United States · United States Congress · 3 August 1989
Older Workers Benefit Protection Act - Amends the Age Discrimination in Employment Act of 1967 (ADEA) to specify that it prohibits discrimination against older workers in all employee benefits except when age-based reductions in employee benefit plans are justified by significant cost considerations. Declares that, as used in ADEA, the phrase "compensation, terms, conditions, or privileges of employment" encompasses all employee benefits, including those provided under a bona fide employee benefit plan. Requires that the actual amount of payment made or cost incurred on behalf of an older worker be no less than that made or incurred on behalf of a younger worker, for each benefit or benefit package, in order for an employee benefit plan not to violate ADEA. Places on the employer, employment agency, or labor organization the burden of proving, in any civil enforcement proceeding brought under ADEA, that specified actions are lawful. Requires a seniority system or employee benefit plan to comply with ADEA regardless of the date of adoption of such system or plan. Applies this Act to all actions or proceedings under ADEA that were brought after June 23, 1989, or that were pending on such date (which is the date on which the Supreme Court issued the decision in Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio V. Betts).
United States · United States Congress · 2 August 1989
Rural Hospital Improvements Act of 1989 - Amends title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act to provide an additional payment to each Medicare-dependent, small, rural hospital for discharges occurring from FY 1989 through 1994 equal to the amount by which such hospitals' reasonable costs exceed Medicare payments for such discharges. Maintains the regional referral center classification and payment rate of each hospital so classified as of September 30, 1989, until the Medicare urban/rural hospital reimbursement differential is eliminated.
United States · United States Congress · 1 August 1989
Provides an exemption from the reduction in retirement pay because of reemployment for Federal annuitants and former members of a uniformed service who become reemployed with a temporary position within the Bureau of the Census to assist in carrying out the 1990 decennial census.
United States · United States Congress · 27 July 1989
Domestic Volunteer Service Act Amendments of 1989 - Title I: National Volunteer Antipoverty Programs - Amends the Domestic Volunteer Service Act of 1973 (the Act) to increase the amounts to be used for publicity, recruitment, and assignment under the Volunteers in Service to America (VISTA) program. Requires the Director of the ACTION Agency (the Director) to appoint a national Administrator of Recruitment and Placement (the Administrator) for VISTA, and to hire appropriate support staff. Revises VISTA publicity, recruitment, application, and assignment procedures. Requires the Administrator to undertake specified recruitment, publicity, and information activities, and to coordinate them with those of the Peace Corps. Includes among such activities publicizing student loan deferment and forgiveness opportunities available to volunteers. Requires attempts to involve former volunteers in information dissemination activities. Requires the Administrator to provide VISTA volunteers assignments which, to the maximum extent practicable, are consistent with their abilities, experiences, and preferences, and with the needs and preferences of the projects or programs. Requires the Director, whenever feasible and appropriate, to assign low-income community volunteers to serve in their home communities in teams with nationally recruited specialist volunteers. Requires the Director to: (1) try to assign volunteers to serve in their homes or nearby communities; and (2) make national efforts to attract other individuals to serve in VISTA. Requires the Director to consider: (1) community-identified needs which cannot be met in the local area; and (2) individual volunteer desires with regard to geographic placement. Allows a sponsoring organization to recruit VISTA volunteers. Directs the Administrator to give such locally-recruited volunteers priority for placements in the sponsoring organization that recruited them. Requires the Director to ensure that, of all VISTA volunteers: (1) at least 20 percent are age 55 or older; and (2) by FY 1991, at least 20 percent are age 18 through 27. Raises the maximum monthly stipend for VISTA volunteers from $75 to $100. Requires the Director to: (1) set a subsistence allowance for VISTA volunteers so that the the average allowance is no less than 105 percent of the poverty line (reflecting higher costs-of-living in certain areas); and (2) report to appropriate congressional committees on methods for setting such allowances. Prohibits termination of VISTA assistance to any project or organization solely on the basis of the duration of assistance previously received. Requires case-by-case consideration of renewal applications, taking into account extenuating circumstances preventing attainment of original goals. Requires that new applications from organizations previously receiving assistance be considered on an equal basis with those that have not received assistance, if the proposed project is clearly distinct from the previously assisted activities. Prohibits taking duration of assistance into account in considering applications from intermediary organizations. Title II: Service-Learning Programs - Renames the Service-Learning Programs under the Act as the Student Community Service Programs. Title III: Special Volunteer Programs - Limits the amount of any grant or contract under the Special Volunteer Programs. Renames certain Special Initiatives as Drug Abuse Education and Prevention Services and Activities. Requires the Director to give priority, in awarding grants and contracts for such activities, to projects that serve communities, including those in rural areas, which have not previously received Special Volunteer Programs assistance for drug abuse education and prevention. Requires the Director to provide for evaluation of activities and projects conducted with assistance under such provisions. Requires applications for such grants in excess of a specified amount to include data on the use of such funds. Title IV: Administration and Coordination - Requires the Director to submit to the Congress within 60 days after the start of each fiscal year a report which includes descriptions of: (1) the annual VISTA recruitment plan; (2) VISTA activities and number of applicants, applicants approved, applicants assigned, and volunteers assigned outside of their home communities; (3) efforts made to involve former volunteers in recruitment and public awareness; and (4) number and location of ACTION Agency employees assigned to VISTA recruitment and public awareness duties. Requires the Director to evaluate the VISTA Literacy Corps as a separate program at least once every three years. Title V: Older American Volunteer Program - Amends title II (Older American Volunteer Programs) of the Act with respect to the Retired Senior Volunteer Program, the Foster Grandparent Program, and the Senior Companion Program. Requires the Director to establish, within each National Older American Volunteer Program, grants to support activities that address national problems on a local level. Sets forth award criteria and grant uses. Gives grant priority to activities assisting: (1) those with chronic debilitating illnesses such as AIDS; (2) drug and alcohol abuse prevention and treatment; (3) teenage parents; (4) mentoring of youth needing guidance; (5) adult and school-based literacy; (6) respite care; (7) before and after-school programs serving children of working parents; (8) boarder babies; (9) child care, especially of children with special needs; and (10) developmentally disabled adult individuals (and, when appropriate, involvement of such individuals as volunteers). Limits funding of such grants to those years when program funding is increased by a specified amount. Increases the amount of stipends or allowances under the Foster Grandparent Program. Revises provisions relating to individuals who are not low-income persons serving as volunteers without stipends under such program. Prohibits the Director from coercing any volunteer applicant or grant or contract recipient to engage in specified conduct with respect to such unpaid volunteer positions. Requires the Director to encourage and facilitate: (1) private organizational efforts to promote National Older American Volunteer Programs; and (2) involvement of older persons as volunteers in such programs. Requires the Director to expend specified funds for special efforts to publicize such programs, including notifying grant and contract recipients of all available information. Title VI: General Provisions - Includes among authorized VISTA volunteer assignments work in addressing significant health care problems, including chronic and life-threatening illnesses and health care for homeless individuals, especially homeless children, through prevention, treatment, and community-based care activities. Requires the Director to ensure that records are maintained to indicate the degree of compliance with a requirement that certain funds for the VISTA Literacy Corps supplement and not supplant other specified funds to address the problem of illiteracy. Authorizes the Director to provide: (1) technical and financial assistance to nonprofit organizations conducting operations in several areas and States for activities addressing the problem of illiteracy; and (2) technical assistance to employers who have established or wish to establish worksite literacy volunteer programs. Requires the Director to: (1) make appropriate cost-of-living adjustments in Federal financial assistance to meet administrative costs of applicants under National Older American Volunteer Programs; and (2) report to specified congressional committees on such adjustments. Authorizes the Director to approve multiple-year grants or contracts for projects. Amends the Human Services Reauthorization Act of 1986 to revise the Community Services Block Grant Program with respect to partnership agreements addressing the needs of the poor. Directs the Secretary of Health and Human Services annually to: (1) identify new programs for replication; and (2) evaluate and report to specified congressional committees on programs funded under this Act. Title VII: Authorization of Appropriations - Authorizes appropriations for FY 1990 through 1993 for the following National Volunteer Antipoverty Programs: (1) the VISTA volunteer program; (2) the VISTA Literacy Corps; (3) Service-Learning programs; and (4) Special Volunteer programs. Requires necessary amounts to be available for increasing numbers of years of VISTA volunteer service for FY 1990 through 1993. Requires the Director to give a reasonable period of advance notice to the relevant congressional committees upon determination that a reallocation is necessary because of insufficient appropriations to carry out VISTA programs. Requires that such reallocation be made from funds for Special Volunteer programs before reallocation from other parts of title I of the Act. Authorizes appropriations for FY 1990 through 1993 for administration of the Act. Authorizes appropriations for FY 1990 through 1993 for the following National Older American Volunteer Programs: (1) the Retired Senior Volunteer Program; (2) the Foster Grandparent Program; and (3) the Senior Companion Program. Title VIII: Technical Amendments - Makes technical amendments to the table of contents, headings, and other provisions of the Act. Title IX: Effective Date - Sets forth the effective date of this Act and the amendments it makes.
United States · United States Congress · 25 July 1989
Title I - Product Liability Reform Act - Declares that this Act governs any product liability action brought against a manufacturer or product seller, on any theory, for harm caused by a product. States that a civil action brought against a manufacturer or product seller for loss or damage to a product itself or commercial loss shall be governed by applicable commercial or contract law. Supersedes any inconsistent State law regarding recovery in such actions. Lists specific laws not superseded, including: (1) defense of sovereign immunity asserted by any State or by the United States; (2) any Federal law (except the Federal Employees Compensation Act and the Longshore and Harbor Workers' Compensation Act); (3) the Foreign Sovereign Immunities Act of 1976; (4) State choice-of-law rules; (5) the right of any court to transfer venue or to apply the law of a foreign nation or to dismiss a claim of a foreign nation or citizen on the ground of inconvenient forum; and (6) any statutory or common law cause of action, including an action to abate a nuisance, that authorizes a State or person to institue an action for civil damages or civil penalties, clean up costs, injunctions, restitution, cost recovery, punitive damages, or any other form of relief from contamination or pollution of the environment or the threat of it. Declares that U.S. district courts shall not have jurisdiction over any civil action under this Act, based on specified provisions of Federal law relating to district court jurisdiction. Declares that, if any provision of this Act would shorten the period during which a manufacturer or seller would otherwise be exposed to liability, the claimant may, notwithstanding that period, bring any civil action under this Act within one year after the effective date of this Act. Title II - Allows any claimant to bring a civil action for damages against a person for harm caused by a product under applicable State law, except to the extent such law is superseded by this title. Sets forth expedited settlement measures, including: (1) an option to include an offer of settlement, for a specific dollar amount, by the plaintiff in the complaint and by the defendant in a responsive pleading; and (2) awarding attorney's fees and costs, in certain circumstances, to the prevailing party if the other party does not accept the settlement offer. Sets forth alternative dispute resolution procedures, including: (1) an option, in lieu of or in addition to a settlement offer, for a claimant or a defendant to offer to proceed under any voluntary alternative dispute resolution procedure established or recognized under the law of the State in which the action is brought or maintained; and (2) awarding of attorney's fees and costs to the offering party if the court determines that a refusal to so proceed was unreasonable or not in good faith. Creates a rebuttable presumption that a refusal to so proceed was unreasonable, or not in good faith, if a verdict is rendered in favor of the offeror. Title III - Allows a person seeking to recover for harm caused by a product to bring a civil action against the manufacturer or seller under applicable State or Federal law, except to the extent such law is superseded by this Act. Establishes a standard of product seller liability for proximate causes of harm, established by a preponderance of the evidence, which fall under the categories of negligence or express warranty. Allows the trier of facts, in a negligence action, to consider the conduct of the seller with respect to: (1) the construction, inspection, or condition of the product; and (2) failure to pass on warnings or instructions from the manufacturer. Deems the seller not liable for failure to provide warnings or instructions unless the claimant establishes that the seller failed to: (1) provide warnings or instructions received while the product was in the seller's possession and control; or (2) make reasonable efforts to provide users with warnings and instructions which it received after the product left its possession and control. Deems a seller not liable except for breach of warranty where there was no opportunity to inspect the product in a manner which would or should, in the exercise of reasonable care, have revealed the aspect which allegedly caused the harm. Declares that the seller shall be treated as the manufacturer and be liable for harm caused by a product as if it were the manufacturer if: (1) the manufacturer is not subject to service of process in any State in which the action might have been brought; or (2) the court determines that the claimant would be unable to enforce a judgment against the manufacturer. Allows punitive damages, if otherwise permitted by applicable law, to be awarded in any civil action under this title to any claimant who establishes by clear and convincing evidence that the harm suffered was the result of conduct manifesting a manufacturer's or product seller's conscious, flagrant indifference to the safety of those persons who might be harmed by a product. Declares that a failure to exercise reasonable care in choosing among alternative product designs, formulations, instructions, or warnings is not of itself such conduct. Prohibits awarding punitive damages in the absence of a compensatory award, subject to exception. Prohibits punitive damages against a manufacturer or seller of a drug or medical device where: (1) the drug or device was subject to pre-market approval by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA); or (2) the drug is generally recognized as safe and effective under conditions established by the FDA. Prohibits punitive damages against a manufacturer of an aircraft where: (1) the aircraft was subject to pre-market certification by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA); and (2) the manufacturer complied, after delivery, with FAA requirements and obligations with respect to continuing airworthiness. Provides for separate proceedings, if requested by the manufacturer or seller, with regard to punitive damages. Lists factors the trier of fact is allowed to consider in determining the amount of punitive damages. Bars any civil action under this title: (1) unless filed within two years after the claimant discovered or should have discovered the harm and its cause, subject to exception; and (2) if the product involved is a capital good that is alleged to have caused harm which is not a toxic harm unless filed within twenty-five years after delivery of the product, provided the claimant has received or would be eligible for State or Federal workers' compensation. Excludes a motor vehicle, vessel, aircraft, or railroad used primarily to transport passengers for hire from these time limitations. States that nothing in these provisions affects the right of any person who is subject to liability under this Act to obtain contribution or indemnity from any other person who is responsible for the harm. Requires reduction in the damages awarded by the sum of all State or Federal workers' compensation benefits to which the employee is or would be entitled. Requires an action to be stayed, at the sole discretion of the claimant, until a final determination is made on the amount payable as workers' compensation benefits. Declares that, unless the manufacturer or seller has expressly agreed to indemnify or hold an employer harmless, neither the employer nor the workers' compensation insurance carrier shall have a right of subrogation, contribution, or implied indemnity against the manufacturer or seller or a lien against the claimant's recovery. Prohibits a third party tortfeasor, where workers' compensation is involved, from maintaining any action for implied indemnity or contribution against the employer, any coemployee, or the exclusive representative of the injured person. Prohibits, for a person who is or would have been entitled to receive workers' compensation, any other action, unless a State or Federal workers' compensation law permits recovery based on a claim of an intentional tort. Makes these provisions inapplicable and declares that applicable State law shall control if the employer or the workers' compensation insurer asserts a right of subrogation, contribution, or implied indemnity against the manufacturer or seller or a lien against the claimant's recovery. Declares that, in any product liability action, the liability of each defendant for noneconomic damages shall be several and not joint. Requires the trier of fact to determine the proportion of responsibility of each party for the claimant's harm. Establishes a complete defense, in any civil action under this Act in which all defendants are manufacturers or sellers, that the claimant was under the influence of alcohol or any drug and that, as a result, the claimant was more than 50 percent responsible for the event which resulted in the harm. Defines "drug" to mean any non-over-the-counter drug which has not been prescribed by a physician.
United States · United States Congress · 25 July 1989
Declares it is U.S. policy to provide a national air transportation system which: (1) enhances the general welfare and security of the United States; and (2) is free of regulations which unreasonably burden or restrict the right of citizens to travel by air. Requires the President to submit to the Congress a plan for a new comprehensive national aviation policy.
United States · United States Congress · 24 July 1989
Alternative Agricultural Products Research Act of 1989 - Establishes in the Department of Agriculture the New Products Research Board to be administered by the Assistant Secretary of Agriculture for Science and Education. States that the Board shall advise the Assistant Secretary with respect to research project selection and evaluation under this Act. Authorizes a plant modification research program focusing on the development and production of new (non-food and -fiber) industrial and commercial products. Gives priority to biotechnological research projects. Sets forth project selection criteria. Authorizes FY 1990 through 2008 appropriations.
United States · United States Congress · 24 July 1989
Amends the Internal Revenue Code to exclude from the minimum coverage requirements for pensions all railroad employees who are not covered by a collective bargaining agreement which includes a qualified cash or deferred arrangement pension plan.
United States · United States Congress · 20 July 1989
Declares that it is the sense of the Senate that: (1) the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), the crew of Apollo 11, and all associated with the first lunar landing should be congratulated on the 20th anniversary of the Apollo 11 mission; (2) the most appropriate celebration of that landing is renewed support of the Senate and the American people for our space program, especially the International Space Station Freedom program (Space Station program); (3) the additional elements of Earth sensing satellites needed to achieve the goals of the "Mission to Planet Earth" should be vigorously pursued in a cooperative global effort involving all nations; and (4) the President, the Vice President in his capacity as the Chairman of the National Space Council, the Director of the Office of Management and Budget, the Administrator of NASA, and the appropriate committees of the Congress should together explore actions to provide NASA's FY 1990 budget request for the Space Station program to insure the continued development of the Space Station program and the expeditious development of the global environmental program envisioned as the "Mission to Planet Earth."
United States · United States Congress · 19 July 1989
Great Lakes Maritime Trade Act of 1989 - Title I: Eligibility of Certain Reflagged Vessels in the Great Lakes to Carry Preference Cargoes - Exempts an American Great Lakes vessel (AGLV) from provisions of the Merchant Marine Act, 1936 which prohibit a vessel which is built or rebuilt outside the United States or documented under any foreign registry from being, for purposes of cargo preference provisions, a privately owned U.S.-flag vessel. Directs the Secretary of Transportation to designate a vessel to be an AGLV if it meets certain requirements regarding U.S. documentation and if the owner enters into a construction and purchase agreement specifying that: (1) all repair, maintenance, reconditioning, and other construction (except emergency repairs) shall be performed in the United States; and (2) if the designation is revoked or terminated under provisions of this Act, the United States shall have an exclusive right to purchase the vessel under specified price terms. Declares that, notwithstanding any law, if the United States does not purchase the vessel, the owner shall not be prohibited from transferring the vessel to a foreign registry or selling it to a non-U.S. citizen. Prohibits an AGLV, except during the Great Lakes shipping off-season, from engaging in trade: (1) from a non-Great Lakes U.S. port; (2) between U.S. ports; or (3) between Great Lakes U.S. ports and Great Lakes Canadian ports. Directs the Secretary of Transportation to revoke the designation of a vessel as an AGLV on determining that the vessel does not meet a requirement for the designation, it has been operated in violation of this title, or the owner has violated a construction and purchase agreement under this title. Terminates an AGLV designation three years after the date of the designation or on an earlier date as may be requested by the vessel owner. Title II: Great Lakes Maritime Passage Enhancements - Amends the Merchant Marine Act, 1936 to extend indefinitely, with regard to certain cargo preference provisions, the requirement that the Secretary of Transportation take steps to preserve the percentage share, or metric tonnage of bagged, processed, or fortified commodities experienced in calendar year 1984, of waterborne cargoes exported from Great Lakes ports pursuant to specified provisions of the Agricultural Trade Development and Assistance Act of 1954. Directs the Secretary of the Army, notwithstanding specified requirements of the Water Resources Development Act of 1986, to initiate and complete the design, planning, and engineering of the Sault Sainte Marie lock project. Extends the authorization of such project to the end of FY 1993. Directs the Secretary of State to: (1) initiate discussions with Canada to eliminate all tolls on the Great Lakes and the Saint Lawrence Seaway; and (2) report to the Congress, by January 1, 1990, regarding those efforts, any results, and recommendations for further action. Declares that it is the sense of the Congress that: (1) funding for icebreaking capability in the Great Lakes should be maintained at a level sufficient to ensure passage under any conditions which may reasonably be expected to occur during the Great Lakes shipping season; and (2) it is essential to maintain in the Great Lakes an icebreaking vessel with horsepower and beam equivalent to those of the Coast Guard cutter Mackinaw.
United States · United States Congress · 18 July 1989
Biden-Roth-Cohen Flag Protection Act of 1989 - Amends the Federal criminal code to apply criminal penalties for desecration of the U.S. flag to maintaining the flag on the floor or ground. Eliminates knowingly casting contempt on the flag as an element of desecration.
United States · United States Congress · 14 July 1989
Designates October 29, 1989, as Fire Safety at Home--Change Your Clock, and Change Your Battery Day. Directs the President to issue a proclamation to urge people to change the batteries in their smoke detectors when they reset their clocks from daylight savings time.
United States · United States Congress · 12 July 1989
DOE Nuclear Safety and Environment Act - Title I: Oversight of Defense Nuclear Facilities Safety Board - Amends the Atomic Energy Act of 1954 to redefine a Department of Energy (DOE) defense nuclear facility as one which includes: (1) the tritium loading facility and the 236 H facility at Savannah River, South Carolina; (2) the Mound Laboratory, Ohio; (3) any facility or activity involved with the assembly or testing of nuclear explosives; and (4) testing and assembly facilities operated for national security purposes under the jurisdiction of the Secretary of Energy (the Secretary) (including test site facilities in Nevada; the Pinnellas Plant, Florida; and the Pantex facility, Texas). Requires the Secretary to notify the Defense Nuclear Facilities Safety Board and the Congress immediately about any abnormal occurrence at a DOE defense nuclear facility which could result in an unplanned release of radioactive products in excess of the allowable limits for normal operation. Title II: Application of OSHA and NIOSH to DOE Nuclear Facilities - Amends the Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970 (OSHA) to apply it to: (1) a DOE defense nuclear facility and production or utilization facilities under the Secretary's control; (2) a facility subject to the Atomic Energy Act of 1954 under the Secretary's control; and (3) a waste storage or disposal facility under the Secretary's control. Directs the Secretary of Labor to promulgate regulations governing the application of OSHA to DOE nuclear facilities. Includes DOE nuclear facilities within the purview of functions performed by the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health and requires the Institute to conduct hazard evaluations at such facilities. Requires the Secretary and every contractor operating a nuclear facility to cooperate with the Secretary of Health and Human Services and with the Secretary of Labor with respect to inspections or investigations conducted at nuclear facilities. Title III: Mixed Hazardous Waste - Mixed Hazardous Waste Amendment Act of 1989 - Amends the Solid Waste Disposal Act to provide that the term "solid waste" does not include source, special nuclear, or by-product materials unless such materials are: (1) part of any mixture or combination of solid waste as defined within the Act; or (2) wastes at the time they are emplaced at a repository. Title IV: The Radiation Research Board - Radiation Research Board Act - Directs the Secretary of Health and Human Services to establish the Radiation Research Board to advise and assist the Secretary of Energy in conducting studies of the effects of radiation. Requires the Secretary of Energy to: (1) submit for the Board's review all proposed studies regarding the health effects of radiation if such studies require funds in excess of $50,000; (2) report annually to the Congress regarding the implementation of Board recommendations; (3) insure that all studies be subject to peer review; (4) promulgate guidelines for the provision of study data to qualified researchers who are not associated with DOE; and (5) make data concerning the health effects of radioactive and other hazardous materials in the possession of DOE or its contractors available to qualified researchers. Directs the Radiation Research Board to establish procedures expediting the release of such data. Title V: Office of Environment, Safety, and Health Within the Department of Energy - Establishes within DOE an Office for Environment, Safety, and Health to exercise specified oversight powers with respect to DOE conformance with environmental, health, and safety regulations (including independent review of environmental impact statements prepared by DOE and the immediate shutdown of any DOE facility posing an unreasonable environmental, safety, or health risk). Title VI: Defense Nuclear Facility Cleanup Compliance Agreements - Directs the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency, the Secretary of Energy, and each State containing a DOE defense nuclear facility to negotiate a defense nuclear facility cleanup agreement within a specified period. Prescribes guidelines for such agreements. Title VII: Repeal of Prohibition on the Use of Funds to Pay Penalties Under Environmental Laws - Repeals the prohibition against using appropriated funds to pay penalties for DOE non-compliance with environmental laws with respect to its defense nuclear facilities. Title VIII: Department of Energy Facility Closing Restrictions - States that upon the closing of any DOE defense nuclear facility the Secretary must provide: (1) a complete survey of environmental problems at the facility; (2) budget quality data indicating the cost of returning the facility to an environmentally safe multi-use condition; and (3) report to the Congress how DOE intends to initiate and complete the facility's cleanup.
United States · United States Congress · 11 July 1989
Library Services and Construction Act Amendments of 1989 - Amends the Library Services and Construction Act (the Act) to revise its programs and extend the authorization of appropriations. Authorizes appropriations for FY 1990 through 1994 for grants (or activities) relating to: (1) library services; (2) public library and construction technology enhancement; (3) interlibrary cooperation and resource sharing; (4) library services for Indian tribes; (5) foreign language materials acquisition; (6) library literacy programs; and (7) evaluation and assessment. Revises allocations to Indian tribes and to Alaskan native villages, regional corporations, and village corporations. Provides for interlibrary cooperation and resource sharing under long-range State programs. Directs the Secretary of Education (the Secretary) to: (1) coordinate specified programs; and (2) give the head of the State library administrative agency opportunity for comment on applications for foreign language and for library literacy grants before the award, to assure that the purposes of such grants are consistent with the long-range State program. Permits each State library agency, in FY 1990 and every fifth year thereafter, to review its expenditures under the programs from State and local sources and file with the Secretary a statement to establish a current, revised expenditure level to be used for measuring maintenance of effort. Requires library service programs to provide for assistance to libraries: (1) in developing intergenerational library programs matching older volunteers with libraries interested in developing after school literacy and reading skills programs for unsupervised school children; (2) in extending for mobile library services and programs to licensed or certified child-care providers or centers; (3) in establishing model library literacy centers to reduce the number of functionally illiterate individuals and help them reach full employment; and (4) in making effective use of technology to improve services. Authorizes a State, in carrying out its library services program, to make subgrants to library systems or networks which include libraries other than public libraries, if the purpose of the subgrant is to improve services for public library patrons. Allows States to ratably reduce payments to major urban resource libraries only under specified conditions. Revises services for institutionalized individuals under certain maintenance of effort requirements to make them services to handicapped individuals generally. Requires State library services programs to provide assistance to public libraries for technology enhancement to improve services. Provides for grants to develop the technological capacity of libraries for interlibrary cooperation and resource sharing. Requires that public library construction projects follow policies and procedures that will promote the preservation of library and information resources in such facilities. Requires that a statewide resource sharing plan be directed toward attaining compliance with specified provisions. Authorizes the State long-range interlibrary cooperation and resource sharing program to: (1) include a statewide preservation cooperation plan; and (2) identify the preservation objectives to be achieved during the period covered by the long-range plans. Authorizes: (1) the use of funds to carry out such preservation cooperation plan; and (2) part or all of such preservation program to be contracted to other agencies or institutions. Raises the maximum limit on the amount of a single Library Literacy Program grant from $25,000 to $35,000. Authorizes the Secretary, directly or by grants or contracts, to evaluate and assess programs under the Act. Retitles title I of the Act as Public Library Services.
United States · United States Congress · 23 June 1989
Amends the Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States to suspend, through December 31, 1996, the duty on: (1) machines used in the manufacture of bicycle wheels; (2) bicycle handlebar stems made wholly of aluminum alloy and valued over $2.15; and (3) bicycle handlebar stem rotor assemblies. Extends the suspension of duties on certain bicycle parts. Sets a duty on cantilever brakes. Amends the Free Trade Zone Act to declare that the exemption from the customs laws provided under such Act shall not be available on or before December 31, 1996, to bicycle component parts unless such parts are reexported from the United States, whether in the original package, as components of a completely assembled bicycle, or otherwise.
United States · United States Congress · 23 June 1989
Amends the Federal Aviation Act of 1958 to prohibit any person from acquiring a controlling interest in an air carrier unless the Secretary of Transportation has determined that the acquisition will not adversely and materially affect such air carrier's ability to conduct air transportation in a manner consistent with the highest degree of safety.
United States · United States Congress · 23 June 1989
Provides that if the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) does not enter into a Government-wide indemnity benefit plan contract for 1990 or 1991, in order to compute the average total premium of the six health benefit plans for determining the Government's share of the Federal Employees Health Benefits Program (FEHBP) premiums, the indemnity benefit plan premium in effect at the beginning of each such contract year shall be deemed to be: (1) for 1990, the 1989 premium adjusted by the average increase or decrease of the premiums of the other five benefit plans for contract year 1990; and (2) for 1991, the premium deemed to have been in effect in 1990 adjusted by the average increase or decrease of the premiums for the other five health benefit plans for contract year 1991. Declares that separate percentages shall be computed under this Act with respect to enrollments for self alone and enrollments for self and family.
United States · United States Congress · 23 June 1989
Urges the Government of Iran to extend to the Bahai community the rights guaranteed by the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and other human rights accords. Calls upon the President to: (1) emphasize the need for improvements in Iran's treatment of the Bahais and other religious minorities as an important factor in the development of U.S.-Iranian relations; (2) encourage other governments to appeal to Iran concerning the situation of the Bahais; (3) cooperate with other governments and international organizations in appealing for the protection of the religious rights of the Bahais; and (4) provide, and urge others to provide, refugee and humanitarian assistance for the those Bahais fleeing their homelands because of religious repression.
United States · United States Congress · 23 June 1989
Expresses the sense of the Congress that science, mathematics, and technology education should be a national priority (with emphasis on an educated citizenry, curriculum planning, teacher preparation, and service to traditionally underserved students, including those from inner cities and remote areas).
United States · United States Congress · 22 June 1989
Missile Control Act of 1989 - Amends the Arms Export Control Act to set forth measures the United States shall take to improve the control and reduce the proliferation of missiles and missile equipment and technology. Requires the Secretary of State and Secretary of Defense to deny government contracts to any domestic or foreign firms or state entity that has transferred missile equipment and technology in violation of the Missile Technology Control Regime (MTCR) guidelines. Directs the Secretary of State to report to the Congress annually on transfers of missile equipment and technology MTCR nonadherents. Amends the Export Administration Act of 1979 to require the Secretary of Commerce to direct the Office of Export Licensing to refer all license applications for the export of items on the MTCR annex, excluding those directed to MTCR adherents and NATO programs, to the Secretary of State and, if requested, to the Secretary of Defense. Directs the Secretary of Commerce to establish a procedure that would permit the Secretaries of State and Defense to have access to computer lists of license applications for missile equipment and technology. Provides for licensing of missile equipment and technology exports. Requires the Secretary of Commerce to report to the Congress annually on requests for and the granting of missile equipment and technology export licenses.
United States · United States Congress · 22 June 1989
Degradable Commodity Plastics Procurement and Standards Act of 1989 - Directs the Administrator of the General Services Administration to encourage the development and use of degradable agricultural commodity-based plastics through a system of preferential Government procurement. Authorizes FY 1991 through 1995 appropriations to carry out this Act. Directs the Administrator to establish an Interagency Council to coordinate activities under this Act and to develop uniform definitions, standards, and testing methods for degradable plastic products. Requires the Council to report on its activities to specified congressional committees. Directs the Commissioner of the Food and Drug Administration to assess the safety of indirect food additives intended to increase the degradability of plastic food-packaging materials. Directs the Commissioner to report annually to the Congress on such assessment.
United States · United States Congress · 22 June 1989
Designates the period of September 16 through October 9, 1989, as Coastweeks '89, recognizing the importance of coastal zones. Designates September 16, 1989, as National Estuaries Day and September 23, 1989, as National Beach Cleanup Day.
United States · United States Congress · 16 June 1989
Expresses the sense of the Congress that the President should: (1) take immediate steps to achieve a consensus among South Africa's major trading partners on effective economic, political, and diplomatic measures to end apartheid; (2) implement to the fullest extent all the provisions of the Comprehensive Anti-Apartheid Act of 1986, and the recommendations of the Secretary of State's Advisory Committee on South Africa; (3) take steps to bring about concerted multilateral pressure to dismantle apartheid; (4) instruct the permanent Representative of the United States to the United Nations to offer a resolution in the Security Council that would impose selective mandatory sanctions against South Africa similar to those embodied in the Act for 12 months, and to vote for any resolution offered which would impose such sanctions; (5) strengthen the impact of the Act through diplomatic and political pressure; (6) direct specified executive agencies to monitor trade relations between South Africa and U.S. allies; and (7) take action against those countries benefiting from or taking advantage of U.S. sanctions against South Africa.
United States · United States Congress · 13 June 1989
Congressional Fair Employment Practices Act - Requires that personnel actions affecting employment positions in the Congress be free from discrimination based on race, color, national origin, religion, sex, handicap, or age. Requires the Office of Congressional Employees Relations (established by this Act) and specified panels to apply to each congressional employee the principles and standards of: (1) the Civil Rights Act of 1964; (2) the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938; (3) the Age Discrimination in Employment Act of 1976; (4) the Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970; and (5) the Rehabilitation Act of 1973. Sets forth a three-step procedure for consideration of alleged violations of this Act as follows: (1) counseling and mediation; (2) formal complaint, hearing, and review by the Office of Congressional Fair Employment Practices; and (3) final review by a review panel. Establishes the Office of Congressional Employees Relations. Provides for resolution of an alleged violation by written agreement, if a formal complaint has been filed. Sets forth remedies. Prohibits any intimidation of, or reprisal against, any person by an employing authority because of the exercise of a right granted under this Act. Requires all hearings under this Act to be closed.
United States · United States Congress · 7 June 1989
Domestic Corporation Taxation Equality Act of 1989 - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to prohibit, with specified exceptions, the States from imposing tax on corporate taxpayers on a worldwide unitary basis, unless a taxpayer unconditionally elects to be taxed that way. Includes an express prohibition against the unitary method with respect to a domestic corporation whose average U.S. payroll, property, and sales represent less than 20 percent of its total payroll, property, and sales. Permits a State to tax dividends received by domestic corporations from their foreign affiliates only to the extent that the State excludes from the tax base of the U.S. corporation: (1) at least 85 percent of such dividends; or (2) the portion of such dividends that effectively bears no Federal income tax after application of the foreign tax credit.
United States · United States Congress · 7 June 1989
Designates August 1, 1989, 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 any signatory nation which may be in violation, in particular, 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; and (4) convey to U.S. allies the necessity of unity regarding such Accords.
United States · United States Congress · 6 June 1989
Representative Payee Abuse Prevention Act of 1989 - Amends titles II (Old Age, Survivors and Disability Insurance) (OASDI) and XVI (Supplemental Security Income) (SSI) of the Social Security Act to require that the Secretary of Health and Human Services conduct criminal background checks of representative payee applicants (excluding parents and spouses) and verify their identification. Prohibits the certification of a representative payee without substantial evidence that such certification is in the interest of the OASDI or SSI beneficiary, giving priority to the immediate needs of such beneficiary. Forbids large lump-sum payments of retroactive benefits to new representative payees, pending completion of the investigation into their background and identification. Requires the Secretary to maintain a centralized, current file, accessible to local offices of the Social Security Administration, identifying all representative payees, beneficiaries utilizing the services of representative payees, and persons who have previously misused Social Security Act benefits. Requires that such file highlight instances where two or more beneficiaries who utilize representative payee services reside at the same address. Directs the Secretary to provide an OASDI or SSI beneficiary with notice of a determination that he or she needs a representative payee, including an explanation of his or her right to appeal such determination and the designation of a particular person as representative payee. Prohibits a beneficiary's creditor from serving as his or her representative payee, unless such creditor: (1) is a relative residing with such beneficiary; (2) is the beneficiary's legal guardian or court appointed agent; (3) is a licensed or certified care facility; or (4) poses no risk to the beneficiary, serves no other beneficiary, and no other suitable representative payee is available. Directs the Secretary to make good faith efforts to locate a suitable representative payee for each beneficiary for whom a suitable representative payee can not be readily established, including the provision of an updated list to local Social Security Administration offices of all local public and nonprofit community-based social service agencies that serve as representative payees. Pays benefits directly to a beneficiary until a representative payee has been chosen and investigated, and beneficiary appeal rights have been exhausted, except in certain situations where the beneficiary's condition makes direct payments potentially harmful or such payments are large lump-sum payments of retroactive benefits. Directs the Secretary to terminate or suspend the services of a representative payee who acts contrary to a beneficiary's best interests and secure a new representative payee for such beneficiary. Covers a beneficiary's loss of benefits resulting from the Secretary's failure to investigate or monitor a representative payee who subsequently misuses such benefits. Requires the Secretary to take steps to recover misused benefits from representative payees and use recovered amounts to repay beneficiaries. Directs the Secretary to establish and implement a more frequent and detailed system of accountability monitoring for certain categories of high-risk representative payees which include all persons unrelated to the beneficiary as well as licensed or certified care facilities and their administrators, owners, and employees. Requires the Secretary to conduct a feasibility study and report to the Congress, within six months after this Act's enactment, on designating the Department of Veterans Affairs as the lead agency for purposes of selecting, appointing, and monitoring representative payees for individuals who receive OASDI or SSI benefits and benefits from the Department of Veterans Affairs. Sets forth reporting requirements.
United States · United States Congress · 1 June 1989
Amends the Rural Electrification Act of 1936 to permit Rural Electrification Administration borrowers to prepay Federal Financing Bank loans without penalties if: (1) private capital is used to replace or prepay such loans; and (2) any savings will be used to mitigate future rate increases, passed on to customers, or used to improve the borrower's financial strength. Permits such borrowers to refinance outstanding long-term Federal Financing Bank loans for a specified fee. Requires the borrower to obtain a change in the interest rate on such loan from its present level to the rate then in effect for new Federal Financing Bank loans.
United States · United States Congress · 16 May 1989
Biological Weapons Anti-Terrorism Act of 1989 - Amends the Federal criminal code to impose criminal penalties upon any person who knowingly: (1) develops, produces, stockpiles, acquires or possesses any agent, toxin, or delivery system for use as a weapon of mass destruction; or (2) assists a foreign state or an international organization to manufacture or acquire such an agent, toxin, or delivery system. Authorizes the Attorney General to seize and destroy any such agent, toxin, or delivery system. Authorizes the United States to obtain an injunction against conduct prohibited by this Act. Sets forth defenses to any seizure or injunction under this Act.
![Official portrait of Sen. Glenn, John H., Jr. [D-OH]](https://www.congress.gov/img/member/g000236_200.jpg)