United States · United States Congress · 25 January 1989
Directs the American Battle Monuments Commission to construct a memorial on Federal land in the District of Columbia or its environs to honor World War II veterans and commemorate U.S. participation in that conflict. Requires the Commission to plan, design, and oversee such construction. Establishes the World War II Memorial Advisory Board to: (1) promote and encourage donation of private funds for the construction of such memorial; and (2) recommend the site and assist the Commission in selecting the design for such memorial. Authorizes the Commission to solicit private contributions for the construction of such memorial. Authorizes assistance from specified Federal departments and agencies. Authorizes Federal property to be transferred to the Commission and authorizes the Commission to purchase suitable property within the District of Columbia for the establishment of such memorial. Absolves the United States from any liability for any expense incurred in the construction of such memorial. Provides that the maintenance of such memorial and the surrounding grounds shall be the responsibility of the Secretary of the Interior. Provides that all requirements and authority established in this Act shall lapse unless: (1) the construction of the memorial is commenced within five years after enactment of this Act; and (2) funds are certified to be available, prior to such construction, to insure completion of the memorial.
United States · United States Congress · 25 January 1989
Employee Educational Assistance Act of 1989 - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to make permanent the income tax exclusion of amounts paid under employee educational assistance programs. (Under current law the exclusion expires as of tax year 1989.)
United States · United States Congress · 25 January 1989
Directs the Secretary of Agriculture to conduct a study of the classification of anhydrous ammonia as a poisonous gas for purposes of the Hazardous Materials Transportation Act. Prohibits the Secretary of Transportation from implementing the classification of anhydrous ammonia as a poisonous gas for purposes of such Act until the Secretary of Agriculture has submitted his report to the Congress.
United States · United States Congress · 25 January 1989
Entrepreneurship and Productivity Growth Act of 1989 - Title I: Capital Gains Rates - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to allow an exclusion from gross income of 50 percent of net capital gain from the sale or exchange of stock or tangible property (must be a capital asset used in the taxpayer's trade or business) that has been held for more than 12 months by a noncorporate taxpayer. Sets a maximum 14 percent tax rate with respect to such gain. Sets a 17 percent alternative tax rate with respect to corresponding capital gains of corporations. Title II: Indexing of Basis of Capital Assets - Requires indexing of the adjusted basis of capital assets, based on the gross national product deflator, in any year when the annual inflation rate exceeds four percent.
United States · United States Congress · 25 January 1989
Amends the Federal Unemployment Tax Act to exempt from State unemployment tax law coverage (providing for payments in lieu of unemployment fund contributions) any service performed in the employ of a tax-exempt private elementary or secondary school that is operated primarily for religious purposes.
United States · United States Congress · 25 January 1989
Amends title II (Old Age, Survivors and Disability Insurance) of the Social Security Act to revise the benefit levels of individuals becoming eligible for benefits in or after 1979 so that they are equal to the benefit levels of individuals who became eligible for benefits before 1979.
United States · United States Congress · 25 January 1989
Amends the Tax Reform Act of 1986 to delay until 1990 the effective date of the new nondiscrimination requirements (Internal Revenue Code section 89) for coverage and benefits under certain statutory employee benefit plans.
United States · United States Congress · 25 January 1989
Expresses certain congressional findings concerning drug interdiction assistance activities by members of the armed forces of the United States. Authorizes members who are assigned to duty on vessels of the Navy to which a member of the Coast Guard has been assigned, who have been provided with appropriate training in drug law enforcement functions of the Coast Guard, and who have been designated by an authorized member of the Coast Guard to perform drug law enforcement functions of the Coast Guard, to assist or perform, outside the United States, any of the drug law enforcement functions of the Coast Guard. Protects such members from any personal liability arising from any actions taken with regard to such drug law enforcement assistance. Directs the President to deploy additional radar surveillance AWACS and other aircraft for drug interdiction assistance, especially along the southwest and southern U.S. borders. Requires the Department of Defense (DOD) to make available to the Coast Guard and Customs Service certain aircraft for the pursuit of aircraft or vessels involved in illegal drug operations. Directs the President to request funding for such drug interdiction assistance activities for FY 1989 through 1991. Directs the Secretary of Defense to create for the Military Drug Interdiction Program a major force program category for the five-year defense plan of DOD. Directs the President to submit in the DOD budget for FY 1991 a request for funds for such Program in the form of the major force program category. Directs the Secretary to report to specified congressional committees on the use of deadly force by members of the armed forces while engaging in drug interdiction assistance activities. Requires the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff to direct the preparation of a plan to provide additional flight hours of specified aircraft for operations off the coast of Colombia in order to implement a certain defense-in-depth concept for air interdiction. Directs the Secretary to report to specified congressional committees on the specific details of the plan.
United States · United States Congress · 25 January 1989
Amends title II (Old Age, Survivors and Disability Insurance) of the Social Security Act to revise the benefit levels of individuals becoming eligible for benefits in or after 1979 so that they are equal to the benefit levels of individuals who became eligible for benefits before 1979.
United States · United States Congress · 25 January 1989
Amends title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act to cover, on a reasonable charge basis, clinical psychologist services which would otherwise be covered if furnished by a physician or as incident to a physician's service.
United States · United States Congress · 25 January 1989
Amends title II (Old Age, Survivors and Disability Insurance) of the Social Security Act to increase the amount of outside income which beneficiaries who have attained retirement age may earn without incurring a reduction in benefits. Removes such income limitation thereafter. Accelerates the effective dates of increases in the delayed retirement credit rate for individuals who work beyond retirement age.
United States · United States Congress · 25 January 1989
Prohibits all U.S. military and economic assistance for Turkey until the President certifies to the Congress that negotiations have achieved significant progress toward establishing a constitutional democracy in Cyprus and that the Turkish Government has: (1) withdrawn all Turkish military forces, in excess of those permitted by the 1960 Treaty of Guarantee, and all illegal Turkish colonists from Cyprus; (2) returned the area of Famagusta/Varosha to the Government of Cyprus; (3) returned the five Americans abducted by the Turkish invasion forces in 1974 and the 1,614 Greek Cypriots who have been missing since the Turkish invasion; (4) withdrawn its recognition of the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus; and (5) taken steps to reverse the illegal declaration of an independent state in northern Cyprus.
United States · United States Congress · 25 January 1989
Disapproves the recommendations of the President relating to pay rates of Members of Congress, Federal judges, and Federal officials. Provides that if the date of enactment of this resolution is on or after February 8, 1989, then the rate of pay for positions increased by the recommendations shall be the rate of pay in effect before such recommendations took effect. Amends the Federal Salary Act of 1967 and the Legislative Reorganization Act of 1946 to require a recorded vote on any increase in the rates of pay of Members of Congress.
United States · United States Congress · 25 January 1989
Constitutional Amendment - Declares that nothing in the Constitution shall be construed to prohibit individual or group prayer in public schools or other public institutions. States that no person shall be required by the United States or any State to participate in prayer. Provides that neither the United States nor any State shall compose prayers to be said in public schools.
United States · United States Congress · 25 January 1989
Constitutional Amendment - Requires the Congress prior to each fiscal year to adopt a statement in which total Federal outlays do not exceed total receipts, unless a three-fifths vote of both Houses authorizes a specific excess. Prohibits any increase in the public debt unless three-fifths of both Houses of the Congress enacts legislation permitting otherwise. Permits any revenue-increasing bill to become law only if approved by a majority of the whole number of both the Senate and the House of Representatives by rollcall vote. Directs the President to submit a balanced budget to the Congress. Authorizes an alternative budget in which total outlays exceed receipts, if accompanied by an explanation of the need for the excess. Waives these provisions automatically when a declaration of war is in effect. Authorizes their waiver during other military conflicts, but only by joint congressional resolution that becomes law.
United States · United States Congress · 25 January 1989
Disapproves the recommendations of the President relating to pay rates of Members of Congress, Federal judges, and Federal officials. Provides that if the date of enactment of this resolution is on or after February 8, 1989, then the rate of pay for positions increased by the recommendations shall be the rate of pay in effect before such recommendations took effect. Amends the Federal Salary Act of 1967 and the Legislative Reorganization Act of 1946 to require a recorded vote on any increase in the rates of pay of Members of Congress.
United States · United States Congress · 25 January 1989
Declares that the Senate recognizes the need to respond to the European Community's ban on U.S. beef (ban implemented on all meat treated with growth hormones). Urges any and all measures necessary, including requiring the Secretary of Defense to order all U.S. commissaries in the Community to buy and sell only U.S. meat if the Community implements any counter-retaliatory trade sanctions against the United States. Calls upon the Community to cease its actions and to commence negotiations with the United States to resolve this dispute.
United States · United States Congress · 25 January 1989
Declares that the Secretary of Transportation should refrain from adopting regulations to implement Essential Air Service reductions for 1989 and from taking action that would result in a reduction in Essential Air Service subsidies, until the Congress has had the opportunity to appropriate supplemental funding for the Essential Air Service Program for FY 1989.
United States · United States Congress · 22 October 1988
Expresses the sense of the Senate that insolvent institutions should be permitted to convert through a voluntary supervisory conversion without regard to the appreciation of the participating preferred stock of the Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corporation.
United States · United States Congress · 20 October 1988
Declares that the Congress urges the administration to refrain from submitting any proposal in the GATT negotiations that would consider maritime transportation activity as being within the scope of "trade in services" and to reject any proposals made by foreign nations which are similar or which would lead to a contraction of the merchant marine.
United States · United States Congress · 14 October 1988
Makes technical corrections in the enrollment of H.R. 4612 (Federal Employees Liability Reform and Tort Compensation Act of 1988), deleting a reference to a section of the Federal judicial code.
United States · United States Congress · 6 October 1988
Directs the Secretary of the Treasury to pay a certain sum to a named Alabama corporation to settle claims filed against the Small Business Administration.
United States · United States Congress · 3 October 1988
Commends the Honorable Robert C. Byrd, Majority Leader of the Senate, for his dedication to the ideals of representative democracy and for his outstanding service to the United States.
United States · United States Congress · 30 September 1988
Egg Research and Consumer Information Act Amendments of 1988 - Amends the Egg Research and Consumer Information Act to authorize the Secretary of Agriculture to limit fiscal year assessment collection and administrative costs incurred by the Egg Board. Eliminates egg producer assessment refunds subject to the following stipulations: (1) an 18-month delay of any refund referendum; (2) creation by the Egg Board of a ten percent assessment refund escrow account; and (3) assessment refund (prorated if necessary) to an eligible requesting producer upon (refund elimination) referendum disapproval.
United States · United States Congress · 27 September 1988
Sipsey Wild and Scenic River and Alabama Wilderness Addition Act of 1988 - Title I: Wild and Scenic River Designation - Amends the Wild and Scenic Rivers Act to designate specified segments of the Sipsey Fork River, Alabama, as components of the National Wild and Scenic Rivers System. Directs the Secretary of Agriculture to construct a dam to establish a lake for recreational use within the Bankhead National Forest. Directs the Secretary to: (1) construct a road from an appropriate public highway to such lake; (2) construct recreational facilities, including camp sites, picnic areas, and boat launching ramps surrounding the lake; and (3) monitor waters flowing into Lewis Smith Lake and to take appropriate actions to control any conditions causing injurious water quality. Title II: Wilderness Designation - Designates the following lands in Alabama as components of the National Wilderness Preservation System: (1) the Sipsey Wilderness in the William B. Bankhead National Forest; and (2) the Cheaha Wilderness in the Talladega National Forest. Authorizes the Secretary to take measures to control fire, insects, and diseases within the Sipsey Wilderness. Directs the Secretary to take such actions within designated wilderness areas to identify and correct harmful conditions causing injurious water quality. Requires the Secretary, at his discretion, to convert existing roads within the Sipsey Wilderness Addition into hiking or horse trails. Requires the Secretary to permit continued use of horse drawn vehicles on routes designated by the Secretary in the Addition. Provides that the RARE II (second roadless area review and evaluation) final environmental statement (dated January 1979) with respect to national forest system lands in Alabama shall not be subject to judicial review. Releases national forest system lands in Alabama which were reviewed in the RARE II program from further review by the Department of Agriculture, pending the revision of initial national forest management plans. Releases lands in Alabama reviewed in the RARE II program and not designated as wilderness from management as wilderness areas. Prohibits the Department of Agriculture from conducting any further statewide roadless area review and evaluation of national forest system lands in Alabama without express congressional authorization. States that the provisions above shall also apply to national forest system roadless lands in Alabama which are less than 5,000 acres in size.
United States · United States Congress · 26 September 1988
Federal Crop Insurance Commission Act of 1988 - States that the purpose of this Act is: (1) to ensure the review of the Federal crop insurance program; and (2) to recommend changes necessary to lessen or eliminate the need for additional disaster payment programs in order to reduce Federal costs and provide farmers with equitable and predictable natural disaster protection. Establishes the Commission for the Improvement of the Federal Crop Insurance Program. Sets forth membership and operating provisions. Directs the Commission to: (1) determine why crop insurance program participation is lower than anticipated; (2) identify States and commodities with low participation; and (3) recommend program improvements. Sets forth particular areas to be examined, including: (1) program insurance coverage; (2) use of crop field information; (3) related government subsidies; (4) sales commission rates; (5) claims adjustment services; (6) information collection; (7) compliance efforts; and (8) premium pools. Requires the Commission to submit: (1) an interim report to the appropriate congressional committees by April 1, 1989; (2) a final report to such committees by July 1, 1989; and (3) monthly reports to such committees from the period beginning July 1, 1989, through December 31, 1990. Terminates the Commission as of December 31, 1990, except that the Secretary of Agriculture may extend the Commission's life beyond such date. Directs the Federal Crop Insurance Corporation to make specified FY 1989 funds available to the Commission.
United States · United States Congress · 19 September 1988
Permits certain veterans with service-connected disabilities who are retired members of the uniformed services to receive compensation concurrently with retired pay, after a reduction of 80 percent in either the amount of compensation or the retired pay.
United States · United States Congress · 13 September 1988
Amends title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act to cover cancer screening examinations and detection tests which include: (1) a clinical pelvic screening examination; (2) a clinical digital rectal screening examination; (3) a stool occult blood test; (4) a papanicolau (pap) test; and (5) other examinations and tests which the Secretary of Health and Human Services authorizes and which are related to the detection of cancers to which the preceding examinations and tests relate. Prohibits coverage of each such test or examination more than once a year, except for a stool occult blood test which shall be covered biannually. Requires the Secretary to establish: (1) a relative value scale to serve as the basis for payment for such cancer detection procedures; and (2) standards to assure the safety, accuracy, and effectiveness of such procedures. Directs the Secretary to enter into an agreement with a national laboratory and agreements with regional laboratories having expertise in conducting pap tests to evaluate and report on the accuracy of a random sample of such tests from each provider. Requires the Secretary to establish standards of accuracy for such tests and deny payments to providers which do not satisfy such standards. Prohibits a regional laboratory from performing such review function with respect to a laboratory with which it has a financial relationship. Directs the Secretary to use State agencies to determine laboratory compliance with standards established pursuant to this Act.
United States · United States Congress · 9 September 1988
Designates September 13, 1989, as Uncle Sam Day in honor of Samuel Wilson of the city of Troy, New York, on the occasion of the 200th anniversary of the City. (Samuel Wilson was the progenitor of the national symbol, Uncle Sam.)
United States · United States Congress · 8 September 1988
Expresses regret over the death of President Zia of Pakistan. Reaffirms the Senate's bipartisan commitment to the security and independence of Pakistan. Welcomes the commitment of the Government of Pakistan under the leadership of President Ghulam Ishaq Khan to follow the constitutional process, to proceed with scheduled elections, and to continue Pakistan's support for the Afghan refugees and the Afghan Resistance.
United States · United States Congress · 11 August 1988
Directs the American Battle Monuments Commission to construct a memorial on Federal land in the District of Columbia or its environs to honor World War II veterans and commemorate U.S. participation in that conflict. Requires the Commission to plan, design, and oversee such construction. Establishes the World War II Memorial Advisory Board to: (1) promote and encourage donation of private funds for the construction of such memorial; and (2) recommend the site and assist the Commission in selecting the design for such memorial. Authorizes the Commission to solicit private contributions for the construction of such memorial. Authorizes assistance from specified Federal departments and agencies. Authorizes Federal property to be transferred to the Commission and authorizes the Commission to purchase suitable property within the District of Columbia for the establishment of such memorial. Absolves the United States from any liability for any expense incurred for the construction of such memorial. Provides that the maintenance of such memorial and the surrounding grounds shall be the responsibility of the Secretary of the Interior. Provides that all requirements and authority established in this Act shall lapse unless: (1) the construction of the memorial is commenced within five years after enactment of this Act; and (2) funds are certified to be available, prior to such construction, to insure completion of the memorial.
United States · United States Congress · 11 August 1988
Urges the Secretary of State to negotiate with the Government of Mexico for the purpose of: (1) authorizing the National Park Service to conduct a documentation of the wreck of the USS Somers and to develop a research plan for future archaeological work to preserve and study such wreck; (2) recovering any human remains and turning over such remains to the Armed Forces Pathological Institute for analysis and reburial in the United States with full military honors; and (3) recovering artifacts from the wreck and returning such artifacts to the U.S. Navy. Requires the Secretary of the Navy to exhibit significant artifacts recovered. Requires the Director of the National Park Service to report to the Congress on such documentation and plan within 12 months after completion.
United States · United States Congress · 11 August 1988
Declares that, on the return of Joseph Biden to the Senate after a six-month absence to recuperate from surgery, the Members of the Senate extend their warmest welcome and personal happiness as well as their best wishes for his continued good health.
United States · United States Congress · 11 August 1988
Expresses the sense of the Senate that Federal law governing the taxation of State and local government bonds should not be changed in order to increase Federal revenues.
United States · United States Congress · 10 August 1988
Designates January 28, 1989, as National Challenger Center Day. (The Challenger Center is an institution offering children and teachers activities and information derived from American space research.)
United States · United States Congress · 9 August 1988
National Board for Professional Teaching Standards Act of 1988 - Directs the Secretary of Education to provide financial assistance to the National Board for Professional Teaching Standards (a private non-profit organization) for research and development relating to teacher assessment and certification procedures. Authorizes appropriations for FY 1989 through 1991 for such purpose. Sets forth terms and conditions for such assistance. Requires the Board to: (1) establish a Research and Development Advisory Committee; and (2) consult with the Secretary and other specified entities in appointing the ten Committee members (with the Secretary selecting two of those). Requires funds under this Act to be used only for research and development of teacher assessment and certification procedures for elementary and secondary school teachers. Requires that priority be given to activities relating to teaching: (1) the subject areas of mathematics, the sciences, foreign languages, and literacy (including reading, writing, and analytical ability); and (2) special educational populations, including limited English proficient children, gifted and talented children, handicapped children, and economically and educationally disadvantaged children. Sets forth application requirements. Sets the Federal share of the cost of such Board activities at 50 percent. Requires the Board to report annually to the appropriate committees of Congress. Requires the Department of Education, the National Science Foundation, and the National Research Council to review and comment on the Board's report and to report to such committees on the Board's compliance with this Act. Sets forth auditing provisions. Sets forth limitations on the ways this Act may be construed.
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