United States · United States Congress · 22 March 1990
Amends the Federal Deposit Insurance Act and the Federal Credit Union Act to cite conditions under which depository institutions, mortgage lenders, and insured credit unions are not liable under the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act of 1980 (Superfund) with respect to property acquired either through foreclosure or in a fiduciary capacity. Confers immunity from Superfund liability upon certain banking regulatory agencies and the National Credit Union Administration Board for properties acquired in connection with: (1) the exercise of receivership or conservatorship authority; and (2) the provision of loans and other financial assistance.
United States · United States Congress · 20 March 1990
Agricultural Conservation Reserve and Enhancement Act of 1990 - Title I: Conservation Reserve Program - Amends the Food Security Act of 1985 to extend the conservation reserve program (CRP) through crop year 1995. Establishes ten-year minimum contracts for soil salinity or off-farm environmentally threatened land placed in the CRP. Permits the Secretary of Agriculture to pay up to 75 percent of CRP wetlands restoration costs. Extends CRP tree acreage through crop year 1995. Directs the Secretary to offer a 15-year CRP contract for acreage devoted to hardwood trees, shelterbelts, or windbreaks. Authorizes the Secretary to: (1) offer owners the opportunity to convert CRP acreage planted to grass to hardwood trees; (2) pay up to 75 perent of conversion costs; and (3) permit alley cropping (and related rental reductions) on such converted land and on land on which the owner implements appropriate conservation measures. Authorizes a bid-back program to remove the least highly erodible cropland from the CRP. Provides for specified buffer strip CRP eligibility. Exempts CRP contracts from sequestration orders. Title II: Integrated Farm Plans - Directs the Secretary to establish a cost-sharing program to assist producers in establishing integrated farm plans. Authorizes FY 1992 through 2002 appropriations. Title III: Wetland Provisions - Directs the Secretary to determine the extent to which penalties for minor infractions of the wetland program have not been commensurate with the violation. Amends the Food Security Act of 1985 to permit the production of native wetland crops under such program. Extends through the 1995 crop year and makes mandatory multiyear set-asides.
United States · United States Congress · 20 March 1990
Acknowledges that Jerusalem is and should remain the capital of the State of Israel. Declares that Jerusalem must remain an undivided city in which the rights of every ethnic religious group are protected. Calls upon all parties involved in the search for peace to maintain their efforts to bring about negotiations between Israel and Palestinian representatives.
United States · United States Congress · 9 March 1990
Nonconventional Fuels Production Incentives Act of 1990 - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to extend for two years the credit for producing fuel from a nonconventional source. Provides for the treatment of gas produced from a tight formation in the same manner as other types of nonconventional fuel.
United States · United States Congress · 9 March 1990
Agricultural Export Enhancement Act of 1990 - Directs the Secretary of Agriculture to establish the Export Market Research Loan Program, administered through the Foreign Agricultural Service, to make loans to eligible entities to perform research directed at expanding agricultural export markets. Requires the Secretary to establish the New Market Task Force to develop foreign market development strategy, coordinate and disseminate information, advise and educate such entities, concerning agricultural export markets and domestic trade programs. Authorizes appropriations. Amends the Food Security Act of 1985 to require the Secretary for FY 1991 through 1995 to use a specified amount of funds, or commodities owned by, the Commodity Credit Corporation for targeted export activities designed to develop new foreign markets for agricultural products. Requires the Administrator of the Foreign Agricultural Service to report to specified congressional committees: (1) any recommendations about proposed locations of New Agricultural Trade Offices and proposed fund uses; (2) estimated personnel and appropriations needs of such offices; and (3) an analysis of the Service's hiring ceiling. Requires the Secretary of State to permit the Agricultural Trade Offices to employ necessary personnel even if their employment exceeds embassy personnel limits. Requires the Secretary to establish a Processed Products Export Enhancement Program providing agricultural commodities acquired by the Corporation to U.S. exporters, users, and processors and foreign purchasers at no cost. Amends the Food for Peace Act of 1966 to extend the authority of the Agricultural Export Credit Revolving Fund through October 1, 1995.
United States · United States Congress · 8 March 1990
Fair Treatment Act of 1990 - Amends the Public Health Service Act to revise, with regard to alcohol and drug abuse and mental health services block grants, the formulas for determination of allotments and minimum allotments to States.
United States · United States Congress · 7 March 1990
National Drug and Crime Emergency Act - Declares a National Drug and Crime Emergency for a five-year period, during which time it shall be U.S. policy that: (1) every person convicted in a Federal court of a crime of violence against a person or a drug trafficking felony (other than simple possession) shall serve no less than five years' imprisonment without release; (2) prisoners may be housed in tents and other temporary facilities; and (3) the Federal courts may limit the inmate population of a Federal or State prison or jail only when an inmate proves that crowding has resulted in cruel and unusual punishment and no other remedy exists. Title I: Elimination of Crime Without Punishment - Subtitle A: National Drug and Crime Emergency Policies - Amends the Federal criminal code to prohibit the Federal courts, during such Emergency, from: (1) holding prison crowding unconstitutional under the eighth amendment except to the extent that an individual plaintiff inmate proves that the crowding causes the infliction of cruel and unusual punishment; and (2) placing an inmate ceiling on any Federal, State, or local detention facility as an equitable measure for conditions that violate the eighth amendment unless crowding itself is inflicting cruel and unusual punishment on individual prisoners. Requires that each Federal court order seeking to remedy an eighth amendment violation be reopened at the behest of a defendant for recommended alteration at a minimum of two-year intervals. Applies this title to all outstanding court orders on the date of enactment of this Act. Permits any State or municipality to seek modification of any outstanding eighth amendment decree pursuant to this Act. Directs the Attorney General to take steps, consistent with security considerations, to ensure that sufficient facilities exist to house individuals whom the courts have ordered incarcerated, including consideration of tent housing or other shelters placed on available military bases and at other locations. Authorizes the President to direct the National Guard and the Army Corps of Engineers to design and construct temporary detention facilities. Requires: (1) the Secretary of Defense, the Commission on Alternative Utilization of Military Facilities, and the Director of the Bureau of Prisons to identify suitable military installations and examine the feasibility of using tent housing; and (2) the Director to report to the Congress within 90 days. Amends the Defense Authorization Amendments and Base Closure and Realignment Act to require the Secretary to notify the Attorney General and the Governor of each of the U.S. territories and possessions (currently, all departments and instrumentalities within the Department of Defense (DOD)) of the availability of any real property or facility located at a military installation to be closed. Authorizes the transfer of such property to the Attorney General, a State, territory, or possession, or the District of Columbia for use as a correctional institution. Requires the Director to: (1) review current construction standards and methods used in building Federal prisons; (2) examine and recommend cost cutting measures that could be employed in prison construction; and (3) submit the results to the Congress. Authorizes the Attorney General to contract for private construction and operation of Federal prisons. Requires the use of creative and cost-effective private financing alternatives and private prison construction and operation where possible. Specifies that operating costs of privately-operated prisons shall be covered through rent charged to Government units placing inmates in prisons. Requires the Administrator of the General Services Administration to identify at least 20 parcels of surplus Federal property which the Attorney General has certified are not needed for Federal correctional facilities but which may be suitable for State or local correctional facilities. Makes property determined to be in excess of Federal needs that may be suitable for use as correctional facilities available during such Emergency to the Attorney General, or secondarily, to a State, the District of Columbia, or a local government. Permits State and local governments to use Federal temporary incarceration facilities, when they are not needed to accommodate Federal prisoners, for incarcerating prisoners at a per diem fee payable to the Bureau of Prisons. Requires every person who, during the Emergency, is convicted in Federal court of committing a crime of violence against a person or a drug trafficking crime (other than simple possession), to be sentenced to and serve no less than five years' imprisonment. Prohibits any such person from being released from custody for any reason prior to completion of the sentence unless the sentence imposed is greater than five years and is not a mandatory minimum sentence without release. Subtitle B: Imposition of Mandatory Minimum Sentences Without Release - Amends the Federal criminal code to establish the following penalties for offenses committed during and in relation to any crime of violence or drug trafficking crime, in addition to the punishment provided for such crime. Provides that whoever: (1) possesses a firearm shall be sentenced to imprisonment for ten years without release; (2) discharges a firearm with intent to injure another person shall be sentenced to imprisonment for 20 years without release; or (3) possesses a firearm that is a machinegun or is equipped with a firearm silencer or muffler shall be sentenced to imprisonment for 30 years without release. Sets penalties for second, third, and subsequent convictions. Prohibits the release of any person convicted for any reason during a term of imprisonment imposed under this subtitle. Amends the Controlled Substances Act (CSA) to: (1) mandate life imprisonment without release for individuals convicted after two or more felony drug offenses or for a crime of violence; and (2) increase the sentences for distributing illegal drugs to persons under age 21 and for employing persons under 18 years of age in drug operations to up to ten years without release for a first offense and up to 20 years without release for a second offense. Prohibits the court from placing such persons on probation or suspending the sentence. Prohibits their release during the term of the sentence. Increases prison sentences for trafficking in marihuana and specified categories of controlled substances. Establishes mandatory sentences, in addition to any other sentence imposed for the underlying possession or distribution, of: (1) one year imprisonment without release in a case involving possession of a controlled substance within a Federal prison or other Federal detention facility; and (2) ten years without release in a case involving the smuggling of a controlled substance within such prison or facility. Prohibits the court from placing such individuals on probation or suspending the sentence. Prohibits such person from being eligible for parole during such term of imprisonment. Amends the Immigration and Nationality Act to: (1) require the deportation of aliens convicted of drug trafficking crimes or crimes of violence or for commission of an aggravated felony; and (2) increase the penalty (currently, 15 years for individuals whose deportation was subsequent to certain felony convictions) to 20 years without release, and to life imprisonment without release for a second violation, without probation, suspension of sentence, or early release, for reentry of a deported alien whose deportation was subsequent to a conviction for a drug trafficking crime or crime of violence. Grants priority for Federal drug law enforcement assistance funds from Bureau of Justice Assistance (BJA) Grant Programs to States having laws providing for mandatory minimum sentences, elimination of early release, and payment of trial costs and mandatory fines by individuals convicted of specified controlled substance violations. Revises the formula for determining the amount distributed from the Drug Control and System Improvement Grant Program. Subtitle C: Mandatory Work Requirements for Prisoners, Withholding Federal Benefits, and Drug Testing of Prisoners - Expresses Federal policy that: (1) prisoners shall work absent medical certification of 100 percent disability, security considerations, or disciplinary action; and (2) States and local governments have the same authority to require all convicted prisoners to work. Provides for the deposit in a separate fund in the Treasury of funds generated from prison labor for prison construction and operating expenses or payment of judgments. Specifies that prisoners shall be paid a share of funds generated by their labor. Repeals provisions establishing penalties for transportation or importation of prison-made goods. Authorizes the Federal Prison Industries to sell such goods to the public. Amends the Walsh-Healy Act to permit convict labor under specified conditions. Requires the Attorney General to submit to the Congress a report making recommendations for legislation to: (1) ensure that businesses and labor do not suffer unfair consequences from such repeal; and (2) encourage greater private sector participation in prison industries. Authorizes the Attorney General to enter into contracts with private businesses for the use of inmate skills that may be of commercial use to such businesses. Sets forth provisions with respect to security requirements involved in the use of convict labor. Provides for the withholding of prisoners' Federal benefits to offset incarceration costs. Directs the Attorney General to establish a program of drug testing of targeted classes of arrestees, prisoners, and persons on release. Amends the Omnibus Crime Control and Safe Streets Act of 1968 to bar Federal funding under the drug control and system improvement grant program for States failing to have an analogous State program. Subtitle D: Judicial Reform to Protect the Innocent and Punish the Guilty - Specifies that: (1) evidence obtained as a result of a search or seizure shall not be excluded in any Federal court proceeding on the ground that the search or seizure was in violation of the fourth amendment, if the search or seizure was carried out in circumstances justifying an objectively reasonable belief that it was in conformity with the fourth amendment; and (2) the fact that evidence was obtained pursuant to and within the scope of a warrant constitutes prima facie evidence of the existence of such circumstances. Prohibits the exclusion of evidence in any Federal court proceeding on the ground that it was obtained in violation of a statute, administrative rule or regulation, or rule of procedure unless exclusion is expressly authorized by statute or by Supreme Court rule. Amends the Federal judicial code to condition consideration of a habeas corpus claim by a State prisoner on a showing of actual prejudice resulting from the denial of a Federal right, and that: (1) State action precluded assertion of the right; (2) the Federal right asserted was newly recognized; or (3) the factual basis of the claim could not have been discovered through the exercise of reasonable diligence prior to the procedural default. Establishes a one-year statute of limitations for habeas corpus actions brought by State prisoners. Vests authority to issue certificates for probable cause for appeal of habeas corpus orders exclusively in the courts of appeals. Permits denial on the merits of habeas corpus writs notwithstanding the failure to exhaust State remedies. Prohibits the granting of a habeas corpus writ with respect to any claim which has been fully and fairly adjudicated in State proceedings. Amends the CSA to require: (1) the court, prior to sentencing on a conviction in a Federal court of a felony under such Act, to compile a list of assets owned by the defendant not subject to forfeiture; and (2) upon request of the Attorney General, the court to direct the defendant to provide proof that any asset owned by the defendant not on such list was legally obtained. Authorizes the Attorney General to seize assets that the defendant does not prove were legally obtained. Requires the proceeds from such assets to be deposited in the Department of Justice Assets Forfeiture Fund and to be available for transfer to the building and facilities account of the Federal prison system. Sets forth provisions regarding the term of appointment, authority, and jurisdiction of special masters. Requires the Administrative Office of the United States Courts to publish annually a report on the sentencing patterns of Federal judges. Title II: Achieving a Drug-Free America by 1995 - Requires individuals convicted of a CSA violation of possession of a controlled substance to pay to the Treasury the cost of the trial or, where defendant has insufficient income and property, an appropriate amount as determined by the court. Limits such payment to 25 percent of such person's annual income. Provides for mandatory fines of at least ten percent of income for a first offense and 25 percent for subsequent offenses. Subjects such person's property to forfeiture where there is insufficient income to pay such fines. Amends the Anti-Drug Abuse Act of 1988 to eliminate the judge's discretion in making individuals convicted of State offenses for the distribution of controlled substances ineligible for unearned Federal benefits, with exceptions for persons who: (1) declare and show by clear and convincing (currently, a reasonable body of) evidence that they are addicts and submit to long-term treatment; or (2) are determined to be rehabilitated. Makes similar changes with respect to individuals convicted of Federal or State drug possession offenses. Authorizes the court to reduce the period of ineligibility for such benefits to three months if the individual: (1) successfully completes a supervised drug rehabilitation program which includes periodic, random drug testing; or (2) completes a period of community service and passes such testing. Grants priority for Federal drug law enforcement assistance funds from BJA Grant Programs to States having laws providing for revocation of drivers' licenses for individuals convicted of specified controlled substances violations. Revises the formula for determining the amount distributed from the Drug Control and System Improvement Grant Program to reduce allocations to States which do not have such laws. Sets forth conditions for reinstatement. Requires the Secretary of Transportation to cause the Federal Aviation Administration to amend its regulations to revoke pilots' licenses for such violations. Amends the Public Health Service Act to make a State's receipt of Federal drug abuse allotments contingent upon the State submitting: (1) Statewide Drug Treatment Plan annually that meets certain specifications; and (2) periodic progress reports. Amends the Higher Education Act of 1965 to bar institutions of higher education from eligibility for Federal assistance unless they certify that they have adopted and implemented an alcohol and drug abuse prevention program for students and employees meeting specified requirements. Amends the Drug-Free Schools and Communities Act of 1986 to bar local educational agencies from eligibility for Federal assistance unless they make a similar certification. Transportation Employee Testing Act - Amends the Federal Aviation Act of 1958 to require the Administrator of the Federal Aviation Administration to: (1) establish a program requiring foreign and domestic air carriers to conduct preemployment, reasonable suspicion, random, and post-accident testing for illegal drug and alcohol use of air carrier personnel responsible for safety-sensitive functions and providing for periodic recurring testing of such employees; and (2) require the suspension or revocation of any certification issued to such person, or disqualification or dismissal, where such illegal drug or alcohol use has been confirmed. Bars air carrier personnel responsible for safety-sensitive functions from serving in such positions without having completed a rehabilitation program. Requires the Administrator to prescribe regulations for such programs which: (1) provide for the identification and opportunity for treatment of employees needing assistance; (2) specify the circumstances under which such employees shall be required to participate; (3) promote individual privacy in the collection of specimen samples; and (4) with respect to laboratories and testing procedures, incorporate Department of Health and Human Services scientific and technical guidelines are intended to assure accuracy, confidentiality, and nondiscriminatory methods. Directs the Secretary of State and the Secretary of Transportation to jointly call upon member countries of the International Civil Aviation Organization to strengthen and enforce existing standards to prohibit illegal drug and alcohol use by crewmembers in international civil aviation. Amends the Federal Railroad Safety Act of 1970, the Commercial Motor Vehicle Safety Act (CMVSA), and the Urban Mass Transportation Act of 1964 to establish programs similar to the Federal Aviation Act program for drug and alcohol testing. Provides for a pilot program, under the CMVSA, for the random testing of commercial motor vehicle operators and requires the Secretary to report on the results to the Congress. Makes funds from the Surface Transportation Assistance Act of 1982 available for the CMVSA program. Requires the Secretary to determine appropriate sanctions for mass transportation vehicle operators who are determined to have used alcohol or controlled substances in violation of law or Federal regulation but who are not under the influence of such substances. Amends the Federal judicial code to provide for the payment of awards to persons providing information leading to the arrest and conviction of individuals for the unlawful sale, or possession for sale, of a controlled substance or controlled substance analogue. Title III: Authorization of Appropriations - Authorizes appropriations to carry out this Act.
United States · United States Congress · 7 March 1990
Federal Law Enforcement Pay Reform Act of 1990 - Raises the minimum per annum rates of basic pay for entry level grades GS-3 through GS-10 for Federal law enforcement officers on a sliding scale with larger adjustments at the lower levels. Directs the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) to prescribe regulations to: (1) readjust the rates of pay for such entry level grades every three years, based upon comparisons of State and local compensation for comparable work, in order to keep starting salaries of Federal law enforcement officers competitive with those paid to State and local law enforcement officers; and (2) establish a mechanism to adjust the rates of pay of Federal law enforcement officers serving in certain high cost-of-living areas in order to recruit and retain the best-qualified individuals. Sets forth procedures for identifying those regions for which higher pay rates are needed. Terminates a pay rate payable to Federal law enforcement officers that is based on a particular region if such an officer is transferred or reassigned to a place outside of such region. Requires pay rates established under this Act to be based on data compiled by the National Advisory Commission on Law Enforcement. Directs the Bureau of Labor Statistics to survey State and local law enforcement salaries every three years to compile the data needed to carry out this Act. Authorizes Federal agency heads, in order to retain highly qualified law enforcement officers who possess special skills or experience or whose continued services are particularly important due to factors associated with the geographic area to which they are assigned, to pay Federal law enforcement officers who are eligible for retirement an allowance of up to $10,000 per year provided the officers agree to complete at least one year of additional service in the agency involved. Makes Federal law enforcement officers who are transferred to an area within the United States having higher than average housing costs eligible for a relocation payment of up to $20,000 provided they agree to remain in Federal law enforcement for a specified period. Authorizes Federal agencies to offer rates of pay higher than the minimum rates for positions of GS-3 (currently, GS-11) or above if necessary to attract well qualified entry-candidates for Federal law enforcement service. Authorizes Federal agencies to pay law enforcement officers who possess and make substantial use of foreign language proficiency while performing their official duties a cash award of up to 25 percent of basic pay. Raises the mandatory age for Federal law enforcement officers to retire under the Civil Service and Federal Employees' Retirement Systems from 55 to 57. Changes the method of computing overtime for Federal law enforcement officers to one and one-half times the hourly rate of basic pay for work performed in excess of 40 hours per week. Limits the aggregate rate of pay (including premium pay) for Federal law enforcement officers in a calendar year to the pay rate for level V of the Executive Schedule. Prohibits application of other limitations on premium pay for administratively uncontrollable overtime.
United States · United States Congress · 6 March 1990
Montana Federal Lands Management Act of 1990 - Sets forth the findings and purposes of this Act. Title I: Wilderness Designation - Designates certain lands in the National Forest System in Montana as components of the National Wilderness Preservation System. Incorporates the Great Bear Wilderness Area and the Scapegoat Wilderness Area into the Bob Marshall Wilderness. Permits the installation of hydrological, meteorological, or climatological collection devices and ancillary facilities, and the use of wheelchairs on specified wilderness areas in Montana. Provides for acquisition of water rights by the United States. Requires that livestock grazing be continued and administered on such wilderness areas. Title II: Roadless Area Release - Releases certain national forest lands in Montana from further roadless area administrative and judicial review. Releases specified lands for multiple use management according to the Land and Resource Management Plans for the National Forests in the State of Montana. Title III: Plum Creek Land Exchange - Directs the Secretary of Agriculture to exchange specified lands with Plum Creek Timber Company, L.P. Requires the Secretary to acquire, by exchange and a specified sum, certain lands of the Company in and adjacent to the Hyalite-Porcupine-Buffalo Horn Wilderness Study Area, the Scapegoat Wilderness Area, and other land in the Gallatin National Forest. Expresses the sense of the Congress that this acquisition should be completed within 90 days of enactment. Authorizes appropriations. Authorizes the Secretary of Agriculture to acquire mineral interests owned by the Company or an affiliate underlying federally-owned land in exchange for other federally-owned mineral interests.
United States · United States Congress · 1 March 1990
Amends the Internal Revenue Code to provide that payment under a life insurance contract on the life of an insured who is terminally ill be treated as a death benefit, making such payment eligible for tax exclusion from gross income. Provides that any reference to life insurance shall be treated as referring to a qualified terminal illness rider. Provides for the tax treatment of such riders. Describes such a rider as one which provides for payments to an individual upon the insured's becoming terminally ill. Provides that applicants for or recipients of assistance under the Social Security Act may not be required to elect to receive accelerated death benefits under life insurance policies.
United States · United States Congress · 1 March 1990
Innovative Boot Camp Prison Act of 1990 - Amends the Omnibus Crime Control and Safe Streets Act of 1968 to authorize grants to States to carry out projects that demonstrate innovative alternatives to the imprisonment of individuals convicted of nonviolent offenses. Includes boot camp prisons as such alternatives, in conjunction with drug treatment, literacy education, vocational education, and job training programs. Makes drug testing and treatment mandatory for drug offenders. Sets forth: (1) application procedures and requirements for grants; and (2) procedures for review of applications. Authorizes appropriations.
United States · United States Congress · 1 March 1990
Calls for baseball owners, players, and their negotiators to settle their differences and begin spring training and the regular season as soon as possible.
United States · United States Congress · 28 February 1990
Expresses the sense of the Senate that the United States should not complete trade negotiations with the Soviet Union and the Senate will not approve a waiver of the Jackson-Vanik Amendment to implement any trade agreement until the Soviet Union complies with the commercial airline agreement to allow El Al the right to have direct flights between the Soviet Union and Israel.
United States · United States Congress · 27 February 1990
Repeals the provision of the Revenue Reconciliation Act of 1989 which requires the withholding of income tax from wages paid for agricultural labor. Requires the Internal Revenue Code to be applied as though such provision had not been enacted.
United States · United States Congress · 27 February 1990
State Offices of Rural Health Act of 1990 - Amends the Public Health Service Act to direct the Secretary of Health and Human Services to make grants to States to establish (or assist existing) State rural health offices to: (1) provide leadership and advocacy for rural residents with regard to rural health; (2) coordinate with the Agricultural Extension Service; (3) make recommendations on improving the quality and cost effectiveness of rural health care delivery; (4) report periodically to the Office of Rural Health Policy (Policy Office); and (5) communicate and cooperate with rural health research centers established by the Policy Office. Requires matching State funding. Prohibits States from using more than five percent of their grants for research. Specifies optional activities of the offices. Requires an annual meeting between representatives of each State office and representatives from the Policy Office to share information and coordinate strategies for improving quality and cost effectiveness of rural health care delivery. Authorizes appropriations.
United States · United States Congress · 22 February 1990
Older Americans' Freedom to Work Act of 1990 - Amends title II (Old Age, Survivors and Disability Insurance) of the Social Security Act to remove the limitation on the amount of outside income which beneficiaries who have attained retirement age may earn without incurring a reduction in benefits.
United States · United States Congress · 22 February 1990
Establishes the Department of Energy's test facility at Butte, Montana, as the National Water, Air, Soil Technologies Evaluation Center. Requires the Center to: (1) assist in the analysis of hazardous waste and other contaminants generated by, or situated on the property of, Federal agencies; (2) conduct research, development, and evaluations of waste disposal technologies; (3) certify and provide training in the use of technology in the removal of contaminants from water, air, and soil; and (4) promote the transfer of such technologies between and among Government agencies and private industry. Authorizes appropriations.
United States · United States Congress · 21 February 1990
National Recreational Trails Fund Act of 1990 - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to establish the National Recreational Trails Trust Fund (Fund). Requires the Secretary of the Treasury to pay into the Fund an amount equivalent to the off-highway recreational trail fuel taxes from the Highway Trust Fund. Requires the Secretary to use such amounts in the Fund to make grants to States for constructing and maintaining recreational trails. Establishes the National Recreational Trails Act Advisory Committee.
United States · United States Congress · 21 February 1990
International Chemical Control Act of 1990 - Requires the Attorney General to enter into negotiations with foreign countries with jurisdiction over companies that manufacture, sell, or purchase certain precursor or essential chemicals used in the production of illicit narcotics. Declares that the purposes of such negotiations shall be to: (1) establish a list of chemicals contributing to the illicit manufacture of controlled substances; (2) reach international agreements on a method of maintaining records of transactions of such chemicals; (3) establish a procedure by which such records may be made available to U.S. law enforcement authorities for conducting investigations relative to such chemicals; and (4) encourage chemical source countries to enact specified chemical control legislation. Directs the President to impose penalties or sanctions on entities refusing to maintain or make available to U.S. law enforcement authorities records on such chemicals, including prohibiting such entities from engaging in U.S. commerce.
United States · United States Congress · 8 February 1990
Amends Federal law to authorize and request the President to designate May as Asian/Pacific American Heritage Month annually, beginning in 1990. (Current law designates a seven-day period beginning on May 4, 1979.)
United States · United States Congress · 1 February 1990
Amends part B (Supplementary Medical Insurance) of title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act to permit the reimbursement of a patient's regular physician for services provided to such patient by another physician who occasionally covers for the regular physician.
United States · United States Congress · 30 January 1990
CRNA Payment Amendments of 1990 - Amends part B (Supplementary Medical Insurance) of title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act to establish uniform national fee schedule payment rates for certified registered nurse anesthetist services.
United States · United States Congress · 25 January 1990
Amends the Internal Revenue Code to make the following provisions permanent law: (1) the exclusion from gross income of employer-provided educational assistance; (2) the exclusion from gross income of amounts received under group legal services plans; (3) the targeted jobs tax credit; (4) mortgage revenue bonds; (5) small issue bonds issued to finance manufacturing facilities and farm property; (6) the investment tax credit for solar, geothermal, and ocean thermal property; (7) the special rules for health insurance costs of self-employed individuals; (8) the low-income housing credit; (9) the credit for increasing research activities; (10) the allocation of research and experimental expenditures; (11) the credit for clinical testing expenses for certain drugs for rare diseases or conditions; and (12) the credit for producing fuel from a nonconventional source. Amends the Economic Recovery Tax Act of 1981 to make permanent the authorization of appropriations in connection with the credit.
United States · United States Congress · 23 January 1990
Amends title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act to gradually eliminate differences in average standardized Medicare payments to large urban, other urban, and rural hospitals, based on methodologies developed by the Prospective Payment Assessment Commission and the Secretary of Health and Human Services.
United States · United States Congress · 23 January 1990
National Commemorative Events Advisory Act - Establishes the President's Advisory Commission on National Commemorative Events to: (1) establish criteria for recommending to the President that a proposed commemorative event be approved or disapproved; (2) review proposals for national commemorative events submitted in accordance with procedures published by the Commission; and (3) issue recommendations to the President concerning each proposal reviewed.
United States · United States Congress · 23 January 1990
Designates October 14, 1990, as Dwight D. Eisenhower Day commemorating the 100th anniversary of Eisenhower's birth. Requests Members of Congress who are members of the Dwight David Eisenhower Centennial Commission to make arrangements for a joint meeting of the Congress in commemoration of the centennial of the birth of Dwight David Eisenhower.
United States · United States Congress · 23 January 1990
Constitutional Amendment - Provides that no person shall be elected to the Senate for more than two full terms and that no person shall be elected to the House for more than six full terms. Prohibits Senators from serving for more than 14 years and Representatives for more than 13 years.
United States · United States Congress · 21 November 1989
Telecommunications Equipment Research and Manufacturing Competition Act of 1989 - Amends the Communications Act of 1934 to authorize any Bell telephone company to conduct research on, manufacture, and provide telecommunications equipment, notwithstanding current antitrust laws to the contrary, except that a Bell company may not engage in such manufacturing or provision, or both, through a joint manufacturing agreement with any other Bell telephone company. Requires any Bell company to conduct such activity through a subsidiary that is fully separate from any other entity owned or otherwise affiliated with any Bell company. Requires the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to issue rules to ensure that such subsidiary shall: (1) maintain separate accounts and records from the parent Bell company which identify all transactions with the parent company; (2) carry out directly its own marketing, sales, production, maintenance, manufacturing, and research and development relating to the equipment it provides, except for institutional advertising not related to specific telecommunications equipment; (3) conduct all of its manufacturing activity within the United States; (4) have no more than 90 percent of its equity owned by its parent company; (5) acquire all the debt necessary to finance itself from financial markets outside the operations of its parent company; and (6) operate at all times on an arms-length basis from any of its parent company's other businesses, including Bell's telecommunications services businesses. Requires the FCC to issue regulations requiring that any Bell company engaging in such activity must: (1) provide to other telecommunications equipment manufacturers opportunities to sell such equipment to itself or any of its affiliates which are comparable to the opportunities it provides to itself; and (2) not subsidize its fully separate subsidiary with revenues from its regulated telecommunications services.
United States · United States Congress · 21 November 1989
Violent Crime Control and Criminal Procedures Reform Act of 1989 - Title I: Federal Death Penalty Act of 1989 - Federal Death Penalty Act of 1989 - Amends the Federal criminal code to establish criteria for the imposition of the death penalty for Federal crimes. Requires the Government, for any offense punishable by death, to serve notice upon the defendant a reasonable time before trial or acceptance of a plea, that it intends to seek the death penalty and the aggravating factors upon which it will rely. Requires a separate sentencing hearing before a jury, or the court upon motion by the defendant, when the defendant is found guilty or pleads guilty to an offense punishable by death. Allows the defendant and the Government to present any information relevant to sentencing, without regard to the rules of evidence, but permits information to be excluded where its probative value is substantially outweighed by the danger of unfair prejudice, confusion of the issues, or misleading of the jury. Specifies mitigating factors which the defendant must establish by a preponderance of the information and aggravating factors which the Government must prove beyond a reasonable doubt. Sets forth special aggravating factors with respect to the crimes of treason, espionage, homicide, and attempted murder of the President. Requires the court to instruct the jury not to consider the race, color, national origin, creed, or sex of the defendant in its consideration of the sentence. Establishes procedures for appeal from a death sentence. Requires the Court of Appeals, upon considering the record and the information and procedures of the sentencing hearing, to affirm the decision if: (1) the sentence was not imposed under influence of passion, prejudice, or arbitrariness; and (2) the information supports the finding of aggravating factors. Requires the court to provide a written explanation of its determination. Prohibits requiring any employee of any State department of corrections, the Federal Bureau of Prisons, or any provider of services under contract to participate in any execution if contrary to his or her moral or religious convictions. Limits the circumstances under which the offense of delivering defense information to aid foreign governments is punishable by death. Provides for the imposition of the death penalty for: (1) murders committed by prisoners in Federal correctional institutions; (2) kidnappings which result in the death of any person; (3) attempting to kill the President of the United States (if such attempt results in bodily injury or comes dangerously close to causing the President's death); (4) murder in the aid of a racketeering activity; (5) engaging in a criminal enterprise activity which results in death; and (6) other specified offenses. Title II: Reform of Procedures for Collateral Review of Criminal Judgments - Reform of Federal Intervention in State Proceedings Act of 1989 - Amends the Federal judicial code to condition consideration of a habeas corpus claim by a prisoner on a showing of actual prejudice resulting from the Federal right violated and that: (1) State action precluded assertion of that right; (2) the Federal right did not previously exist; or (3) the factual basis of the claim could not have been discovered by reasonable diligence. Establishes a one-year statute of limitations for habeas corpus actions brought by State prisoners, and a two-year statute of limitations for similar motions made by Federal prisoners. Vests authority to issue certificates for probable cause for appeal of habeas corpus orders exclusively in the courts of appeals. Permits denial on the merits of habeas corpus writs notwithstanding the failure to exhaust State remedies. Prohibits the granting of a habeas corpus writ with respect to any claim which has been fully and fairly adjudicated in State proceedings. Title III: Exclusionary Rule Limitation Act of 1989 - Amends the Federal criminal code to provide that evidence obtained by a search or seizure undertaken in an objectively reasonable belief that it was in conformity with the fourth amendment to the U.S. Constitution is admissible. States that evidence obtained pursuant to and within the scope of a warrant constitutes prima facie evidence of such a reasonable belief, unless the warrant was obtained through intentional or material misrepresentation. States that, except as provided by statute or a rule of procedure, evidence which is otherwise admissible shall not be excluded on the ground that the evidence was obtained in violation of a law, rule, or regulation. Title IV: Firearms and Related Amendments - Amends the Federal criminal code to prohibit the transfer of firearms to non-residents of the State in which the transferor resides. Provides for the disposition of forfeited firearms. Classifies as serious drug offenses for purposes of the Armed Career Criminal Act of 1984 serious drug offenses committed by juveniles. Specifies that if a conviction was for a violent felony involving the threatened or actual use of a firearm or explosives, or was for a serious drug offense, such person shall be considered convicted for purposes of this Act irrespective of any pardon, setting aside, expunction, or restoration of civil rights. Permits the judicial officer to consider pretrial detention with respect to certain firearms and explosives offenses. Provides enhanced penalties for: (1) the use of a semiautomatic firearm during a crime of violence or drug trafficking offense; and (2) possession of a firearm or explosive during the commission of such offenses. Sets forth penalties for smuggling firearms in aid of drug trafficking and for theft of firearms and explosives. Bars the sale or possession of firearms and explosives to or by persons convicted of violent or serious misdemeanor drug or narcotic offenses. Provides for the mandatory revocation of the supervised release of an individual for possession of a firearm. Increases penalties for: (1) making knowingly false, material statements in connection with the acquisition of a firearm from a licensed dealer; and (2) a second offense of using an explosive to commit a Federal felony. Prohibits the assembly of semiautomatic rifles or shotguns which are prohibited from being imported into the United States, with exceptions. Title V: Drug Testing of Defendants on Post-Conviction Release - Requires: (1) the Director of the Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts to establish a program of drug testing of criminal defendants on post-conviction release; and (2) the chief probation officer in each district to arrange for the drug testing of such defendants. Requires, as an explicit condition of probation, parole, or supervised release of a defendant involving a felony or a specified violent or drug offense, that the defendant refrain from any unlawful use of a controlled substance and submit to periodic drug tests. Sets limitations on the authority to require such tests and to take action against a defendant based on test results. Title VI: Public Corruption - Anti-Corruption Act of 1989 - Amends the Federal criminal code to prescribe criminal penalties to be imposed against anyone who uses any facility of, or affects, interstate or foreign commerce to deprive or defraud the inhabitants of a State, political subdivision, or Indian tribal government of: (1) the honest services of a government official or employee; or (2) a fair and impartially conducted election process through the use of fraudulent ballots or voter registration forms, paying or offering to pay any person for voting, or the filing of fraudulent campaign reports, subject to certain conditions. Prescribes criminal penalties to be imposed against anyone who deprives or defrauds the inhabitants of the United States of the honest services of a public official. Prescribes criminal penalties to be imposed upon any official who: (1) uses interstate commerce to deprive or defraud the inhabitants of any State, political subdivision, or Indian tribal government, of the right to have government affairs conducted on the basis of complete, true, and accurate information; or (2) in order to carry out or conceal any scheme or artifice to defraud, discriminates, harasses, or takes adverse action against any employee or official of the United States or any State or political subdivision. Authorizes such an adversely affected employee or official to obtain relief through a civil action, provided such person did not participate in the scheme or artifice. Amends mail fraud provisions to prohibit use of any facility of interstate or foreign commerce in the execution of a scheme or artifice to defraud. Makes it a class B felony for a public official to corruptly demand or accept anything of value, personally or for another, in return for: (1) being influenced in the performance or nonperformance of any official act; or (2) being influenced to commit, collude in, or allow the commission of any offense against the United States or any State. Makes it a class B felony for a public official to corruptly give, offer, or promise anything of value, to an official or to another, with intent to: (1) influence any official act; (2) influence such official to commit, collude in, or allow the commission of any offense against the United States or a State; or (3) influence such official to do or omit any act in violation of such official's lawful duty. Grants Federal jurisdiction over an offense under this Act (with respect to narcotics-related corruption) which involves or is intended to further or conceal the illegal importation, manufacture, transportation, or distribution of any controlled substance or controlled substance analogue. Title VII: Facilitation of Undercover Investigations - Amends the Federal criminal code to provide that, wherever it is an element of an offense that any property was embezzled, stolen, counterfeited, or altered and that the defendant knew that the property was of such character, such element may be established by proof that the defendant, after or as a result of an official representation as to the nature of the property, believed the property to be embezzled, stolen, counterfeited, or altered.
United States · United States Congress · 21 November 1989
Television Decoder Circuitry Act of 1989 - Amends the Communications Act of 1934 to require that any television with at least a 13-inch screen which is manufactured, or imported for use, in the United States be equipped with built-in decoder circuitry designed to display closed-captioned TV transmissions. Prohibits shipping in interstate commerce, manufacturing, assembling, or importing any such television except pursuant to rules by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC). Requires such rules to provide performance and display standards for such built-in decoder circuitry. Requires the FCC, within five years, to evaluate compatibility issues and advancement in TV technology and take any action it deems necessary to amend such rules as to ensure that such decoder chip circuitry is capable of continuing service to closed-caption consumers regardless of new broadcast technologies.
United States · United States Congress · 21 November 1989
Amends the Controlled Substances Act to allow the imposition of the death penalty, when the crime does not involve killing, upon individuals found to be principal organizers of a continuing criminal enterprise involving the manufacture or distribution of large quantities of illicit drugs or if the criminal enterprise receives $10,000,000 from illicit drug operations. (Current law provides for mandatory life imprisonment.) Changes minimum sentences for crimes involving the killing of law enforcement officers. Amends procedures, guidelines, and aggravating and mitigating factors relating to the imposition of the death penalty.
United States · United States Congress · 20 November 1989
Benjamin Franklin Memorial Fire Service Bill of Rights Act - Title I: Minting of Benjamin Franklin National Memorial Commemorative Coin - Benjamin Franklin National Memorial Commemorative Coin Act - Provides for the sale of Benjamin Franklin commemorative coins at a surcharge of which 25 percent shall be paid to the Benjamin Franklin National Memorial and the remainder be distributed in specified percentages to the National Fire Center and Museum Account, the National Hero Scholarship Account, the Firefighter's Tuition Assistance Account, the Hazardous Materials Response Computer Account, the In Search of Excellence Research and Education Account, and the Burn Research Grant Account of the Firefighter Assistance Trust Fund (Fund). Prohibits the issuance of such coins from resulting in any net cost to the Federal government. Title II: Fire Service Bill of Rights - Fire Service Bill of Rights Act - Amends the Federal Fire Prevention and Control Act of 1974 to establish a fire service bill of rights. Establishes the National Fire Center and Museum in the District of Columbia to provide information about the fire service and safety to the public and fire services. Funds such museum exclusively through the Fund. Establishes a National Hero Scholarship to fund the higher education of the children or spouse of a deceased firefighter. Establishes a scholarship providing tuition assistance to firefighters for higher education in fire safety or protection. Authorizes the Administrator of the United States Fire Administration to use amounts in the In Search of Excellence Research and Education Account of the Fund to fund other specified programs under the Fire Prevention and Control Act of 1974. Establishes the Firefighters Assistance Trust Fund. Places the National Academy for Fire Prevention and Control within the United States Fire Administration. Directs the Administrator to use funds from the Hazardous Materials Response Computer Account of the fund to procure computer equipment for fire services that want such equipment. Directs the Administrator to make a grant from the Burn Research Grant Account of the Fund to one national firefighter's burn foundation dedicated to reducing burn injuries. Requires the Administrator to prepare and make available to State fire marshals, upon request, a manual describing Federal procedures for disposing of surplus property and highlighting how fire services could obtain such property. Directs the Administrator to distribute to such marshals information on the infectious diseases to which firefighters are particularly vulnerable.
![Official portrait of Sen. Burns, Conrad R. [R-MT]](https://www.congress.gov/img/member/b001126_200.jpg)