congress · 16 March 1989
Renewable Energy/Fuel Cell Systems Integration Act of 1989 - Directs the Secretary of Energy to implement a research program regarding: (1) fuel cell use of methane gas generated from biomass forms; (2) technologies using renewable energy sources (such as wind and solar energy) to produce hydrogen for fuel cell use; and (3) fuel cell technology for electric power production as backup spinning reserve components to renewable power systems in rural and isolated areas. Authorizes the Secretary to make grants to, and enter into contracts with, private research laboratories. Requires the Secretary to report to the Congress regarding the fuel cell research program by September 30, 1992. Authorizes appropriations for FY 1990.
United States · United States Congress · 16 March 1989
Agricultural Research Commercialization Act of 1989 - Establishes the Agricultural Research Commercialization Corporation in the Department of Agriculture to facilitate the commercialization of new industrial products and processes using traditional and new agricultural and forestry crops. Directs the Corporation to establish between four and nine regional centers. Provides for the appointment of regional advisory councils whose primary duty shall be project application review. Sets forth center activities, including: (1) identification of new products and of areas for new product commercialization; (2) coordination of research and development programs; (3) provision of technical assistance; (4) dissemination of information; and (5) coordination of private sector, university, and government activities. Sets forth financial assistance criteria. Establishes a Corporation revolving fund. Authorizes FY 1990 through 1999 appropriations.
United States · United States Congress · 16 March 1989
Amends the Agricultural Act of 1949, effective for the 1989 and 1990 crop years, to permit producers to plant specified supplemental and alternative income-producing crops on acreage considered to be planted to program crops.
United States · United States Congress · 16 March 1989
Title I: Establishment of a Single Coordinating Body on Global Warming - Global Warming Response Act of 1989 - Establishes the Office of Global Warming within the Department of State to serve as the single coordinating point for the United States on all global warming policy and response matters. Provides that the Office shall be headed by a Deputy Assistant Secretary for Global Warming to be appointed by the President. Requires the Office to establish an interagency team for ongoing formulation of policy and response mechanisms to global warming to be coordinated with the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. Directs the Office to develop, annually update, and transmit to the President and the Congress a Global Warming Strategy Plan to coordinate policy, research, and response efforts. Directs the Secretary of State to: (1) consult with and advise the President on the effects of U.S. policy and research on global warming; and (2) report annually to the Congress on the progress made in such research and policy, and on future plans to decrease global warming and consequent environmental deterioration. Authorizes appropriations. Authorizes the President to appoint an ambassador to represent the United States in negotiations relevant to global warming and related environmental issues. Expresses the sense of the Congress that the President should support and promote: (1) global and domestic research and response efforts with respect to the greenhouse effect and other global environmental issues, including the establishment of a cooperative international program and the efforts of the United Nations; and (2) the goals of the Global Climate Protection Act of 1987. States that the President should instruct the Ambassador at Large to the United Nations to call for the declaration of 1990 as the International Year of Global Climate Protection. Calls upon the President to convene an international meeting to encourage the adoption of multilateral agreements to reduce the threat of global warming. Directs the Secretary of State to sponsor other meetings as may be necessary to ensure that the conventions are opened for signature no later than the end of 1993. Title II: Global Sustainable Economic Development - Amends the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 to direct the Administrator of the Agency for International Development (AID) to: (1) establish a central bureau for planning and implementing environmental, energy, and natural resources projects; (2) establish an early warning system to avoid negative global environmental impact of U.S. supported projects and serve as technical advisor to the U.S. executive directors of multilateral development banks concerning projects with the potential for such impact; (3) provide technical assistance to the Overseas Private Investment Corporation (OPIC) in conducting environmental assessment of sustainable development projects and encourage U.S. private investment in such development; and (4) establish an interagency task force concerning economic and ecological development and its effects on global warming, preservation of biodiversity and forests, sustainable agriculture, and other environmental policy. Authorizes appropriations for FY 1991 through 1993. Limits the amount of funds to OPIC for environmental assessment and sustainable development activities. Directs the Administrator to: (1) develop a strategy for U.S. participation in global conservation of biological diversity; (2) analyze assistance for the value of the recipient countries' biological resources; (3) develop economic incentives and disincentives for U.S. supported projects to conserve biological diversity; (4) provide technical assistance to OPIC to analyze the values of biological resources involved in proposed projects and encourage U.S. private sector investment in projects which preserve biological diversity; and (5) coordinate all biological diversity activities through the Office of Global Warming. Requires the Administrator to report to the Secretary of State on the options and strategies for the use of U.S. bilateral and multilateral assistance programs to control emissions of certain greenhouse gases into the atmosphere and to provide energy utilizing renewable resources as a substitute for fossil fuels and other energy efficient technologies. Directs the Secretary of the Treasury to develop an analysis by which strategies to encourage forest preservation, minimization of global climate change, reforestation, sustainable agriculture, energy conservation, end use energy efficiency, and renewable energy resources can be incorporated into programs of the International Monetary Fund. Requires the Secretary to instruct the U.S. Executive Director to the World Bank to request that all future energy-sector lending for new energy supplies be contingent on a finding that the quantity of services specified in the loan proposal could not be delivered at the same or lower cost by improving the efficiency of energy use and use of renewable resources. Requires the Executive Director to urge the World Bank to establish that specified percentages of all energy sector loans shall be for least cost energy efficient projects utilizing, to the maximum extent possible, renewable resources within certain periods following the enactment of this Act. Requires the U.S. executive directors of the multilateral development banks to report annually to the Secretary on the environmental reports received from the banks on proposed projects and the directors' assessment of the environmental effects of such projects. Directs the Secretary of State to: (1) establish a designated fund of the U.S. contributions to the World Bank to provide for environmental assessment of all projects, especially with regard to their impact on global warming and sustainable development; and (2) urge other countries contributing to the World Bank to contribute to such fund. Authorizes appropriations. Title III: Research and Development of Policy Responses - Expresses the sense of the Congress that the United States should participate in and support the International Geosphere-Biosphere Programme (IGBP). Declares that: (1) the United States should support the efforts of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration in its study and research of the effects of global warming and climate changes on the Arctic region; and (2) the President should support the development of an Antarctic research component to the IGBP to include specific recommendations of the ad hoc Scientific Committee on Antarctic Research of the International Council of Scientific Unions. Expresses support for the National Aeronautics and Space Administration's Mission to Planet Earth. Title IV: Forest Preservation, Reforestation, and Sustainable Forest Resources - Requires the Secretary of State to report to the Congress on: (1) existing resources in tropical countries; (2) recommendations for the continued use of LANDSAT satellite photography for monitoring tropical ecosystems and effects on global warming trends; (3) the potential in tropical nations for reforestation, afforestation, and conservation of existing resources; and (4) the potential for reducing or preventing climate disruption through financial assistance and incentives to such nations for forest preservation activities. Requires such report to be updated every three years. Amends the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 to direct the President to: (1) analyze the direct and indirect values of forest resources prior to determining appropriate support projects; (2) provide technical assistance to OPIC to analyze such values in environmental assessments and to encourage U.S. private sector investment in forest preservation, reforestation, and sustainable development of forest resources; and (3) support projects which provide support for conserving forest resources. Authorizes and allocates appropriations to AID for carrying out forest preservation activities. Commends AID for current efforts in reforestation and development of sustainable forest resources. Authorizes additional appropriations to AID for forest programs. Directs the Secretary of the Treasury to instruct the U.S. executive directors of multilateral development banks to oppose financial assistance to any country that has not successfully implemented a program for forest preservation and reforestation, except under specified conditions. Requires the Secretary of State to instruct the U.S. representatives to the United Nations Food and Agriculture Program and the International Tropical Timber Organization to promote forestry projects and the adoption of codes of conduct for commercial logging and private sector timber operations. Directs the Secretary of State to instruct the U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations to encourage the United Nations Development Program to implement forestry programs for recipient countries and, after 24 months following this Act's enactment, to oppose the adoption of any program for countries that have not successfully implemented a forest preservation and reforestation program. Requires the Secretary of State and the Secretary of the Treasury, after 24 months following this Act's enactment and annually thereafter, to report to the Congress on the progress made by such organizations in implementing forestry programs. Authorizes the Secretary of Agriculture to make grants to nongovernmental entities for forest preservation, reforestation, and maintenance of forest resources for both foreign and domestic efforts. Authorizes appropriations for such grants. Sets forth congressional findings on the preservation of the Amazon Basin. Declares that: (1) the U.S. Government should cooperate with the international community to assist Brazil in developing economically and ecologically sustainable projects; (2) members of the international community should reassess their investment policies to assure that they do not contribute to the destruction of the Amazon rainforest; and (3) U.S. directors of multilateral development banks and other assistance institutions should urge an approach which blends Brazil's requirements for national and ecologically sustainable development with global environmental imperatives. Directs the Secretary of the Treasury to enter into negotiations with selected developing countries to require improvements in their forestry and energy policies as a condition for reducing or converting debt owed to U.S. creditors. Authorizes the Secretary, as a condition of the adoption of such policies, to modify the loan terms on up to one-half of the total sovereign debt owed to the United States by developing countries. Authorizes appropriations for the debt reduction program. Title V: Biological Diversity - Requires the Secretary of the Treasury to instruct the U.S. executive directors of multilateral development banks to promote the conservation of biological diversity. Authorizes appropriations to AID for FY 1991 through 1993 to carry out provisions of the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 concerning biological diversity. Limits the amount of funds to OPIC for environmental assessment. Title VI: International Negotiations on Control of Greenhouse Gases - Requires the Secretary of State to request, if necessary, meetings of the parties to the Montreal Protocol on Substances that Deplete the Ozone Layer for possible control measures assessment. Directs the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency to: (1) publish a priority list of manufactured substances, including chlorofluorocarbons, which are known, or may be reasonably anticipated, to cause or contribute to stratospheric ozone depletion or global warming; and (2) create and annually update a list of other manufactured substances which meet such criteria. Prohibits the importation of a priority-listed substance, any product containing such substance, or any product manufactured with a process that uses such substance unless the Administrator has certified that the nations in which such substance or product was manufactured and from which such substance or product was imported have programs that require reduced production of such substance and limit the production of other substances covered by this Act pursuant to a schedule and limitations at least as stringent as those applicable under this Act. Requires the AID Administrator, no later than January 1, 1993, to report to the President and the Congress on policy recommendations for U.S. assistance and multilateral agreements to reduce methane emissions. Authorizes appropriations for the development of such recommendations. Directs the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency to report to the Congress by January 1, 1991, on: (1) the contribution of methane gas to global climate change; (2) the sources and sinks of methane; (3) the methods of controlling methane emissions; and (4) the relationship between methane emissions and concentrations of other trace gases. Directs the Secretary of State to encourage the establishment of an office in the United Nations Environment Programme and the World Meteorological Organization to monitor annual generation of carbon dioxide and other trace gases on a nation-by-nation basis. Requires the Secretary to make as a goal of all multilateral or global negotiations specified reductions of carbon dioxide by the years 2000 and 2015. Directs the Secretary to initiate negotiations of a multilateral agreement requiring specified reductions of oxides of nitrogen by the year 2000. Authorizes appropriations. Title VII: Global Energy Efficiency - Amends the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 to authorize the President to assist developing countries with research and development programs aimed at energy efficiency and energy transmission facilities in rural areas. Prohibits assistance for large-scale production of energy from fossil fuels without first exploring energy efficient alternatives. Prescribes guidelines under which the President is directed to provide support to recipient countries with emphasis upon end use energy efficiency, least-cost energy planning, and energy conservation. Requires the President to report annually to the Congress regarding the bilateral energy program, including the progress made in reducing greenhouse gas emission. Authorizes appropriations to AID for FY 1991 through 1993 for technical assistance to developing countries for developing energy efficient power sources. Directs the AID Administrator to provide financial assistance to one project to demonstrate and implement energy-efficient mass transit for an urban area. Authorizes appropriations. Requires the Secretary of Energy to report to the Congress on the efforts of the Committee on Renewable Energy, Commerce and Trade to promote exports of renewable energy technology. Directs the Committee to: (1) establish a joint Government-industry plan to increase the U.S. market share in renewable energy technology; and (2) develop administrative guidelines for Federal export loan programs to simplify applications. Authorizes appropriations. Directs AID, by the end of 1995, to select a project to apply renewable energy techniques with diminished generation of greenhouse gases in a developing nation. Authorizes appropriations. Amends the Export-Import Bank Act of 1945 to require that no less than .025 percent of the loan authority of the Export-Import Bank be available only for solar and renewable energy loans. Amends the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 to prohibit the use of OPIC administrative funds for incentives, grants, and studies for renewable energy and other small business activities. Title VIII: Cooperation with International Organizations - Sets forth congressional findings concerning U.S. assistance and support for global environmental programs. Authorizes appropriations, under the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961, to the Environment Fund of the United Nations, the World Meteorological Organization of the United Nations, the Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission of the United Nations, and the International Geosphere-Biosphere Programme Study of Global Change of the United Nations for FY 1991 through 1993.
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 · 16 March 1989
Commends the Governments of Israel and Egypt for signing the Treaty of Peace on March 26, 1979. Calls upon other Arab nations and the Palestinians to join the peace process, to renounce the state of war, and to enter into peace negotiations with Israel.
United States · United States Congress · 16 March 1989
Resolution on a Plebiscite in Cuba - Expresses the sense of the Congress that: (1) the Cuban people should be allowed to express their view on the country's political future by a secret ballot of approval or rejection of Fidel Castro's continued rule; (2) the Government of Cuba should allow opposition and human rights groups to organize publicly, grant opposition groups equal access to the national media, release all political prisoners, and invite a neutral, international commission to oversee the voting and ensure the legitimacy of the results; (3) should the rejection vote prevail, the regime should respect the will of the people and hold prompt national elections through which the Cuban people could freely choose their leaders; and (4) normalized relations between the Governments of the United States and Cuba should be restored if a democratic Cuban Government is elected by all the people.
United States · United States Congress · 15 March 1989
Working Family Child Care Assistance Act of 1989 - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to allow a taxpayer a refundable income tax credit of 14 percent of up to $7,143 of earned income (maximum credit of $1,000 per child) for each dependent under age four. Decreases the credit amount for taxpayers with adjusted gross income over $8,000. Indexes amounts related to the credit. Makes this credit and the employment-related dependent care credit mutually exclusive. Authorizes employers to make advance payments of credit amounts in accordance with regulations to be prescribed by the Secretary of the Treasury.
United States · United States Congress · 15 March 1989
Amends the Internal Revenue Code to permit certain licensed used automobile dealers to use the installment method of accounting in connection with the retail sale of any automobile that is more than three years old at the time of the sale if: (1) the sales price is $6,000 or less; and (2) the installment obligation arises solely from the sale in question and has a term of 36 months or less.
United States · United States Congress · 9 March 1989
Amends the Federal Aviation Act of 1958 to direct the Administrator of the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) to establish a program requiring air carriers and foreign air carriers to conduct pre-employment, periodic recurring, random, and post-accident testing, and testing upon a reasonable suspicion that employees whose duties include responsibility for safety-sensitive functions have used alcohol or a controlled substance without lawful authorization. Requires the Administrator to establish the same program for FAA employees. Sets forth guidelines for such program. Prohibits such employees from serving in safety-sensitive functions unless they have completed a rehabilitation program established under FAA auspices. Prohibits such individuals from performing air transportation-related duties if they: (1) refuse to undertake a rehabilitation program; (2) fail to complete it; (3) have previously undertaken such a program; or (4) have served as an air carrier or FAA employee responsible for safety-sensitive functions while under the influence of alcohol or a controlled substance. Requires air carriers to establish and maintain a rehabilitation program for the identification and treatment of airmen, crewmembers, and airport security screening contract personnel who need assistance in resolving substance abuse problems. Requires the Administrator to establish and maintain such a rehabilitation program for FAA employees whose duties include responsibility for flight safety operations and who need assistance in resolving substance abuse problems. Outlines the requirements of such program. Amends the Federal Railroad Safety Act of 1970 to direct the Secretary of Transportation to review existing regulations governing alcohol and drug use in railroad operations to determine whether they are adequate to ensure safety. Outlines the requirements for test procedures for alcohol and drug use among railroad employees responsible for safety-sensitive functions. Amends the Commercial Motor Vehicle Safety Act of 1986 to direct the Secretary to establish a program requiring motor carriers to conduct pre-employment, periodic recurring, random, and post-accident testing of commercial motor vehicle operators, and testing upon a reasonable suspicion that they have used, without lawful authorization, alcohol or a controlled substance. Mandates that such program include post-accident testing of a commercial motor vehicle operator in any accident involving a commercial motor vehicle in which serious bodily injury, loss of human life, or significant property damage has occurred. Directs the Secretary to promulgate regulations setting forth the requirements for a rehabilitation program for the identification and opportunity for treatment of commercial motor vehicle operators who are determined to have used, without lawful authorization, alcohol or a controlled substance. Sets forth the requirements of the testing procedures. Requires the Secretary to: (1) determine appropriate sanctions against operators who are determined, as a result of such tests, to have used alcohol or a controlled substances without lawful authorization (but who are not under the influence of alcohol or a controlled substance); (2) design and implement a pilot test program for the random testing of commercial motor vehicle operators to determine the use without lawful authorization of alcohol or a controlled substance; (3) solicit (and select) State participation in such a program; and (4) submit a comprehensive report to the Congress setting forth the pilot program results. Authorizes appropriations for FY 1989 for such pilot testing program.
United States · United States Congress · 9 March 1989
Provides, with regard to specified scheduled milk price support increases and decreases, that: (1) at least 75 percent of such increases shall be for non-fat dry milk and not more than 25 percent for butter; and (2) at least 75 percent of such decreases shall be for butter and not more than 25 percent for non-fat dry milk.
United States · United States Congress · 9 March 1989
Amends the Internal Revenue Code to revise the method of calculating the deduction for capital gains of noncorporate taxpayers, allowing a deduction equal to: (1) 60 percent (100 percent for taxpayers with adjusted gross income of less than $25,000) for assets held five years or longer; (2) 30 percent for assets held for between three and five years; and (3) ten percent for assets held for between one and three years. Excludes collectibles from capital assets for purposes of this deduction. Reduces the alternative tax rate on capital gains realized by a corporation from 34 percent to: (1) 14 percent for assets held five years or longer; (2) 24 percent for assets held for between three and five years; and (3) 31 percent for assets held for between one and three years. Adds 50 percent of the noncorporate taxpayer capital gains deduction as a tax preference item for purposes of the minimum tax.
United States · United States Congress · 8 March 1989
Expresses the sense of the Congress that Federal law governing the taxation of State and local government bonds should not be changed in order to increase Federal revenues.
United States · United States Congress · 6 March 1989
Expresses the sense of the Congress that each congressional committee that reports legislation requiring employers to provide new employee benefits shall include in such report an analysis of the impact of the legislation on employment and international competitiveness.
United States · United States Congress · 3 March 1989
Amends Federal law to extend the immediate retirement provisions applicable to Federal law enforcement officers to: (1) revenue officers for the Internal Revenue Service; (2) customs inspectors for the U.S. Customs Service; (3) customs canine enforcement officers for the U.S. Customs Service; and (4) inspectors for the Immigration and Naturalization Service.
United States · United States Congress · 2 March 1989
Copyright Remedy Clarification Act - Amends Federal copyright law to provide that any State or State instrumentality is liable for copyright infringement and for infringement of exclusive rights in mask works to the same extent as any nongovernmental entity.
United States · United States Congress · 2 March 1989
Stratospheric Ozone and Climate Protection Act of 1989 - Directs the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency to publish a priority list of manufactured substances known or reasonably anticipated to cause atmospheric modification, including stratospheric ozone depletion, and to assign an ozone depletion potential to each substance. Requires the Administrator to list simultaneously and update annually other manufactured substances meeting the same criteria, assigning ozone depletion potentials for each. Includes specified chlorofluorocarbons on each list. Requires producers of substances on either list to report initially and annually to the Administrator on such production until it ceases. Limits production of substances on the priority list to 1986 levels effective July 1, 1989. Requires further scheduled reductions by July 1, 1992, and July 1, 1995. Prohibits the production, effective July 1, 1997, of any quantity of a listed substance unless the Administrator authorizes limited production of such substance for medical purposes. Authorizes the President to issue orders regarding the use of halon-1211, halon-1301, and halon-2402 if the use of such substances is necessary to protect national security interests. Exempts such orders from the requirements of this Act. Requires the Administrator to promulgate regulations regarding: (1) the use, recapture, recycling, and safe disposal of substances covered by this Act; and (2) the use of any manufactured substance that may exacerbate the problem of human induced global climate change. Prohibits, after 1992, the knowing use, release, or disposal of any substance covered by this Act (with specified exceptions) in a fashion which permits such substance to enter the environment. Exempts from such prohibition releases associated with: (1) the approved use of medical devices and diagnostic products for medical purposes; (2) good-faith attempts to recapture and recycle or safely dispose of such substances; and (3) the servicing or repair of equipment which contains such substances but does not include an aperture which allows the recapture of such substances, if, during the first servicing or repair after the effective date of this Act, an aperture or other such feature is installed. Prohibits, effective July 1, 1997, the introduction into interstate commerce or use of a priority listed substance except for medical purposes and, for a period not to exceed ten years after such date, to maintain and service household appliances. Prohibits the production, effective July 1, 1989, of substances covered by this Act in quantities sufficient for the ozone depletion potential to exceed the level of depletion for any such substance for 1986. Requires the Administrator to promulgate regulations establishing production limitations for such substances that yield not less than a 95 percent reduction in total ozone depletion in 1997. Provides that if the Administrator fails to promulgate such regulations, it shall be unlawful, effective July 1, 1997, to produce such substances in quantities yielding an ozone depletion potential greater than five percent of the 1986 level of depletion for any such substance. Prohibits imports of such substances or products manufactured using such substances, unless the exporting nation has an equivalent or more stringent production reduction program. Requires the Administrator to certify national programs, such certification to be reviewed annually. Equates imports with production when determining a manufacturer's required reductions. Requires containers of listed substances to carry labeling stating the contents and potential damaging effects. Authorizes the Administrator to assess civil penalties or seek injunctive relief for violations and to revoke any permit for continued noncompliance. Establishes criminal penalties for knowing violations. Sets forth procedures for review of regulations promulgated under this Act.
United States · United States Congress · 2 March 1989
Job Enhancement for Families Act of 1989 - Amends Internal Revenue Code provisions governing the earned income tax credit to: (1) increase from $5,714 to $7,143 the amount of earned income subject to the credit; and (2) increase the credit percentage incrementally from 14 percent to 35 percent, adjusted annually for inflation, as the number of the taxpayer's dependent children increases from one to four or more.
United States · United States Congress · 2 March 1989
Amends Internal Revenue Code provisions relating to the income tax deduction for the health insurance costs of self-employed individuals to: (1) extend the deduction through 1994 (under current law it will expire after tax year 1989); and (2) increase the allowable deduction from 25 percent to 100 percent.
United States · United States Congress · 1 March 1989
Fairness for Adopting Families Act - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to permit an individual income tax deduction for qualified adoption expenses. Includes as deductible all reasonable and necessary expenses that do not violate a Federal or State law and that are directly related to a legal adoption of any child if the adoption has been arranged by a State, local, or other nonprofit agency, or through a private placement. Excludes from an employee's gross income any amounts paid on behalf of the employee by an employer pursuant to a qualified adoption assistance program. Limits both the deduction and the exclusion to $5,000. Reduces the amount when the taxpayer's income exceeds $60,000. Permits an employer to treat an adoption assistance program as a statutory employee benefit plan, thus making the employer's contributions to such a program tax deductible as business expenses.
United States · United States Congress · 28 February 1989
Title I: General Accounting Office Investigation and Report Investigation - Requires the Comptroller General to begin an investigation, within 60 days after enactment of this Act, concerning displaced nationals of El Salvador and Nicaragua. Requires a report to the Congress within one year after initiation of such study. Title II: Congressional Review - Provides for the referral of such report to the appropriate congressional committees for committee hearings and committee reports. Title III: Temporary Stay of Deportation - Provides for a temporary stay of detention and deportation for certain nationals of El Salvador and Nicaragua. Title IV: Miscellaneous Provisions - States that during such temporary stay of deportation period an alien: (1) shall not be considered to be permanently residing in the United States; (2) shall not be eligible for Federal public assistance; and (3) may be deemed ineligible for State assistance.
United States · United States Congress · 23 February 1989
Common Sense Budget Act of 1989 - Amends Federal law to require both the President and the Congress to draft a budget based on estimates of current fiscal year spending, proposing increases or decreases based on this level (rather than on an estimated baseline). Amends the Congressional Budget Act of 1974 to require the Congressional Budget Office to use such a current fiscal year baseline in its report to the congressional budget committees, projecting growth for entitlement and discretionary spending based on current fiscal year spending.
United States · United States Congress · 23 February 1989
Legal Immigration Reform Act of 1989 - Amends the Immigration and Nationality Act to set worldwide levels for family-based, employment-based, and independent immigrants. Revises the visa preference system for such immigrants. Establishes a Select Review Commission on Legal Immigration Reform to review the impact of this Act and report its conclusions to the President and the Congress. Terminates the Commission on the due date of the report, but allows it to function through FY 1993 to wrap up its activities. Provides a temporary stay of deportation and work authorization for qualified spouses and children of legalized aliens. Waives the English language naturalization requirement for persons over age 65 who have resided as permanent residents in the United States for at least ten years. Shortens the usual period of lawful permanent residence for naturalization. Waives certain naturalization requirements for Philippine natives who served honorably in the U.S. armed forces during World War II.
United States · United States Congress · 23 February 1989
Amends the Internal Revenue Code with respect to the corporate income tax exclusion of contributions to the capital of the taxpayer. Includes as a qualifying contribution any amount of money or property received by a regulated public utility (a utility required to provide electric energy, gas, water, or sewage disposal services) that: (1) is a contribution in aid of construction (as defined by regulations to be promulgated by the Secretary of the Treasury); (2) meets certain expenditure requirements; and (3) is not included in the taxpayer's rate base. Excludes amounts paid as customer connection fees.
United States · United States Congress · 22 February 1989
Hate Crime Statistics Act - Directs the Attorney General to: (1) acquire data, for 1990 through 1994, about crimes that manifest evidence of prejudice based on race, religion, sexual orientation, or ethnicity, including murder, non-negligent manslaughter, rape, assault, arson, and vandalism; and (2) establish guidelines for the collection of such data, including the necessary evidence and criteria for a finding of manifest prejudice. Prohibits: (1) the use of data acquired under this Act other than for research or statistical purposes; and (2) such data from containing any information that may reveal the identity of an individual victim of a crime. Directs the Attorney General to publish an annual summary of such data. Authorizes appropriations.
United States · United States Congress · 22 February 1989
Requires U.S. coins to be redesigned, at the discretion of the Secretary of the Treasury, over the next six years. Requires the reverse side of the first coin redesigned to commemorate the bicentennial of the U.S. Constitution for a two-year period. Provides that the design on the obverse side of U.S. coins shall contain the likenesses of those displayed on current coins and shall be considered for redesign. Requires any such obverse redesigns to conform to the inscription requirements of current law. Requires the Secretary, in selecting new designs, to consider specified constitutional concepts. Requires the designs to be selected by the Secretary upon consultation with the United States Commission of Fine Arts. Requires that any profits from the sale of uncirculated and proof sets of U.S. coins be deposited in the Treasury and used solely to reduce the national debt.
United States · United States Congress · 22 February 1989
Petroleum Marketing Practices Act Amendments of 1989 - Amends the Petroleum Marketing Practices Act to provide that, with respect to certain motor fuel transactions, the term "franchise" includes any contract between specified parties which is economically necessary to the operation of the franchise. Provides that the termination or non-renewal of a franchise relationship, upon expiration of an underlying lease for marketing premises, is reasonable if specified conditions exist.
United States · United States Congress · 22 February 1989
COLA Equity Act of 1989 - Provides for all Federal civilian and military retirees to receive the full cost-of-living adjustments in annuities payable under Federal retirement systems for FY 1990 and 1991. (Includes benefits payable under the Civil Service Retirement and Disability System, military retirement and survivor benefit programs, the Foreign Service Retirement and Disability System, the Central Intelligence Agency Retirement and Disability System, and railroad retirement programs.) Amends the Balanced Budget and Emergency Deficit Control Act of 1985 (Gramm-Rudman-Hollings Act) to exempt railroad retirement supplemental annuities from sequestration.
United States · United States Congress · 22 February 1989
Expresses disapproval of the refusal of the U.S.S.R. to recognize the sovereignty of the Baltic Republics. Designates June 14, 1989, as Baltic Freedom Day. Authorizes and requests the President to call upon the Soviet Union, the Federal Republic of Germany, and the Democratic Republic of Germany to renounce the acquisition or absorption of the Baltic Republics by the Soviet Union as a result of the Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact.
![Official portrait of Sen. Boschwitz, Rudy [R-MN]](https://www.congress.gov/img/member/b000647_200.jpg)