United States · United States Congress · 9 February 1989
Child Care Assistance and Resources Expansion Act of 1989 - Title I: Child Care Grant Program and National Commission - Subtitle A: Child Care Grant Program - Authorizes the Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS) to make matching block grants to States for child care related purposes. Authorizes appropriations for FY 1990 through 1992. Targets child care grants to: (1) child care services to low-income and moderate-income parents, with appropriate fee schedules; (2) resource and referral centers; (3) programs to increase child care slots for infants, handicapped children, and minority children; (4) neighborhood child care centers and after-school child care programs; (5) recruitment and training of senior citizens as child care workers; and (7) development of State licensing and certification requirements. Requires an applicant State: (1) by 1992 to develop and begin implementing licensing or certification requirements applicable to all non-relative family-based and group home child care providers; and (2) by 1994 to require all eligible child care providers to meet such requirements to receive assistance under this Act. Gives priority under State programs to local providers that significantly expand or improve child care services for children of low-income and modest-income parents. Sets the Federal share at 80 percent and the State share at 20 percent of program costs. Sets forth evaluation and reporting requirements. Subtitle B: National Commission on Child Care Standards - Directs the Secretary of HHS to establish within 60 days a National Commission on Child Care Standards which shall: (1) review Federal policies with respect to child care services; and (2) submit to the Secretary proposed model standards for States to follow in regulating child care standards. Requires Governors of States receiving assistance under this Act to report to the Secretary by January 1, 1994, on the extent to which the State has adopted such model standards. Title II: Child Care Food Programs - Amends the National School Lunch Act to reimburse family or group-home child care providers for an additional snack or meal if the child is present for more than eight hours. Title III: Child Care Provider Library Program - Amends the Library Services and Construction Act to direct the Secretary of Education to make competitive grants to State and local public libraries to purchase and deliver children's books, videos, tapes, and toys to licensed or certified family-based or group child care providers. Authorizes appropriations for FY 1990 through 1992. Title IV: Child Development Associate Scholarship Assistance Program - Amends the Child Development Associate Scholarship Assistance Act of 1985 to make eligible for such scholarships any individual with an income equal to or less than 200 percent of the poverty line (currently no greater than the poverty line). Allows States to use assistance under such Act for grants to child care providers to conduct child care training activities. Grants stipends to early childhood professionals who serve as local advisors providing field assistance to individuals receiving scholarships or other assistance under such Act. Authorizes appropriations for FY 1990 through 1992. Earmarks a portion of such funds for grants for training services for family-based child care providers and child care center employees. Title V: Child Care Educational Provisions - Directs the Secretary of Education to make grants to local educational agencies to establish or enhance before- or after-school child care programs. Authorizes appropriations for FY 1990 through 1992. Expresses the sense of the Congress that a specified authorized amount should be appropriated for FY 1990 to carry out provisions of the Higher Education Act of 1965 for postsecondary institutions to assist disadvantaged students to obtain child care. Title VI: Child Care Tax Incentives - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to establish a child care home business-related tax credit for certified or licensed family or group home child care providers who acquire, rehabilitate, or expand a qualified child care home. Provides for an income-based phase out of the child care tax credit relating to expenses for household and dependent care services necessary for gainful employment. Makes such dependent care services tax credit refundable for low-income families. Establishes an infant care tax credit whereby a parent who stays home with a newborn or newly adopted child until such child reaches 30 months of age would be eligible for a refund, depending on income level. Makes taxpayers who claim the infant care tax credit ineligible for the earned income credit and excludes dependents for whom the infant care tax credit is claimed from qualifying for the dependent care expenses credit.
United States · United States Congress · 9 February 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 for assets held for three years or more; and (2) 40 percent for assets held for between one and three years. Reduces from 34 percent to 28 percent the alternative tax rate on capital gains realized by a corporation.
United States · United States Congress · 9 February 1989
Commends the Government and people of Pakistan on the holding of free and fair elections. Congratulates Benazir Bhutto on her election as Prime Minister and commends her for freeing political prisoners and restoring full human rights. Expresses support for Bhutto's foreign policy statements on Afghanistan and for Pakistan's new democracy.
United States · United States Congress · 9 February 1989
Expresses the sense of the Senate that the President should: (1) delay notifying the Congress of the sale of General Dynamics F-16 fighter aircraft technology to Japan for 60 days while a further review of such sale is made by specified executive departments; (2) examine such sale's impact on the competitiveness of the U.S. aerospace industry; and (3) submit within 60 days after enactment of this resolution a report containing his findings to the Senate Committees on Foreign Relations and Armed Services.
United States · United States Congress · 8 February 1989
Amends the Congressional Budget Act of 1974 to establish a Joint Committee on the Budget to replace and assume the current functions and duties of the Budget Committees of the Senate and House of Representatives. Amends the Standing Rules of the Senate to reflect the establishment of the new Joint Committee. Lists matters within the Committee's jurisdiction. Establishes a two-year budgeting cycle, but continues annual appropriations legislation. Devotes the first session of any Congress to action on a joint resolution on the biennial budget, subject to the following revised deadlines: (1) April 15 for the Joint Budget Committee to report its joint resolution; (2) May 15 for the Congress to complete action on the resolution; and (3) September 30 for the Congress to complete action on annual appropriations bills and on reconciliation legislation. Shifts the budget resolution from a concurrent to a joint resolution form (thereby requiring the President's signature). Revises the resolution to separate committee allocations of budget and credit authority and budget outlays into the following functional totals: (1) defense discretionary; (2) defense entitlement and mandatory; (3) domestic discretionary; (4) domestic entitlement and mandatory; (5) international affairs discretionary; (6) international affairs entitlement and mandatory; (7) offsetting receipts; and (8) net interest. Requires the Director of the Congressional Budget Office to issue four-year projections of congressional budget action. (Current projections are on a five-year basis.) Amends Federal law to require the President's budget for a biennium to be set forth in the same accounts as those set forth in the Budget Accounts Listing in the budget submitted for FY 1991. Requires the President to consult with committees having jurisdiction over programs affected by proposed changes before any changes may be made in the budget tables. (Current law requiring consultation with the Budget and Appropriations Committees remains unchanged.) Conforms provisions governing the President's budget to the biennial framework. Directs the President to transmit during the first 15 days of the second session any budget revisions with respect to the budget transmitted in the first session, whose deadline is changed to the 15th day after the session begins. Makes allocations subsequent to the joint budget resolution only to the Appropriations Committees, for subdivision among their subcommittees by the relevant major functional categories. Requires that if the Congress has not adopted a joint budget resolution by May 15 for the biennium that begins on October 1 of that year, it will be deemed to have adopted the resolution at the baseline level under the Balanced Budget and Emergency Deficit Control Act of 1985 (Gramm-Rudman-Hollings Act), with reductions assumed as necessary to meet maximum deficit target amounts. Appropriates as continuing appropriations amounts effective for the preceding fiscal year if a regular appropriations bill has not become law before the beginning of the fiscal year. Expresses the sense of the Congress that before FY 1994 legislation should be enacted establishing fiscal targets beyond those mandated by such Act, with the object of producing a unified budget surplus and eliminating the deficit with respect to budget amounts that do not include the social security trust funds.
United States · United States Congress · 8 February 1989
Television Broadcasting to Cuba Act - Directs the United States Information Agency (USIA) to provide television broadcasting to Cuba. Requires that any such television broadcasting be in accordance with all Voice of America standards. Requires the Director of the USIA to establish a Television Marti Service to be responsible for all television broadcasts to Cuba. Requires that all broadcasting by such Service avoid interference with any domestic television broadcasting. Amends the Radio Broadcasting to Cuba Act to rename the Advisory Board for Radio Broadcasting to Cuba as the Advisory Board for Broadcasting to Cuba. Specifies that such Board shall be responsible for both Radio Marti and Television Marti. Authorizes assistance to the USIA from other Government agencies to carry out the requirements of this Act. Authorizes appropriations for FY 1990 and 1991.
United States · United States Congress · 8 February 1989
Medicaid Home and Community Quality Services Act of 1989 - Amends title XIX (Medicaid) of the Social Security Act to require States to provide Medicaid coverage of community and family support services for severely disabled individuals who became disabled before age 22 and are living in a family home, foster family home, or community living facility. Requires that such services be provided in accordance with a written habilitation plan developed by an interdisciplinary team on the basis of a comprehensive assessment of the individual's strengths and the services and support necessary to: (1) enable such individual to attain or retain capabilities for independence or self-care; (2) promote interaction between disabled and nondisabled individuals within the community; and (3) enable disabled individuals who are over age 18 to engage in paid employment. Increases the age at which newly disabled individuals will be eligible for this Act's coverage so that eventually individuals who become disabled between age 22 and 50 will be covered. Lists the services which may comprise community and family support services, requiring that such services include at a minimum: (1) case management services; (2) individual and family support services; (3) specialized vocational services; and (4) protective intervention services. Excludes from such services: (1) room and board, other than room and board provided for less than six consecutive weeks and less than 12 weeks per year; (2) cash payments as a service; (3) aversive behavior intervention, management, or therapies; (4) services provided to a disabled individual living in a hospital, or skilled nursing or intermediate care facility; (5) educational services which the State makes generally available to its residents without cost and without regard to their income; and (6) services for which payment is made under title XVIII (Medicare), or part A (Aid to Families with Dependent Children) or B (Child Welfare Services) of title IV of the Act. Requires each State to make certain assurances regarding their provision of community and family support services and submit an implementation strategy to the Secretary of Health and Human Services. Requires that such implementation strategies: (1) describe the extent and scope of community and family support services provided to the severely disabled and the extent and scope of services provided to the severely disabled who are institutionalized; (2) set forth the objectives and a five-year strategy for expanding community and family support services for the severely disabled; (3) include certain procedures for transferring severely disabled, institutionalized individuals to family homes, foster family homes, or community living facilities; (4) set forth standards for the provision of community and family support services and a program for licensing and certifying all facilities and programs providing such services; (5) provide for assessments of the provision and affect of community and family support services and the correction of service deficiencies; (6) provide the public with an adequate opportunity to comment on the strategies; (7) set forth methods ensuring that the personnel providing community and family support services receive adequate training and are competent to provide such services; (8) provide that the State has in effect a management information system capable of collecting, storing, and retrieving data on the severely disabled who receive community and family support services; (9) provide an opportunity for an appeal and hearing before a hearing officer to individuals who believe themselves to be inappropriately served or denied an appropriate service, or who are being scheduled for an involuntary transfer from one living arrangement to another; (10) describe the methods to be used in administering community and family support services; and (11) set forth procedures to protect the interests of public employees who will be affected by the transfer of the severely disabled from public institutions. Allows States to provide any new community and family support service for up to three years without meeting the Medicaid requirements that it provide a service on a statewide basis and that the service be comparable in all parts of the State. Requires that intermediate care facility services for the mentally retarded include the ascertainment of the individual needs of each newly admitted individual by an interdisciplinary team within 30 days and the development of a written habilitation plan for each individual. Limits Medicaid payments to States for skilled nursing and intermediate care facility services furnished to individuals under age 65 who became disabled before age 22 to the amount payable for such services in the fiscal year ending after the enactment of this Act, increased if and by the extent to which the percentage increase in the consumer price index exceeds six percent. Makes such limitation inapplicable to facilities which have less than 16 beds or meet the size and location requirements for a community living facility. Requires States to have in effect a system to protect and advocate those rights of the severely disabled who are eligible for medical assistance which relate to the provision of such assistance. Provides Federal Medicaid matching funds for such system. Gives individuals who are adversely affected by a violation of this Act's requirements the right to bring an action to enjoin such violation. Allows States to set payment rates for community and family support services for the severely disabled. Authorizes States to treat severely disabled individuals under age 19 who are not in a medical institution as receiving benefits under title XVI (Supplemental Security Income) (SSI) of the Act for Medicaid eligibility purposes if they would be eligible for SSI benefits if institutionalized. Requires States to establish a uniform income standard for the severely disabled regardless of whether or not they are in a medical institution. Authorizes States to provide Medicaid coverage of disabled spouses and children who, except for the resources deemed to them, would be eligible for SSI benefits. Removes certain limitations on the Secretary's approval of reduction and correction plans for deficient intermediate care facilities for the mentally retarded. Makes individuals who are severely disabled and receiving or deemed to be receiving SSI benefits eligible for Medicaid as long as such qualifications continue to be satisfied. Directs the Secretary to establish, within the Health Care Financing Administration, a Bureau of Developmental Disabilities Services responsible for administering Medicaid programs for the severely disabled. Requires the Secretary to: (1) develop standards and a program for training Federal and State personnel who perform surveys of skilled nursing and intermediate care facilities to determine whether such facilities meet Medicaid participation requirements; and (2) periodically conduct studies of the reliability of such surveys and make the changes necessary to improve such reliability. Directs the Secretary to support the development of: (1) instruments to assess outcomes in the provision of this Act's services; and (2) competency-based personnel standards for agencies and organizations providing services to the severely disabled pursuant to this Act. Requires the Secretary to: (1) conduct an annual assessment of each State's compliance with this Act's requirements; and (2) issue final regulations regarding this Act's amendments prior to the first fiscal year beginning after this Act's enactment. Sets forth reporting requirements.
United States · United States Congress · 7 February 1989
Venture Capital Gains Act of 1989 - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to permit both corporate and noncorporate taxpayers an income tax deduction of 25 percent of the gain from an investment in the stock of a small business whose outstanding stock is valued at less than $10,000,000. Allows the deduction only if the taxpayer is the initial acquirer of the particular stock and holds the stock for at least four years. Taxes corporate gain from such investments at 25.5 percent (rather than at the standard 34 percent rate). Limits the maximum marginal tax rate on the income from such investments to 21 percent for individual taxpayers. Adds the amount of the deduction for capital gain from such investments as a tax preference item for purposes of determining alternative minimum tax liability.
United States · United States Congress · 7 February 1989
Global Poverty Reduction Act - Amends the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 to direct the President to develop a plan to ensure that U.S. development assistance contributes measurably toward eradicating the worst aspects of absolute poverty by the year 2000. Requires that such plan include target dates for reaching specific measurable goals whose attainment would contribute to direct improvements in the living standards of the poorest 40 percent of the population. Specifies that such goals shall include reducing the mortality rate of infants under age five, increasing the female literacy rate, and reducing the percentages of populations below the absolute poverty level by specified amounts by the year 2000. Directs that development activities carried out under this Act shall be consistent with maintaining and restoring the renewable natural resource base. Requires the President to submit the plan to the Congress by July 1, 1990. Requires all U.S. development assistance to be directed at attaining plan goals between October 1, 1990, and December 31, 2000. Requires the President to submit annual reports to the Congress detailing progress toward achieving plan goals. Directs the Comptroller General to review and comment on each report issued. Directs the President to host an international development conference for heads of governments of development assistance donor and recipient countries by October 16, 1990, to conclude an international agreement on eliminating the worst aspects of absolute poverty by the year 2000.
United States · United States Congress · 7 February 1989
Prohibits the Secretary of Transportation from issuing regulations under the Hazardous Materials Transportation Act that characterize anhydrous ammonia as a poisonous gas.
United States · United States Congress · 7 February 1989
Amends the Internal Revenue Code to extend through 1992 the period during which qualified mortgage bonds and mortgage credit certificates may be issued. (Under current law, authority for these programs is due to expire as of 1990).
United States · United States Congress · 7 February 1989
Repeals provisions of the Tax Reform Act of 1986 and the Technical and Miscellaneous Revenue Act of 1988 that establish new nondiscrimination requirements for coverage and benefits under certain statutory employee benefit plans. (The consequence is the repeal of section 89 of the Internal Revenue Code.)
United States · United States Congress · 7 February 1989
Declares that, in celebration of Law Day, U.S.A., special emphasis and acknowledgment should be given to all law enforcement personnel for their service in preserving domestic tranquility and guaranteeing rights under law.
United States · United States Congress · 2 February 1989
National Energy Policy Act of 1989 - Establishes as national goals: (1) that the amount of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere be reduced from 1988 levels by at least 20 percent by the year 2000 through a mix of Federal and State energy policies; and (2) the establishment of an international global agreement on the atmosphere by 1992. Title I: National Energy Plan - Requires the Secretary of Energy (the Secretary) to transmit to the Congress a "least cost national energy plan" with forecasts, priorities, inventories, and targets for meeting such national goals. Sets forth the plan's contents. Mandates revision and resubmission of the Plan to the Congress every two years. Title II: Office of Climate Protection - Establishes the Office of Climate Protection which shall be responsible for: (1) participation by the Department of Energy in various domestic and international agencies involved in global climate change analysis; and (2) the monitoring of U.S. energy policies for atmospheric and global warming effects, with annual reports on such effects. Title III: Energy Efficiency - Subtitle A - Directs the Secretary to: (1) assign a high priority to energy efficiency in departmental programs, buildings, and equipment; and (2) submit to the Congress evaluation reports regarding the policy options necessary to produce a two to four percent annual decrease in the energy use per unit of gross national product through the year 2005. Mandates that the President's budget requests for FY 1991 through 1993 include the Secretary's recommendations of amounts to be set aside for innovative energy efficiency research and development. Authorizes appropriations for energy efficiency research and development programs for FY 1991 through 1993. Requires the Secretary to issue a general request for proposals dealing with energy efficiency technologies. Sets forth guidelines for Federal financial assistance for such proposals. Authorizes appropriations. Directs the Secretary to establish and provide financial assistance to joint research and development ventures with specialized private firms and investors in order to establish at least five regional centers for energy-intensive industries. Requires such industries to conduct research and development on common industrial processes to improve energy efficiency and reduce production and emission of carbon dioxide and trace gases into the atmosphere. Authorizes appropriations for such centers and requires the industries for which the centers are established to contribute matching funds starting in 1992. Directs the Secretary to establish a Federal Energy Analysis Team to analyze and make recommendations regarding energy efficiency and the use of renewable energy in Federal buildings. Sets guidelines for the Federal building energy conservation program to be implemented by the Secretary and Federal agencies. Amends the National Energy Conservation Policy Act to repeal the prohibition against the supply or installation by a public utility of a residential energy conservation measure for residential customers. Requires the Secretary to promulgate guidelines for regulations to be formulated and implemented by State governments requiring the assignment of an energy efficiency rating to residential buildings. Directs the Secretary to establish a technical and managerial support program for State and local governments adopting energy efficiency rating systems or building codes. Adds incandescent and fluorescent lamps to the list of covered consumer products to which energy efficiency standards apply. Requires the Secretary to: (1) prescribe energy conservation standards and test procedures for such projects by January 1, 1990; and (2) establish energy efficiency labels for windows. Subtitle B - Amends the Public Utility Regulatory Policies Act of 1978 to direct the State regulatory authorities, nonregulated electric utilities, and nonregulated gas utilities to hold public hearings regarding the implementation of Federal standards concerning utility rates based upon least cost investment. Directs the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) to prescribe rules encouraging the achievement of qualifying conservation. Mandates that such rules: (1) require that electric utilities offer to purchase qualifying conservation from qualifying cogeneration or small power production facilities; and (2) provide for the verification of conservation achievement. Prescribes rate guidelines for such electric utilities purchases. Title IV: Energy Research and Development Priorities - Directs the Secretary to establish priorities for energy research and development programs using prescribed criteria. Title V: State Energy Conservation Program - Amends the Energy Policy and Conservation Act to mandate that State energy conservation programs which receive Federal assistance include as a goal reduction of ten percent or more in the total amount of energy consumed in such State in the year 2000 from the projected energy consumption for such State in that year. Adds to Federal assistance eligibility prerequisites for proposed State energy conservation plans, including an emergency planning program for energy supply disruption. Repeals the National Energy Extension Service Act. Cites optional State energy conservation programs. Repeals the mandate for supplemental State energy conservation plans. Authorizes appropriations for energy conservation programs for FY 1991 through 1993. Establishes a State Energy Advisory Board to: (1) recommend and advise on the programs under this Act; (2) serve as liaison between the States and the Department of Energy on energy efficiency; and (3) report annually to the Secretary and the Congress on the status of State energy conservation programs. Authorizes the use of loan programs and performance contracting for the non-Federal share of energy conservation project costs under the grant program. Amends the Energy Conservation and Production Act regarding limitations upon Federal weatherization assistance for low-income persons. Lists conditions under which the Secretary is authorized to approve a State application for a waiver of: (1) the requirement that at least 40 percent of Federal weatherization assistance be used for weatherization materials; and (2) the limitations placed upon expenditures per dwelling unit for weatherization measures. Title VI: Renewable Energy - Subtitle A - Solar Development Initiative Act of 1989 - Directs the Secretary of Energy to develop a complementary solar and renewable energy research program which: (1) has near-term commercial applications; and (2) enhances the international competitiveness of the solar and renewable energy industries. Requires the Secretary to include funding for such program in the FY 1991 budget. Directs the Secretary of Energy to establish an information dissemination program for Federal procurement and loan officers regarding the application of solar heating and cooling technology in Federal buildings. Declares that it is the sense of the Congress that the renewable energy technologies programs established by the Secretary of Commerce should be funded in FY 1991 through 1993 through the Department of Energy at a specified minimum level. Amends the Caribbean Basin Economic Recovery Act to direct the President to take into account, when determining whether to designate a beneficiary country, the degree to which it undertakes self-help measures to promote energy self-sufficiency using locally available renewable energy resources. Mandates that the design for new Federal facilities for specified agencies include consideration of energy systems using solar energy or other renewable energy forms. Amends the Export-Import Bank Act of 1945 to mandate that a specified minimum percentage of loan authority be available only for solar and renewable energy loans. Amends the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 to authorize the Overseas Private Investment Corporation to include among its special projects incentives, grants, and studies for renewable energy and other small business activities. Prohibits the use of administrative funds for such projects. Amends the Small Business Act to: (1) repeal provisions regarding loans to small business concerns for solar energy and energy conservation measures; (2) mandate that a certain percentage of loan authority be used only for small business energy measures; and (3) direct the Administrator of the Small Business Administration to give due consideration to the export potential of solar and renewable energy loan guarantees in an annual report to the Congress. Subtitle B - Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency Technology Competitiveness Act of 1989 - Sets forth specified national goals for the current wind, photovoltaics, and solar thermal energy programs. Requires the President's budget requests for FY 1991 to contain the recommendations of the Secretary of Energy for specified Department of Energy research and development programs for 1995, including biofuels energy systems, solar buildings energy systems, ocean energy systems, and geothermal energy. Authorizes appropriations for FY 1991 through 1993 for: (1) the wind energy research program; (2) the photovoltaic energy systems program; (3) the solar thermal energy systems program; (4) the biofuels energy systems program; (5) the solar buildings energy systems program; (6) the ocean energy systems program; and (7) the geothermal program. Requires the Secretary to submit an options analysis to the Congress regarding the accelerated commercialization of specified renewable energy technologies. Directs the Secretary to establish joint research and development ventures in specified energy technologies, and to report to the Congress on the implementation of such plans. Directs the Secretary to establish the following advisory bodies: (1) Advisory Committee on Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency Technology; (2) Advisory Subcommittee on Photovoltaic Energy Technology; (3) Advisory Subcommittee on Wind Energy Technology; (4) Advisory Subcommittee on Solar Thermal Energy Technology; (5) Advisory Subcommittee on Energy Performance in Factory-Made Housing; (6) Advisory Subcommittee on Advanced District Cooling Technology; and (7) Advisory Subcommittee on Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency Technology Exports. Authorizes appropriations for FY 1991 through 1993 for such joint ventures. Requires the Committee on Renewable Energy, Commerce and Trade to promote renewable energy technology exports. Authorizes appropriations for such Committee activities for FY 1991 through 1993. Requires the Secretary to make annual reports to the Congress regarding the research programs and ventures under this Act. Requires each annual submission of the National Energy Policy Plan to be accompanied by a three-year strategic plan for energy technology research, development, and demonstration, including energy conservation and renewable energy technologies. Subtitle C - 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. Authorizes appropriations for FY 1991. Amends the Energy Policy and Conservation Act to include industries using fuel cell technology under the Renewable Energy Industry Development Act. Directs the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency to prepare Federal guidelines, within 180 days after enactment of this Act, for cities and municipalities specifying environmental and safety standards for use of fuel cell technology. Directs the Secretary of Commerce, within the same period of time, to report to the Congress an assessment of the export market potential for integrated systems of fuel cells with renewable power technologies. Subtitle D - Hydrogen Research and Development Act - Directs the Secretary of Energy to prepare and submit to specified congressional committees a comprehensive five-year program management plan for a research and development program designed to permit the development of a domestic hydrogen fuel production capability within the shortest practicable time. Requires the Secretary to send the Congress annual plan descriptions, including any necessary plan modifications. Directs the Secretary to establish such program within the Department of Energy. Requires that the areas to be addressed in such program include production, liquefaction, transmission, distribution, storage, and utilization. Requires priority to be given to production techniques that use renewable energy sources as their primary energy sources. Directs the Secretary to conduct demonstrations to evaluate technical and nontechnical parameters to determine commercial applicability of hydrogen technology and to prepare a comprehensive large-scale hydrogen demonstration technology plan. Requires the Secretary to prepare a comprehensive technology application plan which shall include: (1) the potential applications for the use of hydrogen; (2) technical market and economic readiness assessments for such potential applications; (3) an assessment of Government actions needed to develop such application; and (4) an analysis of the impact of such applications on domestic energy supplies. Requires the Secretary to consult with other Federal agencies and departments in carrying out this program. Requires the establishment of a Hydrogen Technical Advisory Panel of the Energy Research Advisory Board to advise the Secretary on the conduct of the hydrogen program. Requires the Panel to submit an annual report on the program to the Energy Research Advisory Board, which shall subsequently report to the Secretary. Authorizes appropriations to carry out this title for FY 1991 through 1996. Directs the Administrator of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) to prepare and submit to specified congressional committees a comprehensive five-year program management plan for a research and development program for the development of a domestic hydrogen-fueled aircraft capability within the shortest practicable time. Requires the Administrator to transmit to the Congress an annual plan description, including any necessary modifications with respect to the plan. Requires the Administrator to establish such program within NASA and to prepare and transmit to the Congress a comprehensive flight demonstration plan which shall confirm the technical feasibility, economic viability, and safety of liquid hydrogen as a fuel for commercial transport aircraft. Provides that the research and development program under this title shall include, at a minimum, the development of the systems associated with the production, transportation, storage, and handling of liquid hydrogen for commercial aircraft application. Provides that the Administrator shall consult with other Federal agencies and departments in carrying out the program. Establishes a Hydrogen-Fueled Aircraft Advisory Committee to advise the Administrator on the programs established by this title. Requires the Committee to report annually to the Administrator on its activities and on the status of such programs. Authorizes appropriations to carry out this title for FY 1992 through 1996. Title VII: Advanced Civilian Reactor Programs - Directs the Secretary to implement, according to certain guidelines, a research, development, and demonstration program for the generation of commercial electric power from nuclear fission. Authorizes appropriations for FY 1992 through 1994. Requires the Secretary to submit an annual comprehensive report to the Congress regarding the progress of reactor designs which meet the guidelines set out for such demonstration program. Title VIII: Fusion - Requires the Secretary to report to the Congress regarding international collaboration in research, development, and demonstration in technology for the production of electricity from magnetic and inertial confinement fusion. Title IX: Coal - Requires the Secretary, within nine months after the date of enactment of this Act, to provide the Congress with a comprehensive review of clean coal technologies to be developed in federally funded projects under the Department of Energy's Clean Coal Technology Program. Directs the Secretary to establish and implement: (1) research and development programs demonstrating techniques for carbon dioxide recovery and disposal from motor vehicles, electric utility power operations, and industrial manufacturing processes; and (2) a comprehensive program in the fundamental physics and chemistry of coal combustion. Directs the Secretary to support research to improve the efficiency of coal-generated electricity and industrial processes, giving priority to those projects with the greatest potential for reducing the generation of carbon dioxide. Authorizes appropriations for FY 1991 through 1993. Title X: Natural Gas - Directs the Secretary to enter into cooperative agreements with and to provide financial assistance to municipal governments to demonstrate the feasibility of using natural gas as a fuel for urban area mass transit. Sets as a prerequisite to such agreements that the participating municipal government provide at least 25 percent of the demonstration costs. Authorizes appropriations for FY 1991 through 1993. Requires the Secretary to submit a feasibility report to the Congress within nine months after the date of enactment of this Act pertaining to the use of natural gas in diesel-powered vehicles to facilitate compliance with emissions requirements. Directs the Secretary to implement a program promoting the development and commercialization of natural gas use in motor vehicle fleets by providing for the purchase and construction of alternative fuel vehicles and associated refueling equipment. Authorizes appropriations for FY 1991 through 1993. Directs the Secretary to implement a technician training program to convert conventional fuel vehicles to natural gas. Authorizes appropriations for FY 1991 through 1993. Directs the Secretary to enter into cooperative financial assistance agreements with the Gas Research Institute to perform research and development to improve natural gas vehicle technology. Directs the Secretary to implement a research, development, and demonstration program (including joint research and development ventures) on nonconventional natural gas recovery techniques, as well as improved techniques for recovering gas from discovered reservoirs. Directs the Secretary to enter into cooperative agreements with, and provide financial assistance to, certain parties to construct and demonstrate high efficiency heat engines. Authorizes appropriations. Requires the Secretary to transmit a biennially updated research and priorities list to certain congressional committees. Title XI: Natural Resource Policy - Subtitle A: General - Directs the Secretary of the Interior to conduct a study of the ecological and environmental resources that would be affected by a global climate change. Directs such Secretary and the Secretary of Agriculture to consider the relative impact on global warming of all Federal forest land management programs, including timber sales and reforestation. Directs the Secretary of Agriculture, in cooperation with the Secretary of the Interior, to report to the President and the Congress on the feasibility of a national forestation initiative. Requires the Secretary of Energy to submit to the Congress a study regarding the potential for reducing carbon dioxide emissions through targeted urban tree plantings designed to reduce air conditioning needs in buildings. Subtitle B: Tongass Timber Reform Act - Amends the Alaska National Interest Lands Conservation Act to repeal the ongoing appropriations for timber utilization in the Tongass National Forest, Alaska. Repeals the requirement for identifying lands unsuitable for timber production in such Forest. Repeals the reporting requirement on the adequacy of the timber supply from Forest lands. Requires the biennial report on such Forest to include the impact of timber management on subsistence resources, wildlife, fisheries habitats, biological diversity, the old growth rain forest ecosystem, and other specified items. Requires the southeast Alaska commercial fishing industry to be included, for cooperation and consultation, in a study of the Forest timber supply and demand. Directs the Secretary of Agriculture to terminate specified long-term timber sale contracts, and to revise the Tongass National Forest Land Management Plan of 1979 in a manner that fully protects long-term environmental and recreational concerns. Requires the Secretary to report to certain congressional committees regarding the status of such Forest Plan revision schedule. Imposes a moratorium on timber sales and harvest until the Forest Plan is completely revised and ready for implementation. Title XII: Basic Science Initiatives - Authorizes appropriations for FY 1991 through 1993 to specified Federal agencies to conduct certain climatological and ecological research. Title XIII: Development Assistance - Directs the Secretary of State, in conjunction with the Administrator of the Agency for International Development and other specified officials, to report to the Congress on the status of forest resources in tropical countries, including a forest plan with goals for each tropical country. Requires the Administrator to: (1) ensure that all financial support activities supported by U.S. bilateral foreign assistance are consistent with such plan; and (2) take into account each country's measure of success in meeting plan goals when allocating development assistance monies. Prescribes guidelines under which the Secretaries of State and of the Treasury are directed to promote multilateral tropical forestry programs and to report to the Congress regarding the progress made by each of the multilateral development banks, the United Nations Food and Agriculture Program, the United Nations Development Program, and the International Tropical Timber Organization. Directs the Secretary of Commerce to promulgate regulations within one year after the date of enactment of this Act requiring wood and products containing imported wood to bear a label disclosing the names of such wood and the countries of origin. Requires such Secretary to promulgate regulations prohibiting the importation of wood and wood products containing wood from: (1) tropical forest countries that have not achieved the forest plan goals; (2) countries that import wood or products containing wood harvested in tropical countries that have not achieved forest plan goals; and (3) countries that permit transit of wood or products containing wood harvested in tropical countries that have not achieved forest plan goals. Requires the Secretary to report annually to the Congress on the status of import controls with respect to tropical forest countries that have not achieved the forest plan goals. 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. Prescribes guidelines under which the President is directed to provide support to aid-receiving 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. Directs the Secretary of the Treasury to instruct the U.S. Executive Director of each multilateral development bank to: (1) vigorously promote the adoption by each bank of an energy conservation and efficiency program containing specified components; and (2) oppose, except in certain instances, financial or technical assistance to any borrowing country if a least-cost energy plan prioritizing energy conservation, end use energy efficiency, and renewable energy sources is not in place. Directs the Secretary of State to instruct the Ambassador to the United Nations to: (1) vigorously encourage the United Nations Development Program implementing energy conservation and efficiency programs for recipient countries; and (2) oppose the adoption of country programs for any country for which a least-cost energy planning program giving priority to energy conservation, end use energy efficiency, and renewable energy sources is not in place. Requires the Secretary of the Treasury and the Secretary of State to report annually to the Congress regarding the progress of the multilateral development banks and the United Nations Development Program in implementing energy conservation measures. Authorizes the Secretary of the Treasury to modify the loan terms on up to one-half of the sovereign debt owed the United States by developing countries as a condition of adopting forest and energy conservation programs. Directs the Secretary to promulgate regulations implementing such environmental conservation and debt reduction program within one year after the enactment of this Act. Directs the Secretary to encourage the adoption of joint initiatives of debt reduction and conversion by the public and private sectors in member countries of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development. Directs the Administrator of the Agency for International Development to report biennially to the Congress regarding the status of energy conservation and efficiency for each country receiving Federal development assistance monies. Directs the Secretary of the Treasury to: (1) instruct the U.S. Executive Director to notify the staff of each multilateral development bank that future Federal contributions will be conditioned upon the successful implementation of a specified energy efficiency program; and (2) report annually to the Congress on the progress made by each multilateral development bank in implementing the energy efficiency program. Requires the Administrator of the Agency for International Development to report to the Congress regarding the options and strategies for the use of bilateral and multilateral development assistance programs sponsored by the United States to control emissions of certain greenhouse gases into the atmosphere. Title XIV: International Activities - Declares that it is the policy of the United States that the Secretary of State shall convene an international meeting in the United States by the end of 1992 to adopt a global climate protection convention with measures at least as stringent as those in this Act. Sets forth a percentage reduction schedule for emissions of specified gases. Directs the Secretary of State to: (1) initiate negotiations for the adoption of a binding multilateral agreement requiring specified reductions of nitrogen oxide emissions by 1998; (2) request and, if necessary, convene the parties to the Montreal protocol on substances that deplete the ozone layer for possible control measures reassessment; and (3) convene an international meeting to exchange information regarding nuclear safety issues, including nuclear waste disposal. Directs the Secretary of the Treasury to instruct the U.S. Executive Directors of multilateral development banks to promote lending policies which emphasize specified aspects of energy conservation, renewable energy sources, including measures for international energy cooperation, and world population reduction. Directs the Administrator of the Agency for International Development to take specified measures concerning: (1) biological diversity conservation; (2) renewable energy resources and conservation; (3) assistance to developing countries in the use of agricultural and industrial chemicals; and (4) a report to the Congress on Agency practices regarding the overseas use of renewable energy technologies. Declares U.S. policy with respect to domestic and international efforts to deal with the greenhouse effect. Requests the President to take steps to establish a long-term study of the greenhouse effect, beginning with a one-year cooperative international research program started during or before 1991. Names the year of such program the International Year of the Greenhouse Effect. Title XV: Moderating World Population Growth - Authorizes appropriations for FY 1991 through 1993 for international population and family planning assistance. Prohibits the use of such funds for: (1) involuntary sterilization; (2) abortion; or (3) the coercion of any person to accept family planning services.
United States · United States Congress · 2 February 1989
Medicare Catastrophic Coverage Revision Act of 1989 - Delays, for one year, the implementation of the Medicare Catastrophic Coverage Act of 1988, except for provisions of such Act expanding benefits under part A (Hospital Insurance) of title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act.
United States · United States Congress · 2 February 1989
Calls for: (1) continued support for the Cooperative Extension System; and (2) commemoration of the 75th anniversary of the enactment of the Smith-Lever Act of 1914 on May 8, 1989.
United States · United States Congress · 31 January 1989
Equity for Rural Hospitals Act of 1989 - Directs the Secretary of Health and Human Services to design a legislative proposal for eliminating the differences in average standardized Medicare payments (under title XVIII of the Social Security Act) to large urban, other urban, and rural hospitals by FY 1995, while recognizing appropriate cost differences among hospitals. Amends the Medicare program to provide additional payments to Medicare-dependent, small rural hospitals up to FY 1992 (when the transition to a single average standardized Medicare payment rate is required to begin), ensuring the coverage of such hospitals' reasonable operating costs for Medicare inpatient hospital services. Requires the recomputation of Medicare sole community hospital payment rates using the most recent information on hospital-specific costs per case and, if greater, national rather than regional prospective payment rates. Includes, in the Secretary's determination as to whether a hospital is a sole community hospital, consideration of the travel time to the nearest alternative source of inpatient care and the number of patients who seek health services which are unavailable in the hospital's area. Establishes the Medicare Geographical Classification Review Board to decide on a rural hospital's application for classification as an urban hospital for Medicare payment purposes. Amends the Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1987 to alter the Rural Health Care Transition Grant Program to extend and increase authorized appropriations for such program through FY 1992, and permit the Secretary to waive the hospital grant limit. Expands, from four to ten hospitals, a Medicare demonstration program covering additional costs incurred by teaching hospitals in sending their residents to rural hospitals for training. Requires the Secretary to establish five-year Medicare demonstration programs covering costs incurred by five hospitals in providing clinical training to undergraduate nurses.
United States · United States Congress · 31 January 1989
Fair Employment Practices Resolution - Requires that personnel actions affecting employment positions in the Congress be made free from discrimination based on race, color, national origin, religion, sex (including marital and parental status), handicap, or age. Declares that interpretations under such requirement shall reflect the principles of current law as generally applicable to employment. States that such requirement does not prohibit the taking into consideration of: (1) the domicile of an individual with respect to a position under the clerk-hire allowance; or (2) the political affiliation of an individual with respect to a position under the clerk-hire allowance or a position on a committee staff. Sets forth a three-step procedure for consideration of alleged violations under this Act: (1) counseling and mediation; (2) formal complaint, hearing, and review by the Office of Fair Employment Practices; and (3) final review by the Review Panel. Establishes the Office of Fair Employment Practices. Provides for resolution by written agreement if, after a formal complaint is filed, the parties resolve the issues. Makes such agreements effective if approved by the Office or the Panel, whichever has the matter under review. Sets forth remedies which the Office or Panel may order. Provides for closed hearings and confidentiality. Makes the procedures and remedies under this resolution exclusive, except to the extent that specified congressional rules provide for additional procedures and remedies.
United States · United States Congress · 25 January 1989
Funeral and Remains Transportation and Living Expense Benefits Act of 1989 - Authorizes the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to provide for the recovery, care, and disposition of the remains of any veteran who was awarded a Medal of Honor. Outlines the burial-related expenses the Secretary is authorized to provide. Requires reimbursement in an amount not greater than that normally incurred by the Secretary if an individual pays any expense that is payable by the United States under this Act. Specifies the spouses and relatives authorized to direct disposition of the remains of a decedent covered by this Act.
United States · United States Congress · 25 January 1989
National Nutrition Monitoring and Related Research Act of 1989 - Title I: Nutrition Monitoring and Related Research - Establishes a ten-year coordinated program, to be known as the National Nutrition Monitoring and Related Research Program, which will be implemented by the Secretaries of Health and Human Services (HHS) and Agriculture. Establishes an Interagency Board for Nutrition Monitoring and Related Research to facilitate program implementation. Authorizes the Secretaries to appoint an Administrator of Nutrition Monitoring and Related Research. Sets forth the program functions of the Secretaries, including: (1) establishing matching grants programs for specified nutritional and dietary purposes; and (2) submitting a biennial report to the President for transmittal to the Congress. Requires the Secretaries to implement a comprehensive national nutrition monitoring and related research plan which shall: (1) assess and report on U.S. nutritional and dietary trends; (2) sample representative subsets of identifiable low income populations and assess and report on food and household expenditures; (3) sponsor and conduct research; (4) develop and update a national dietary and nutritional status data bank; (5) assist State and local agencies in developing procedures and networks for nutrition monitoring and surveillance; and (6) focus the activities of Federal agencies. Requires the plan to allocate the project functions and activities among the various Federal agencies and offices involved. Provides that the comprehensive plan shall be carried out during the period ending with the close of the ninth fiscal year following the fiscal year in which the final comprehensive plan is submitted. Requires the Secretaries to coordinate and enter into contracts for such scientific research and development as may be necessary to support the coordinated program and comprehensive plan. Requires the President, at the time of the submission of the annual budget to the Congress, to submit a report to specified congressional committees on expenditures required for carrying out the coordinated program and implementing the comprehensive plan. Title II: National Nutrition Monitoring Advisory Council - Establishes a nine-member National Nutrition Monitoring Advisory Council to: (1) provide scientific and technical advice on the development and implementation of all components of the coordinated program and the comprehensive plan; (2) evaluate such program and plan; and (3) submit an annual report to the Secretaries. Title III: Dietary Guidance - Directs the Secretaries, by the start of 1990 and every five years thereafter, to publish and review dietary guidelines for the general public. Requires the Secretary of HHS to submit a report describing the appropriate Federal role in assuring that medical students and physicians practicing in the United States have adequate training in the field of nutrition and its relationship to health.
United States · United States Congress · 25 January 1989
World Environment Policy Act of 1989 - Title I: Establishment of the Council on World Environmental Policy - Requires the President to establish a Council on World Environmental Policy to replace the existing Council on Environmental Quality and to be chaired by the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). Outlines the duties of the Council, including: (1) the submission to the Congress of a Strategic Plan for coordinating policy responses to world environmental problems; (2) the advisement of the President and the Congress on the effects of U.S. policy on such problems; (3) the publication of an annual report detailing the Nation's progress toward meeting the goals of the Plan; and (4) the implementation by all Federal agencies of criteria to minimize the impact of Federal policies on the world environment. Authorizes the President to appoint an Ambassador to represent the United States in negotiations relevant to global environmental issues. Title II: Research, Development of Policy Responses, and Promotion of Public Awareness - Expresses the sense of the Congress that: (1) the United States should participate in and support the International Geosphere-Biosphere Program (IGBP); and (2) the President should periodically, but not less than biennially, transmit to the Congress a plan for U.S. participation in such program. Declares that: (1) the Antarctic region is a critical area in the study of global change; and (2) the United States should support the development of an Antarctic research component to IGBP to include specific recommendations of the ad hoc Scientific Committee on Antarctic Research of the International Council of Scientific Unions. States that the National Aeronautics and Space Administration's Mission to Planet Earth initiative should enjoy public and congressional support. Requests the President to establish a cooperative international research program concerning the greenhouse effect of increased concentration of carbon dioxide and greenhouse gases in the Earth's atmosphere. Requires any such program established by the President to be started before 1990, which shall be known as the International Year of the Greenhouse Effect. Provides that such program should be coordinated on behalf of the United States by the Secretary of State, the National Research Council, and the Federal Coordinating Council for Science, Engineering, and Technology. Title III: Regulation and Phase-Out of Anthropogenic Emissions That Degrade The Environment - Part A: Phase-Out of Substances that Deplete the Stratospheric Ozone Layer - States that this Act's objectives are to restore and maintain the chemical and physical integrity of the Earth's atmosphere and to protect human health and the global environment from all known and potential dangers due to atmospheric or climatic modification. Directs the Administrator to: (1) publish a priority list of manufactured substances which are known, or may reasonably be anticipated, to cause or contribute to atmospheric or climatic modification, including chlorofluorocarbon-11, chlorofluorocarbon-12, chlorofluorocarbon-13, halon-1211, halon-1301, and carbon tetrachloride; (2) create and annually update a list of other manufactured substances which meet such criteria; and (3) assign to each listed substance a numerical value representing the ozone depletion potential of such substance. Imposes reporting requirements on producers or importers of listed substances. Phases out, by January 1, 1996, the production or release of priority-listed substances for any use other than medical purposes. Prohibits the use or introduction into interstate commerce of a priority-listed substance after 1994 or a listed substance after 1999, except for medical purposes or, for ten more years, to maintain and service household appliances. Directs the Administrator to require a producer of a listed substance to reduce its production of such substance more rapidly if new information indicates that expedition is necessary for the protection of human health or the environment or the availability of substitutes makes expedited reductions attainable. Authorizes the President to issue orders exempting from this Act's requirements the production and use of halon-1211 and halon-1301 at any specified site or facility if the President finds that adequate substitutes are not available and the production and use of such substances is necessary to protect national security interests. Directs the Secretary of Defense to: (1) seek to eliminate all emissions of halon-1211 and halon-1301 that occur during the testing of fire-extinguishing equipment; and (2) investigate the feasibility of alternative testing methods that do not result in the release of such substances. Prohibits the importation of a priority-listed substance, any product containing such substance, or any product manufactured with a process that used 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. Deems a person who imports a listed substance or a product containing such substance to have produced such substance for purposes of this Act's requirements. Requires that containers in which listed substances are stored or transported, products containing such substances, and products manufactured with a process using such substances be labeled as harmful to public health and the environment by reason of the effect such substances have on the ozone and climate. Deems listed substances to be hazardous wastes to be disposed of by a means which assure 99.999 percent destruction of such substances. Requires that goods which contain a listed substance in bulk be disposed of by persons licensed to accept such goods and only after the listed substance has been removed from confinement and destroyed. Provides that when such substance is an inherent element of a product, such product must be disposed of by a means assuring 99.999 percent destruction. Prohibits the release of listed substances in other than de minimis quantities. Prohibits the use of listed substances in goods if more than five percent of such substance will be released during the ordinary use of the goods or the goods cannot be serviced with no more than a de minimis release of such substances. Part B: Control of Methane Emission From Landfills and Sewage Treatment Facilities - Directs the Administrator 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. Requires that State solid waste management plans provide for the minimization of emissions of methane and other gases during the operation and after the closure of sanitary landfills. Provides that sewage treatment facilities constructed after January 1, 1990, shall be designed and operated to minimize emissions of methane. Requires existing facilities to be modified for such purposes prior to 1993. Prohibits, after 1993, mass releases and flaring of methane. Part C: Control of Other Pollutant Emissions - Directs the Administrator to set oxides of nitrogen emission controls for stationary and vehicular sources of such emissions. Sets the oxides of nitrogen emission limit at .4 gram per mile for light duty vehicles manufactured in model year 1990 and thereafter. Requires the Administrator to set hydrocarbon emission controls for stationary and vehicular sources of such emissions. Requires that existing stationary sources: (1) meet the hydrocarbon emission control achievable through the adoption of reasonably available control technologies; and (2) comply, upon the 35th anniversary of their construction, with hydrocarbon emission standards applicable to new major stationary sources. Directs the Administrator to set a hydrocarbon emission limit of .25 gram per vehicle mile for light duty vehicles manufactured in model year 1992 and thereafter. Requires vehicles manufactured during and after model year 1991 to have on-board hydrocarbon control technology to recover fueling emissions. Requires the promulgation of standards concerning certain other vehicular emissions. Prohibits, beginning with model year 1991, the manufacture, sale, or introduction into commerce of any engine that requires leaded gasoline. Sets the useful life of a light duty vehicle, during which emission standards remain applicable, at ten years or one hundred thousand miles, whichever first occurs. Adds an idle test mode to the Federal Test Procedure for light duty vehicles. Requires the Administrator to establish at least one high altitude site for testing vehicles for conformity with emission and fuel standards. Imposes civil monetary penalties against individuals who remove or render inoperative any emission control device, except as necessary in the course of routine proper maintenance. Directs each State which is required to implement a vehicle inspection and maintenance program to adopt quality control audits to assure that such inspections detect and report to the Administrator any patterns of defects in any manufacturer's emission control systems. Requires the Administrator to annually report to the Congress, with respect to each manufacturer, any significant finding of repeated or common emission system defects and the actions taken to remedy such nonconformity. Requires vehicle manufacturers to affix on vehicles manufactured during and after model year 1990, a label indicating the full cost of applying the warranty assuring compliance with emission and fuel standards for the useful life of the vehicle. Authorizes manufacturers to sell extended warranties, but permits purchasers to buy an extended warranty from any other vendor of such warranties. Makes purchasers responsible for replacing and maintaining, at their expense and at any service facility of their choosing, devices related to, but not designed for, emission control, unless such device is covered by an extended warranty. Sets limits on the sulfur content of diesel fuel and the Reid vapor pressure of gasoline and ethanol/gasoline blends, and a floor on the oxygen content of fuel in carbon monoxide nonattainment areas. Sets forth reporting requirements. Imposes civil monetary penalties on violators of fuel regulations. Requires each State to implement a vehicle emission control inspection and maintenance program to reduce in-use emissions of hydrocarbons, carbon monoxide, oxides of nitrogen, and diesel particulates from motor vehicles. Part D: Miscellaneous Provisions - Authorizes the Administrator to respond to violations of this title's requirements by assessing a civil penalty against violators and/or requiring their immediate compliance, or commencing a civil action in the U.S. district court in the district in which the violation occurred for appropriate relief. Imposes civil and criminal penalties for violations of this title's requirements. Provides for judicial review of the Administrator's final actions. Authorizes citizen suits to enforce any permit, regulation, condition, requirement, prohibition, or order which has become effective pursuant to this title. Title IV: Vehicle Fuel Efficiency Improvements - Vehicle Energy Efficiency Performance Standards Act of 1989 - Amends the Motor Vehicle Information and Cost Savings Act to increase the average fuel economy standards for passenger automobiles and light duty trucks for model year 1993 and thereafter according to prescribed guidelines. Exempts manufacturers of fewer than 10,000 light trucks and emergency vehicles from such prescribed standards. Establishes an incentives schedule for manufacturers of passenger automobiles and light trucks. Authorizes the Secretary of Transportation to assess a tax against any manufacturer who fails to comply with the prescribed average fuel economy standards. Sets forth procedural guidelines for the imposition of such tax. States that the current civil penalty shall not apply to any model year for a passenger automobile or light truck after model year 1990. Prescribes a fleet average fuel economy schedule for all Federal passenger automobiles and light trucks for model years 1993 and thereafter. Requires the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency to consult with the Secretary of Energy before establishing testing and calculation procedures for measuring automobile fuel economy. Authorizes (current law directs) the Administrator to require fuel economy tests in conjunction with emissions tests conducted under the Clean Air Act. Directs the Administrator to measure a sampling of production passenger automobiles for each model type and year during the first month of manufacture for sale. Requires the adjustment of average fuel economy standards when necessary. Requires manufacturers to reflect any changes in such standards on automobile labels affixed more than 90 days after such changes are available. Requires that Federal testing and calculation procedures be repeated over a period of years to monitor automobile performance in use to determine the extent of decline in fuel economy. Directs the Administrator to periodically review procedures for testing fuel economy. Directs the Administrator to update the booklet containing fuel economy data at least twice a year. Directs the Secretary of Energy to distribute at least 100 booklets each year to each dealer and additional numbers if requested. Cites conditions under which manufacturers of light vehicles with certain increased fuel economies shall be considered to have offered the Government a specified discounted bid. Directs the Secretary, within two years of enactment of this Act, to submit suggestions to the Congress for additional legislation to carry out its purposes and the purposes of the Motor Vehicle Information and Cost Savings Act. Directs the National Academy of Sciences to report to the Congress on the results of its review of the research and development status of the fuel efficiency and energy consumption reduction of light vehicles, trucks, and passenger vehicles. Directs the Secretary of Energy to make changes in the Department of Energy's transportation research and development program based upon such report. Outlines criteria and procedures for amended vehicle fuel economy standards. Amends the Internal Revenue Code to prescribe a gas guzzler tax schedule applicable to 1990 and later model year automobiles. Sets forth a tax credit schedule for the purchase of certain fuel efficient passenger vehicles. Title V: Waste Minimization and Recycling - 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 Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency to establish an Office of Recycling and Waste Minimization to: (1) make grants to support research into innovative recycling technology; and (2) gather and disseminate information on waste disposal and recycling technology. Describes possible research grant activities. Requires the Administrator and the Secretary of Education to conduct a five-year outreach program to provide information regarding the importance of proper waste disposal and the benefits of, and methods to encourage, voluntary recycling. Sets forth a potential format for such program. Authorizes appropriations. Prohibits, effective two 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 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 Administrator to publish and periodically update lists of items and materials affected by the prohibition on activities involving nonrecyclable items. Directs the Administrator to promulgate guidelines to assist States in the development of recycling and waste minimization plans. Requires each State to submit such plans to the Administrator for approval. Sets forth requirements for such plans. Directs the Administrator to establish a Federal program in any State that is not enforcing such a plan. Provides that failure by a State to implement such a plan may result in the loss of assistance. Title VI: The World Bank and Sustainable Economic Development - Directs the Secretary of the Treasury to enter into discussions with the president of the World Bank and with officials of the governments of other major contributors to the Bank to work out guidelines for advance disclosure of prospective bank loans prior to their approval within the Bank. Requires the President to instruct U.S. representatives to the 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. Title VII: Assistance to International Family Planning Organizations - Expresses the sense of the Congress that the United States should provide funds for family planning to organizations operating in foreign countries, provided that such organizations can guarantee that no U.S. funds will be used to pay for performing abortions. Provides that the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 shall be understood to permit U.S. funds to support family planning in foreign countries. Title VIII: Conservation of World Biodiversity - Declares that conservation of biological diversity is a national goal of the United States and that efforts toward conservation are a national priority. Amends the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 to require that environmental impact statements on proposed Federal actions include any impacts on biological diversity. Requires the President's Council on World Environmental Policy to: (1) establish guidelines for consideration of biological diversity in the preparation of environmental impact statements; and (2) identify biotic communities, species, and populations that appear to be in decline or that are of special concern and to include such information in its annual report. Establishes a National Center for Biological Diversity and Environmental Research to set national priorities and provide leadership and coordination for the promotion of knowledge of the Nation's biota and the effects on such biota of the activities of people. Outlines the functions of the Center. Authorizes any Federal agency to detail its personnel to the Center to assist in carrying out the Center's duties under this Act. Allows the Center to accept gifts or donations of services or property. Requires the Director of the Center to report annually to the President and the Congress on the activities of the Center during the preceding year. Establishes an Interagency Working Committee on Biological Diversity to be composed of representatives from specified Federal agencies and to coordinate and implement Federal and international activities and strategies for the conservation of biological diversity. Directs the Committee to report biennially to the Congress on the progress of such strategy. Authorizes agencies on the Committee to engage in partnership grants, provided that the Federal funds are matched by the grantee, except in the case where the grantee is a State. Requires each Committee agency, other than the Council on World Environmental Policy, to give high priority to research and personnel training and to assess the adequacy of such research and training. Establishes a National Scientific Advisory Committee on Biological Diversity to include as members nominees recommended by the National Academy of Sciences and appointed by the President. Outlines the functions of the Committee, including: (1) providing scientific and technical advice to the Interagency Committee in the preparation of Federal strategy; and (2) assisting in the evaluation of the impacts of proposed Federal actions on biological diversity. Authorizes appropriations. Limits expenditures for biological diversity grants. Title IX: Replanting and Conserving the World's Forests - Sets forth congressional findings on tropical wood. Directs the Secretary of State to enter into negotiations with Japan and the European Communities to: (1) reach agreement on a Phased Tropical Hardwoods Agreement to restrain consumption of tropical hardwoods; and (2) establish an international agreement in support of a special Tropical Forest Conservation Lending Facility to be vested within the World Bank and to finance regimes of sustained yield management for tropical woods. Sets forth congressional findings on global deforestation. Requires the Director of AID to: (1) prepare an assessment of the potential for, and the costs of, raising the productivity of small-holders of land on a country specific basis; (2) frame proposals for the expansion of regional microenterprise lending focused on small-holding agriculture in environmentally stressed regions, to be supported by the World Bank; and (3) prepare an estimate of the full global potential for reforestation, its impact on regional ecological and economic problems, its effect on the global carbon balance, its estimated costs, and a proposal for sharing such costs with the international community. Sets forth congressional findings on the preservation of the Amazon Basin. Encourages the Brazilian Government to begin a process of international consultation toward a program for resource conservation in such Basin. Expresses the sense of the Congress that: (1) the Secretary of State should declare that the United States is ready to participate in such consultations; and (2) members of the international community should reassess their investment policies to assure that they do not contribute to the accelerated destruction of such Basin's rain forest. Directs U.S. directors of multilateral development banks and other development assistance institutions to urge restraint pending the development of an approach which blends Brazil's requirements for national development with global environmental imperatives. Title X: International Cooperation - Directs the President to request the United Nations to establish a temporary new agency, to be headed by the director of the United Nations Environmental Program, to: (1) coordinate international efforts to minimize and mitigate the effects of unavoidable environmental alterations; and (2) provide financial, technical, and other assistance to developing nations to facilitate improvements in their standard of living while minimizing or eliminating their contributions to global, continental, and subcontinental scale environmental damages. Directs the President to request the United Nations to establish a temporary program of forestation to: (1) assist and encourage nations in halting activities that are destroying forests; and (2) undertake a global reforestation program. Requires the President to instruct U.S. representatives to other bilateral and multilateral organizations to assure that the activities of such organizations are consistent with this Act's goals and objectives.
United States · United States Congress · 25 January 1989
Extends the regional referral center classification of hospitals so classified as of September 30, 1989, and the payment rates applicable to such hospitals under title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act through FY 1994.
United States · United States Congress · 25 January 1989
Department of Environmental Protection Act - Redesignates the Environmental Protection Agency as the Department of Environmental Protection, an executive department to be administered by a Secretary of Environmental Protection appointed by the President.
United States · United States Congress · 25 January 1989
Judicial Taxation Prohibition Act - Amends the Federal judicial code to deny to inferior Federal courts jurisdiction to issue any remedy, order, writ, or other judicial decree requiring the Federal Government or any State or local government to impose any new tax or to increase any existing tax or tax rate.
United States · United States Congress · 25 January 1989
Chemical and Biological Weapons Control Act of 1989 - Requires the imposition of certain sanctions against any foreign country which uses chemical or biological weapons in violation of international law or against its own citizens. Specifies such sanctions as: (1) a prohibition against the sale or export to any such country of any item on the U.S. Munitions List; (2) a prohibition against the exportation to any such country of any goods or technology listed on the control list established pursuant to the Export Administration Act of 1979; (3) U.S. opposition to any loan or financial or technical assistance to any such country by international financial institutions; (4) a prohibition against U.S. military or economic assistance to the sanctioned country; (5) a prohibition against the importation of any goods or services from any such country; (6) a prohibition against credit or credit guarantees through the Export-Import Bank of the United States; (7) a prohibition against U.S. banks making any loan or providing any credit to any such country; and (8) a denial of landing rights in the United States to any airline owned by the government of any such country. Authorizes the President to waive some or all of such sanctions for a period not to exceed nine months upon a determination that such a waiver would be in the national interest. Requires the President to notify the Congress of the imposition of such sanctions not later than five days after such sanctions become effective. Provides for the removal of such sanctions after specified conditions are met. Provides for the sanctity of contracts entered into prior to the date on which Congress is notified of the imposition of sanctions. Requires the President to report to the Congress every 180 days on: (1) efforts by Iran, Iraq, Libya, Syria, and other developing nations to acquire materials and technology to produce and deliver chemical and biological weapons; and (2) an assessment of such countries' present and future capability to produce and deliver such weapons. Urges the President to cooperate in multilateral efforts to control chemical and biological weapons and to give full support to United Nations involvement in such efforts.
United States · United States Congress · 25 January 1989
Biennial Budget Act - Amends the Congressional Budget Act of 1974 to revise the Federal and congressional budget processes by establishing a two-year budgeting and appropriations cycle and timetable, beginning in the 102d Congress. Defines the budget biennium as the two consecutive fiscal years beginning on October 1 of any odd-numbered year. Devotes the first session of any Congress to the budget resolution and to appropriations decisions, retaining current deadlines in most cases. Changes relevant deadlines as follows to conform to the biennial scheme: (1) from April 1 to March 31 for the Senate Budget Committee's report on the concurrent resolution on the budget; (2) from June 15 to September 30 for completion of congressional action on reconciliation legislation; and (3) from June 30 to September 30 for completion of congressional action on appropriations bills. Devotes each second session to authorization activity, subject to deadlines of: (1) May 15 for the submission of the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) report to the Budget Committees; and (2) the last day of the session for completion of congressional action on bills and resolutions authorizing new budget authority for the next biennium. Changes from January 15 to February 15 of each year the date by which the CBO Director must submit to the Congress a report on authorizations. Requires the Director of the CBO to issue four-year projections of congressional budget action. (Current projections are on a five-year basis.) Amends provisions relating to the reconciliation process to: (1) increase from 20 hours to 100 hours the time of debate permitted in the Senate with respect to reconciliation measures; and (2) make it out of order in both the House and the Senate to consider any reconciliation legislation changing any provision of law other than one relating to new budget or spending authority, revenues, or the public debt limit. Revises the extent of projections to be included in CBO analyses of reported bills. Amends Federal law to require the President's budget for a biennium to be set forth in the same accounts as those set forth in the table titled "The Federal Program by Agency and Account" in the budget submitted for FY 1991. Requires the President to consult with committees having jurisdiction over programs affected by proposed changes before any changes may be made in the budget tables. (Current law requiring consultation with the Budget and Appropriations Committees remains unchanged.) Conforms provisions governing the President's budget, including maximum deficit amount requirements, to the biennial framework. Changes the due date for the President's report on estimated budget outlays and proposed budget authority, making the report due at the same time as the President's budget. Requires the Joint Economic Committee to submit its evaluation of these estimates by February 25 of each odd-numbered year. (The current annual deadline is March 1). Directs the heads of Federal executive agencies, the Comptroller General, and the Directors of the Congressional Budget Office, the Office of Technology Assessment, and the Congressional Research Service to provide studies, analyses, reports, and other documentation concerning program administration to assist the standing committees of the House and the Senate having jurisdiction over the programs in question. Amends the Rules of the House of Representatives to conform to the biennial framework.
United States · United States Congress · 25 January 1989
1991 Mount Rushmore Commemorative Coin Act - Requires the Secretary of the Treasury to issue a specified number of five-dollar gold coins, one-dollar silver coins, and half-dollar clad coins in commemoration of the Mount Rushmore National Memorial. Provides that such coins shall be considered legal tender. Requires the Secretary to begin issuing such coins on January 1, 1991. Allows the Secretary to obtain silver for the minting of such coins from stockpiles established under the Strategic and Critical Minerals Stock Piling Act and to obtain gold pursuant to authority under existing law. Provides that the design of such coins shall be selected by the Secretary after consultation with the Mount Rushmore National Memorial Society of Black Hills. Specifies the sales price of such coins as the face value plus costs. Requires that all sales of such coins include a surcharge of $35 per coin for five-dollar coins, $7 per coin for one-dollar coins, and $1 for half-dollar coins. Requires that of the total surcharges received by the Secretary from the sale of such coins: (1) 50 percent shall be returned to the Treasury for purposes of reducing the national debt; and (2) 50 percent shall be paid to the Society to assist efforts to improve the Mount Rushmore National Memorial. Authorizes the Comptroller General to audit such payments. Requires the Secretary to take such actions as may be necessary to ensure that the minting and issuance of such coins shall not result in any net costs to the Government.
United States · United States Congress · 25 January 1989
Federal Employees Long-Term Care Insurance Act of 1989 - Directs the Office of Personnel Management to arrange for the optional conversion of a portion of a Government employee's life insurance policy to long-term care insurance.
United States · United States Congress · 25 January 1989
Pay Equity Technical Assistance Act - Directs the Secretary of Labor to develop and implement a continuing program of information dissemination, research, and technical assistance to public and private entities with respect to correction of wage-setting practices, and a reduction or elimination of wage disparities, to the extent that they are based on the sex, race, or national origin of the employee, rather than on the work performed and other appropriate factors.
United States · United States Congress · 25 January 1989
Directs the Secretary of Agriculture to conduct a study of the classification of anhydrous ammonia as a poisonous gas for purposes of the Hazardous Materials Transportation Act. Prohibits the Secretary of Transportation from implementing the classification of anhydrous ammonia as a poisonous gas for purposes of such Act until the Secretary of Agriculture has submitted his report to the Congress.
United States · United States Congress · 25 January 1989
Chemical and Biological Warfare Prevention Act of 1989 - Amends the Arms Export Control Act to require the President to prepare a list of materials and technology which would assist a country's chemical or biological warfare capability. Prohibits the export of such materials and technology to Iran, Iraq, Libya, Syria, or certain other countries. Requires the President, every 90 days, to submit to the chairman of the Senate Committee on Foreign Relations and the Speaker of the House of Representatives a report on: (1) the efforts by Iran, Iraq, Libya, Syria, and certain other countries to acquire the materials to produce chemical or biological weapons; (2) the present and future capability of such countries to produce such weapons; and (3) whether Communist-bloc or non-Communist countries have aided such countries. Directs the President to apply specified sanctions to any U.S. or foreign person, with certain exceptions, who exports any item on the list to any such country. Sets forth both civil and criminal penalties. Provides for the suspension of patents for chemical agents or production equipment produced by a sanctioned person.