United States · United States Congress · 29 June 1988
Authorizes the Secretary of Health and Human Services to make grants to, or enter into contracts with, eligible applicants for interdisciplinary training projects relating to health care in rural areas. Declares that allowed uses for funds include stipends to students, post-doctoral fellowships, enhancement of faculty, or purchase or rental of transportation and telecommunication equipment. Requires applications to: (1) be jointly submitted by at least two eligible applicants with the purpose of assisting individuals in academic institutions in establishing long-term collaborative relationships with health care providers in rural areas; and (2) designate one or more rural health care agencies for clinical treatment or training. Directs the Secretary to contract for a study of manpower training needs in rural areas: (1) paying particular attention to the needs of the rural elderly and the rural population that is not eligible for Medicare; and (2) evaluating existing models for health care training and service delivery and proposing innovative alternative models. Sets forth reporting requirements. Authorizes appropriations to carry out the study and reporting for FY 1990. Authorizes appropriations to carry out this Act for FY 1988 through 1991.
United States · United States Congress · 29 June 1988
Lead Contamination Control Act of 1988 - Amends the Safe Drinking Water Act to require the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to publish and distribute to the States: (1) a list identifying each brand and model of drinking water cooler which is not lead free or which, upon corrosion, will cause drinking water to be in contact with lead; and (2) a guidance document and testing protocol to assist schools in determining the source and degree of lead contamination in school drinking water supplies and in remedying such contamination. Bans the manufacture or sale of listed drinking water coolers and any other drinking water cooler which is not lead free. Establishes criminal and civil penalties for violation of such ban. Requires the States to disseminate the water cooler list and the guidance document and testing protocol to local education agencies (LEAs), private nonprofit elementary or secondary schools, and day care centers. Directs each State to establish a program, within one year of this Act's enactment, to assist LEAs in testing for, and remedying, lead contamination in school drinking water from coolers and from other sources of lead contamination. Requires that listed coolers be repaired, removed, or rendered inoperable, within 18 months of this Act's enactment, unless they are tested and found not to contribute lead to drinking water. Directs the EPA to make grants to States for such programs. Directs the EPA to identify and notify each manufacturer or importer of drinking water coolers with lead-lined tanks. Requires such manufacturer or importer to publish public notice of the potential health hazards associated with such coolers and offer to repair or replace them. Provides that, if such manufacturers or importers have not made an adequate effort to repair or replace the coolers within six months of this Act's enactment, the EPA shall make offers to cooler owners to repair or replace such coolers at the expense of such manufacturers or owners. Authorizes appropriations for this Act. Directs the EPA to: (1) assure that drinking water testing laboratory certification programs certify only those laboratories which provide reliable, accurate testing; and (2) publish a list of certified laboratories.
United States · United States Congress · 29 June 1988
Amends the Internal Revenue Code to apply to livestock used for draft, breeding, dairy, or sporting purposes a special rule that permits a farmer or rancher who sells livestock solely because of drought conditions to elect to defer until the following year the taxation of the resulting income.
United States · United States Congress · 28 June 1988
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 · 28 June 1988
Expresses the sense of the Congress: (1) encouraging and supporting the Amateur Radio Service and its emergency communications efforts; and (2) urging Government agencies to avoid actions that would reduce amateur radio frequency allocations used for emergency communications.
United States · United States Congress · 23 June 1988
Hunger Prevention Act of 1988 - Title I: Emergency Hunger Prevention - Subtitle A: Temporary Emergency Food Assistance Program - Amends the Temporary Emergency Food Assistance Act of 1983 to state that the dairy export incentive program and the export sales of dairy products program shall not be operated in a way that will reduce the dairy products available for the temporary emergency food assistance program (TEFAP) or any other domestic feeding program. Directs the Secretary of Agriculture to establish procedures for non-Federal commodity contributions to Federal food assistance programs. Authorizes States and feeding organizations to use TEFAP funds, equipment, and facilities to store, handle, and distribute such commodity contributions. Permits States to use up to three percent of TEFAP funds for food assistance information programs. Directs State and local agencies to continue to use volunteers and donated food stuffs in food distribution programs. Extends TEFAP, including storage and distribution authorizations, through FY 1990. Increases the amount of TEFAP funds for emergency feeding organizations. Extends TEFAP commodity estimate requirements through FY 1990. Directs the Secretary, during each of FY 1989 and 1990, to purchase and makes available for food assistance at least $145,000,000 worth of high protein additional commodities. Establishes a State distribution formula based on 60 percent poverty level and 40 percent unemployment. Authorizes appropriations. Directs States to use TEFAP funds for the costs of distributing additional commodities to emergency feeding organizations, soup kitchens, and other meal sites and charitable organizations. Amends the Food Security Act of 1985 to extend through FY 1991: (1) the dairy export incentive program; and (2) the export sales of dairy products program. Subtitle B: Soup Kitchens and Other Emergency Food Aid - Directs the Secretary, during each of FY 1989 through 1991, to purchase and make available to soup kitchens and other meal sites and charitable organizations $40,000,000 of additional commodities. Establishes a State distribution formula based on 60 percent poverty level and 40 percent unemployment. Authorizes appropriations. Subtitle C: Basic Food Stamp Benefit Levels - Amends the Food Stamp Act of 1977 to increase basic food stamp benefit levels as follows: (1) for the period of January 1, 1989, through September 30, 1989, basic benefits would be set at 79 percent of the Department of Agriculture's low-cost food plan; (2) for FY 1990 at 79.5 percent of such plan; and (3) for post-FY 1990 at 80 percent of such plan. Subtitle D: Commodity Supplemental Food Program - Directs the Commodity Credit Corporation (CCC) to make 7,000,000 pounds of cheese available in each of FY 1989 and 1990 to the commodity supplemental food program. Title II: Nutrition Improvements - Subtitle A: Food Stamp Act of 1977 - Amends the Food Stamp Act of 1977 to prohibit parents living with their minor children from applying for food stamps as a "household" separate from their co-residents (even if meals are purchased and prepared separately). Makes permanent categorical food stamp program (program) eligibility based on eligibility for specified social security programs. Exempts households with an elderly or disabled member from monthly income tests. States that: (1) household not required to submit monthly income reports shall have their income calculated on a prospective basis; and (2) households required to submit monthly income reports shall have their income calculated on a retrospective basis, except under specified circumstances. Repeals the requirement of prior approval by the Secretary for less than monthly income reporting of certain households. Prohibits a state agency from requiring periodic reporting of households: (1) made up entirely of migrant or seasonal farm workers; (2) made up entirely of homeless persons; or (3) with no earned income and in which all adult members are elderly or disabled. Requires that households reporting monthly be provided with clear and understandable reporting forms. Provides full program benefits for breaks in certification of 30 days of less. Permits households subject to benefit prorating to receive an aggregate benefit allotment. Extends the scope of program information activities. Amends the Homeless Eligibility Clarification Act to make permanent the authority for homeless persons in shelters to receive food stamps. Subtitle B: Child Nutrition Act of 1966, and National School Lunch Act - Amends the Child Nutrition Act of 1966 to increase the school breakfast program reimbursement rate by three cents per meal. Amends the National School Lunch Act to provide an additional meal or snack to children who attend day care centers which are open more than eight hours a day. Amends the Child Nutrition Act of 1966 to define "homeless individual" for purposes of the special supplemental food program (WIC) as an individual who: (1) lacks a fixed and regular nighttime residence; or (2) has a primary nighttime residence that is a publicly or privately operated temporary shelter, an institution providing temporary residence for persons intended to be institutionalized, temporary accommodation in another individual's residence, or a public or private place not normally used as a sleeping accommodation. Makes homeless individuals eligible for the special supplemental food program. Requires State WIC plans to include homeless outreach programs. Amends the National School Lunch Act to permit public or private nonprofit higher education institutions participating in the National Youth Sports program and certain private nonprofit organizations to participate in the summer food program. Title III: Administrative Improvements and Simplification - Subtitle A: Reducing Unnecessary Paperwork - Amends the Food Stamp Act of 1977 to require State agencies to attempt to conciliate a dispute with a program participant before terminating program benefits. Sets forth specified categories of program ineligibility (income, program violations, status) where such procedure shall not be required. Directs the Secretary, in consultation with the Secretary of Health and Human Services, to assist States to develop simple application forms for food stamps, aid to families with dependent children, and Medicaid. Requires State agencies to provide applicant households with a statement of required program verification. Bars program denial because of the failure of a person outside the household to cooperate in such verification. Requires State plans of operation to provide for opportunities to make reports (in person or by telephone) to food stamp offices. Subtitle B: Assuring Accurate Issuance of Benefits - Requires State agencies to promptly restore improperly denied, terminated, or underissued benefits when a household's loss is discovered through a review procedure. Authorizes State agencies to provide special training to: (1) certifying personnel relating to households that include members who are self-employed or engaged in farming; and (2) personnel working with volunteer or nonprofit organizations that offer program screening or information services. Requires the Secretary to annually publish instructional materials for such certifying personnel. Requires State agencies to provide households with a statement describing the household's reporting responsibilities at the time of each certification and recertification. Subtitle C: Reducing Barriers in rural America - Requires State plans of operation to include a procedure for designating rural project areas with transportation problems as appropriate for certification and coupon issuance by mail. Requires such plans to provide that a community of more than 5,000 persons that is more than 30 miles from its certification office be visited at least twice a month by a certification officer unless such community is otherwise served in a manner that provides reasonable program access. Requires the Secretary to set standards for food stamp office closings or relocations which shall seek to minimize the adverse impact on program access, with special emphasis on the needs of rural areas, the elderly, the disabled, and the homeless. Subtitle D: Eliminating Inequities for Farmers and Others - Continues program benefits to participants who receive pay-outs, including direct cash payments, from other Federal assistance programs. Permits households with self-employed farming income and irregular expenses to annualize income and expenses. Excludes from financial resources farm property (land, equipment, or supplies) for a one-year period after a self-employed farmer ceases farming. Prohibits making a household ineligible for program benefits due to its failure to dispose of a farming asset which would produce no funds in excess of any liens, mortgages, or other security interests, or be contrary to a legal duty. Subtitle E: Reducing Barriers for the Elderly and Disabled - Amends the definition of "disabled person" for program purposes to include the following benefits if such benefits are conditioned on criteria at least as stringent as those used under the Social Security Act: (1) interim supplemental security income-type benefits; (2) disability-related medical assistance under Medicaid; and (3) disability-based State assistance. Provides elderly and disabled persons with a simplified procedure for claiming excess medical deductions. Provides for a coordinated aid to families with dependent children-food stamp application. Title IV: Family Self-Sufficiency - Excludes from being considered as income for food stamp program purposes: (1) advance earned income tax credit payments; and (2) dependent care reimbursements under an employment and training program. Increases such maximum reimbursements from $160 per household per month to $160 per dependent per month. Increases the resource limit on automobiles from $4,500 to: (1) $4,700 in FY 1989; (2) $4,900 in FY 1990; (3) $5,150 in FY 1991; (4) $5,400 in FY 1992; and (5) $5,500 in FY 1993. Includes the following within the definition of "employment and training program": (1) high school or equivalent programs; (2) remedial literacy programs; (3) English-as-a-second-language instructional programs; (4) on-the-job training programs; and (5) job readiness programs. Provides, with regard to such employment and training programs, that: (1) the Secretary shall issue regulations under which State agencies shall establish conciliation procedures; (2) Federal funds shall not be used to supplant non-Federal funds for existing services; (3) State or local funds for such services shall be maintained at not less than FY 1987 levels; (4) transportation costs up to $100 per participant per month shall be covered; (5) the Secretary shall establish State performance standards based on employment and achievement of self-sufficiency; (6) Indian tribal organizations may conduct programs on reservations, with State program amounts of Federal assistance reduced as specified; and (7) the Secretary shall develop and transmit to the appropriate congressional committees incentive payment proposals. Title V: Demonstration Projects - Amends the Child Nutrition Act of 1966 to authorize three-year demonstration project grants in ten States to provide coupons (between ten and 20 dollars' worth) to WIC recipients for use at farmers' markets. Requires at least 30 percent State matching funds. Prohibits the use of funds to construct or operate a farmers' market. Limits the use of funds for administrative costs. Requires: (1) State recipients to make annual reports to the Secretary; and (2) the Secretary to provide the appropriation congressional committees with a project evaluation report within two years after the last grant award. Authorizes FY 1989 through 1991 appropriations. Authorizes the Secretary to carry out food bank commodity distribution projects. Requires the Secretary to submit a program report to the appropriate congressional committees by January 3, 1990. Terminates program authority on September 30, 1991. Authorizes FY 1989 through 1991 appropriations. Directs the Secretary, within 30 days after enactment of this Act but not earlier than October 1, 1988, to conduct a one-State demonstration project to reimburse family or group day care centers for providing an additional meal or supplement in order to determine: (1) if such additional meal or supplement increases child care food program participation; (2) the extent to which meal services increase in such homes; and (3) the nutritional impact of such meals and supplements. Requires the Secretary to submit a report to the appropriate congressional committees. Terminates the project not later than 12 months after its initiation. Title VI: Implementation - Sets forth specified effective dates for provisions of this Act.
United States · United States Congress · 23 June 1988
Technology-Related Assistance for Individuals With Disabilities Act of 1988 - Title I: Grants to States - Directs the Secretary of Education to make grants to States for consumer-responsive comprehensive statewide programs of technology-related assistance for individuals of all ages with disabilities. Lists functions and activities which may be included in the programs. Directs the Secretary to award to States three-year grants for statewide programs of technology-related assistance for individuals with disabilities. Provides for the number and amounts of the grants. Gives States receiving grants in one fiscal year priority in the availability of amounts appropriated in the next fiscal year. Directs the Secretary to award grants in a manner that is geographically equitable and that distributes them among States that have differing levels of development of programs of technology-related assistance. Sets forth information and assurances which must accompany an application. Authorizes the Secretary to award a two-year extension grant to any State that demonstrates significant progress of a statewide program of technology-related assistance under a grant provided for in this Act. Provides for the amounts of the extension grants and for priority for previously-participating States. Specifies elements which must be included in an extension grant application. Requires each State that receives a grant under this title to submit an annual report to the Secretary. Sets forth specific requirements for reports with respect to extension grants. Directs the Secretary to establish a system to assess the extent to which States which receive grants under this title are making significant progress. Subjects any State which fails to comply with the requirements of this title to a corrective action plan. Declares that nothing in this title shall be construed to permit the State or any Federal agency to reduce medical or other assistance available or to alter eligibility under: (1) title II (Old Age, Survivors and Disability Insurance), title V (Maternal and Child Health), title XVI (Supplemental Security Income), title XVIII (Medicare), title XIX (Medicaid), or title XX (Block Grants for States for Social Services) of the Social Security Act; (2) the Education of the Handicapped Act; (3) the Rehabilitation Act; or (4) laws relating to veterans' benefits. Authorizes appropriations for FY 1989 through 1993. Directs the Secretary to reserve from amounts appropriated one percent for provision to States of information and technical assistance. Authorizes the Secretary to reserve sums as necessary to cover the cost of on-site visits. Directs the Secretary, directly or by contract, to: (1) conduct a national evaluation of the grant program authorized by this title; and (2) report to the Congress not later than October 1, 1992. Authorizes the Secretary to work with the States to consider and develop a uniform information system designed to report and compile a qualitative and quantitive description of the impact of the grant program. Title II: Programs of National Significance - Part A: Study on Financing of Assistive Technology Devices and Assistive Technology Services for Individuals with Disabilities - Requires the National Council on the Handicapped to: (1) conduct a study and make recommendations to the Congress and the President concerning financing and other aspects of technology-related assistance, devices, and services; and (2) appoint an advisory committee in accordance with the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 to assist the Council in carrying out the Council's duties under this part. Directs the heads of all Federal agencies, to the extent not prohibited by law, to cooperate with the Council. Authorizes the Council, with the consent of the agency involved, to use the resources of Federal, State, local, and private agencies, with or without reimbursement. Sets forth reporting requirements. Part B: National Information and Program Referral Network - Directs the Secretary to enter into any contract or cooperative agreement necessary in order to establish a national information and program referral network to assist States regarding such technology-related assistance, if the Secretary determines it appropriate to establish the network. Requires the contracts or agreements, if any, to be entered into before the end of 30 months after appropriations are enacted. Directs the Secretary to conduct a study of the feasibility and desirability of creating such a network. Authorizes the Secretary to enter into a contract or cooperative agreement necessary to conduct the study. Provides for the content and timetable of the study. Part C: Training and Public Awareness Projects - Directs the Secretary to enter into contracts or cooperative agreements concerning training with regard to the provision of technology-related assistance. Specifies eligible activities. Directs the Secretary to make grants to assist institutions of higher education to prepare personnel for careers relating to the provision of technology-related assistance. Sets forth priorities and specifies allowed uses of funds. Directs the Secretary to make grants or enter into contracts to carry out national projects that build awareness of the importance and efficacy of assistive technology devices and services for individuals of all ages with disabilities functioning in various settings of daily life. Sets forth allowed uses of the funds. Directs the Secretary to establish priorities for the grants and to publish the priorities, along with an explanation of how the priorities were determined, in the Federal Register. Part D: Demonstration and Innovation Projects - Directs the Secretary to make grants or enter into contracts or cooperative agreements to pay all or part of the cost of demonstration and innovation projects concerning technology-related assistance for individuals with disabilities. Sets forth allowed uses of the funds. Part E: Authorization of Appropriations - Authorizes appropriations for FY 1989 through 1993. Sets forth priorities depending on specified levels of appropriations.
United States · United States Congress · 23 June 1988
Dairy Industry Revitalization Act of 1988 - Amends the Agricultural Act of 1949 to repeal the Secretary of Agriculture's authority to make 1989 and 1990 50-cent per hundredweight milk support price reductions if Government milk purchases exceed specified levels. Requires the Secretary to increase 1989 and 1990 milk support prices by 50 cents per hundredweight if estimated Government purchases will not exceed 5,000,000,000 pounds (currently 2,500,000,000 pounds).
United States · United States Congress · 17 June 1988
College Savings Bond Act of 1988 - Authorizes the Secretary of the Treasury to issue college savings bonds in the interest of encouraging long-term savings for postsecondary education. Amends the Internal Revenue Code to exclude from the gross income of an individual any interest on college savings bonds to the extent these proceeds are used to pay the qualified educational expenses (tuition, fees, books, supplies, reasonable living expenses) of the taxpayer, spouse, child, or dependent at an institution of higher education, including a postsecondary vocational school. Decreases the permissible exclusion for taxpayers having adjusted gross income above $60,000, allowing no exclusion if income exceeds $80,000.
United States · United States Congress · 16 June 1988
Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification Act - Prohibits an employer from ordering a plant closing or mass layoff until the end of a 60-day period after the employer serves written notice of a proposal to issue such an order to: (1) the representative of the affected employees, or if there is no representative, to each affected employee; and (2) the State dislocated worker unit and the affected local government. Defines "employer" as any business enterprise that employs: (1) 100 or more employees, excluding part-time employees; or (2) 100 or more employees who in the aggregate work at least 4,000 hours per week (excluding overtime). Defines "plant closing" as the permanent or temporary shutdown of a single site of employment, or one or more facilities or operating units within a single site of employment, if the shutdown results in an employment loss at the single site of employment during any 30-day period for 50 or more employees, excluding any part-time employees. Defines "mass layoff" as a reduction in force which is not the result of a plant closing and results in an employment loss (excluding part-time employees) at the single site of employment during any 30-day period for: (1) at least 33 percent of the employees and at least 50 employees; or (2) at least 500 employees. Defines "part-time employee" as one who is employed for an average of fewer than 20 hours per week or who has been employed for fewer than six of the 12 months preceding the date of the required notice. Defines "employment loss" as: (1) an employment termination, other than a discharge for cause voluntary departure, or retirement; (2) a layoff exceeding six months; or (3) a reduction in hours of work of more than 50 percent during each month of any six-month period. Excludes from such definition closings or layoffs resulting from part or all of the employer's business being: (1) sold, if the purchaser either agrees to offer employment to the employee with no more than a six-month break in employment or, within 30 days after the purchase, offers such employment to the employee with no more than such a six-month break; or (2) relocated or consolidated, if, prior to the closing or layoff, the employer offers to transfer the employee, with no more than a six-month break in employment, either to a different site of employment within a reasonable commuting distance or to any other site of employment regardless of distance, if in the latter case the employee accepts such transfer within 30 days after the offer or closing or layoff, whichever is later. Provides for reduction of such 60-day notification period if: (1) the closing or layoff is caused by business circumstances not reasonably foreseeable; or (2) giving notification of the shutdown of a single site of employment would have precluded (in the employer's reasonable and good faith belief) obtaining the capital or business which it was actively seeking and which would enable it to avoid or indefinitely postpone the shutdown. Requires employers who rely on exemptions from the 60-day notification period requirement to give as much notice as is practicable, along with a brief statement of the basis for reducing the notification period. Treats as employment losses layoffs of more than six months which, at their outset, were announced to be layoffs of six months or less, unless: (1) the extension beyond six months is caused by business circumstances (including unforeseeable changes in price or cost) not reasonably foreseeable at the time of the initial layoff; and (2) notice is given at the time it becomes reasonably foreseeable that the extension beyond six months will be required. Treats as a plant closing or mass layoff employment losses within any 90-day period for two or more groups at a single site of employment each of which separately is less than the minimum required to trigger notification but which in the aggregate exceed such minimum, unless the employer demonstrates that such employment losses are the result of separate and distinct actions and causes and are not an attempt by the employer to evade the requirements of this Act. Exempts from the notification requirements of this Act a plant closing or mass layoff if: (1) it results from completion of a particular project or undertaking, or the closing of a temporary facility, and the affected employees were hired with the understanding that their employment was limited to the duration of such project, undertaking, or facility; or (2) it constitutes a strike or a lockout not intended to evade the requirements of this Act. Makes an employer who orders a plant closing or mass layoff in violation of the notice requirements of this Act liable to employees for back pay and benefits and subject to civil penalties for violations with respect to a local government. Creates a cause of action in the appropriate U.S. district court to enforce such liability. Authorizes the court in such cases to require the defendant to pay reasonable attorneys' fees, along with the costs of the action. States that such remedies shall be the exclusive remedies for any violation of this Act. States that the rights and remedies provided to employees by this Act are in addition to any other contractual or statutory rights and remedies of the employees. Declares that it is the sense of the Congress that any employer not subject to the notice requirements should, to the extent possible, notify its employees about a proposal to close a plant or permanently reduce its workforce. Directs the Secretary of Labor to prescribe regulations to carry out this Act, including interpretative regulations describing the methods by which employers may provide for appropriate service of notice. Provides that the giving of notice in good faith compliance with this Act shall not constitute a violation of the National Labor Relations Act or the Railway Labor Act.
United States · United States Congress · 16 June 1988
Producer Payment Relief Act of 1988 - Amends the Agricultural Act of 1949 to authorize and direct the Secretary of Agriculture to waive the collection of advance deficiency payments made to certain producers of the 1988 wheat and feed grain crops in counties designated as disaster areas because of drought or other natural disaster.
United States · United States Congress · 16 June 1988
Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification Act - Prohibits an employer from ordering a plant closing or mass layoff until the end of a 60-day period after the employer serves written notice of a proposal to issue such an order to: (1) the representative of the affected employees, or if there is no representative, to each affected employee; and (2) the State dislocated worker unit and the affected local government. Defines "employer" as any business enterprise that employs: (1) 100 or more employees, excluding part-time employees; or (2) 100 or more employees who in the aggregate work at least 4,000 hours per week (excluding overtime). Defines "plant closing" as the permanent or temporary shutdown of a single site of employment, or one or more facilities or operating units within a single site of employment, if the shutdown results in an employment loss at the single site of employment during any 30-day period for 50 or more employees, excluding any part-time employees. Defines "mass layoff" as a reduction in force which is not the result of a plant closing and results in an employment loss (excluding part-time employees) at the single site of employment during any 30-day period for: (1) at least 33 percent of the employees and at least 50 employees; or (2) at least 500 employees. Defines "part-time employee" as one who is employed for an average of fewer than 20 hours per week or who has been employed for fewer than six of the 12 months preceding the date of the required notice. Defines "employment loss" as: (1) an employment termination, other than a discharge for cause voluntary departure, or retirement; (2) a layoff exceeding six months; or (3) a reduction in hours of work of more than 50 percent during each month of any six-month period. Excludes from such definition closings or layoffs resulting from part or all of the employer's business being: (1) sold, if the purchaser either agrees to offer employment to the employee with no more than a six-month break in employment or, within 30 days after the purchase, offers such employment to the employee with no more than such a six-month break; or (2) relocated or consolidated, if, prior to the closing or layoff, the employer offers to transfer the employee, with no more than a six-month break in employment, either to a different site of employment within a reasonable commuting distance or to any other site of employment regardless of distance, if in the latter case the employee accepts such transfer within 30 days after the offer or closing or layoff, whichever is later. Provides for reduction of such 60-day notification period if: (1) the closing or layoff is caused by business circumstances not reasonably foreseeable; or (2) giving notification of the shutdown of a single site of employment would have precluded (in the employer's reasonable and good faith belief) obtaining the capital or business which it was actively seeking and which would enable it to avoid or indefinitely postpone the shutdown. Requires employers who rely on exemptions from the 60-day notification period requirement to give as much notice as is practicable, along with a brief statement of the basis for reducing the notification period. Treats as employment losses layoffs of more than six months which, at their outset, were announced to be layoffs of six months or less, unless: (1) the extension beyond six months is caused by business circumstances (including unforeseeable changes in price or cost) not reasonably foreseeable at the time of the initial layoff; and (2) notice is given at the time it becomes reasonably foreseeable that the extension beyond six months will be required. Treats as a plant closing or mass layoff employment losses within any 90-day period for two or more groups at a single site of employment each of which separately is less than the minimum required to trigger notification but which in the aggregate exceed such minimum, unless the employer demonstrates that such employment losses are the result of separate and distinct actions and causes and are not an attempt by the employer to evade the requirements of this Act. Exempts from the notification requirements of this Act a plant closing or mass layoff if: (1) it results from completion of a particular project or undertaking, or the closing of a temporary facility, and the affected employees were hired with the understanding that their employment was limited to the duration of such project, undertaking, or facility; or (2) it constitutes a strike or a lockout not intended to evade the requirements of this Act. Makes an employer who orders a plant closing or mass layoff in violation of the notice requirements of this Act liable to employees for back pay and benefits and subject to civil penalties for violations with respect to a local government. Creates a cause of action in the appropriate U.S. district court to enforce such liability. Authorizes the court in such cases to require the defendant to pay reasonable attorneys' fees, along with the costs of the action. States that such remedies shall be the exclusive remedies for any violation of this Act. States that the rights and remedies provided to employees by this Act are in addition to any other contractual or statutory rights and remedies of the employees. Declares that it is the sense of the Congress that any employer not subject to the notice requirements should, to the extent possible, notify its employees about a proposal to close a plant or permanently reduce its workforce. Directs the Secretary of Labor to prescribe regulations to carry out this Act, including interpretative regulations describing the methods by which employers may provide for appropriate service of notice. Provides that the giving of notice in good faith compliance with this Act shall not constitute a violation of the National Labor Relations Act or the Railway Labor Act.
United States · United States Congress · 16 June 1988
Expresses the sense of the Senate that the President should call upon the leaders of the seven major industrial nations at the June Summit to take steps to protect the Earth's stratospheric ozone layer by agreeing to: (1) deposit, by October 1, 1988, all instruments of ratification, acceptance, and approval of the Montreal Protocol on Substances that Deplete the Ozone Layer; (2) call for a meeting of the parties to the Protocol as soon as possible to consider the latest scientific evidence and the necessity for further measures; (3) identify and eliminate, within one year, institutional and legal barriers to encourage recycling and conservation to the maximum extent feasible of specified ozone-depleting substances; and (4) implement, within one year, such recycling and conservation domestically.
United States · United States Congress · 15 June 1988
Social Security Work Incentives Act of 1988 - Amends title II (Old Age, Survivors and Disability Insurance) (OASDI) of the Social Security Act to reduce monthly disability benefits by 50 percent of a beneficiary's monthly earnings in excess of $85. Limits the total amount by which an individual's OASDI disability benefits may be reduced if such individual is also eligible for benefits provided under title XVI (Supplemental Security Income) (SSI) of the Act to individuals who perform substantial gainful activity despite severe medical impairment. Prohibits deductions from disability-based child insurance benefits for the recovery of prior overpayments resulting from a failure to reduce such benefits on the basis of earnings. Extends to current OASDI disability beneficiaries the rule preventing reductions in the primary insurance amount for prior recipients. Continues an individual's entitlement to disability benefits while such individual is under disabled and working status, meaning that such individual is earning enough to be considered engaged in substantial gainful activity, but would otherwise continue to satisfy eligibility requirements. Sets a four-year limit on the Medicare hospital insurance eligibility (under part A of title XVIII of the Act) of individuals who owe their eligibility to their disabled and working status under the OASDI program. Amends the Medicare program to authorize such individuals to enroll for hospital insurance benefits upon the termination of such four-year limit. Amends title XIX (Medicaid) of the Act to cover Medicare cost-sharing amounts for individuals of disabled and working status who are entitled to enroll for Medicare hospital insurance benefits and whose income and resources do not exceed 450 percent of the Federal poverty level and the SSI resource eligibility limit, respectively. Requires States to collect a coinsurance percentage from such individuals pursuant to a sliding scale which increases such percentage from 0 to 100 percent in reasonable increments as incomes move from 150 to 450 percent of the Federal poverty level. Extends to all recipients of disability-based child's insurance benefits the rule permitting continued entitlement to Medicaid benefits of individuals who would remain eligible for SSI benefits but for their receipt of such child's insurance benefits.
United States · United States Congress · 15 June 1988
Designates June 16, 1988, the 12th anniversary of the Soweto demonstrations and Massacre in South Africa, as Soweto Remembrance Day. Encourages Americans to participate in local activities designed to commemorate the victims of Soweto and to show solidarity with those who are fighting to end apartheid.
United States · United States Congress · 14 June 1988
Declares that the Congress acknowledges and appreciates the commitment, devotion, and sacrifices of present and former military families. Designates November 21, 1988, as National Military Families Recognition Day.
United States · United States Congress · 14 June 1988
Designates August 1, 1988, as Helsinki Human Rights Day. Requests the President to: (1) reassert American commitment to the Helsinki Accords; (2) raise the issue of noncompliance with such Accords with the Soviet Union, Bulgaria, Czechoslovakia, the German Democratic Republic, Hungary, Poland, and Romania; (3) convey to all signatories of such Accords that respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms is vital to progress in the ongoing Helsinki process; (4) convey to U.S. allies the importance of unity regarding such Accords; (5) continue his efforts to achieve, before the end of the Vienna meeting, the release of all political prisoners of the Soviet Union, an increase in Soviet emigration, resolution of all family reunification cases, cessation of all radio transmission jamming, and the repeal of laws and practices which undermine human rights; (6) seek the inclusion, in any concluding document agreed to in Vienna, of a mechanism to sustain human rights progress after the Vienna meeting; and (7) convey to signatory states the insistence of the United States for a result at Vienna that will not favor military security at the expense of human rights.
United States · United States Congress · 9 June 1988
Expresses the sense of the Congress that: (1) the United Nations Human Rights Commission has suffered a setback by the election of Cuba and Panama to its membership; (2) the Secretary General of the United Nations should undertake all necessary measures to remove Cuba and Panama from the Commission and should closely monitor Commission actions, including its investigation of Cuban human rights, to ensure its independence and objectivity; and (3) the U.S. Government should consider the implications of such election in evaluating U.S. financial support for the United Nations and the Commission.
United States · United States Congress · 8 June 1988
Research and Experimental Credit Extension and Reform Act of 1988 - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to make permanent the income tax credit for qualified research expenditures by repealing the provisions that would terminate the credit for expenses incurred or paid after 1988. Revises the method for computing: (1) base period research expenses, adding a factor reflecting the gross national product growth rate; and (2) the tax credit, adding an alternative computation component. Applies the credit to in-house research expenses that the taxpayer pays or incurs for the principal purpose of using the research results in the active conduct of a future trade or business.
United States · United States Congress · 8 June 1988
Nutritional Assistance Improvements Act of 1988 - Title I: Temporary Emergency Food Assistance Program (TEFAP) - Amends the Temporary Emergency Food Assistance Act of 1983 to state that the dairy export incentive program and the export sales of dairy products program shall not be operated in a manner that will reduce the dairy products available for the temporary emergency food assistance program (TEFAP). States that the TEFAP bonus commodities program shall not be operated in a manner that will reduce available commodities for other school nutrition or elderly feeding programs. Directs the Secretary of Agriculture, during each of FY 1989 through 1991, to purchase and make available for food assistance at least $225,000,000 worth of high protein commodities. Authorizes States to make supplemental commodities available for food assistance under this Act. Authorizes appropriations. Extends TEFAP, including storage and distribution authorizations, through FY 1991. Title II: Child Nutrition Programs - Amends the Child Nutrition Act of 1966 to increase the school breakfast program reimbursement rate by three cents per meal. Amends the National School Lunch Act to provide an additional meal or snack to children who attend day care centers which are open more than eight hours a day. Title III: Special Supplemental Food Program - Amends the Child Nutrition Act of 1966 to define "homeless individual" for purposes of the special supplemental food program (WIC) as an individual who: (1) lacks a fixed and regular nighttime residence; or (2) has a primary nighttime residence that is a publicly or privately operated temporary shelter, institution providing temporary residence, temporary accommodation in another individual's residence, or a public or private place not normally used as a sleeping accommodation. Makes homeless individuals eligible for WIC assistance. Requires State WIC plans to include homeless outreach programs. Title IV: Food Stamp Program - Amends the Food Stamp Act of 1977 to exclude dependent care payments from the household income computation for purposes of food stamp program (program) eligibility. Changes the dependent care deduction from $160 per month per household to $160 per month per dependent. Requires State program plans to include rural area outreach. Title V: Farmers Market Demonstration Project - Authorizes three-year demonstration projects in seven States to provide coupons (between ten and 20 dollars' worth) to WIC and commodity supplemental food program (low-income elderly) recipients for use at farmers' markets. Requires 35 percent State matching funds. Establishes minimum and maximum grant amounts at $75,000 and $400,000, respectively. Limits the use of funds for administrative costs. Authorizes FY 1989 through 1991 appropriations. Requires: (1) State recipients to report annually to the Secretary; and (2) the Secretary to report annually to the appropriate congressional committees. Title VI: Other Nutrition Programs - Directs the Secretary to carry out at least one food bank commodity distribution project in each standard Federal region. Requires the Secretary to submit a program report to the Congress by January 3, 1990. Terminates the program on September 30, 1991. Directs the Secretary, for FY 1988 through 1991, to purchase and distribute in high unemployment areas at least $50,000,000 of surplus commodities for use in cooperative emergency feeding facilities. Amends the Agriculture and Consumer Protection Act of 1973 to provide the commodity supplemental food program with bonus cheese equal to at least the value of cheese provided to such program in FY 1988. Title VII: Effective Date - Makes this Act effective as of October 1, 1988, except for the provisions of title II which shall become effective as of July 1, 1989.
United States · United States Congress · 8 June 1988
Designates the week of October 23 through October 29, 1988, and the last full week of October hereafter, as National Adult Immunization Awareness Week.
United States · United States Congress · 7 June 1988
Public and Tax-Exempt Employees Deferred Compensation Act of 1988 - Amends Internal Revenue Code accounting rules governing the year of inclusion of compensation deferred under qualified plans of State and local governments and of private tax-exempt organizations. Declares the rules to be inapplicable to both nonelective deferred compensation and basic employee benefits, including bona fide vacation plans, sick leave plans, sabbatical leave, and similar benefits.
United States · United States Congress · 27 May 1988
Postal Service Budgetary Treatment Act of 1988 - Declares that the receipts and disbursements of the Postal Service Fund: (1) shall not be included in the totals of the Federal budget or the congressional budget; (2) shall be exempt from Federal budget limitations on expenditures and net lending; and (3) shall not be counted for purposes of calculating the Federal deficit. Makes the U.S. Postal Service an off-budget Federal entity.
United States · United States Congress · 27 May 1988
Business and Citizen School Volunteers of America Act of 1988 - Directs the Secretary of Education (the Secretary) to make grants to eligible partnerships to assist elementary and secondary schools in organizing, promoting, and utilizing volunteers in such schools. (Defines eligible partnership as a volunteer program development agreement between: (1) an elementary or secondary school, State educational agency (SEA), and/or local educational agency (LEA); and (2) a government agency, nonprofit organization, institution of higher education, and/or business concern.) Directs the Secretary to consult with the National School Volunteer Program, Incorporated, in establishing criteria for making such grants and in prescribing regulations under this Act. Sets forth authorized uses of funds under this Act. Sets forth grant application requirements. Directs the Secretary to establish a National Center for Leadership in School Volunteer and Partnership Programs, through grants to or contracts with an entity, such as the National School Volunteer Program, Incorporated, which is experienced in and has as its primary purpose assisting school volunteer programs. Requires the Center to: (1) serve as a resource center; (2) train volunteers; (3) conduct an annual survey of volunteer programs; (4) evaluate volunteer programs; and (5) perform any of its functions through contracts with the various types of entities included under eligible partnerships. Requires that at least 20 percent of funds under this Act in any fiscal year be used for Center activities. Sets forth priorities in the grant approval process. Authorizes appropriations for FY 1989 through 1993 to carry out this Act.
United States · United States Congress · 27 May 1988
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 primary emphasis of development activities to restore the renewable natural resource base shall be on small-scale, affordable, low-risk local projects featuring close consultation with, and involvement of, local people at all stages of project design and implementation. Requires the President to submit the plan to the Congress by July 1, 1989. Requires all U.S. development assistance to be directed at attaining plan goals between October 1, 1989, 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, 1989, to conclude an international agreement on eliminating the worst aspects of absolute poverty by the year 2000.
United States · United States Congress · 26 May 1988
State and Local River Conservation Act of 1988 - Encourages States to make specified assessments with respect to the identification of rivers needing environmental protection and to develop protection programs with respect to such rivers. Requires each State to develop river protection plans designed to protect such rivers' natural and environmental values. Requires each State, in developing such plans, to make reasonable efforts, including the creation of river protection commissions, to consult with interested parties. Requires the Secretary of the Interior and the Secretary of State to appoint river protection commission members. Requires such commissions to assist in the development and implementation of river protection plans. Authorizes appropriations. Authorizes the Secretary of the Interior to make grants to States, local governments, or river commissions that intend to develop or implement programs and river protection plans. Limits Federal funds to no more than 67 percent of the cost of State programs developed under this Act. Requires the Secretary of the Interior to review State river protection programs every five years for compliance with this Act. Terminates assistance for those States which fail to comply. Provides that current State river protection efforts meeting the criteria under this Act shall be automatically eligible for river protection grants. Provides that this Act shall not affect State or Federal programs developed under the Wild and Scenic Rivers Act and is intended to supplement and enhance the river protection provisions of the Electric Consumer Protection Act of 1986. Prohibits a permit, license, or exemption, or an amendment thereto, to be issued for the construction of an original hydroelectric project by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission if, at the time the application is considered by the Commission, the project would be inconsistent with a State's river protection plan. Requires the Commission to comply with specified requirements when relicensing a hydroelectric project. Requires each Federal agency conducting or regulating activities on rivers covered by this Act to conduct or regulate those activities in a manner consistent with the Electric Consumer Protection Act of 1986 and this Act.
United States · United States Congress · 25 May 1988
Requests the President to issue a proclamation commemorating the 50th anniversary of the Javits-Wagner-O'Day Act, which occurs on June 25, 1988. (The Javits-Wagner-O'Day Act, formerly known as the Wagner-O'Day Act, provides employment and ancillary support services to blind and handicapped individuals.)
United States · United States Congress · 23 May 1988
Pipeline Safety Reauthorization Act of 1988 - Amends the Natural Gas Pipeline Safety Act of 1968 and the Hazardous Liquid Pipeline Safety Act of 1979 to authorize appropriations for FY 1988 through 1990 (including grants-in-aid authorizations). Sets a maximum allocation of 20 percent for pipeline safety grant indirect expenses. Directs the Secretary of Transportation (the Secretary) to make certain unexpended funds available to States which: (1) undertake new responsibilities relating to State pipeline safety certification programs; or (2) implement a one-call damage prevention program established under State law. Amends the Natural Gas Pipeline Safety Act and the Hazardous Liquid Pipeline Safety Act to authorize the Secretary to certify and require testing of individuals responsible for the operation and maintenance of pipeline facilities. Directs the Secretary by regulation to establish minimum Federal standards requiring pipeline facility operators to provide certain information to the Secretary or appropriate requesting State official, including: (1) the operator's business name, address, and telephone numbers; (2) maps showing the location of major pipeline facilities, including transmission and major distribution lines; (3) a description of the characteristics of the operator's pipelines within the State; (4) a description of all products transported through such pipelines in the State; (5) any other information the Secretary considers useful and necessary to inform the States of pipeline facilities and operations within their boundaries; (6) an emergency response plan; and (7) a State pipeline facilities operation and maintenance manual. Directs the Secretary by regulation to establish minimum Federal standards to require, within one year after enactment of this Act, pipeline facility operators to complete and maintain an inventory of all types of pipe used to transmit gas in the operator's system, together with other specified information. Directs the Secretary by regulation to establish qualifications for States to meet for the pipeline safety grant program, including qualifications for State employees who perform inspections pursuant to either an annual certification by a State agency or an agreement relating to inspection between the State agency and the Secretary. Requires the Secretary to establish procedures to promote more effective coordination between Federal and State pipeline regulatory agencies regarding pipeline accident responses. Increases the civil penalty for pipeline safety violations from $1,000 to $10,000. Establishes criminal penalties (fine of up to $5,000, imprisonment for up to one year, or both) for the willful and knowing defacement, damage, removal, or destruction of any pipeline sign or right-of-way marker required by Federal law or regulation. Directs the Secretary to biennially inspect and require the testing of pipeline facilities to ensure their safety. Directs the Secretary to assess the feasibility of regulating persons whose excavation activities may result in pipeline damage and to report the results of such assessment to the Congress. Directs the Secretary, within 18 months after the date of enactment of this Act, to establish minimum Federal guidelines for one-call telecommunications systems to alert natural gas pipeline operators to construction and other specified activities in the vicinity of pipeline facilities. Directs the Secretary to study the feasibility of requiring the inspection of transmission facilities with instrumented internal inspection devices. Requires a report of such study to the Congress within 18 months after enactment of this Act. Directs the Secretary to study the feasibility, safety, cost, and effectiveness of requiring pipeline facility operators to install emergency flow restricting devices in existing and future pipeline systems. Requires a report to the Congress on such study within one year after enactment of this Act.
United States · United States Congress · 23 May 1988
Establishes floors for the 1989 Federal assistance percentages, used in determining Federal payments to States under title XIX (Medicaid) and parts A (Aid to Families with Dependent Children) and E (Foster Care and Adoption Assistance) of title IV of the Social Security Act.
![Official portrait of Sen. Durenberger, Dave [R-MN]](https://www.congress.gov/img/member/d000566_200.jpg)