United States · United States Congress · 15 March 1988
Expresses the sense of the Senate that FY 1989 funding for Federal-aid highway and mass transit programs should be at levels established by the Surface Transportation and Uniform Relocation Assistance Act of 1987.
United States · United States Congress · 14 March 1988
Declares that the President should: (1) posthumously award the Presidential Medal of Freedom to Charles E. Thornton, Lee Shapiro, and Jim Lindelof in honor of their efforts to document the Afghan struggle for freedom; and (2) present the award to those individuals' families on March 21, 1988, the start of the new year in Afghanistan.
United States · United States Congress · 4 March 1988
Amends the Internal Revenue Code to include supplemental student loan programs (not federally guaranteed) within the 18-month extended arbitrage period applied to qualified student loan bond proceeds. Makes permanent this extended arbitrage period (currently applicable only to bonds issued before 1989). Makes permanent the provision exempting qualified student loan bonds from arbitrage rebate payment requirements. (The exception currently applies only to bonds issued before 1989.) Brings supplemental student loan programs within this aribtrage rebate exception. Allows corporations authorized to issue qualified scholarship funding bonds to make or acquire loans under supplemental student loan programs. (Such corporations may currently acquire only federally-guaranteed student loan notes.)
United States · United States Congress · 3 March 1988
Designates the week of June 26 through July 2, 1988, as National Safety Belt Use Week. Authorizes and requests the President to: (1) urge the people to wear safety belts and use child safety seats; and (2) encourage State and local governments and concerned organizations and officials to promote greater use of these safety devices.
United States · United States Congress · 3 March 1988
Expresses the sense of the Senate that the Sergeant at Arms, in exercising authority to compel the attendance of absent Senators pursuant to rule VI of the Standing Rules of the Senate, should comply with certain conditions in the execution of arrest warrants.
United States · United States Congress · 2 March 1988
Age Discrimination Claims Assistance Act of 1988 - Extends the statute of limitations applicable to bringing civil actions in the Federal courts on certain claims under the Age Discrimination in Employment Act of 1967 that were filed with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission before the date of enactment of this Act. Directs the Commission to send out notices regarding claims for which the statute of limitations has been extended. Directs the Commission to report to specified congressional committees on such claims, notices, alleged unlawful practices eliminated or attempted to be eliminated, and civil actions filed.
United States · United States Congress · 2 March 1988
Amends the Internal Revenue Code to make permanent the income tax exclusion of amounts received under qualified group legal services plans. (Under current law the exclusion expired as of January 1, 1988.)
United States · United States Congress · 1 March 1988
Community Revitalization Tax Act of 1988 - Amends Internal Revenue Code income tax accounting rules limiting passive activity losses and credits to eliminate the disallowance of credits in this context. Revises the limitation on the general business credit to allow a maximum annual credit equal to the first $20,000 of an individual taxpayer's income tax liability plus 20 percent of any excess liability. Amends provisions that reduce the investment credit base by nonqualified nonrecourse financing amounts to apply them to certain qualified rehabilitation property as if the property were subject to the at-risk rules associated with the low-income housing credit. Permits a tax-exempt organization to offset the amount of any general business credit against its unrelated business income tax liability. Revises the definition of "qualifying distribution" for purposes of the tax on a private foundation's failure to distribute income. Includes as qualifying any amount of interest foregone on a below-market loan made to a tax-exempt organization to operate a qualified low-income building. Includes as a qualified rehabilitation expenditure for tax credit purposes any expenditure in connection with the rehabilitation of a low-income building leased to a tax-exempt entity. Permits a pooled income fund having substantially all of its assets invested exclusively in qualified low-income buildings to have one or more corporations as income beneficiaries, each with a 20-year life.
United States · United States Congress · 1 March 1988
Expresses the sense of the Senate that the Construction Grants Program under the Clean Water Act should be fully funded and implemented as authorized and intended by the Water Quality Act of 1987.
United States · United States Congress · 1 March 1988
Expresses the sense of the Senate that: (1) the proposed loan by the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development for Mexico's steel industry is not in the best interests of the United States or in the best interests of Mexico's economic revitalization; and (2) the United States should use its best efforts to prevent approval of such loan.
United States · United States Congress · 26 February 1988
Requires the Secretary of Commerce to ensure that no member of the armed forces, civilian employee of the Department of Defense, or dependent of such member or employee is excluded from any decennial census based on such member or employee being assigned to a post outside the United States.
United States · United States Congress · 26 February 1988
Expresses the opposition of the Senate to the continued control of the cathedral in Vilnius, Lithuania, by the Soviet Union. Calls upon the President, the Secretary of State, and Members of Congress visiting the Soviet Union to raise the issue of the cathedral's return to the Roman Catholic Church in meetings with Soviet officials. Urges U.S. representatives to speak out forcefully for such a return at international human rights forums. Voices the House of Representatives' support to the Lithuanian people in their efforts to secure basic religious freedoms and the return of the cathedral. Urges the Soviet Government to allow Roman Catholics to worship at the cathedral and to return it to Roman Catholic Church control before the end of 1988.
United States · United States Congress · 24 February 1988
Amends the Tariff Schedules of the United States to suspend through December 31, 1990, the duty on N N'-Bis (2,3-dihydroxypropyl)-5-N-(2,3-dihydroxypropyl)-acetami
United States · United States Congress · 24 February 1988
Expresses the sense of the Senate that: (1) funding for Amtrak should be continued at a level that will enable it to continue to operate a national railway system and to continue to improve its financial performances and service levels; and (2) the Secretary of Transportation and the Administrator of the Federal Railroad Administration should work with Amtrak management to lower Amtrak's dependence on public funding and to assign the highest priority possible to safety.
United States · United States Congress · 23 February 1988
States that the payment of certain annuities under the Railroad Retirement Act of 1974 and the appropriation of funds to the Dual Benefits Payments Account shall: (1) be considered a mandatory Federal obligation (rather than a discretionary activity); (2) not be subject to sequestration or reduction under the Balanced Budget and Emergency Deficit Control Act of 1985 (Gramm-Rudman-Hollings Act); and (3) have the same status for Federal budgetary and accounting purposes as benefits paid under title II (Old Age, Survivors and Disability Insurance) of the Social Security Act (thus ensuring that certain railroad retirement benefits paid out of the Dual Benefits Payments Account are not reduced). Appropriates funds to the Dual Benefits Payments Account for FY 1988.
United States · United States Congress · 18 February 1988
Authorizes the printing as a Senate document of "Developments in Aging: 1987," a three-volume report prepared by the Special Committee on Aging. Specifies the number of copies to be printed for each volume.
United States · United States Congress · 4 February 1988
Child Protection and Obscenity Enforcement Act of 1988 - Title I: Child Pornography - Amends the Federal criminal code to make it illegal to use a computer to transport information in interstate or foreign commerce concerning the visual depiction of minors engaging in sexually explicit conduct (child pornography). Establishes criminal penalties for buying, selling, or transferring the custody of a minor: (1) knowing that, as a consequence of the sale or transfer, the minor will be used in child pornography; or (2) with the intent to promote child pornography. States that such sale or transfer must involve: (1) the minor or other actor traveling in interstate or foreign commerce; (2) communications in interstate or foreign commerce; or (3) conduct in a territory or possession of the United States. Requires any person who produces a book, magazine, periodical, film, videotape, or other matter which contains any visual depiction of sexually explicit conduct (which is shipped or intended for shipment in interstate or foreign commerce, or contains material shipped in interstate or foreign commerce) to maintain certain records regarding the performers portrayed in such conduct. Directs the Attorney General to issue regulations regarding the maintenance and availability of such records. Includes the sexual exploitation of children as a predicate offense to the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations (RICO) statute. Title II: Obscenity - Makes it a Federal criminal offense to receive or possess, with the intent to distribute, obscene matter which has been transported in interstate or foreign commerce. Makes it a Federal criminal offense to knowingly use a facility or means of commerce to sell or distribute obscene matter in interstate or foreign commerce. Establishes a rebuttable presumption, with respect to Federal criminal offenses involving obscene matter, that obscene matter produced in one State (or outside the United States) which is subsequently located in another State (or in the United States) was transported, shipped, or carried in interstate (or foreign) commerce. Establishes criminal and civil forfeiture procedures with respect to Federal offenses involving obscene material and child pornography. Includes communications by means of cable or subscription television within the prohibition against broadcasting obscene language. Amends the Communications Act of 1934 to modify the penalty provisions of such Act with respect to obscene telephone communications. Amends the Federal criminal code to establish criminal penalties for the possession or sale of obscene matter on Federal property. Adds obscenity offenses to the list of crimes for which the Government may obtain wiretaps.
United States · United States Congress · 4 February 1988
Authorizes the Vietnam Women's Memorial Project, Inc., to construct a statue of a woman Vietnam veteran within the Vietnam Veterans Memorial site in Washington, D.C., to honor and recognize the women of the U.S. armed forces who served in the Vietnam conflict. Subjects the location and design of the statue to approval by the Secretary of the Interior, the Commission of Fine Arts, and the National Capital Planning Commission. Expresses the sense of the Congress that: (1) the addition of the statue is well within the intent of the law authorizing the establishment of the Memorial; and (2) after the addition of such statue, such Memorial will be complete and no further additions to the site should be authorized or undertaken.
United States · United States Congress · 4 February 1988
Amends Federal speed limit law to require that States with speed limits exceeding 55 miles an hour must meet the compliance requirement (that at least 50 percent of the motorists on such highways are complying with the posted speed limit) in order to retain their apportionment of Federal-aid highway funds.
United States · United States Congress · 2 February 1988
Expresses disapproval of the refusal of the U.S.S.R. to recognize the sovereignty of the Baltic Republics. Designates June 14, 1988, as Baltic Freedom Day. Authorizes and requests the President to submit the issue of the Baltic Republics to the United Nations.
United States · United States Congress · 1 February 1988
Amends the Solid Waste Disposal Act to regulate above ground petroleum storage tanks. Requires tank owners to notify State or local authorities of the existence of such tank, specifying the age, size, type, location, assembly history, and uses of the tank. Requires each State to inventory above ground petroleum storage tanks in such State, aggregate the data derived from tank owners, and submit such data to the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency within two years of this Act's enactment. Directs the Administrator to promulgate petroleum spill prevention, correction, and financial responsibility regulations applicable to tanks which are 30 or more years old, have been reassembled in whole or in part, or have been relocated from their original site. Includes within such regulations requirements for: (1) the granting of operating permits pursuant to periodic tank inspections; (2) immediate reporting of a release and corrective action taken in response to a release; and (3) maintaining evidence of financial responsibility. Requires the Administrator, in promulgating financial responsibility regulations, to conduct a study to determine the appropriate amounts of coverage for the costs and damages of a spill. Permits the assertion of claims against guarantors providing evidence of financial responsibility for claims against insolvent tank owners or operators. Allow the Administrator to waive financial responsibility requirements upon the owner's or operator's demonstration of a secondary containment adequate to hold any release. Permits corrective actions by the Administrator or States to protect human health or the environment, but makes tank owners or operators liable for costs. Authorizes a State to submit for the Administrator's review and approval a program under which such State would assume primary responsibility for the enforcement of regulations pertaining to above-ground storage tanks. Requires that the State program be at least as stringent as the Federal program. Sets forth authorized actions when a facility owner or operator has not complied with or cannot meet financial responsibility requirements. Requires owners or operators of tanks to furnish the relevant government employees with all necessary information, including submitting their facilities to inspection and monitoring. Provides for confidentiality of such information and criminal penalties for prohibited disclosure. Authorizes the use of compliance orders to enforce this Act, providing daily civil penalties for noncompliance. Includes tanks under Federal jurisdiction under this Act, permitting exemptions of up to one year upon the President's specific request. Requires that all exemptions be reported annually to the Congress Directs the Administrator to study above ground petroleum storage tanks and above ground tanks used for the storage of regulated substances and report to the Congress and the President on the results of such studies within one year of this Act's enactment. Requires the Administrator to conduct a study and report to the Congress on the cause and environmental effects of the petroleum spill into the Monongahela River on January 2, 1988. Authorizes appropriations for FY 1988 through 1992.
United States · United States Congress · 28 January 1988
Directs the Secretary of Commerce to adjust census figures as necessary so that illegal aliens shall not be counted for purposes of the apportionment of Representatives in the Congress.
United States · United States Congress · 26 January 1988
Authorizes the Secretary of Health and Human Services to establish a National Voluntary Reunion Registry system to facilitate, on a voluntary mutual request basis, the reunion of biological parents and adoptees, biological siblings, or other biological relatives of adoptees through a centralized computer network. Authorizes the Secretary to establish such system by contract with public or private nonprofit agencies or organizations. Directs the Secretary to report annually to the Congress on activities under this Act. Sets forth provisions for participation in the Registry and initiation of the matching process. Directs the Secretary to establish procedures to protect the confidentiality and privacy rights and interests of all participants. Provides for the collection of reasonable fees for Registry services. Allows the Registry to include similar State systems under specified conditions. Allows the Registry to include referral to existing programs that provide counseling services. Authorizes appropriations to carry out this Act for FY 1988 through 1990.
United States · United States Congress · 26 January 1988
Commends the President, Secretary of State, and Administrator of the Agency for International Development for their response to the drought and food emergency in Ethiopia and other nations of sub-Saharan Africa, and urges them to continue efforts to preclude the onset of famine and to ensure the timely delivery of medical and other emergency relief supplies. Declares that: (1) the Government response to these food emergencies should include initiatives to prevent the dislocation of large numbers of persons across national borders and/or into relief camps; and (2) the plight of the refugees or displaced should be addressed by emphasizing the provision of basic human needs, such as food, water, and shelter.
United States · United States Congress · 22 December 1987
Thanks the Honorable John C. Stennis, President pro tempore, for the manner in which he presided over the Senate during the first session of the 100th Congress.
United States · United States Congress · 21 December 1987
Directs the President to coordinate groundwater related activities conducted by Federal agencies, including the dissemination of information. Directs the President to establish an Interagency Committee on Groundwater Protection to coordinate research, and development, demonstration, technology transfer, training, and information dissemination activities related to groundwater activities conducted by Federal agencies, including establishing priorities. Requires the Committee to report annually to the Congress. Directs the President to establish the Advisory Committee on Groundwater Protection to ensure that the programs carried out by the member agencies of the Interagency Committee on Groundwater Protection meet the needs of State and local governments. Authorizes appropriations for FY 1988 through FY 1992.
United States · United States Congress · 19 December 1987
Dwight David Eisenhower Commemorative Coin Act of 1987 - Directs the Secretary of the Treasury to mint and issue not more than a specified number of one dollar silver coins in commemoration of the 100th anniversary of the birth of Dwight David Eisenhower. Sets forth certain features of such coins and provides for their design, issuance, and sale. Terminates the minting of the coins after December 31, 1990. Requires the Secretary to deposit in the Treasury all surcharges received from the sale of the coins, to be used to reduce the national debt.
United States · United States Congress · 18 December 1987
Unemployment Training and Improvement Act of 1987 - Title I: Demonstration Projects - Directs the Secretary of Labor (the Secretary) to promote training programs for individuals receiving unemployment compensation by: (1) developing model criteria for States; (2) providing technical assistance to States; and (3) making available information concerning State laws and regulations. Requires State Governors to designate State agencies to determine approval of training programs for participation by unemployment insurance recipients and approval of individuals' participation in such programs. Directs the Secretary to collect data annually on the implementation of such programs and to report to the Congress within one year. Amends the Social Security Act to provide for interest credits to a State's account in the Unemployment Trust Fund in the amount paid by the State as unemployment compensation to individuals in training. Requires States to report quarterly to the Secretary on training programs for unemployment insurance recipients. Directs the Secretary to report annually to the Congress on such programs and on State regulations and procedures to comply with specified Internal Revenue Code provisions relating to unemployment compensation. Provides that activities under this title shall not be taken into consideration in determining whether there has been a net decrease in the solvency of any State unemployment compensation system. Title II: Self-Employment - Self-Employment Opportunity Act of 1987 - Provides for a demonstration program in which at least five States would be permitted to provide unemployment compensation to individuals for the purpose of funding self-employment. Sets forth factors that the Secretary must consider in selecting States for such program. Requires program agreements to provide that: (1) each eligible individual, for a four-year benefit period, shall be entitled to receive adjustment assistance in the form of self-employment allowances; and (2) such individual shall not be eligible to receive extended or other additional compensation with respect to such benefit year or regular compensation if the State makes payment in lieu of regular compensation. Makes eligible with respect to any benefit year, for purposes of this Act, any individual who: (1) is eligible to receive regular compensation under the State law during such benefit year; (2) submits an application to the State agency for a self-employment allowance under this Act (such application must contain a business plan for the self-employment); and (3) meets applicable State requirements. Limits the number of individuals who may be considered as eligible individuals during a given year. Provides that the aggregate amount of a self-employment allowance for any individual for any benefit year shall not exceed the maximum amount of regular and extended compensation which would be payable to such individual for such benefit year. Permits eligible individuals to file applications for self-help allowances with State agencies responsible for administering agreements under this Act. Requires a State to pay a self-help allowance on a weekly basis, or, if the business plan calls for it, in a lump sum to pay costs associated with beginning self-employment. Prohibits a State from offering self-employment allowances unless it is implementing a program that is approved by the Secretary and designed to select and assist individuals for self-employment, monitor such employment, and provide for a complete evaluation of the use of such allowances. Provides that State and Federal requirements relating to availability for work, active search for work, or refusal to accept suitable work shall not apply to an individual receiving a self-employment allowance under this Act as long as such individual is self-employed. Provides for payments to States of amounts equal to the Federal share of each payment (other than administrative expenses) made by the State agency on account of self-employment allowances provided under this Act. Permits States to make payments (exclusive of administrative expenses) from State unemployment funds for adjustment assistance provided under this Act. Treats this title as unemployment compensation law for purposes of specified grants for administrative expenses. Directs the Secretary to submit to the Congress an interim and a final report on such program. Sets forth provisions relating to fraud and overpayments. Excludes activities taken by a State pursuant to an agreement under this title from being taken into consideration in determining whether there has been a net decrease in the solvency of the State unemployment compensation program. Title III: Assessment - Authorizes appropriations from the Federal Unemployment Account for allotment to the States, in addition to funds annually allotted for the operation of State employment service agencies, for: (1) assessment, testing, and counseling services to identify the skills and aptitudes of unemployed persons unlikely to return to their former occupations, and to determine alternative occupations or training opportunities for which they may qualify; and (2) instruction in job search techniques. Identifies the procedures according to which such funds shall be allotted. Directs the States, in providing services under this title, to give priority to those most in need of assistance, including: (1) dislocated workers; (2) other long-term unemployed who are receiving or have exhausted unemployment insurance benefits; and (3) economically disadvantaged adults and youth. Provides that workers who have a reasonable chance of returning to their former employment within eight weeks shall not be required to participate in a training program under this title.
United States · United States Congress · 17 December 1987
Deplores the Soviet Government's active persecution of religious believers in the Ukraine and its forcible liquidation of the Ukrainian Orthodox and Ukrainian Catholic Churches. Discourages official participation by the U.S. Government in ceremonies of the Millennium of Christianity in Kievan Rus' so long as: (1) individuals are harassed and imprisoned for their religious beliefs and denied access to religious literature and instruction; and (2) the Ukrainian Catholic and Orthodox Churches remain outlawed. Sends greetings to the Ukrainian people on the Millennium. Urges the President, the Secretary of State, the U.S. delegation to the United Nations, and the U.S. delegation to the Vienna Review Meeting of the Conference on Security and Cooperation in Europe to continue to speak out forcefully against violations of religious liberty throughout the Soviet Union and, specifically, in the Ukraine. Calls upon the Soviet Government to release all those imprisoned for their religious beliefs and legalize the Ukrainian Orthodox and Ukrainian Catholic Churches.
United States · United States Congress · 9 December 1987
Amends title II (Old Age, Survivors and Disability Insurance) of the Social Security Act to extend for one year the operation of provisions continuing disability insurance benefit payments during administrative appeal of terminations of such benefits. (Currently, such payments are not to be made for months succeeding May 1988.)
United States · United States Congress · 4 December 1987
Declares that, in celebration of Law Day U.S.A., special emphasis should be given by grateful people to all law enforcement personnel for their service in preserving domestic tranquility and guaranteeing rights under law.
![Official portrait of Sen. Heinz, John [R-PA]](https://www.congress.gov/img/member/h000456_200.jpg)