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United States · Official source
5,991 records where Sen. Jeffords, James M. [I-VT] is listed as a sponsor, author, or other actor. Search with topics and years
United States · United States Congress · 25 January 1989
Department of Environmental Protection Act - Redesignates the Environmental Protection Agency as the Department of Environmental Protection, an executive department to be administered by a Secretary of Environmental Protection appointed by the President.
United States · United States Congress · 25 January 1989
AFDC Quality Control Improvement Act of 1989 - Amends part A (Aid to Families with Dependent Children) of title IV of the Social Security Act to require, in order to establish and maintain improved AFDC quality control standards and procedures: (1) each State to collect and submit to the Secretary of Health and Human Services a statistically reliable sample of AFDC cases; (2) the Secretary to review the sample and notify the State of its error rates for overpayments and underpayments; and (3) the State to develop and submit to the Secretary a quality improvement plan for eliminating or reducing errors. Excuses a State from submitting a quality improvement plan if it has consistently had error rates below its error rate tolerance levels. Directs the Secretary to establish procedures for quality control review of AFDC cases and criteria for State quality improvement plans. Reduces Federal AFDC payments to a State to the extent the State's overpayments exceed its overpayment error rate tolerance level. Sets State overpayment tolerance levels pursuant to a formula which takes into account variations among States in population density and caseload volume and composition. Disregards State errors resulting from recent changes in Federal AFDC eligibility criteria or administrative policies. Permits a State to base a request for the waiver of this Act's sanctions upon a showing that it has made a good faith effort to reduce or eliminate overpayments or underpayments, or that the Secretary incorrectly calculated its overpayment or underpayment error rate. Directs the Secretary to grant such a waiver to a State which expends additional State or local funds, equal to or exceeding one-half of the sanctions which would otherwise be applied against such State, to reduce overpayments or underpayments. Defines "overpayments" as (1) payments to ineligible families; and (2) overpayments to eligible families. Defines "underpayments" as underpayments to eligible families. Makes the preceding quality control standards and procedures effective with respect to FY 1987 and thereafter. Eliminates the backlog of overpayment sanctions applicable to FY 1981 through 1986 by imposing such sanctions only against those States, in each such fiscal year, whose error rates are significantly outside the distribution of such rates among States. Directs the Secretary to report to specified congressional committees, three years after this Act's enactment, regarding the appropriateness of the error rate tolerance levels established pursuant to this Act. Sets State underpayment error rate tolerance levels, applicable beginning in FY 1989, considering the same factors used in determining overpayment tolerance levels. Requires that States set aside an amount equal to the amount by which its underpayments exceed its underpayment tolerance level and use such amount to increase AFDC payments or improve the administration of the AFDC program. Provides an incentive payment to States whose overpayment error rate is below three percent. Sets incentive payments at one-half of the reduction in Federal payments attributable to error rates being below three percent. Includes terminations and denials of AFDC eligibility in this Act's data collection and quality control review requirements. Directs the Secretary to develop and report to the Congress, within two years of this Act's enactment, on an improved methodology for measuring a State's performance with respect to inappropriate denials and terminations of AFDC eligibility. Includes, beginning on the first calendar quarter beginning one year or more after this Act's enactment, erroneous denials or terminations of AFDC eligibility within the definition of "underpayments" to which error rate tolerance levels apply.
United States · United States Congress · 25 January 1989
Emergency Medical Services and Trauma Care Improvement Act of 1989 - Amends the Public Health Service Act to create a new title on trauma care. Directs the Secretary of Health and Human Services to provide for the establishment and operation of a National Clearinghouse on Emergency Medical Services and Trauma Care. Authorizes appropriations for FY 1990 through 1992 or for the first three fiscal years for which funds are appropriated. Authorizes the Secretary to make grants and enter into cooperative agreements and contracts with respect to emergency medical services and trauma care systems to: (1) conduct and support research, training, evaluations, and demonstration projects; (2) provide technical assistance to State and local agencies; and (3) establish guidelines for the development of uniform State data reporting systems. Directs the Secretary to make an allotment for each State for each fiscal year, mandating that at least 35 percent, subject to adjustment, be used for planning, implementing, monitoring, and evaluating the operation of county, regional, or State trauma care systems. Sets forth requirements for such systems. Requires States to use at least 35 percent of the amount available to them for a fiscal year to reimburse designated trauma centers for uncompensated trauma care expenditures. Requires non-Federal matching contributions (in cash or in kind) in a specified ratio for fiscal years after FY 1990. Requires each State, for each fiscal year beginning with FY 1990, to submit the trauma care component of the State emergency medical services plan (State plan) to the Secretary. Sets forth requirements for the State plan. Requires that hospital emergency departments, within their capability, if an individual appears and requests examination and treatment: (1) examine for the existence of an emergency medical condition or active labor and, if such a condition or labor exists, treat the individual until stable, subject to exception; and (2) transfer such individual to other facilities only according to stated criteria. Requires States to adopt guidelines for the designation of trauma centers, and for triage, transfer, and transportation policies, at least as stringent as the applicable guidelines developed by the American College of Surgeons and by the American College of Emergency Physicians. Mandates that States: (1) require each trauma center to provide certain information to the State central data reporting system annually; (2) submit, to the Secretary at least annually, the information it receives from its data reporting and analysis system; and (3) identify and submit to the Secretary a list of rural areas lacking certain emergency medical services. Sets forth restrictions on the use of State allotments. Requires an annual report from each State to the Secretary. Sets forth a formula for determination of the amount of allotments. Provides for: (1) repayment and offset for failure to use funds as agreed; (2) criminal penalties for certain false statements; (3) technical assistance and provision of supplies and services by the Secretary in lieu of grant funds; and (4) a report by the Secretary to the Congress. Authorizes appropriations for FY 1990 through 1992. Directs the Secretary of Health and Human Services to conduct studies: (1) to determine the adequacy and appropriateness of the reimbursements provided to trauma centers under title XIX (Medicaid) of the Social Security Act; and (2) of the long-term economic effects of trauma. Amends the Public Health Service Act to revise the application procedure for Preventive Health and Health Services Block Grants to provide the State officer responsible for the administration of the State highway safety program an opportunity to participate in the development of any plan relating to emergency medical services as such plan relates to highway safety. Allows the State official responsible for the provision of emergency medical services the opportunity to participate in the development of the State highway safety program as such program relates to emergency medical services. Amends the Public Health Service Act and the Consolidated Farm and Rural Development Act to allow certain grant allotments to be used for the purchase of communications equipment. Requires the Federal Communications Commission to: (1) study the availability of radio frequency channels for emergency medical services communications; (2) establish a plan to ensure that the needs of emergency medical services communications are provided for in the allocations of frequencies for public safety; and (3) submit a report to committees of the Congress containing such study and plan.
United States · United States Congress · 25 January 1989
Family Planning Amendments of 1989 - Amends the Public Health Service Act to remove, from provisions relating to project grants and contracts for family planning services, provisions allowing the Secretary of Health and Human Services (Secretary), at the request of a grant recipient, to reduce the amount of the grant by the value of supplies or equipment furnished by the Secretary. Authorizes appropriations for such grants and contracts for FY 1990 through 1992. Repeals existing formula grant provisions. Authorizes appropriations for FY 1990 through 1992 for technical assistance and personnel training, including clinical training for obstetric-gynecologic nurse practitioners and training for educators and counselors. States that research grants and contracts may be made for evaluation as well as for development of contraceptives, and to improve clinical management and direct delivery of family planning services. Authorizes the Secretary to conduct, make grants, and enter into contracts for applied research into the development, evaluation, and bringing to the marketplace of contraceptive devices, drugs, and methods. Authorizes appropriations for FY 1990 through 1992. Authorizes the Secretary to make grants or enter into contracts for community-based information and education programs regarding sexuality, pregnancy, parenthood, and sexually transmitted diseases. Directs the Secretary to make grants and enter into contracts for the development, evaluation, and dissemination of educational and informational materials consistent with the objectives of such programs. Authorizes appropriations for FY 1990 through 1992. Directs the Secretary to collect data annually on: (1) the number of low-income and marginal-income individuals and adolescents at risk of unintended pregnancies; (2) the sources of funding available for family planning services in the United States; (3) the numbers and age, gender, race, and family income of persons who receive family planning services; and (4) the types of services chosen by individuals receiving services.
United States · United States Congress · 25 January 1989
Hatch Act Reform Amendments of 1989 - Declares that a Federal employee may take an active part in political management or in political campaigns, except that an employee may not: (1) use official authority or influence for the purpose of interfering with or affecting the result of an election; (2) knowingly solicit, accept, or receive a political contribution from any person, unless such person is a member of the same Federal employee organization and the solicitation is for a contribution to the multicandidate political committee of such organization; or (3) run for the nomination or as a candidate for election to a partisan political office. Prohibits an employee from engaging in political activity: (1) while on duty; (2) in any room or building occupied in the discharge of official duties by a Federal employee or official; (3) while wearing a uniform or official insignia identifying the office or position of the employee; or (4) while using any vehicle owned or leased by the Government. Exempts certain high level political appointees from such prohibitions if the costs associated with the political activity are not paid for by money derived from the Treasury. Includes U.S. Postal Service, Postal Rate Commission, and District of Columbia employees within the coverage of this Act.
United States · United States Congress · 25 January 1989
Act for Better Child Care Services of 1989 - Makes eligible for services under this Act children: (1) who are less than 16 years of age; (2) whose family income does not exceed the State median income for a family of the same size; and (3) who either reside with a parent or parents who are working, seeking employment, or enrolled in a job training or educational program, or reside with a parent or parents not thus described and receive or need to receive protective services. Authorizes appropriations for FY 1990 through 1994. Directs the Secretary of Health and Human Services (the Secretary) to make grants to applicant Indian tribes or tribal organizations for programs and activities under this Act for the benefit of Indian children. Requires the designation of a lead agency in each State which participates in the program under this Act. Requires States to submit, in order to qualify for assistance under this Act, an application and five-year plan to the Secretary. Requires the plan to specify that at least 75 percent of the State allotment will be used to provide qualified child care services to eligible children, on a sliding fee scale basis (according to specified funding methods) with priority given to services to children of families with very low incomes for their size. Requires that child care services provided out of a State allotment be provided by: (1) contracts directly with or direct grants to eligible child care providers; (2) grants to local governments to contract with such providers to provide such services directly; or (3) child care certificates distributed to parents of eligible children to enable them to purchase such services from such providers. Requires that a specified portion of State allotment funds be used to enable providers to extend the hours of operation of part-day programs to provide full-working-day child care services throughout the year. Prohibits financial assistance under this Act from being expended for the construction of a new facility, and sets forth limitations on such assistance for renovation or repair of existing facilities. Authorizes the Secretary to make planning grants, in the first year of their program participation, to States which desire to participate under this Act but cannot fully satisfy the requirements of a State plan without financial assistance. Provides for a review of the operation of a State plan during the five-year period to determine the State's continued eligibility for funds. Directs the Governors of each participating State to establish, and appoint members of, a State advisory committee on child care to assist the lead agency, review and evaluate services, make recommendations on standards and practices, and perform other functions to improve the quantity and quality of child care services. Requires the committee to have a subcommittee on licensing to review the laws applicable to, and the licensing requirements and policies of, each licensing agency regulating child care services and programs in the State (unless the State has done such a review during the four years before the establishment of the committee). Requires the subcommittee to report to the Governor on specified matters, and the Governor to report to the Secretary with comments and a plan for correcting or improving licensing, regulating, and monitoring of child care services and programs. Requires States receiving funds under this Act to designate private nonprofit community-based organizations or public organizations, including local governments, as resource and referral agencies for particular areas, and to provide assistance to such agencies. Requires each participating State to require that all employed or self-employed persons providing licensed or regulated child care complete at least 15 hours per year of specified training. Directs the State to make grants, and enter into contracts with, specified entities to provide such training to eligible providers, including family child care providers. Requires participating States to provide scholarship assistance to: (1) individuals who seek a nationally recognized child development associate credential for center-based or family child care and whose income is not more than 50 percent above the poverty line; and (2) caregivers who seek to obtain the 15-hour minimum annual training and whose income is not above the poverty line. Requires States to establish in the lead agency a clearinghouse to collect and disseminate training materials to resource and referral agencies and child care providers. Provides for child care public-private partnership. Requires participating States to carry out activities designed to encourage businesses to support or provide child care services to a reasonable mix of children of employees and nonemployees, including those from different socioeconomic backgrounds. Establishes the President's Award for Responsive Management Policy to honor public and private sector employers who have: (1) successfully implemented personnel programs and policies responsive to child care needs of working parents; or (2) made significant contributions to child care projects. Directs the Secretary of Labor to promulgate regulations for annual awards by the President. Establishes in the Department of Health and Human Services the position of Administrator of Child Care who shall: (1) coordinate all activities of the Department and of other Federal agencies relating to child care; (2) annually collect and publish State child care standards, including periodic modifications; (3) evaluate activities funded under this Act; (4) act as a clearinghouse for specified matters, including studies on salaries of child care workers; and (5) provide technical assistance to States to carry out this Act. Establishes enforcement provisions for review of State plans and monitoring of State compliance. Sets the Federal share for funding activities under a State plan at 80 percent, but raises it to 85 percent when the State demonstrates that all child care providers are appropriately licensed and regulated and that those receiving assistance meet certain requirements and minimum standards. Requires the Secretary to establish a National Advisory Committee on Minimum Child Care Standards to: (1) review Federal policies on child care services and such other data as appropriate; (2) submit to the Secretary proposed minimum standards for child care programs; and (3) develop and make available to lead agencies model regulations for resource and referral agencies. Terminates the Committee after the Secretary establishes such standards. Prohibits financial assistance under this Act from being used for: (1) any sectarian purpose or activity, including sectarian worship and instruction; and (2) with regard to services to students in grades one through 12, any services during the regular school day, or for which academic credit is given toward graduation, or which supplant or duplicate a public or private school academic program. States that financial assistance under this Act constitutes Federal financial assistance for purposes of various civil rights and nondiscrimination laws. Prohibits a child care provider from discriminating against any child on the basis of religion in providing child care services in return for a fee paid, reimbursement received, or certificate redeemed, in whole or in part with financial assistance provided under this Act. Provides that nothing in this Act shall be construed or applied in any manner to infringe upon or usurp the the moral and legal rights and responsibilities of parents or legal guardians. Authorizes any State to assist in the establishment and operation of a child care liability risk retention group (i.e., a corporation or other limited liability association whose members are child care providers licensed or accredited pursuant to State and local law and standards, and which otherwise satisfies specified criteria for risk retention groups). Directs the Secretary to make allotments to each State for such child care liability risk retention groups, on the basis of a specified formula.
United States · United States Congress · 25 January 1989
Biennial Budget Act - Amends the Congressional Budget Act of 1974 to revise the Federal and congressional budget processes by establishing a two-year budgeting and appropriations cycle and timetable, beginning in the 102d Congress. Defines the budget biennium as the two consecutive fiscal years beginning on October 1 of any odd-numbered year. Devotes the first session of any Congress to the budget resolution and to appropriations decisions, retaining current deadlines in most cases. Changes relevant deadlines as follows to conform to the biennial scheme: (1) from April 1 to March 31 for the Senate Budget Committee's report on the concurrent resolution on the budget; (2) from June 15 to September 30 for completion of congressional action on reconciliation legislation; and (3) from June 30 to September 30 for completion of congressional action on appropriations bills. Devotes each second session to authorization activity, subject to deadlines of: (1) May 15 for the submission of the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) report to the Budget Committees; and (2) the last day of the session for completion of congressional action on bills and resolutions authorizing new budget authority for the next biennium. Changes from January 15 to February 15 of each year the date by which the CBO Director must submit to the Congress a report on authorizations. Requires the Director of the CBO to issue four-year projections of congressional budget action. (Current projections are on a five-year basis.) Amends provisions relating to the reconciliation process to: (1) increase from 20 hours to 100 hours the time of debate permitted in the Senate with respect to reconciliation measures; and (2) make it out of order in both the House and the Senate to consider any reconciliation legislation changing any provision of law other than one relating to new budget or spending authority, revenues, or the public debt limit. Revises the extent of projections to be included in CBO analyses of reported bills. Amends Federal law to require the President's budget for a biennium to be set forth in the same accounts as those set forth in the table titled "The Federal Program by Agency and Account" in the budget submitted for FY 1991. Requires the President to consult with committees having jurisdiction over programs affected by proposed changes before any changes may be made in the budget tables. (Current law requiring consultation with the Budget and Appropriations Committees remains unchanged.) Conforms provisions governing the President's budget, including maximum deficit amount requirements, to the biennial framework. Changes the due date for the President's report on estimated budget outlays and proposed budget authority, making the report due at the same time as the President's budget. Requires the Joint Economic Committee to submit its evaluation of these estimates by February 25 of each odd-numbered year. (The current annual deadline is March 1). Directs the heads of Federal executive agencies, the Comptroller General, and the Directors of the Congressional Budget Office, the Office of Technology Assessment, and the Congressional Research Service to provide studies, analyses, reports, and other documentation concerning program administration to assist the standing committees of the House and the Senate having jurisdiction over the programs in question. Amends the Rules of the House of Representatives to conform to the biennial framework.
United States · United States Congress · 25 January 1989
Adolescent Pregnancy Prevention, Care, and Research Grants Act of 1989 - Replaces the current title XX (Adolescent Family Life Demonstration Projects) of the Public Health Service Act with a new title on adolescent pregnancy prevention, care, and research grants. Authorizes the Secretary of Health and Human Services to make grants to provide care services to pregnant adolescents and adolescent parents and prevention services to nonpregnant adolescents. Lists permissible uses for the grants. Requires that grantees charge fees for services only according to a fee schedule approved by the Secretary that bases fees on income. Prohibits a grantee from discriminating on the basis of an individual's inability to pay for services. Sets forth priorities in making the grants. Provides for the amount of a grant. Prohibits the Federal portion of the grant from exceeding 75 percent of annual program costs. Allows non-Federal contributions to be in cash or in kind. Allows the Secretary to waive the 75 percent limitation in accordance with criteria established by regulation. Sets forth descriptions and assurances which must be included in grant applications. Requires grant recipients to spend between three and ten percent to conduct, through an independent entity, an evaluation of the services supported. Sets forth reporting requirements. Directs the Secretary to coordinate Federal policies and programs providing services relating to the prevention of initial and recurrent adolescent pregnancies and providing care for pregnant adolescents and adolescent parents. Requires grant recipients to coordinate activities with other grant recipients in the same locality. Authorizes the Secretary to make grants to support: (1) research concerning the societal causes and consequences of pregnancy, childbearing, and child rearing for adolescent females and males; (2) evaluative research to identify services that reduce adolescent pregnancy rates and that improve the outcome of adolescent childbearing; and (3) the dissemination of information from programs and research relating to adolescent pregnancy and parenthood. Allows research and dissemination grants to be made for one year, with renewals for four additional one-year periods. Limits the amount of a grant for direct costs, but allows: (1) additional amounts for indirect costs as the Secretary deems appropriate; and (2) the Secretary to waive the limitation. Sets forth allowed and prohibited uses of the funds. Directs the Secretary to coordinate research and dissemination activities carried out under these provisions with such activities carried out by the National Institutes of Health (NIH). Directs the Secretary to establish a system for the review of applications that is substantially similar to the system for scientific peer review of the NIH. Requires the creation of a panel to review applications. Prohibits application approval unless the panel has determined the program to be of scientific merit. Sets forth reporting requirements. Directs the Secretary to reserve certain amounts appropriated under this title for evaluation of activities. Requires the Secretary to report the results of each evaluation to the appropriate committees of the Congress. Authorizes appropriations for carrying out the title added by this Act for FY 1990 through 1992. Prohibits use of funds for grants under this Act for payment for the performance of an abortion.
United States · United States Congress · 25 January 1989
1991 Mount Rushmore Commemorative Coin Act - Requires the Secretary of the Treasury to issue a specified number of five-dollar gold coins, one-dollar silver coins, and half-dollar clad coins in commemoration of the Mount Rushmore National Memorial. Provides that such coins shall be considered legal tender. Requires the Secretary to begin issuing such coins on January 1, 1991. Allows the Secretary to obtain silver for the minting of such coins from stockpiles established under the Strategic and Critical Minerals Stock Piling Act and to obtain gold pursuant to authority under existing law. Provides that the design of such coins shall be selected by the Secretary after consultation with the Mount Rushmore National Memorial Society of Black Hills. Specifies the sales price of such coins as the face value plus costs. Requires that all sales of such coins include a surcharge of $35 per coin for five-dollar coins, $7 per coin for one-dollar coins, and $1 for half-dollar coins. Requires that of the total surcharges received by the Secretary from the sale of such coins: (1) 50 percent shall be returned to the Treasury for purposes of reducing the national debt; and (2) 50 percent shall be paid to the Society to assist efforts to improve the Mount Rushmore National Memorial. Authorizes the Comptroller General to audit such payments. Requires the Secretary to take such actions as may be necessary to ensure that the minting and issuance of such coins shall not result in any net costs to the Government.
United States · United States Congress · 25 January 1989
Grants a Federal charter to the 82nd Airborne Division Association, Incorporated.
United States · United States Congress · 25 January 1989
Federal Employees Long-Term Care Insurance Act of 1989 - Directs the Office of Personnel Management to arrange for the optional conversion of a portion of a Government employee's life insurance policy to long-term care insurance.
United States · United States Congress · 25 January 1989
Comprehensive Lyme Disease Act of 1989 - Amends the Public Health Service Act to authorize the Secretary of Health and Human Services to make grants with respect to Lyme disease: (1) through the Director of the National Institutes of Health, for research and treatment; and (2) through the Director of the Centers for Disease Control, for public education. Authorizes appropriations for FY 1990 through 1992.
United States · United States Congress · 25 January 1989
Pay Equity Technical Assistance Act - Directs the Secretary of Labor to develop and implement a continuing program of information dissemination, research, and technical assistance to public and private entities with respect to correction of wage-setting practices, and a reduction or elimination of wage disparities, to the extent that they are based on the sex, race, or national origin of the employee, rather than on the work performed and other appropriate factors.
United States · United States Congress · 25 January 1989
American Conservation Corps Act of 1989 - Establishes the American Conservation Corps. Directs the Secretaries of the Interior and of Agriculture to promulgate regulations to implement such Corps. Sets forth the scope of projects the Corps may carry out, including conservation of wildlife habitat, energy conservation, urban revitalization, and road maintenance. Limits projects to public or Indian lands unless public benefit can be documented. Specifies that State agencies or Indian tribes may apply for participation in the program. Requires the appropriate State Job Training Coordinating Council to comment on each proposed project. Authorizes the Secretaries of the Interior, of Labor, and of Agriculture to jointly develop regulations for joint projects, including funding under this Act and under the Job Training Partnership Act. Authorizes agreements with the Secretary of Defense to assist the military with such projects. Limits enrollment in the Corps to unemployed U.S. citizens or nationals between the ages of 16 and 25, with special emphasis on the economically, socially, physically, or educationally disadvantaged. Requires program agencies to provide necessary facilities and services, but permits the Secretaries of Agriculture and of the Interior to do so too. Requires enrollees to pay a reasonable portion of the cost of room and board. Permits the use of volunteers for carrying out this Act if a program agency already has the authority to use volunteer services. Authorizes the Tennessee Valley Authority to use volunteers. Sets forth rates of pay and stipends. Requires the Secretaries of the Interior and of Agriculture to provide guidance in securing academic credit or skills certification for program enrollees. Directs the Secretary of the Interior to evaluate the conduct of the program. Provides limited funds for academic study by enrollees during nonworking hours. Requires program agencies to provide job guidance and placement. Directs the Secretaries of the Interior and of Agriculture to report annually to the Congress. Entitles Federal employees and other employees displaced by enrollees under this Act to appeal or protest as specified. Authorizes and earmarks appropriations for FY 1990 through 1992.
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
Amends Congressional Budget and Impoundment Control Act of 1974 provisions concerning the way in which Federal Old-Age and Survivors Insurance Trust Fund and Federal Disability Trust Fund receipts and outlays are treated when making Federal deficit determinations for FY 1990 through 1993. Includes in such calculations the excess of receipts and taxes over disbursements of the trust funds for FY 1989. Extends calculations of permissible maximum deficit amounts through FY 1994, to reach zero with respect to 1995.
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
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
Amends the Trade Act of 1974 to authorize the Governor of any State to file a petition with the United States Trade Representative requesting the President to take appropriate action to enforce U.S. trade rights under an agreement or to respond to unfair trade acts or practices of a foreign country.
United States · United States Congress · 25 January 1989
Chemical and Biological Weapons Control Act - Declares that it should be U.S. policy to: (1) discourage the proliferation of the material and technology necessary to produce or deliver chemical or biological weapons; (2) discourage Communist-bloc countries from aiding and abetting any states from acquiring such material or technology; (3) implement a U.S. control regime for U.S. materials, equipment, and technology that would assist the ability of a foreign country to produce or deliver chemical or biological weapons; (4) discourage private companies in non-Communist countries from aiding and abetting any states in acquiring such material and technology; (5) pursue multilateral efforts to control such weapons; and (6) take unilateral actions, where necessary, to pursue these objectives. Amends the Export Administration Act of 1979 to require the Secretary of Commerce to maintain lists of: (1) goods or technology that would assist a country in acquiring the ability to produce or deliver chemical or biological weapons; and (2) those foreign countries which are pursuing or expanding such ability, as determined by the President. Directs the Secretary to require a validated license for any export of listed goods or technology. Requires the denial of any application for such a license if there is reason to believe that the goods or technology will be used by a listed country in producing or delivering chemical or biological weapons. Requires the Secretary to consult with the Secretary of State (and with the Secretary of Defense in the case of military items) prior to the approval or denial of an application for the export of such goods or technology. Requires the President to submit a report to the Congress every 180 days on the efforts of all foreign countries to acquire the material and technology to produce and deliver chemical and biological weapons, together with an assessment of their present and future capability to produce and deliver such weapons and to what degree any Communist-bloc country has aided or abetted any foreign country in its efforts to acquire such material or technology. Directs the President to apply sanctions to any foreign company which has assisted, or which continues to assist, any listed country in acquiring goods or technology used in producing or delivering chemical or biological weapons. Specifies such sanctions as prohibitions on: (1) the contracting with, or procuring goods or services from, any such foreign company by the U.S. Government; and (2) the importation into the United States of any products produced by such a foreign company. States that such sanctions shall remain in effect for two years after the President certifies that: (1) the foreign company has ceased to aid or abet foreign countries; and (2) it would be in the national interest of the United States to contract with, or procure goods or services from, such foreign company. Allows certain exceptions to such sanctions. Requires a review of the full range of U.S. security, political, and commercial relations with any country named in the presidential report required by this Act.
United States · United States Congress · 25 January 1989
Designates the month of May 1989 as National Foster Care Month.
United States · United States Congress · 25 January 1989
Designates May 7 through May 14, 1989, as Jewish Heritage Week.
United States · United States Congress · 25 January 1989
Designates February 2, 1989, as National Women and Girls in Sports Day.
United States · United States Congress · 25 January 1989
Designates the week of April 16 through April 22, 1989, as National Minority Cancer Awareness Week.
United States · United States Congress · 25 January 1989
Constitutional Amendment - Declares that equality of rights under the law shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or any State on account of sex.
United States · United States Congress · 25 January 1989
Amends Senate Resolution 28, 99th Congress, to require closed caption broadcasting of Senate floor proceedings for hearing-impaired individuals.
United States · United States Congress · 25 January 1989
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 improve its financial performance 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 · 21 October 1988
Child Care Services Improvement Act of 1988 - Title I: Better Child Care Services - Makes eligible for services under this title children: (1) who are less than 13 years of age; (2) whose family income does not exceed 115 percent of the State median income for a family of the same size; and (3) who either reside with a parent or parents who are working, seeking employment, or enrolled in a job training or educational program, or reside with a parent or parents not thus described and receive or need to receive protective services. Authorizes appropriations for FY 1989 through 1993 to carry out this title. Reserves specified amounts for certain U.S. territories and possessions and for certain programs for Indian children. Sets forth a formula for allotments to States based on numbers of children under age five, numbers of children eligible for free or reduced price lunches under the school lunch program, and per capita income. Directs the Secretary of Health and Human Services (the Secretary) to make grants to applicant Indian tribes or tribal organizations for programs and activities under this title for the benefit of Indian children. Directs the Secretary, in determining whether to approve a tribal grant application, to consider: (1) the tribe's codes, regulations, and cultural factors, as well as applicable State licensing and regulatory requirements, in establishing standards for such programs; and (2) the availability of child care services provided by the State in accordance with this title. Requires coordination between tribal and State programs under this title. Includes among lead agency duties the establishment of several local advisory councils that collectively represent the entire geographical area in the State. Sets forth requirements relating to such local advisory councils. Requires States to submit, in order to qualify for assistance under this title, an application and plan to the Secretary. Requires each plan to cover a five-year period and to meet specified requirements for providers of child care services. Requires a plan to provide for: (1) a designated lead agency; (2) a State advisory committee on child care; (3) policies and procedures; (4) distribution of funds; (5) reimbursements; (6) consideration of current funding recipients; (7) a sliding fee scale; (8) parental involvement; (9) enforcement of licensing, registration, and other regulatory requirements; and (10) data collection. Requires the plan to specify that at least 75 percent of the State allotment will be used to provide qualified child care services to eligible children, on a sliding fee scale basis (according to specified funding methods) with priority given to services to children of families with very low incomes for their size. Requires that at least ten percent of such reserved funds be used to provide for the extension of part-day programs. Requires the plan to use not more than 15 percent of the State allotment for all of the following child care related activities: (1) financial assistance for State and local resource and referral programs; (2) improvement of compliance monitoring and enforcement of State licensing, registration, and other regulations; (3) training, technical assistance, and scholarship assistance; (4) adequate salaries and compensation for full- and part-time staff who provide child care services for which assistance is provided under this title; (5) grants and low-interest loans to family and nonprofit providers to establish programs and renovate and improve existing facilities; and (6) grants and low-interest loans to providers to meet government child care standards, with priority to those receiving Federal or other publicly-assisted child care programs serving families with very low incomes. Requires the plan to set forth policies and procedures designed to ensure to the maximum extent practicable, that: (1) the parents of children who will receive assisted child care services are permitted to select the eligible child care provider; (2) the State will attempt to place such child with such provider; and (3) each eligible child care provider will provide service to a reasonable mix of children, including those from different socioeconomic backgrounds and those with a handicapping condition. Requires the plan to provide that the State will use three percent of its allotment in any fiscal year to carry out activities designed to encourage child care services provided by businesses. Requires the plan to make ineligible for assistance under this title child care providers who are convicted, or who employ as providers of child care services persons convicted, of specified Federal and State offenses involving sexual contact with individuals under age 16 or the production or advertisement of child pornography. Requires the plan to require child care providers, as a condition of receiving assistance, to have and administer a drug-free workplace policy. Provides for approval of applications, and a special rules for use of State allotments. Requires that child care services for eligible children that are provided out of a State allotment be provided by: (1) contracts with or grants to eligible child care providers to provide such services directly; (2) grants to local governments to contract with such providers to provide such services directly; or (3) child care certificates distributed to parents of eligible children to enable them to purchase such services from such providers. Allows a State to issue such certificates only if a resource and referral program by a organization recognized under specified provisions is available to help parents locate child care services made available by eligible child care providers. Requires that a specified portion of State allotment funds be used to enable providers to extend the hours of operation of part-day programs to provide full-working-day child care services throughout the year. Prohibits financial assistance under this title from being expended for the construction of a new facility, and sets forth limitations on such assistance for renovation or repair of existing facilities. Authorizes the Secretary to make planning grants, in the first year of their program participation, to States which desire to participate under this title but cannot fully satisy the requirements of a State plan without financial assistance. Provides for a review of the operation of a State plan during the five-year period to determine the State's continued eligibility for funds. Directs the Governors of each participating State to establish, and appoint members of, a State advisory committee on child care to assist the lead agency, review and evaluate services, make recommendations on standards and practices, and perform other functions to improve the quantity and quality of child care services. Requires the committee to have a subcommittee on licensing to review the laws applicable to end the licensing requirements and policies of each licensing agency regulating child care services and programs in the State (unless the State has done such a review during the four years before the establishment of the committee). Requires the subcommittee to report to the Governor, within one year after the committee's establishment, on specified matters. Requires the Governor, within 60 days of receipt of such report, to report to the Secretary with comments and a plan for correcting or improving licensing, regulating, and monitoring of child care services and programs. Terminates assistance under this title for committee activities occurring more than 90 days after the State report is submitted. Requires States receiving funds under this title to recognize private nonprofit community-based organizations, public organizations, local governments, or public agencies representing combinations of local governments, as resource and referral agencies for particular areas designated by lead agencies, and to provide assistance to such resource and referral agencies. Requires such resource and referral programs to: (1) identify existing child care services; (2) provide parents information on and referral to such services; (3) provide for information, training, and technical assistance to existing and potential providers and others, including businesses, concerned with availability of such services; and (4) provide information on supply of and demand for such services in a community. Sets forth eligibility requirements for designation as such an agency. Sets forth provisions relating to such agencies' information and support services functions. Prohibits a resource and referral agency from providing information on any program or services not in compliance with State and local laws. Requires each participating State to require, within two years after the enactment of this Act, that all employed or self-employed persons providing licensed or regulated child care complete at least 15 hours per year of specified training. Directs the State to make grants, and enter into contracts with, specified entities to provide such training to eligible providers, including family child care providers. Requires such training to address: (1) appropriate services for special populations of children; (2) health and safety; (3) child growth and development; (4) guidance and discipline techniques; (5) planning of learning activities; (6) linkages with community services; (7) communication with families; and (8) management practices and procedures, including risk management. Sets forth eligibility requirements for grants and contracts relating to: (1) training for family child care providers; and (2) technical assistance. Requires participating States to provide scholarship assistance to: (1) individuals who seek a nationally recognized child development associate credential for center-based or family child care and whose income is not more than 50 percent above the poverty line; and (2) caregivers who seek to obtain the 15-hour minimum annual training and whose income is not above the poverty line. Requires participating States to establish in the lead agency a clearinghouse to collect and disseminate training materials to resource and referral agencies and child care providers. Requires participating States to carry out activites designed to encourage businesses in the State to support or provide child care services to a reasonable mix of children of employees and nonemployees, including those from different socioeconomic backgrounds. Lists activities which may be included in such program. Directs the State, in carrying out such activities, to consult with: (1) the State advisory committee on child care; (2) a business task force appointed by the State from among representatives of businesses of various sizes; and (3) a State entity that administers laws relating to productive economic development. Directs the State to provide outreach to businesses and encourage them to contribute to the cost of such activities. Authorizes the Secretary to waive the requirement that three percent of its allotment be used for such activities, if: (1) the State demonstrates that such expenditure would not be substantially effective to expand the availability of child care services; and (2) such reserved amount will be expended for other specified child care services and activities. Establishes in the Department of Health and Human Services the position of Administrator of Child Care, to be appointed by the Secretary. Requires the Administrator to: (1) coordinate all of such Department's activities relating to child care, and to coordinate them with similar activities of other Federal entities; (2) annually collect and publish State child care standards, including periodic modifications; (3) evaluate activities funded under this title; (4) act as a clearinghouse for specified matters, including studies on salaries of child care workers; and (5) provide technical assistance to States to carry out this title. Establishes enforcement provisions for review of State plans and monitoring of State compliance. Sets forth provisions for payments to States of the Federal share of the aggregate amount to be expended under the State plan. Sets such Federal share at 80 percent, but raises it to 85 percent when the State demonstrates that all child care providers are appropriately licensed and regulated and that those receiving assistance meet certain requirements and minimum standards under this title. Requires the Secretary to establish a National Advisory Committee on Child Care Standards to: (1) review Federal policies on child care services and such other data as appropriate; (2) submit to the Secretary proposed minimum standards for child care programs; and (3) develop and make available to lead agencies model regulations for resource and referral agencies. Limits the areas of concern which such proposed minimum child care standards may address. Limits such standards for center-based child care services to: (1) group size limits in terms of number of caregivers and number and ages of children; (2) maximum appropriate child-staff ratios; (3) personnel qualifications and background; (4) health, nutrition, and safety; and (5) parental involvement in licensed and regulated services. Requires group size limits and child-staff ratio standards to reflect the median standards for all States as of the date of enactment of this title. Limits such standards for family child care services to: (1) maximum number of children, and total number of infants, for which services may be provided; (2) minimum age of caregivers; and (3) health, nutrition, and safety. Limits such standards for group home child care services to those matters specified with respect to family child care services, plus maximum appropriate child-staff ratios. Directs the Secretary, within 90 days after receiving the Committee's recommendations, to: (1) publish in the Federal Register a notice of proposed rulemaking and such proposed minimum standards for public comment for at least a 60-day period; and (2) distribute such standards to each lead agency and State subcommittee on licensing, for comment. Directs the Secretary, in consultation with the Committee to: (1) consider comments on the proposed standards; and (2) within 180 days after publication of proposed standards, issue rules establishing minimum child care standards for purposes of this Act, including nutrition requirements. Authorizes the Secretary to amend such standards, but prohibits modifications which make a standard less comprehensive or less stringent. Allows the Committee to submit appropriate additional comments on such standards to the Secretary and the Congress. Terminates the Committee 90 days after the Secretary establishes such standards. Prohibits financial assistance under this title from being used for: (1) any sectarian purpose or activity, including sectarian worship and instruction; and (2) with regard to services to students in grades one through 12, any services during the regular school day, or for which academic credit is given toward graduation, or which supplant or duplicate a public or private school academic program. Provides that financial assistance under this title constitutes Federal financial assistance for purposes of various civil rights and nondiscrimination laws. Prohibits a child care provider from discriminating against any child on the basis of religion in providing child care services in return for a fee paid, reimbursement received, or certificate redeemed, in whole or in part with financial assistance provided under this title. Provides that nothing in this title shall be construed or applied in any manner to infringe upon or usurp the the moral and legal rights and responsibilities of parents or legal guardians. Title II: National Advisory Commission on Public and Private Cooperative Child Care Efforts - Establishes the National Advisory Commission on Public and Private Cooperative Child Care Efforts to study and report, to specified congressional committees and to officials who appoint Commission members, on ways to promote coordination between Federal programs and U.S. businesses in providing quality child care to working parents. Terminates the Commission 30 days after the submission of its required report. Authorizes appropriations to carry out this title. Title III: Cooperative Child Care - Small Business Cooperative Child Care Act of 1988 - Subtitle A: Grants for Small Businesses - Directs the Administrator of the Small Business Administration to make grants of up to $250,000 each to eligible applicants to provide employee child care. Sets out eligibility requirements. Limits the number of grants to eight each fiscal year, half of which must be made to businesses in metropolitan areas having populations of at least 500,000. Directs the Administrator to present an evaluation of the grant projects to specified congressional committees no later than March 31, 1992. Authorizes appropriations for such grants for FY 1989 and 1990. Subtitle B: Tax Incentives for Small Businesses - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to permit small businesses a ten percent investment tax credit in connection with certain depreciable property used as part of an on-site child care facility owned and operated by the employer for the care of enrollees, at least 50 percent of whom must be dependents of the employer's employees. Provides for recapture of the credit amount if the facility ceases to be a qualified child care center. Limits eligibility for the credit to small businesses having average annual gross receipts of $5,000,000 or less for the preceding three-year period. Permits the same small businesses a ten percent tax credit for expenses paid or incurred to operate such a facility. Title IV: Dependent Care Services - Amends Internal Revenue Code provisions relating to the income tax credit for employment-related dependent care expenses to: (1) make the credit refundable; (2) increase the amount of the credit from 30 percent to 50 percent of the relevant expenses, reduced (but not below 20 percent) by one percent for each full $1,000 amount by which the taxpayer's adjusted gross income (AGI) exceeds $15,000, subject to an annual adjustment for inflation (the current reduction is one percent for each $2,000 in excess of $10,000 AGI with no provision for a cost of living adjustment); and (3) apply the credit to expenses for certain respite care of qualifying dependents of the taxpayer. Permits credit for up to $1,200 of respite care expenses ($2,400 in the case of more than one qualifying individual) incurred in the care of: (1) a dependent of the taxpayer who is under the age of 15; or (2) a spouse or other dependent of the taxpayer who is physically or mentally incapable of self-care. Title V: Child Care Liability Risk Retention - Authorizes any State to assist in the establishment and operation of a child care liability risk retention group (i.e. a corporation or other limited liability association whose members are child care providers licensed or accredited pursuant to State or local law or standards, and which otherwise satisfies specified criteria for risk retention groups). Sets forth State application requirements. Requires State plans to: (1) identify the lead agency designated and responsible for the administration of funds under this part; (2) provide that all participants in the child care liability risk retention group are child care providers who are licensed or accredited pursuant to State or local law or standards; (3) provide for maximum membership of family-based child care providers in the group; (4) provide that the State shall use at least the amount allotted to establish or maintain a liability risk retention group for child care providers; and (5) specify how any such liability risk retention group will continue to be financed after FY 1991, including by contributions by the State or by members of such pool. Directs the Secretary of HHS to review and approve State plans and to monitor State compliance with requirements of this part. Provides for suspension of payments upon a finding of noncompliance. Authorizes appropriations for FY 1989 to carry out this part and to remain available for assistance to States for FY 1989 through 1991. Directs the Secretary of HHS to reserve specified portions of such funds for payments to specified U.S. territories and for administrative costs. Directs the Secretary of HHS to allot the remainder to States on the basis State population and relative per capita income. Permits a portion of such allotments to be used for State administrative costs. Sets forth provisions relating to entitlement, method, and State spending of allotment payments. Title VI: Social Security Act Provision - Amends title II (Old Age, Survivors and Disability Insurance) of the Social Security Act to exclude child care services earnings from the limitation on wages or self-employment income for purposes of determining benefits for certain individuals. Title VII: Tax Benefits Relating to Dependent Care to be Emphasized - Directs the Secretary of the Treasury, or the Secretary's delegate, to: (1) prepare a publication identifying the Federal income tax benefits available to businesses for providing; and for individuals using, dependent care services; (2) mail such publication with the mailed income tax forms and instructions for taxable years ending on or after December 31, 1988; and (3) otherwise make available the publication for such taxable years. Title VIII: Study and Report Regarding Utilization of Assistance - Directs the Comptroller General to conduct a study to: (1) determine the extent to which assistance provided under titles I and IV of this Act is used by individuals with very low income in meeting their child care needs; and (2) identify factors that may prevent their maximum utilization of such assistance. Directs the Comptroller General, within two years after enactment of this Act, to submit to specified congressional committees a report containing: (1) a summary of the results of such study; and (2) recommendations regarding any modification in the delivery of assistance provided under titles I and IV of this Act to individuals with very low income. Title IX: Financing - Repeals specified provisions of the Internal Revenue Code relating to: (1) the repeal of tax on interest of nonresident alien individuals received from certain portfolio debt investments; (2) the repeal of tax on interest of foreign corporations received from certain portfolio debt instruments; and (3) the exception for interest income from certain portfolio debt investment. Amends the Internal Revenue Code to modify provisions relating to the income tax credit for employment-related dependent care services for care of children. Phases out such credit for certain dependent care expenses of any taxpayer with an adjusted gross income in excess of $50,000 (by reducing the applicable percentage in the formula for determining such credit by one percent for each $1,000 by which the taxpayer's income exceeds such amount). Makes an exception to such phasing-out for those employment-related expenses attributable to the care of a handicapped individual. Provides for a cost-of-living adjustment to the adjusted gross income amounts specified in both the formulas for the applicable percentage for determining such credit and for the phasing-out of such credit. Denies allowance of such credit for employment-related expenses paid with a certificate established under title I of this Act.
United States · United States Congress · 19 October 1988
Designates December 7, 1988, as National Pearl Harbor Remembrance Day.
United States · United States Congress · 12 October 1988
Critical Languages and Area Studies Program Assistance Act - Authorizes the Secretary of Education to make grants to eligible consortia to operate critical languages and area studies programs, to develop, construct, and acquire educational equipment, materials, and facilities, and to develop teacher training programs, texts, curricula, and other activities designed to improve and expand the instruction of foreign languages at elementary and secondary schools. Authorizes appropriations for such grants for FY 1990 and 1991. Limits the maximum amount of such a demonstration grant to an eligible critical languages and area studies partnership in any single fiscal year. Requires that a consortium eligible for such demonstration grants consist of: (1) a not-for-profit corporation with extensive experience in administrating both cultural exchange programs and language and culture training programs in the United States and abroad; and (2) public or private (or both) elementary and secondary schools committed to provided quality language and area studies programs to their students and students in the surrounding area. Sets forth a special rule that the Critical Languages and Area Studies Consortium, Inc., shall not receive less than a specified amount in grants from appropriations provided for this Act.
United States · United States Congress · 12 October 1988
Child Care Services Improvement Act of 1988 - Title I: Better Child Care Services - Makes eligible for services under this title children: (1) who are less than 13 years of age; (2) whose family income does not exceed 115 percent of the State median income for a family of the same size; and (3) who either reside with a parent or parents who are working, seeking employment, or enrolled in a job training or educational program, or reside with a parent or parents not thus described and receive or need to receive protective services. Authorizes appropriations for FY 1989 through 1993 to carry out this title. Reserves specified amounts for certain U.S. territories and possessions and for certain programs for Indian children. Sets forth a formula for allotments to States based on numbers of children under age five, numbers of children eligible for free or reduced price lunches under the school lunch program, and per capita income. Directs the Secretary of Health and Human Services (the Secretary) to make grants to applicant Indian tribes or tribal organizations for programs and activities under this title for the benefit of Indian children. Directs the Secretary, in determining whether to approve a tribal grant application, to consider: (1) the tribe's codes, regulations, and cultural factors, as well as applicable State licensing and regulatory requirements, in establishing standards for such programs; and (2) the availability of child care services provided by the State in accordance with this title. Requires coordination between tribal and State programs under this title. Includes among lead agency duties the establishment of several local advisory councils that collectively represent the entire geographical area in the State. Sets forth requirements relating to such local advisory councils. Requires States to submit, in order to qualify for assistance under this title, an application and plan to the Secretary. Requires each plan to cover a five-year period and to meet specified requirements for providers of child care services. Requires a plan to provide for: (1) a designated lead agency; (2) a State advisory committee on child care; (3) policies and procedures; (4) distribution of funds; (5) reimbursements; (6) consideration of current funding recipients; (7) a sliding fee scale; (8) parental involvement; (9) enforcement of licensing, registration, and other regulatory requirements; and (10) data collection. Requires the plan to specify that at least 75 percent of the State allotment will be used to provide qualified child care services to eligible children, on a sliding fee scale basis (according to specified funding methods) with priority given to services to children of families with very low incomes for their size. Requires that at least ten percent of such reserved funds be used to provide for the extension of part-day programs. Requires the plan to use not more than 15 percent of the State allotment for all of the following child care related activities: (1) financial assistance for State and local resource and referral programs; (2) improvement of compliance monitoring and enforcement of State licensing, registration, and other regulations; (3) training, technical assistance, and scholarship assistance; (4) adequate salaries and compensation for full- and part-time staff who provide child care services for which assistance is provided under this title; (5) grants and low-interest loans to family and nonprofit providers to establish programs and renovate and improve existing facilities; and (6) grants and low-interest loans to providers to meet government child care standards, with priority to those receiving Federal or other publicly-assisted child care programs serving families with very low incomes. Requires the plan to set forth policies and procedures designed to ensure to the maximum extent practicable, that: (1) the parents of children who will receive assisted child care services are permitted to select the eligible child care provider; (2) the State will attempt to place such child with such provider; and (3) each eligible child care provider will provide service to a reasonable mix of children, including those from different socioeconomic backgrounds and those with a handicapping condition. Requires the plan to provide that the State will use three percent of its allotment in any fiscal year to carry out activities designed to encourage child care services provided by businesses. Requires the plan to make ineligible for assistance under this title child care providers who are convicted, or who employ as providers of child care services persons convicted, of specified Federal and State offenses involving sexual contact with individuals under age 16 or the production or advertisement of child pornography. Requires the plan to require child care providers, as a condition of receiving assistance, to have and administer a drug-free workplace policy. Provides for approval of applications and special rules for use of State allotments. Requires that child care services for eligible children that are provided out of a State allotment be provided by: (1) contracts with or grants to eligible child care providers to provide such services directly; (2) grants to local governments to contract with such providers to provide such services directly; or (3) child care certificates distributed to parents of eligible children to enable them to purchase such services from such providers. Allows a State to issue such certificates only if a resource and referral program by a organization recognized under specified provisions is available to help parents locate child care services made available by eligible child care providers. Requires that a specified portion of State allotment funds be used to enable providers to extend the hours of operation of part-day programs to provide full-working-day child care services throughout the year. Prohibits financial assistance under this title from being expended for the construction of a new facility, and sets forth limitations on such assistance for renovation or repair of existing facilities. Authorizes the Secretary to make planning grants, in the first year of their program participation, to States which desire to participate under this title but cannot fully satisy the requirements of a State plan without financial assistance. Provides for a review of the operation of a State plan during the five-year period to determine the State's continued eligibility for funds. Directs the Governors of each participating State to establish, and appoint members of, a State advisory committee on child care to assist the lead agency, review and evaluate services, make recommendations on standards and practices, and perform other functions to improve the quantity and quality of child care services. Requires the committee to have a subcommittee on licensing to review the laws applicable to end the licensing requirements and policies of each licensing agency regulating child care services and programs in the State (unless the State has done such a review during the four years before the establishment of the committee). Requires the subcommittee to report to the Governor, within one year after the committee's establishment, on specified matters. Requires the Governor, within 60 days of receipt of such report, to report to the Secretary with comments and a plan for correcting or improving licensing, regulating, and monitoring of child care services and programs. Terminates assistance under this title for committee activities occurring more than 90 days after the State report is submitted. Requires States receiving funds under this title to recognize private nonprofit community-based organizations, public organizations, local governments, or public agencies representing combinations of local governments, as resource and referral agencies for particular areas designated by lead agencies, and to provide assistance to such resource and referral agencies. Requires such resource and referral programs to: (1) identify existing child care services; (2) provide parents information on and referral to such services; (3) provide for information, training, and technical assistance to existing and potential providers and others, including businesses, concerned with availability of such services; and (4) provide information on supply of and demand for such services in a community. Sets forth eligibility requirements for designation as such an agency. Sets forth provisions relating to such agencies' information and support services functions. Prohibits a resource and referral agency from providing information on any program or services not in compliance with State and local laws. Requires each participating State to require, within two years after the enactment of this Act, that all employed or self-employed persons providing licensed or regulated child care complete at least 15 hours per year of specified training. Directs the State to make grants, and enter into contracts with, specified entities to provide such training to eligible providers, including family child care providers. Requires such training to address: (1) appropriate services for special populations of children; (2) health and safety; (3) child growth and development; (4) guidance and discipline techniques; (5) planning of learning activities; (6) linkages with community services; (7) communication with families; and (8) management practices and procedures, including risk management. Sets forth eligibility requirements for grants and contracts relating to: (1) training for family child care providers; and (2) technical assistance. Requires participating States to provide scholarship assistance to: (1) individuals who seek a nationally recognized child development associate credential for center-based or family child care and whose income is not more than 50 percent above the poverty line; and (2) caregivers who seek to obtain the 15-hour minimum annual training and whose income is not above the poverty line. Requires participating States to establish in the lead agency a clearinghouse to collect and disseminate training materials to resource and referral agencies and child care providers. Requires participating States to carry out activites designed to encourage businesses in the State to support or provide child care services to a reasonable mix of children of employees and nonemployees, including those from different socioeconomic backgrounds. Lists activities which may be included in such program. Directs the State, in carrying out such activities, to consult with: (1) the State advisory committee on child care; (2) a business task force appointed by the State from among representatives of businesses of various sizes; and (3) a State entity that administers laws relating to productive economic development. Directs the State to provide outreach to businesses and encourage them to contribute to the cost of such activities. Authorizes the Secretary to waive the requirement that three percent of its allotment be used for such activities, if: (1) the State demonstrates that such expenditure would not be substantially effective to expand the availability of child care services; and (2) such reserved amount will be expended for other specified child care services and activities. Establishes in the Department of Health and Human Services the position of Administrator of Child Care, to be appointed by the Secretary. Requires the Administrator to: (1) coordinate all of such Department's activities relating to child care, and to coordinate them with similar activities of other Federal entities; (2) annually collect and publish State child care standards, including periodic modifications; (3) evaluate activities funded under this title; (4) act as a clearinghouse for specified matters, including studies on salaries of child care workers; and (5) provide technical assistance to States to carry out this title. Establishes enforcement provisions for review of State plans and monitoring of State compliance. Sets forth provisions for payments to States of the Federal share of the aggregate amount to be expended under the State plan. Sets such Federal share at 80 percent, but raises it to 85 percent when the State demonstrates that all child care providers are appropriately lciensed and regulated and that those receiving assistance meet certain requirements and minimum standards under this title. Requires the Secretary to establish a National Advisory Committee on Child Care Standards to: (1) review Federal policies on child care services and such other data as appropriate; (2) submit to the Secretary proposed minimum standards for child care programs; and (3) develop and make available to lead agencies model regulations for resource and referral agencies. Limits the areas of concern which such proposed minimum child care standards may address. Limits such standards for center-based child care services to: (1) group size limits in terms of number of caregivers and number and ages of children; (2) maximum appropriate child-staff ratios; (3) personnel qualifications and backgroud; (4) health, nutrition, and safety; and (5) parental involvement in licensed and regulated services. Requires group size limits and child-staff ratio standards to reflect the median standards for all States as of the date of enactment of this title. Limits such standards for family child care services to: (1) maximum number of children, and total number of infants, for which services may be provided; (2) minimum age of caregivers; and (3) health, nutrition, and safety. Limits such standards for group home child care services to those matters specified with respect to family child care services, plus maximum appropriate child-staff ratios. Directs the Secretary, within 90 days after receiving the Committee's recommendations, to: (1) publish in the Federal Register a notice of proposed rulemaking and such proposed minimum standards for public comment for at least a 60-day period; and (2) distribute such standards to each lead agency and State subcommittee on licensing, for comment. Directs the Secretary, in consultation with the Committee to: (1) consider comments on the proposed standards; and (2) within 180 days after publication of proposed standards, issue rules establishing minimum child care standards for purposes of this Act, including nutrition requirements. Authorizes the Secretary to amend such standards, but prohibits modifications which make a standard less comprehensive or less stringent. Allows the Committee to submit appropriate additional comments on such standards to the Secretary and the Congress. Terminates the Committee 90 days after the Secretary establishes such standards. Prohibits financial assistance under this title from being used for: (1) any sectarian purpose or activity, including sectarian worship and instruction; and (2) with regard to services to students in grades one through 12, any services during the regular school day, or for which academic credit is given toward graduation, or which supplant or duplicate a public or private school academic program. Provides that financial assistance under this title constitutes Federal financial assistance for purposes of various civil rights and nondiscrimination laws. Prohibits a child care provider from discriminating against any child on the basis of religion in providing child care services in return for a fee paid, reimbursement received, or certificate redeemed, in whole or in part with financial assistance provided under this title. Provides that nothing in this title shall be construed or applied in any manner to infringe upon or usurp the the moral and legal rights and responsibilities of parents or legal guardians. Title II: National Advisory Commission on Public and Private Cooperative Child Care Efforts - Establishes the National Advisory Commission on Public and Private Cooperative Child Care Efforts to study and report, to specified congressional committees and to officials who appoint Commission members, on ways to promote coordination between Federal programs and U.S. businesses in providing quality child care to working parents. Terminates the Commission 30 days after the submission of its required report. Authorizes appropriations to carry out this title. Title III: Cooperative Child Care - Small Business Cooperative Child Care Act of 1988 - Subtitle A: Grants for Small Businesses - Directs the Administrator of the Small Business Administration to make grants of up to $250,000 each to eligible applicants to provide employee child care. Sets out eligibility requirements. Limits the number of grants to eight each fiscal year, half of which must be made to businesses in metropolitan areas having populations of at least 500,000. Directs the Administrator to present an evaluation of the grant projects to specified congressional committees no later than March 31, 1992. Authorizes appropriations for such grants for FY 1989 and 1990. Subtitle B: Tax Incentives for Small Businesses - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to permit small businesses a ten percent investment tax credit in connection with certain depreciable property used as part of an on-site child care facility owned and operated by the employer for the care of enrollees, at least 50 percent of whom must be dependents of the employer's employees. Provides for recapture of the credit amount if the facility ceases to be a qualified child care center. Limits eligibility for the credit to small businesses having average annual gross receipts of $5,000,000 or less for the preceding three-year period. Permits the same small businesses a ten percent tax credit for expenses paid or incurred to operate such a facility. Title IV: Dependent Care - Amends Internal Revenue Code provisions relating to the income tax credit for employment-related dependent care expenses to: (1) make the credit refundable; (2) increase the amount of the credit from 30 percent to 50 percent of the relevant expenses, reduced (but not below 20 percent) by one percent for each full $1,000 amount by which the taxpayer's adjusted gross income (AGI) exceeds $15,000, subject to an annual adjustment for inflation (the current reduction is one percent for each $2,000 in excess of $10,000 AGI with no provision for a cost of living adjustment); and (3) apply the credit to expenses for certain respite care of qualifying dependents of the taxpayer. Permits credit for up to $1,200 of respite care expenses ($2,400 in the case of more than one qualifying individual) incurred in the care of: (1) a dependent of the taxpayer who is under the age of 15; or (2) a spouse or other dependent of the taxpayer who is physically or mentally incapable of self-care. Title V: Child Care Liability Risk Reduction - Authorizes any State to assist in the establishment and operation of a child care liability risk retention group (i.e. a corporation or other limited liability association whose members are child care providers licensed or accredited pursuant to State or local law or standards, and which otherwise satisfies specified criteria for risk retention groups). Sets forth State application requirements. Requires State plans to: (1) identify the lead agency designated and responsible for the administration of funds under this part; (2) provide that all participants in the child care liability risk retention group are child care providers who are licensed or accredited pursuant to State or local law or standards; (3) provide for maximum membership of family-based child care providers in the group; (4) provide that the State shall use at least the amount allotted to establish or maintain a liability risk retention group for child care providers; and (5) specify how any such liability risk retention group will continue to be financed after FY 1991, including by contributions by the State or by members of such pool. Directs the Secretary of HHS to review and approve State plans and to monitor State compliance with requirements of this part. Provides for suspension of payments upon a finding of noncompliance. Authorizes appropriations for FY 1989 to carry out this part and to remain available for assistance to States for FY 1989 through 1991. Directs the Secretary of HHS to reserve specified portions of such funds for payments to specified U.S. territories and for administrative costs. Directs the Secretary of HHS to allot the remainder to States on the basis of State population and relative per capita income. Permits a portion of such allotments to be used for State administrative costs. Sets forth provisions relating to entitlement, method, and State spending of allotment payments. Title VI: Social Security Act Provision - Amends title II (Old Age, Survivors and Disability Insurance) of the Social Security Act to exclude child care services earnings from the limitation on wages or self-employment income for purposes of determining benefits for certain individuals. Title VII: Tax Benefits Relating to Dependent Care to Be Emphasized - Directs the Secretary of the Treasury, or the Secretary's delegate, to: (1) prepare a publication identifying the Federal income tax benefits available to businesses for providing, and for individuals using, dependent care services; (2) mail such publication with the mailed income tax forms and instructions for taxable years ending on or after December 31, 1988; and (3) otherwise make available the publication for such taxable years. Title VIII: Study and Report Regarding Utilization of Assistance - Directs the Comptroller General to conduct a study to: (1) determine the extent to which assistance provided under titles I and IV of this Act is used by individuals with very low income in meeting their child care needs; and (2) identify factors that may prevent their maximum utilization of such assistance. Directs the Comptroller General, within two years after enactment of this Act, to submit to specified congressional committees a report containing: (1) a summary of the results of such study; and (2) recommendations regarding any modification in the delivery of assistance provided under titles I and IV of this Act to individuals with very low income. Title IX: Financing - Repeals specified provisions of the Internal Revenue Code relating to: (1) the repeal of tax on interest of nonresident alien individuals received from certain portfolio debt investments; (2) the repeal of tax on interest of foreign corporations received from certain portfolio debt instruments; and (3) the exception for interest income from certain portfolio debt investments.
United States · United States Congress · 5 October 1988
Global Warming Prevention Act of 1988 - Establishes as national goals: (1) that the amount of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere be reduced from 1987 levels by at least 20 percent by the year 2005 through a mix of Federal and State energy policies; and (2) the establishment of an International Global Agreement on the Atmosphere by 1992. Requires the Secretary of Energy (the Secretary) and the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency to report to the Congress within two years regarding whether a higher level of carbon dioxide emissions reduction is desirable after 2005, together with any necessary policy actions and their costs and benefits. Title I: National Least-Cost Energy Plan - Requires the Secretary to prepare for the President, and transmit to the Congress, a new National Energy Least-Cost Policy Plan in lieu of other authorized national energy plans. Prescribes plan contents. Directs the Secretary to implement such plan immediately following its submission to the Congress. Outlines a program for public involvement in the formulation of the Plan. Directs the Secretary to establish an intervenor funding mechanism based upon certain State models. Grants the Secretary final discretion concerning the commitment of funds. Authorizes appropriations for FY 1990 through 1992. Requires the Secretary to submit a review of all government subsidies for energy-related expenditures to determine if they are consistent with the National Least-Cost Energy Plan. Amends the Department of Energy Organization Act to repeal the National Energy Policy Plan. Title II: Energy Efficiency - Directs the Secretary to grant the highest priority to energy efficiency improvements in: (1) energy-consuming devices; (2) federally owned and leased buildings and equipment; (3) federally assisted housing; and (4) the Federal vehicle fleet. Mandates that the President's budget request for FY 1990 through 1994 include the Secretary's recommendations regarding the increased efficiency of energy-consuming devices. Directs the Secretary to establish an Energy Research Advisory Board Panel on end-use energy technologies. Requires the Panel to submit an annual report to the Energy Research Advisory Board regarding its assessment of promising energy efficiency research and development opportunities and policies. Requires the Secretary to submit to the Congress: (1) a long-term research and development plan that accelerates by five years the current Department of Energy multiyear program goals for energy efficiency; and (2) an estimate of the funding increase needed to achieve such accelerated goals. Authorizes appropriations for FY 1990 through 1992. Directs the National Bureau of Standards to provide financial assistance, in consultation with the Department of Energy, to ten research centers to achieve multiple improvements in energy-intensive industrial and manufacturing processes. Sets forth an operations timetable for such centers. Authorizes appropriations for such centers for FY 1990 through 1992. Directs the Secretary to: (1) establish energy efficiency goals resulting in specified primary energy savings for federally owned or leased buildings, as well as federally assisted housing; and (2) include the use of renewable forms of energy within the energy efficiency options for such buildings. Authorizes appropriations for such program for FY 1990 through 1992. Directs the Secretary to establish a technical assistance program to support utilities and local and State governments in adopting building labeling and information programs. Requires the Secretary to report the results of such programs to the Congress. Authorizes appropriations for such program for FY 1990 through 1993. Mandates that certain institutions which offer federally assisted home mortgage loans integrate funding within such loans for cost-effective energy efficiency improvements based upon a home energy audit and rating scheme. Directs the Secretary to promulgate energy efficiency standards for incandescent and fluorescent lamps and windows. Requires the Secretary to: (1) implement a research, development and demonstration program on technologies to reduce chlorofluorocarbon use; (2) report to the Congress on the projected impact of certain chlorofluorocarbon production restrictions; (3) expand the Department of Energy's existing technology transfer initiative on least-cost electric utility planning; and (4) implement a least-cost gas utility initiative. Requires the Secretary of Transportation to: (1) establish an evaluation program regarding car-pooling arrangements and high-occupancy vehicle lanes; (2) report to the Congress on nonmotorized transportation alternatives, as well as a fuel-savings mass transportation assistance program for State and local governments. Requires such Secretary to report to the Congress on the use of Highway Trust Fund moneys for non-motorized transportation alternatives and for carbon-dioxide emissions reductions. Directs the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission to: (1) take certain prescribed actions to ensure the adoption of least-cost utility planning principles; and (2) detail for the Congress any amendments to the Federal Power Act which are necessary for the Commission to adopt such planning principles. Requires the Secretary of Energy to report to the Congress on the results of a national power survey emphasizing policies and technologies within the electric utility industry which are designed to diminish global warming. Amends the National Energy Conservation Policy Act to repeal the prohibition against the supply or installation by a public utility of a residential energy conservation measure for residential customers. Amends the Federal Power Act to add new definitions regarding "qualifying efficiency." Amends the Public Utility Regulatory Policies Act of 1978 to direct the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) to prescribe within one year after the date of enactment of this Act rules encouraging the achievement of qualifying efficiency. Mandates that such rules: (1) require that electric utilities offer to purchase qualifying conservation from qualifying cogeneration or small power production facilities; and (2) provide for the verification of conservation achievement. Prescribes rate guidelines for such electric utilities purchases. Title III: State Energy Conservation Program - Amends the Energy Policy and Conservation Act to mandate that State energy conservation feasibility reports submitted to the Secretary include a reduction of ten percent or more in the total amount of energy consumed in such State in the year 2000 from the projected energy consumption for such State in the year 2000. Adds to Federal assistance eligibility prerequisites for proposed State energy conservation plans, including an emergency planning program for energy supply disruption. Cites optional State energy conservation programs. Repeals the mandate for supplemental State energy conservation plans. Repeals the National Energy Extension Service Act. Authorizes appropriations for energy conservation programs for FY 1990 through 1993. Establishes a State Energy Advisory Board to: (1) review and advise on the programs under this Act; (2) serve as liaison between the States and the Department of Energy on energy efficiency; and (3) report at least annually to the Secretary and the Congress on the status of State energy conservation programs. Authorizes the use of loan programs and performance contracting for the non-Federal share of energy conservation project costs under the grant program. Amends the Energy Conservation and Production Act regarding limitations upon Federal weatherization assistance for low income persons to provide that: (1) at least 80 percent of the administrative costs incurred shall be available to subgrantees performing program measures; and (2) subgrantees with small programs shall have adequate administrative funding. Cites conditions under which the Secretary is authorized to approve a State application for a waiver of: (1) the requirement that at least 40 percent of Federal weatherization assistance be used for weatherization materials; and (2) the limitations placed upon expenditures per dwelling unit for weatherization measures. Authorizes appropriations for FY 1991 through 1992 for a weatherization research and technical assistance program which shall include the monitoring of indoor air quality in low-income homes. Title IV: Vehicle Energy Efficiency Performance Standards Act of 1988 - Amends the Motor Vehicle Information and Cost Savings Act to increase the average fuel economy standards for passenger automobiles and light duty trucks for model year 1992 and thereafter according to prescribed guidelines. Exempts manufacturers of fewer than 10,000 light trucks and emergency vehicles from such prescribed standards. Establishes an incentives schedule for manufacturers of passenger automobiles and light trucks. Authorizes the Secretary of Transportation to assess a tax against any manufacturer who fails to comply with the prescribed average fuel economy standards. Sets forth procedural guidelines for the imposition of such tax. States that the current civil penalty shall not apply to any model year for a passenger automobile or light truck after model year 1989. Prescribes a fleet average fuel economy schedule for all Federal passenger automobiles and light trucks for model years 1992 and thereafter. Amends the Information and Cost Savings Act to require the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency to consult with the Secretary of Energy before establishing testing and calculation procedures for measuring automobile fuel economy. Authorizes (currently, directs) the Administrator to require fuel economy tests in conjunction with emissions tests conducted under the Clean Air Act. Directs the Administrator to measure a sampling of production passenger automobiles for each model type and year during the first month of manufacture for sale. Requires the adjustment of average fuel economy standards when necessary. Requires manufacturers to reflect any changes in such standards on automobile labels affixed more than 90 days after such changes are available. Requires that Federal testing and calculation procedures be repeated over a period of years to monitor automobile performance in use to determine the extent of decline in fuel economy. Directs the Administrator to periodically review procedures for testing fuel economy. Directs the Administrator to update the booklet containing fuel economy data at least twice a year. Directs the Secretary of Energy to distribute at least 100 booklets each year to each dealer and additional numbers if requested. Cites conditions under which manufacturers of light vehicles with certain increased fuel economies shall be considered to have offered the Government a specified discounted bid. Directs the Secretary, within two years of enactment of this Act, to submit suggestions to the Congress for additional legislation to carry out its purposes and the purposes of the Motor Vehicle Information and Cost Savings Act. Directs the National Academy of Sciences to report to the Congress on the results of its review of the research and development status of the fuel efficiency and energy consumption reduction of light vehicles, trucks, and passenger vehicles. Directs the Secretary of Energy to make changes in the Department of Energy's transportation research and development program based upon such report. Outlines criteria and procedures for amended vehicle fuel economy standards. Amends the Internal Revenue Code to prescribe a gas guzzler tax schedule applicable to 1989 and later model year automobiles. Sets forth a tax credit schedule for the purchase of certain fuel efficient passenger vehicles. Title V: Solar and Renewable Resources - Requires the Secretary of Energy to report to the Congress regarding a long-term research, development and demonstration program with policy options necessary to achieve a quadrupling of renewable energy production and use by 2015. Requires the Secretary of Energy to work closely with specified Federal departments regarding the Federal Government's biofuels program, and to report to the Congress on the progress being made in the development of solar and renewable resources. Mandates that the President's budget requests for FY 1990 - FY 1993 include the Secretary of Energy's recommendations for civilian research and development budgets necessary to implement such long-term program. Directs the Secretary to establish an Energy Research Advisory Board Panel on Solar and Renewable Resources and Technologies which shall report annually to the Energy Research Advisory Board regarding the status of the solar and renewable resources program. Authorizes appropriations for FY 1990 through FY 1993 for such program. Mandates that the President's budget request for FY 1990 include the Secretary's recommendations for proof-of-concept or near-commercialization demonstration projects in specified categories. Directs the Secretary to: (1) establish and provide financial assistance to a joint research and development venture to develop advanced district cooling technologies applicable in cities with high cooling loads; and (2) appoint members to an Advisory Committee on Advanced District Cooling Technology to assist in the implementation of such joint venture. Authorizes appropriations for such venture. Directs the Secretary of Energy to implement a research program regarding: (1) fuel cell use of methane gas generated from biomass forms; (2) technologies using renewable energy sources (such as wind and solar energy) to produce hydrogen for fuel cell use; and (3) fuel cell technology for electric power production as backup spinning reserve components to renewable power systems in rural and isolated areas. Authorizes the Secretary to make grants to, and enter into contracts with, private research laboratories. Requires the Secretary to report to the Congress regarding the fuel cell research program. Directs the Secretary to appoint members to an Advisory Committee on Energy Conservation and Renewable Energy Technology Exports to assist in the implementation of such program. Authorizes appropriations for FY 1990 through 1992. Directs the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency to prepare Federal guidelines for use by cities and municipalities, specifying environmental and safety standards for the use of fuel cell technology. Requires the Secretary of Commerce to report to the Congress regarding the export market potential for integrated fuel cells systems with renewable power technologies. Requires such Secretary to report to the Congress on the activities of the Committee on Renewable Energy, Commerce, and Trade to promote exports of renewable energy technology. Requires each participating member of such Committee to report annually to the Congress on the Committee actions regarding renewable energy technology exports. Requires the Committee to establish a joint government-industry plan to promote the U.S. market share in international trade in renewable energy technologies, including the development of administrative guidelines for Federal export loan programs. Authorizes appropriations for FY 1990 through 1992. Title VI: Solar Hydrogen Fuels - Directs the Secretary of Energy to prepare and submit to specified congressional committees a comprehensive five-year program management plan for a research and development program designed to permit the development of a domestic hydrogen fuel production capability within the shortest practicable time. Requires the Secretary to send the Congress annual plan descriptions including any necessary plan modifications. Directs the Secretary to establish such program within the Department of Energy. Requires that the areas to be addressed in such program include production, liquefaction, transmission, distribution, storage, and utilization. Requires priority to be given to production techniques that use renewable energy sources as their primary energy sources. Directs the Secretary to conduct demonstrations to evaluate technical and nontechnical parameters to determine commercial applicability of hydrogen technology and to prepare a comprehensive large-scale hydrogen technology demonstration plan. Requires the Secretary to consult with other Federal agencies and departments in carrying out this program. Requires the establishment of a Hydrogen Technical Advisory Panel of the Energy Research Advisory Board to advise the Secretary on the conduct of the hydrogen program. Requires the Panel to submit an annual report on the program to the Energy Research Advisory Board which shall subsequently report to the Secretary. Authorizes appropriations to carry out this title for FY 1990 through 1994. Directs the Administrator of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) to prepare and submit to specified congressional committees on a comprehensive five-year program management plan for a research and development program for the development of a domestic hydrogen-fueled aircraft capability within the shortest practicable time. Requires the Administrator to transmit to Congress an annual plan description including any necessary modifications with respect to the plan. Requires the Administrator to establish such program within NASA and to prepare and transmit to the Congress a comprehensive flight demonstration plan which shall confirm the technical feasibility, economic viability, and safety of liquid hydrogen as a fuel for commercial transport aircraft. Provides that the research and development program under this title shall include, at a minimum, the development of the systems associated with the production, transportation, storage, and handling of liquid hydrogen for commercial aircraft application. Provides that the Administrator shall consult with other Federal agencies and departments in carrying out the program. Establishes a Hydrogen-Fueled Aircraft Advisory Committee to advise the Administrator on the programs established by this title. Requires the Committee to report annually to the Administrator on its activities and on the status of such programs. Authorizes appropriations to carry out this title for FY 1990 through 1994. Title VII: Natural Gas and Coal - Part A: Natural Gas - Directs the Secretary of Energy to enter into cooperative agreements with and provide financial assistance to appropriate parties to construct and demonstrate the commercial operation of intercooled steam-injected gas turbines for generating electricity. Authorizes appropriations for FY 1990 through 1993. Requires the Secretary to report to the Congress on the implementation of this program. Directs the Secretary to enter into cooperative agreements with and to provide financial assistance to municipal governments to demonstrate the feasibility of using natural gas as a fuel for urban area mass transit. Sets as a prerequisite to such agreements that the participating municipal government provide at least 25 percent of the demonstration costs. Authorizes appropriations for FY 1990 through 1992. Requires the Secretary to submit a feasibility report to the Congress within nine months after the date of enactment of this Act pertaining to the use of natural gas in diesel-powered vehicles to facilitate compliance with emissions requirements. Part B: Coal - Requires the Secretary, within nine months after the date of enactment of this Act, to provide the Congress with a comprehensive review of clean coal technologies to be developed in federally-funded projects under the Department of Energy's clean coal technology program. Directs the Secretary to establish and implement research and development technologies for preventing, reducing, recycling, recovering, or offsetting carbon-dioxide emissions from combusted coal. Requires the Secretary to report to the Congress on the implementation of such technologies. Authorizes appropriations for FY 1990 through 1992. Title VIII: Forest and Agriculture Policies - Part A: Forest Policies - Directs the Secretary of Agriculture, in cooperation with the Secretary of the Interior, to report to the President and the Congress on the feasibility of a national forestation initiative. Requires the Secretary of Agriculture to submit an analysis to the President and the Congress of the potential for reducing carbon emissions by undertaking targeted urban tree plantings to reduce air conditioning needs and mitigate the "heat island effect" in cities. Part B: Agricultural Policies - Mandates that specified Federal agencies conduct a joint study on critical linkages between agricultural production and global climate change. Cites study contents. Directs specified Federal agencies to establish an interagency task force to ensure that all satellite and remote sensing information pertinent to agricultural needs and climate modeling are made available to the Department of Agriculture. Directs the Secretary of Agriculture to use the "Low-Input Farming Systems Research and Education Program." Authorizes appropriations for FY 1990 through 1994. Part C: Integrated Farming Policies - Directs the Secretary of Agriculture to consult with the agriculture community and sustainable agriculture advocates for the purpose of developing an integrated farming research, development, and demonstration program. Authorizes appropriations for FY 1990 through 1992. Directs the Secretary of Energy to establish a national farm ethanol program. Authorizes appropriations for FY 1990 through 1992. Title IX: Development Assistance - Directs the Secretary of State, in conjunction with the Administrator of the Agency for International Development and other specified officials, to report to the Congress on the status of forest resources in tropical countries, including a forest and agroforestry plan with goals for each tropical country. Requires: (1) the Administrator to ensure that all activities supported by U.S. bilateral foreign assistance are consistent with such plan; and (2) the Administrator take into account each country's measure of success in meeting plan goals when allocating development assistance monies. Prescribes guidelines under which the Secretaries of State and of the Treasury are directed to promote multilateral tropical forestry programs, and to report to the Congress regarding the progress made by each of the multilateral development banks, the United Nations Food and Agriculture Program, the United Nations Development Program, and the International Tropical Timber Organization. Directs the Secretary of Commerce to promulgate regulations within one year after the date of enactment of this Act requiring wood and projects containing imported wood to bear a label disclosing the names of such wood and the countries of origin. Requires such Secretary to promulgate regulations prohibiting the importation of wood and wood products containing wood from: (1) tropical forest countries that have not achieved the forest plan goals; (2) countries that import wood or products containing wood harvested in tropical countries that have not achieved forest plan goals; and (3) countries that permit transit of wood or products containing wood harvested in tropical countries that have not achieved forest plan goals. Requires the Secretary to report annually to the Congress on the status of import controls with respect to tropical forest countries that have not achieved the forest plan goals. Amends the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 to authorize the President to assist developing countries with research and development programs aimed at energy efficiency and energy transmission facilities. Prohibits assistance for large-scale production of energy. Prescribes guidelines under which the President is directed to provide support to aid-receiving countries with emphasis upon least-cost energy planning. Requires the President to report annually to the Congress regarding the bilateral energy program, including the progress made in reducing greenhouse gas emission. Directs the Secretary of the Treasury to instruct the U.S. Executive Director of each multilateral development bank to: (1) vigorously promote the adoption by each bank of a least-cost energy planning program containing specified components; and (2) oppose, except in certain instances, financial or technical assistance to any borrowing country if a least-cost energy plan is not in place. Directs the Secretary of State to instruct the Ambassador to the United Nations to: (1) vigorously encourage the United Nations Development Program implementing energy conservation and efficiency programs for recipient countries; and (2) oppose the adoption of country programs for any country for which a least-cost energy planning program giving priority to energy conservation, end use energy efficiency, and renewable energy sources is not in place. Requires the Secretary of the Treasury and the Secretary of State to report annually to the Congress regarding the progress of the multilateral development banks and the United Nations Development Program in implementing energy conservation measures. Declares that it is the policy of the United States that its economic assistance programs to developing countries should encourage least-cost, sustainable transportation policies and practices based on a diverse mix of motorized and nonmotorized transport modes which minimize fuel needs and reduce carbon-dioxide emissions. Directs the Administrator of the Agency for International Development to: (1) implement a study of the Agency's transportation-related programs and of the multilateral development bank policies regarding their transportation-related lending practices to recipient countries; and (2) redirect part of the Agency's resources to providing nonmotorized low-cost vehicles that can be sustained in the long term. Directs the Secretary of the Treasury to instruct the U.S. Executive Director to each multilateral development bank to increase the emphasis on nonmotorized, low-cost and energy efficient alternatives to private motor vehicles. Directs the Peace Corps to encourage the use of nonmotorized transport technologies in the projects it undertakes. Specifies non-motorized transportation policies to be promoted by the U.S. Government in implementing its development assistance programs. Authorizes the Secretary of the Treasury to modify the loan terms on up to one-half of the sovereign debt owed the United States by developing countries as a condition of adopting forest and energy conservation programs. Directs the Secretary to promulgate regulations implementing such environmental conservation and debt reduction program within one year after the enactment of this Act. Directs the Secretary to encourage the adoption of joint initiatives of debt reduction and conversion by the public and private sectors in member countries of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development. Directs the Administrator of the Agency for International Development to report biennially to the Congress regarding the status of energy conservation and efficiency for each country receiving Federal development assistance monies. Requires the Administrator of the Agency for International Development to report to the Congress regarding the options and strategies for the use of bilateral and multilateral development assistance programs sponsored by the United States to control emissions of certain greenhouse gases into the atmosphere. Title X: International Activities - Directs the Secretary of State to convene an international meeting in the United States by the end of 1992 to adopt a global climate protection agreement with measures at least as stringent as those in this Act. Sets forth a percentage reductions schedule for emissions of specified gases. Directs the Secretary of State to: (1) initiate negotiations for the adoption of a binding multilateral agreement requiring specified reductions of nitrogen oxide emissions by 1998; (2) request and, if necessary, convene the parties to the Montreal protocol on substances that deplete the ozone layer for possible control measures reassessment; and (3) convene an international meeting to exchange information regarding energy efficiency and solar/renewable energy resources that are environmentally sustainable. Directs the Secretary of the Treasury to instruct the U.S. Executive Directors of multilateral development banks to promote lending policies which emphasize specified aspects of energy conservation, renewable energy source, greenhouse gas emissions, and least-cost non-motorized transportation systems. Directs the Administrator of the Agency for International Development to take specified measures concerning: (1) biological diversity conservation; (2) renewable energy resources and conservation; and (3) assistance to developing countries in the use of agricultural and industrial chemicals. Declares U.S. policy with respect to domestic and international efforts to deal with the greenhouse effect. Requests the President to take steps to establish a long-term study of the greenhouse effect, beginning with a one-year cooperative international research program started during or before 1991. Names the year of such program the "International Year of the Greenhouse Effect." Title XI: World Population Growth -Declares it is the policy of the United States that family planning services should be made available to all persons requesting them. Authorizes appropriations for FY 1990 through 1994 for international population and family planning assistance. Prohibits the use of such funds for: (1) involuntary sterilization or abortion; or (2) the coercion of any person to accept family planning services. Requests the President to initiate an international conference on population, and to seek an international agreement on population growth. Establishes a National Commission on Population, Environment, and Natural Resources to prepare reports and convene conferences. Terminates such Commission three years after the enactment of this Act. Authorizes appropriations for FY 1990 through 1992. Title XII: Recyclable Materials - Directs the Secretary of Commerce and the Secretary of Health and Human Services to report to the Congress the results of a study regarding degradable materials and recycling methodologies. Requires the Secretary of Defense to report to the Congress the results of a study regarding the national security implications of requiring the use of degradable materials in items procured by the Department of Defense, and of requiring the Department to comply with specified prohibitions against the use of nondegradable materials. Requires the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency biennially to submit an updated report to the President and the Congress regarding Federal, State, and local policies and practices in recycling government wastes and procuring recyclable materials. Directs the Secretary of Agriculture to report to the Congress the results of a pilot project to develop and demonstrate a viable technology for composting municipal waste and sewage sludge. Directs the Secretary of Commerce to appoint a Director of Recycling Research and Information to: (1) make grants for recycling research and development; (2) establish a national database information clearinghouse for recyclable materials; (3) report annually to the Congress regarding the status of recyclable wastes; and (4) make grants for scientific research on the use of plastic materials as part of a recycling program. Authorizes appropriations for FY 1990. Sets forth civil and criminal penalties for offenses involving the production, manufacturing, distribution or selling of specified nonrecycled consumer goods which have been proscribed by the Secretary of Commerce under regulations jointly issued with the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency. Requires the Secretary of Commerce periodically to update the list of proscribed nonrecycled consumer goods.
United States · United States Congress · 4 October 1988
Designates the United States Post Office and Courthouse at 151 West Street, Rutland, Vermont, as the Robert T. Stafford United States Courthouse and Post Office.
United States · United States Congress · 29 September 1988
Expresses the sense of the Congress that Medicare (title XVIII of the Social Security Act) hospital payments for FY 1990 should not be reduced below levels provided in current law for such fiscal year.
United States · United States Congress · 27 September 1988
Child Care Tax Incentive Act of 1988 - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to increase from 30 to 40 percent the percentage used to determine the dependent care income tax credit for employment-related expenses in connection with non-handicapped taxpayer dependents under age 15. Reduces the credit (but not below 20 percent) when adjusted gross income exceeds $10,000. Disallows government-subsidized child care expenses in credit calculations. Directs the Secretary of the Treasury to prescribe tables to permit credit payments by employers through payroll withholding mechanisms. Treats 70 percent of the 30 percent dependent care credit for taxpayers with adjusted gross income of $40,000 or less as a refundable credit, administered through the earned income credit.
United States · United States Congress · 22 September 1988
Defense Consultant Registration and Reform Act of 1988 - Prohibits defense agencies from awarding a contract for advisory and assistance services to any consultant unless: (1) such consultant complies with the registration requirements of this Act; and (2) the contracting officer has reviewed the registration information and determined that such consultant does not have a conflict of interest that could be prejudicial to the United States. Prohibits defense agencies from awarding a contract to any person submitting a bid to such agencies unless such person certifies that each consultant that has assisted in the preparation of such bid has complied with the registration requirements of this Act. Requires each consultant who has submitted a bid or who has been retained in connection with the preparation of a bid for a Department of Defense (DOD) contract to register with the DOD Office of Standards of Conduct. Requires such consultants to update the registered information upon submitting a bid or being retained for the preparation of a bid for another DOD contract. Sets forth the information to be included in the registration. Directs the DOD Inspector General to monitor the compliance of consultants with the registration requirements of this Act and to report annually to the House and Senate Committees on Armed Services on the extent of such compliance. Provides that any consultant who intentionally fails to comply with such registration requirements shall be subject to suspension and debarment proceedings. Provides that this Act shall not apply to contracts which, as determined by the Secretary of Defense, involve: (1) sensitive foreign intelligence or counterintelligence activities; (2) sensitive law enforcement investigations; or (3) special access programs.
United States · United States Congress · 22 September 1988
Designates October 5, 1988, as Raoul Wallenberg Recognition Day.
United States · United States Congress · 22 September 1988
Designates October 30, 1988, as Fire Safety at Home Day: Change Your Clock, Change Your Battery.
United States · United States Congress · 16 September 1988
Federal Crop Insurance Commission Act of 1988 - States that the purpose of this Act is to: (1) ensure the review of the Federal crop insurance program; and (2) 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 · 14 September 1988
Designates October 14 through October 20, 1988, as National Culinary Week.
United States · United States Congress · 14 September 1988
Congratulates Israel and Egypt for a decade of peace based upon the Camp David accords. Calls upon other Arab states and Palestinians to join in the peace process, renounce the state of war and acts of violence, and enter into direct negotiations with Israel to achieve a lasting peace.
United States · United States Congress · 13 September 1988
Designates the week of December 11 through December 17, 1988, as National Drunk and Drugged Driving Awareness Week.
United States · United States Congress · 8 September 1988
Commodity Exchange Option Reform Amendments of 1988 - Amends the Commodity Exchange Act to state that the Commodity Futures Trading Commission shall have exclusive jurisdiction to designate a board of trade for any put, call, or option. Repeals the provision regarding Commission submission of certain contract market designation applications for Securities and Exchange Commission review.
United States · United States Congress · 7 September 1988
Designates September 24, 1989, as United States Marshals Bicentennial Day.
United States · United States Congress · 11 August 1988
Requires the display of the National League of Families POW/MIA flag at each U.S. diplomatic or consular post until the President determines that there has been the fullest possible accounting of the Americans who are imprisoned, missing, or unaccounted for as a result of the conflict in Southeast Asia.
United States · United States Congress · 9 August 1988
Designates the Federal building and United States Courthouse at 109 South Highland, Jackson, Tennessee, as the Ed Jones Federal Building.
United States · United States Congress · 3 August 1988
Information Dissemination and Research Accountability Act - Establishes in the National Library of Medicine a National Center for Research Accountability to assist in eliminating duplication of effort in Federal research proposals involving live animals. Directs the President to appoint as members of the Center 20 experts in the biomedical information sciences who are currently employed by a Federal agency in a capacity that qualifies them to make determinations as to whether research proposals involving live animals are duplicative of other research efforts. Sets forth provisions for a Director of the Center. Prohibits Federal agencies from carrying out or funding any research proposal involving live animals unless the proposal is submitted to the Center following agency approval. Prohibits Federal funding of any proposal the Center determines would duplicate other research completed or in process. Authorizes the Center to contract with private entities to assist in conducting comprehensive full-text literature searches. Directs the President to establish rules to preclude any conflict of interest in the awarding of these contracts. Directs the Center to report annually to the President and the Congress. Provides for modernization of biomedical information storage and dissemination by the National Library of Medicine. Directs the Library to: (1) acquire, in full-text form, all biomedical information owned or available for use by Federal agencies (except information already in the Library or classified for national security reasons); (2) transcribe and store in full-text all such information acquired by the Library after January 1, 1960; (3) make available to medical libraries, through modern technologies, all full-text biomedical information in its collection; (4) support, by grants and contracts, the creation of new information for teaching and demonstrations, including audiovisual aids and computer graphics technologies; (5) make available such new information to research and teaching institutions, at cost; and (6) increase the number of persons trained in modern methods of biomedical information storage and dissemination technologies by making available stipends, awards, and grants to persons engaged in such training. Provides that the cost to those requesting biomedical or teaching and demonstration information shall include the Federal expenses incurred in acquiring and making it available. Authorizes the Library to award contracts to the private-sector data recording industry to improve: (1) the development of technologies for storage and dissemination of full-text biomedical information; and (2) dissemination of such information to medical libraries for research use. Requires the Library to report annually to the Congress on its progress. Authorizes appropriations.
United States · United States Congress · 27 July 1988
Human Needs and Mobility Resolution - Expresses the sense of the Congress that a variety of transport options, particularly nonmotorized and low-cost options, should be encouraged as solutions for the mobility needs of the poor in developing nations. Urges the Agency for International Development to: (1) redirect resources to providing low-cost vehicles; and (2) report to the Congress on the effectiveness of multilateral development banks regarding lending for mobility needs of the poor in developing nations. Urges U.S. officials to increase the emphasis multilateral development banks place on nonmotorized, low-cost alternatives to private motor vehicles. Urges the Peace Corps to encourage the use of nonmotorized transport technologies in its projects and by its volunteers.
United States · United States Congress · 26 July 1988
Designates the week beginning September 11, 1988, as National Youth 2000 Week.