United States · United States Congress · 9 February 1989
National Community Service Act of 1989 - Title I: Establishment and Administration of the National Community Service Corporation - Establishes the National Community Service Program. Allows any individual to volunteer for service with the Program if: (1) such individual is determined by the Corporation for National Community Service to be fit for service; and (2) adequate funds are available for enrollment. Directs the Corporation to establish rules for selecting and accepting applicants as volunteers, up to the total number of positions authorized for each fiscal year. Sets the length of individual service at three to six years, with individual discretion allowed within such time limits. Allows a portion of specified financial assistance to be provided to a volunteer who is released after partial completion of service because of compelling personal circumstances. Requires Program volunteers to serve for: (1) two weekends a month and two weeks during the year; or (2) an average of nine hours per week. Provides for transfers of volunteers. Directs the Corporation annually to provide each Program participant a non-transferable voucher equal to $3,000 for each year of service. Requires that such voucher be used only for: (1) payment of a federally sponsored student loan; (2) downpayment for a first home; or (3) payment for educational tuition, fees, room, and board, to be paid directly to an educational, technical, or vocational institution. Excludes such compensation from gross income for income tax purposes. Requires each volunteer to attend a six-week national training session conducted by the Corporation. Requires each State to provide any additional training a volunteer may receive on the community level. Requires that each volunteer receive additional training in relevant skills from the sponsoring government agency or organization. Directs the Corporation to coordinate and administer the Program. Title II: Establishment and Organization of the Corporation - Establishes the Corporation for National Community Service as a nonprofit organization which shall not be considered an agency or establishment of the U.S. Government. Title III: Provision of Community Services - Directs each State Governor to designate a State Administrator to administer and supervise the Program in that State. Sets forth provisions for State plans and State office duties. Directs each State Administrator, in selecting eligible organizations for placement of volunteers, to give preference to agencies and organizations that involve: (1) primarily existing programs; (2) nonprofit organizations (e.g. United Way); (3) government-sponsored volunteer programs (e.g. State conservation corps); or (4) programs that provide and develop services for young people (e.g. Big Brother/ Big Sister), the elderly (e.g. Meals on Wheels or nursing home visitors), public safety (e.g. volunteer firefighters or emergency medical personnel), conservation (e.g. parks and reforestation), and helping others help themselves (e.g. home care, literacy training, and Habitat for Humanity). Title IV: Miscellaneous - Authorizes appropriations to carry out this Act for FY 1991 through 1994. Authorizes the following maximum numbers of volunteers: (1) 50,000 in FY 1991; (2) 100,000 in FY 1992; (3) 200,000 in FY 1993; and (4) 400,000 in FY 1994. Provides for Federal, State, local, and private shares of Program costs.
United States · United States Congress · 9 February 1989
Commends the Government and people of Pakistan on the holding of free and fair elections. Congratulates Benazir Bhutto on her election as Prime Minister and commends her for freeing political prisoners and restoring full human rights. Expresses support for Bhutto's foreign policy statements on Afghanistan and for Pakistan's new democracy.
United States · United States Congress · 8 February 1989
Assault Weapon Control Act of 1989 - Amends the Federal criminal code to prohibit the transfer, importation, transportation, shipping, receipt, or possession of: (1) any assault weapon; and (2) a large-capacity detachable magazine or ammunition belt which can be employed by a semiautomatic firearm. Provides exceptions for transfers to, and possession by, a Federal, State, or local government entity and lawful possessions before specified dates. Defines "assault weapon" to mean: (1) all firearms so designated under this Act (including Kalashnikov, Uzi, and AR-15 semiautomatic firearms); and (2) all other semiautomatic firearms which are determined by the Secretary of the Treasury to be assault weapons. Defines a large capacity magazine or belt as one which holds over ten rounds. Requires the Secretary: (1) within 30 days after enactment, to determine which firearms sold, or potentially sold, in the United States, in addition to those specifically designated in this Act, shall be designated as assault weapons; and (2) to publish and modify periodically a list of such firearms. Authorizes the Secretary to issue an emergency order, for up to 90 days, barring importation and sale of any firearms that may be designated as assault weapons. Precludes the designation of a firearm as an assault weapon if it meets specified criteria. Authorizes the Secretary to recommend to the Congress any appropriate modification of this Act, including the addition or deletion of firearms to be designated as assault weapons. Requires the Secretary to submit an initial report within three months of the enactment of this Act. Sets forth penalties for the use or possession of an assault weapon during and in relation to the commission of a crime of violence or a drug trafficking crime. Amends the Internal Revenue Code to apply the prohibition against the transfer or manufacture of firearms to assault weapons. Includes assault weapons in provisions regarding the maintenance of a central registry of all firearms in the United States which are not under U.S. possession or control. Requires registration of assault weapons within 30 days from the latter of the date the Secretary provides public notice that the type of firearm is designated as an assault weapon or the date the Secretary promulgates regulations for registration.
United States · United States Congress · 8 February 1989
Declares it to be the policy of the United States that Federal records, books, and publications of enduring value be produced on acid-free permanent papers. Makes recommendations relating to such papers to Federal agencies and to American publishers. Recommends that the Secretary of State make known such national policy to foreign governments and appropriate international agencies. Directs the Librarian of Congress, the Archivist of the United States, the Director of the National Library of Medicine, and the Administrator of the National Agricultural Library to monitor progress in implementing such policy.
United States · United States Congress · 7 February 1989
Title I: Immigration Act of 1989 - Immigration Act of 1989 - Amends the Immigration and Nationality Act to establish a three-year two-tiered immigration annual entry level of 590,000 with adjustments made up of 440,000 "family connection" immigrants and 150,000 "independent" (employment-related) immigrants. Requires the Attorney General to report annually to the President and to the appropriate congressional committees on the social, economic, and environmental impacts of immigration. Requires the President, at three-year intervals, to submit to the Congress a determination to maintain or change such immigration levels. Sets forth House and Senate procedures for the consideration of a joint resolution with respect to a change in the number of immigrant visas transmitted by the President under this Act. Limits annual "family connection" and "independent" visas from each foreign country. Revises the immigration admissions preference system to allocate "family connection" preferences as follows: (1) unmarried sons and daughters of U.S. citizens (15 percent of worldwide level); (2) spouses and unmarried sons and daughters of permanent resident aliens (65 percent of worldwide level); (3) married sons and daughters of U.S. citizens (ten percent of worldwide level); and (4) never married brothers and sisters of U.S. citizens (ten percent of worldwide level). Allocates "independent" preferences as follows: (1) special immigrants (five percent of worldwide level); (2) aliens who are members of the professions with advanced degrees or aliens of exceptional ability (23 percent of worldwide level); (3) skilled workers (23 percent of worldwide level); (4) employment creation (four percent of worldwide level, or 5,000 visas, whichever is greater, to any alien with a minimum $1,000,000 capital investment which will create at least ten jobs); and (5) selected immigrants chosen on a point system basis. Sets forth the following system criteria: (1) age; (2) education; (3) English language ability; (4) U.S. occupational demand; and (5) occupational training and work experience. Amends the petitioning procedure provisions of such Act to permit special immigrant petitions to be filed with the Attorney General. Amends labor certification provisions of such Act to exclude certain classes of immigrants unless the Secretary of Labor certifies that there are not sufficient qualified U.S. workers and that employment of aliens in such positions will not adversely affect U.S. workers' wages and conditions. Directs the Secretary to conduct a study, and hold public hearings, about the labor certification process and to report to the appropriate congressional committees. Establishes a two-year conditional permanent resident status for certain alien entrepreneurs and their families. Provides for selected immigrant visas fees to be charged for the filing of a petition for certain immigrant categories. Amends Federal law to credit a Department of State fund (derived from fees collected by consular officers) to pay the expenses of research and development of visa and passport functions. Directs the Attorney General to prepare a study and report quarterly to the Congress regarding immigration from Cuba into the United States. Title II: Naturalization Amendments of 1989 - Naturalization Amendments of 1989 - Amends the Immigration and Nationality Act to: (1) establish an administrative naturalization procedure; and (2) make such procedure the sole procedure for naturalization. Reduces State residency requirements. Provides for review of a denied application before the Board of Immigration Appeals and thereafter in U.S. district court. Directs the Attorney General to provide the public with information regarding naturalization benefits. Directs the Attorney General to provide for the naturalization of certain Filipino veterans who served in the U.S. armed forces during World War II.
United States · United States Congress · 7 February 1989
American Heritage Trust Act of 1989 - Title I: American Heritage Trust - Establishes the American Heritage Trust, comprised of the Land and Water Conservation Fund and the Historic Preservation Fund, to provide funding for the preservation of America's natural, historical, cultural, and outdoor recreational areas. Title II: Land and Water Conservation Fund - Amends the Land and Water Conservation Fund Act to require the Secretary of the Treasury to invest a portion of the Land and Water Conservation Fund in public debt securities. Requires that the interest from such investments be used for the preservation of the Nation's recreational areas. Requires any excess interest to be credited to the Treasury. Sets forth a formula for the allocation of such interest income to the Federal Government and the States. Sets forth specified requirements with respect to the apportionment of such income to local and State governments, Indian tribes, and Alaska Native Village Corporations. Title III: Historic Preservation Fund - Amends the National Historic Preservation Act to extend the Historic Preservation Fund through 2015. Requires the Secretary of the Treasury to invest a portion of such Fund in public debt securities. Requires that the interest from such investments be used for the preservation of historic sites. Provides for allocation of a percentage of annual appropriations for State historic preservation trust funds. Title IV: Miscellaneous Provisions - Requires the owner of any site that benefits from moneys derived from the American Heritage Trust to install a sign indicating that fact. Requires the Secretary of the Interior, within 18 months after enactment of this Act, to provide for a contest for elementary or secondary school children for the design of a symbol to represent such Trust and for use in such signs.
United States · United States Congress · 7 February 1989
Amends the Internal Revenue Code to extend through 1992 the period during which qualified mortgage bonds and mortgage credit certificates may be issued. (Under current law, authority for these programs is due to expire as of 1990).
United States · United States Congress · 7 February 1989
Declares that, in celebration of Law Day, U.S.A., special emphasis and acknowledgment should be given to all law enforcement personnel for their service in preserving domestic tranquility and guaranteeing rights under law.
United States · United States Congress · 2 February 1989
Tongass Timber Reform Act - Title I: Alaska National Interest Lands Conservation Act Amendments - Repeals specified provisions of the Alaska National Interest Lands Conservation Act (the Act) relating to: (1) the authorization of appropriations for the maintenance of the timber supply from the Tongass National Forest in Alaska to dependent industry; (2) the identification of Forest lands unsuitable for timber production; and (3) a specified report to the Congress by the Secretary of Agriculture on the timber supply and demand in southeastern Alaska. Amends the Act to include in a specified report to the Congress on the Forest: (1) the impact of timber harvest on wildlife and fisheries resources and recreation resources and tourism, biological diversity, and the old growth rain forest ecosystem; (2) timber supply and demand in southeastern Alaska; and (3) costs and revenues of the timber sale program. Requires the Secretary to terminate, not later than 90 days after enactment of this Act, specified timber sale contracts between the United States and the Alaska Pulp Corporation and the Ketchikan Pulp Company. Title II: Management of the Tongass National Forest - Directs the Secretary to revise the Tongass National Forest Land Management Plan of 1979, in conformance with this Act and other applicable laws, to increase protection of the Forest's resources critical to the interests of the commercial fishing, recreation, and tourism industries, and the subsistence users in southeast Alaska. Requires specified reports to certain congressional committees. Title III: Moratorium on Timber Sales and Harvest - Prohibits the sale or harvest of timber (including timber sale preparation or road construction) upon forest lands during the revision of the management plan.
United States · United States Congress · 2 February 1989
Family and Medical Leave Act of 1989 - Title I: General Requirements for Family Leave and Medical Leave - Entitles employees to family leave for specified periods in cases involving the birth, adoption, foster care, or serious health condition of a child or the serious health condition of a parent. Entitles employees to temporary medical leave for specified periods in cases involving inability to work because of a serious health condition. Sets forth conditions for certification for such types of leave. Provides that such leave may be without pay. Allows employees to substitute other types of paid leave to cover part of such leave period. Sets forth employment and benefits protections relating to such leave. Provides for administrative enforcement of this title by the Secretary of Labor, as well as enforcement by civil action. Requires employers to post notice of the pertinent provisions of this title. Title II: Family Leave and Temporary Medical Leave for Civil Service Employees - Amends specified Federal law to entitle civil service employees to family and temporary medical leave for specified periods. Provides that such leave will be without pay. Allows employees to substitute other types of paid leave for part of such leave. Provides for protection for job position and health insurance benefits of employees using such leave. Directs the Office of Personnel Management to prescribe regulations for administration of this title which are consistent with the regulations prescribed by the Secretary of Labor under title I of this Act. Title III: Commission on Family and Medical Leave - Establishes the Commission on Family and Medical Leave. Requires the Commission to report on its study of family and medical leave (which may include legislative recommendations concerning coverage of small businesses) to the Congress within two years after the Commission first meets. Terminates the Commission within 30 days after its final report. Title IV: Miscellaneous Provisions - Sets forth the effect of this Act on existing laws and existing employment benefits. Provides that nothing in this Act shall be construed to discourage employers from adopting more generous leave policies. Directs the Secretary of Labor to prescribe regulations to carry out title I of this Act within 60 days.
United States · United States Congress · 2 February 1989
American Conservation and Youth Service Corps Act of 1989 - Title I: American Conservation Corps - Establishes the American Conservation Corps (ACC), to be administered by Federal agencies and through a State grant component. Directs the Secretaries of the Interior and of Agriculture to establish the Federal component of the ACC within their agencies to administer programs on Federal lands. Encourages Federal agencies to enter into program agreements with program agencies, local governments, and nonprofit organizations. Directs the Secretary of the Interior to establish a program of grants to States to administer the State component of the ACC involving work on non-Federal public lands and waters. Directs each Governor to designate a State program agency. Authorizes any local government to establish a program agency to carry out the State component within its political subdivision if the State program agency has not been designated at the commencement of a fiscal year. Requires States carrying out such programs to provide mechanisms for participation by local governments and nonprofit organizations. Authorizes the ACC to carry out conservation, rehabilitation, and improvement projects relating to: (1) wildlife habitat, rangelands, parks, and recreational areas; (2) urban revitalization and historical and cultural sites; (3) fish and fisheries; (4) roads and trails; (5) erosion, floods, droughts, and storm damage assistance and control; (6) streams, lakes, waterfront harbors, and ports; (7) wetlands protection and pollution control; (8) insect, disease, rodent, and fire prevention and control; (9) improvement of abandoned railroad bed and right-of-way; (10) energy conservation, renewable resources, and biomass recovery; (11) reclamation and improvement of strip-mined land; and (12) forestry, nursery, and cultural operations. Limits such projects to those on public lands or Indian lands, except where the administering Secretary determines that a project involving other lands will provide a public benefit. Encourages any land or water conservation or related program administered in any State under authority of any Federal program to use ACC services. Title II: Youth Service Corps - Requires the Director of the ACTION Agency to appoint an Assistant Director to make grants for youth service projects to eligible public and private nonprofit agencies, and to otherwise administer Youth Service Corps (YSC) programs under this title. Provides for designation of specific activities as eligible service categories if: (1) they are of substantial social benefit in meeting unmet human, social (especially poverty-related), or environmental needs in a community; (2) they will not interfere unreasonably with employment availability and terms of employees of sponsoring organizations; and (3) participants are qualified for such activities. Allows such service categories to include service in: (1) State, local, and regional governmental agencies; (2) nursing homes, hospices, senior centers, hospitals, local libraries, parks, recreational facilities, day care centers, and schools; (3) law enforcement, penal, and probation agencies; (4) private nonprofit social services organizations; (5) rehabilitation or improvement of public facilities or neighborhoods, literacy programs, weatherization and repair of low-income housing, energy conservation (including solar energy), removal of public facility architectural barriers to the handicapped, and conservation, maintenance, or restoration of natural resources on publicly held lands; and (6) any other nonpartisan civic activities and services determined appropriate by the Assistant Director. Prohibits such service categories from including any position in any: (1) business organized for profit; (2) labor union; (3) partisan political organization; (4) religious organization, unless the position does not involve any religious functions; or (5) domestic or personal service organization. Title III: Youth Skills Enhancement - Requires the administering Secretary or the Assistant Director (as the case may be) to provide guidance and assistance to States in securing certification of training skills or academic credit for competencies developed under this Act. Directs each program agency to: (1) maintain or enhance, through programs and projects under this Act, the educational skills of program enrollees; (2) assess an entering enrollee's educational level; (3) use at least ten percent of program funds to provide in-service training and educational materials and services for enrollees and persons serving in such projects; and (4) use at least ten percent of program funds for post-service education and training assistance. Directs appropriate State and local officials to certify standards and procedures for awarding academic credit and certifying educational attainment in such programs. Requires such standards and procedures to specify that any person serving in a program or project under this Act: (1) who is not a high school graduate shall participate in an educational component progressing toward a high school diploma or its equivalent; and (2) may arrange to receive academic credit in recognition of learning and skills obtained from service satisfactorily completed. Title IV: Administrative Provisions - Sets forth: (1) requirements for the award of grants to eligible entities, including matching requirements and limitations on use of funds; and (2) provisions for approval of applications and supervision of programs. Limits enrollment in the ACC and YSC to individuals who, at the time of enrollment, are: (1) 16 through 25 years old; and (2) U.S. citizens or nationals or lawful permanent resident aliens. Requires that special efforts be made to recruit individuals who are economically, socially, physically,and educationally disadvantaged. Prohibits acceptance for service of any person without a high school diploma or equivalent, unless that person has not been enrolled as a high school student during the three months before the acceptance date. Limits individual enrollment to a total of 24 months. Prohibits individuals (except special members) from remaining enrolled after attaining age 26. Prohibits any enrollee from performing services on any project for more than a six-month period. Requires the State job training coordinating council to appoint an advisory board for oversight and review of projects under this Act. Authorizes appropriations for FY 1990 and succeeding fiscal years to carry out this Act. Title V: Commission on National Service Opportunities - Establishes the Commission on National Service Opportunities to study: (1) opportunities for young people to perform voluntary national service; and (2) the effect on Federal and other employees of improving the quality and expanding the number of such opportunities. Requires the Commission's final report and recommendations to be transmitted to the President and the Congress within 15 months after its first meeting. Requires each executive department and agency affected by such report to submit to the President recommendations for implementing it. Directs the President, within 90 days after the Commission's final report is transmitted to the Congress, to transmit an interim report to the Congress on: (1) the desirability, feasibility, and cost of implementing the Commission's recommendations, and the actions taken or planned with respect to that implementation; and (2) recommendations on legislation needed for implementation. Directs the President to transmit a final report, within 90 days after such interim report, detailing any implementing actions taken and any further recommendations. Terminates the Commission 180 days after its final report.
United States · United States Congress · 2 February 1989
Infant Mortality and Childrens Health Act of 1989 - Amends title XIX (Medicaid) of the Social Security Act to require States to cover children born after September 30, 1983, whose family income is below the Federal poverty level. Authorizes States to continue such coverage for one year after the family's income rises above the Federal poverty level. Phases in mandatory State coverage of pregnant women and infants whose family income is below 185 percent of the Federal poverty level. Deducts child and medical care costs from the income eligibility test. Requires the continuation of such coverage for women through the month in which the 60-day post-partum period expires, and for infants throughout their first year of life. Directs the Secretary of Health and Human Services to report to the Congress by July 1, 1990, on State error rates in determining the Medicaid eligibility of pregnant women and infants. Suspends error rate penalties attributable to such eligibility determinations made from July 1, 1989, until one year after the Secretary's report. Permits States to provide Medicaid coverage to all children whose family income is below the Federal poverty level. Requires that States make ambulatory prenatal care available to a pregnant woman during a presumptive eligibility period which ends when she is determined to be ineligible for Medicaid benefits or 14 days after she is determined to be eligible, but fails to apply. Amends title V (Maternal and Child Health Services) of the Act to require States to provide outreach services for Medicaid-eligible pregnant women and infants under such title. Amends the Medicaid program to reimburse States, at the Federal Medicaid assistance percentage, for outreach services identifying Medicaid-eligible pregnant women and infants and assisting them in applying for Medicaid coverage. Requires that States submit information to the Secretary, by April 1 of each year, pertaining to the supply of and demand for obstetrical and pediatric services and proposed Medicaid payment rates for such services so that the Secretary may determine whether such rates are sufficient to ensure that obstetrical and pediatric services will be at least as available to Medicaid beneficiaries as they are to the general population. Requires States to immediately revise rates determined to be insufficient. Increases, by 25 percent, the Federal share of Medicaid costs attributable to State demonstration projects to reduce infant mortality and childhood morbidity by improving the access of Medicaid-eligible pregnant women, infants, and children to obstetricians and pediatricians. Limits FY 1990 expenditures for such projects. Directs States to adjust Medicaid payments to disproportionate share hospitals to take into account exceptionally costly and lengthy inpatient hospital services for children. Requires States to: (1) coordinate Medicaid services with the special supplemental food program for women, infants, and children (WIC) under the Child Nutrition Act of 1966; and (2) notify Medicaid-eligible pregnant, breastfeeding, or postpartum women and children under age five of WIC program benefits. Directs the Secretary to develop, for use by January 1, 1990, a national toll-free phone number providing basic health information and health care referrals to pregnant women, new mothers, and other interested persons.
United States · United States Congress · 2 February 1989
Community Revitalization Tax Act of 1989 - Amends Internal Revenue Code income tax accounting rules to treat rehabilitation investment credits and low-income housing credits as credits not derived from passive activities. Revises the limitation on the general business credit to allow a maximum annual credit equal to the first $20,000 of an individual taxpayer's income tax liability plus 80 percent of any excess liability.
United States · United States Congress · 31 January 1989
Protect Medicare 90 Concurrent Resolution - 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 set by current law for such fiscal year.
United States · United States Congress · 25 January 1989
National Nutrition Monitoring and Related Research Act of 1989 - Title I: Nutrition Monitoring and Related Research - Establishes a ten-year coordinated program, to be known as the National Nutrition Monitoring and Related Research Program, which will be implemented by the Secretaries of Health and Human Services (HHS) and Agriculture. Establishes an Interagency Board for Nutrition Monitoring and Related Research to facilitate program implementation. Authorizes the Secretaries to appoint an Administrator of Nutrition Monitoring and Related Research. Sets forth the program functions of the Secretaries, including: (1) establishing matching grants programs for specified nutritional and dietary purposes; and (2) submitting a biennial report to the President for transmittal to the Congress. Requires the Secretaries to implement a comprehensive national nutrition monitoring and related research plan which shall: (1) assess and report on U.S. nutritional and dietary trends; (2) sample representative subsets of identifiable low income populations and assess and report on food and household expenditures; (3) sponsor and conduct research; (4) develop and update a national dietary and nutritional status data bank; (5) assist State and local agencies in developing procedures and networks for nutrition monitoring and surveillance; and (6) focus the activities of Federal agencies. Requires the plan to allocate the project functions and activities among the various Federal agencies and offices involved. Provides that the comprehensive plan shall be carried out during the period ending with the close of the ninth fiscal year following the fiscal year in which the final comprehensive plan is submitted. Requires the Secretaries to coordinate and enter into contracts for such scientific research and development as may be necessary to support the coordinated program and comprehensive plan. Requires the President, at the time of the submission of the annual budget to the Congress, to submit a report to specified congressional committees on expenditures required for carrying out the coordinated program and implementing the comprehensive plan. Title II: National Nutrition Monitoring Advisory Council - Establishes a nine-member National Nutrition Monitoring Advisory Council to: (1) provide scientific and technical advice on the development and implementation of all components of the coordinated program and the comprehensive plan; (2) evaluate such program and plan; and (3) submit an annual report to the Secretaries. Title III: Dietary Guidance - Directs the Secretaries, by the start of 1990 and every five years thereafter, to publish and review dietary guidelines for the general public. Requires the Secretary of HHS to submit a report describing the appropriate Federal role in assuring that medical students and physicians practicing in the United States have adequate training in the field of nutrition and its relationship to health.
United States · United States Congress · 25 January 1989
World Environment Policy Act of 1989 - Title I: Establishment of the Council on World Environmental Policy - Requires the President to establish a Council on World Environmental Policy to replace the existing Council on Environmental Quality and to be chaired by the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). Outlines the duties of the Council, including: (1) the submission to the Congress of a Strategic Plan for coordinating policy responses to world environmental problems; (2) the advisement of the President and the Congress on the effects of U.S. policy on such problems; (3) the publication of an annual report detailing the Nation's progress toward meeting the goals of the Plan; and (4) the implementation by all Federal agencies of criteria to minimize the impact of Federal policies on the world environment. Authorizes the President to appoint an Ambassador to represent the United States in negotiations relevant to global environmental issues. Title II: Research, Development of Policy Responses, and Promotion of Public Awareness - Expresses the sense of the Congress that: (1) the United States should participate in and support the International Geosphere-Biosphere Program (IGBP); and (2) the President should periodically, but not less than biennially, transmit to the Congress a plan for U.S. participation in such program. Declares that: (1) the Antarctic region is a critical area in the study of global change; and (2) the United States should support the development of an Antarctic research component to IGBP to include specific recommendations of the ad hoc Scientific Committee on Antarctic Research of the International Council of Scientific Unions. States that the National Aeronautics and Space Administration's Mission to Planet Earth initiative should enjoy public and congressional support. Requests the President to establish a cooperative international research program concerning the greenhouse effect of increased concentration of carbon dioxide and greenhouse gases in the Earth's atmosphere. Requires any such program established by the President to be started before 1990, which shall be known as the International Year of the Greenhouse Effect. Provides that such program should be coordinated on behalf of the United States by the Secretary of State, the National Research Council, and the Federal Coordinating Council for Science, Engineering, and Technology. Title III: Regulation and Phase-Out of Anthropogenic Emissions That Degrade The Environment - Part A: Phase-Out of Substances that Deplete the Stratospheric Ozone Layer - States that this Act's objectives are to restore and maintain the chemical and physical integrity of the Earth's atmosphere and to protect human health and the global environment from all known and potential dangers due to atmospheric or climatic modification. Directs the Administrator to: (1) publish a priority list of manufactured substances which are known, or may reasonably be anticipated, to cause or contribute to atmospheric or climatic modification, including chlorofluorocarbon-11, chlorofluorocarbon-12, chlorofluorocarbon-13, halon-1211, halon-1301, and carbon tetrachloride; (2) create and annually update a list of other manufactured substances which meet such criteria; and (3) assign to each listed substance a numerical value representing the ozone depletion potential of such substance. Imposes reporting requirements on producers or importers of listed substances. Phases out, by January 1, 1996, the production or release of priority-listed substances for any use other than medical purposes. Prohibits the use or introduction into interstate commerce of a priority-listed substance after 1994 or a listed substance after 1999, except for medical purposes or, for ten more years, to maintain and service household appliances. Directs the Administrator to require a producer of a listed substance to reduce its production of such substance more rapidly if new information indicates that expedition is necessary for the protection of human health or the environment or the availability of substitutes makes expedited reductions attainable. Authorizes the President to issue orders exempting from this Act's requirements the production and use of halon-1211 and halon-1301 at any specified site or facility if the President finds that adequate substitutes are not available and the production and use of such substances is necessary to protect national security interests. Directs the Secretary of Defense to: (1) seek to eliminate all emissions of halon-1211 and halon-1301 that occur during the testing of fire-extinguishing equipment; and (2) investigate the feasibility of alternative testing methods that do not result in the release of such substances. Prohibits the importation of a priority-listed substance, any product containing such substance, or any product manufactured with a process that used such substance unless the Administrator has certified that the nations in which such substance or product was manufactured and from which such substance or product was imported have programs that require reduced production of such substance and limit the production of other substances covered by this Act pursuant to a schedule and limitations at least as stringent as those applicable under this Act. Deems a person who imports a listed substance or a product containing such substance to have produced such substance for purposes of this Act's requirements. Requires that containers in which listed substances are stored or transported, products containing such substances, and products manufactured with a process using such substances be labeled as harmful to public health and the environment by reason of the effect such substances have on the ozone and climate. Deems listed substances to be hazardous wastes to be disposed of by a means which assure 99.999 percent destruction of such substances. Requires that goods which contain a listed substance in bulk be disposed of by persons licensed to accept such goods and only after the listed substance has been removed from confinement and destroyed. Provides that when such substance is an inherent element of a product, such product must be disposed of by a means assuring 99.999 percent destruction. Prohibits the release of listed substances in other than de minimis quantities. Prohibits the use of listed substances in goods if more than five percent of such substance will be released during the ordinary use of the goods or the goods cannot be serviced with no more than a de minimis release of such substances. Part B: Control of Methane Emission From Landfills and Sewage Treatment Facilities - Directs the Administrator to report to the Congress by January 1, 1991, on (1) the contribution of methane gas to global climate change; (2) the sources and sinks of methane; (3) the methods of controlling methane emissions; and (4) the relationship between methane emissions and concentrations of other trace gases. Requires that State solid waste management plans provide for the minimization of emissions of methane and other gases during the operation and after the closure of sanitary landfills. Provides that sewage treatment facilities constructed after January 1, 1990, shall be designed and operated to minimize emissions of methane. Requires existing facilities to be modified for such purposes prior to 1993. Prohibits, after 1993, mass releases and flaring of methane. Part C: Control of Other Pollutant Emissions - Directs the Administrator to set oxides of nitrogen emission controls for stationary and vehicular sources of such emissions. Sets the oxides of nitrogen emission limit at .4 gram per mile for light duty vehicles manufactured in model year 1990 and thereafter. Requires the Administrator to set hydrocarbon emission controls for stationary and vehicular sources of such emissions. Requires that existing stationary sources: (1) meet the hydrocarbon emission control achievable through the adoption of reasonably available control technologies; and (2) comply, upon the 35th anniversary of their construction, with hydrocarbon emission standards applicable to new major stationary sources. Directs the Administrator to set a hydrocarbon emission limit of .25 gram per vehicle mile for light duty vehicles manufactured in model year 1992 and thereafter. Requires vehicles manufactured during and after model year 1991 to have on-board hydrocarbon control technology to recover fueling emissions. Requires the promulgation of standards concerning certain other vehicular emissions. Prohibits, beginning with model year 1991, the manufacture, sale, or introduction into commerce of any engine that requires leaded gasoline. Sets the useful life of a light duty vehicle, during which emission standards remain applicable, at ten years or one hundred thousand miles, whichever first occurs. Adds an idle test mode to the Federal Test Procedure for light duty vehicles. Requires the Administrator to establish at least one high altitude site for testing vehicles for conformity with emission and fuel standards. Imposes civil monetary penalties against individuals who remove or render inoperative any emission control device, except as necessary in the course of routine proper maintenance. Directs each State which is required to implement a vehicle inspection and maintenance program to adopt quality control audits to assure that such inspections detect and report to the Administrator any patterns of defects in any manufacturer's emission control systems. Requires the Administrator to annually report to the Congress, with respect to each manufacturer, any significant finding of repeated or common emission system defects and the actions taken to remedy such nonconformity. Requires vehicle manufacturers to affix on vehicles manufactured during and after model year 1990, a label indicating the full cost of applying the warranty assuring compliance with emission and fuel standards for the useful life of the vehicle. Authorizes manufacturers to sell extended warranties, but permits purchasers to buy an extended warranty from any other vendor of such warranties. Makes purchasers responsible for replacing and maintaining, at their expense and at any service facility of their choosing, devices related to, but not designed for, emission control, unless such device is covered by an extended warranty. Sets limits on the sulfur content of diesel fuel and the Reid vapor pressure of gasoline and ethanol/gasoline blends, and a floor on the oxygen content of fuel in carbon monoxide nonattainment areas. Sets forth reporting requirements. Imposes civil monetary penalties on violators of fuel regulations. Requires each State to implement a vehicle emission control inspection and maintenance program to reduce in-use emissions of hydrocarbons, carbon monoxide, oxides of nitrogen, and diesel particulates from motor vehicles. Part D: Miscellaneous Provisions - Authorizes the Administrator to respond to violations of this title's requirements by assessing a civil penalty against violators and/or requiring their immediate compliance, or commencing a civil action in the U.S. district court in the district in which the violation occurred for appropriate relief. Imposes civil and criminal penalties for violations of this title's requirements. Provides for judicial review of the Administrator's final actions. Authorizes citizen suits to enforce any permit, regulation, condition, requirement, prohibition, or order which has become effective pursuant to this title. Title IV: Vehicle Fuel Efficiency Improvements - Vehicle Energy Efficiency Performance Standards Act of 1989 - 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 1993 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 1990. Prescribes a fleet average fuel economy schedule for all Federal passenger automobiles and light trucks for model years 1993 and thereafter. Requires 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 (current law 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 1990 and later model year automobiles. Sets forth a tax credit schedule for the purchase of certain fuel efficient passenger vehicles. Title V: Waste Minimization and Recycling - Directs the Secretary of Commerce to study and report to the Congress concerning: (1) means to increase the use of degradable materials in manufactured goods; (2) technologies for recycling nondurable consumer products; and (3) ways to expand the marketing of recycled products. Directs the Secretary of Health and Human Services to study and report to the Congress concerning the feasibility of recycling nondegradable medical supplies and of substituting degradable for nondegradable materials in medical equipment and supplies. Directs the Secretary of Defense to study and report to the Congress on the national defense and security implications of requiring the use of degradable materials in defense items. Instructs the Secretary of Agriculture to initiate a pilot project to develop and demonstrate viable technology for composting municipal waste and sewage sludge. Prescribes required features of the project. Requires the Secretary to report project results to the Congress. Directs the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency to establish an Office of Recycling and Waste Minimization to: (1) make grants to support research into innovative recycling technology; and (2) gather and disseminate information on waste disposal and recycling technology. Describes possible research grant activities. Requires the Administrator and the Secretary of Education to conduct a five-year outreach program to provide information regarding the importance of proper waste disposal and the benefits of, and methods to encourage, voluntary recycling. Sets forth a potential format for such program. Authorizes appropriations. Prohibits, effective two years after this Act's enactment, the production, manufacture, distribution, sale, or delivery of nonrecycled consumer goods, fast food in nondegradable containers, and packaging for specified purposes that contains any material that is not naturally degradable. Establishes both civil and criminal penalties for violations. Directs the Administrator to issue regulations to govern the designation of goods and materials for noncompliance purposes. Prescribes criteria with respect to these regulations, including exemptions. Directs the Administrator to publish and periodically update lists of items and materials affected by the prohibition on activities involving nonrecyclable items. Directs the Administrator to promulgate guidelines to assist States in the development of recycling and waste minimization plans. Requires each State to submit such plans to the Administrator for approval. Sets forth requirements for such plans. Directs the Administrator to establish a Federal program in any State that is not enforcing such a plan. Provides that failure by a State to implement such a plan may result in the loss of assistance. Title VI: The World Bank and Sustainable Economic Development - Directs the Secretary of the Treasury to enter into discussions with the president of the World Bank and with officials of the governments of other major contributors to the Bank to work out guidelines for advance disclosure of prospective bank loans prior to their approval within the Bank. Requires the President to instruct U.S. representatives to the Bank to request that all future energy-sector lending for new energy supplies be contingent on a finding that the quantity of services specified in the loan proposal could not be delivered at the same or lower cost by improving the efficiency of energy use. Title VII: Assistance to International Family Planning Organizations - Expresses the sense of the Congress that the United States should provide funds for family planning to organizations operating in foreign countries, provided that such organizations can guarantee that no U.S. funds will be used to pay for performing abortions. Provides that the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 shall be understood to permit U.S. funds to support family planning in foreign countries. Title VIII: Conservation of World Biodiversity - Declares that conservation of biological diversity is a national goal of the United States and that efforts toward conservation are a national priority. Amends the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 to require that environmental impact statements on proposed Federal actions include any impacts on biological diversity. Requires the President's Council on World Environmental Policy to: (1) establish guidelines for consideration of biological diversity in the preparation of environmental impact statements; and (2) identify biotic communities, species, and populations that appear to be in decline or that are of special concern and to include such information in its annual report. Establishes a National Center for Biological Diversity and Environmental Research to set national priorities and provide leadership and coordination for the promotion of knowledge of the Nation's biota and the effects on such biota of the activities of people. Outlines the functions of the Center. Authorizes any Federal agency to detail its personnel to the Center to assist in carrying out the Center's duties under this Act. Allows the Center to accept gifts or donations of services or property. Requires the Director of the Center to report annually to the President and the Congress on the activities of the Center during the preceding year. Establishes an Interagency Working Committee on Biological Diversity to be composed of representatives from specified Federal agencies and to coordinate and implement Federal and international activities and strategies for the conservation of biological diversity. Directs the Committee to report biennially to the Congress on the progress of such strategy. Authorizes agencies on the Committee to engage in partnership grants, provided that the Federal funds are matched by the grantee, except in the case where the grantee is a State. Requires each Committee agency, other than the Council on World Environmental Policy, to give high priority to research and personnel training and to assess the adequacy of such research and training. Establishes a National Scientific Advisory Committee on Biological Diversity to include as members nominees recommended by the National Academy of Sciences and appointed by the President. Outlines the functions of the Committee, including: (1) providing scientific and technical advice to the Interagency Committee in the preparation of Federal strategy; and (2) assisting in the evaluation of the impacts of proposed Federal actions on biological diversity. Authorizes appropriations. Limits expenditures for biological diversity grants. Title IX: Replanting and Conserving the World's Forests - Sets forth congressional findings on tropical wood. Directs the Secretary of State to enter into negotiations with Japan and the European Communities to: (1) reach agreement on a Phased Tropical Hardwoods Agreement to restrain consumption of tropical hardwoods; and (2) establish an international agreement in support of a special Tropical Forest Conservation Lending Facility to be vested within the World Bank and to finance regimes of sustained yield management for tropical woods. Sets forth congressional findings on global deforestation. Requires the Director of AID to: (1) prepare an assessment of the potential for, and the costs of, raising the productivity of small-holders of land on a country specific basis; (2) frame proposals for the expansion of regional microenterprise lending focused on small-holding agriculture in environmentally stressed regions, to be supported by the World Bank; and (3) prepare an estimate of the full global potential for reforestation, its impact on regional ecological and economic problems, its effect on the global carbon balance, its estimated costs, and a proposal for sharing such costs with the international community. Sets forth congressional findings on the preservation of the Amazon Basin. Encourages the Brazilian Government to begin a process of international consultation toward a program for resource conservation in such Basin. Expresses the sense of the Congress that: (1) the Secretary of State should declare that the United States is ready to participate in such consultations; and (2) members of the international community should reassess their investment policies to assure that they do not contribute to the accelerated destruction of such Basin's rain forest. Directs U.S. directors of multilateral development banks and other development assistance institutions to urge restraint pending the development of an approach which blends Brazil's requirements for national development with global environmental imperatives. Title X: International Cooperation - Directs the President to request the United Nations to establish a temporary new agency, to be headed by the director of the United Nations Environmental Program, to: (1) coordinate international efforts to minimize and mitigate the effects of unavoidable environmental alterations; and (2) provide financial, technical, and other assistance to developing nations to facilitate improvements in their standard of living while minimizing or eliminating their contributions to global, continental, and subcontinental scale environmental damages. Directs the President to request the United Nations to establish a temporary program of forestation to: (1) assist and encourage nations in halting activities that are destroying forests; and (2) undertake a global reforestation program. Requires the President to instruct U.S. representatives to other bilateral and multilateral organizations to assure that the activities of such organizations are consistent with this Act's goals and objectives.
United States · United States Congress · 25 January 1989
Amends the Federal Tort Claims Act to allow members of the armed forces to bring claims for damages against the United States for personal injury or death arising out of medical or dental care furnished by a Department of Defense hospital or medical facility.
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
Computer Software Rental Amendments Act of 1989 - Amends Federal copyright law to prohibit the person in possession of a computer software program from renting, leasing, or lending it for direct or indirect commercial advantage unless authorized to do so by the copyright owner (or licensee). Grants remedies for copyright infringement in cases of violations of this Act.
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
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
Age Discrimination in Employment Waiver Protection Act of 1989 - Amends the Age Discrimination in Employment Act of 1967 (the Act) to prohibit an individual from waiving any right under the Act without the supervision of the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) or a court, except in settlement of a bona fide claim alleging a certain kind of prohibited age discrimination. Allows a settlement of a bona fide claim to occur only if the settlement is knowing and voluntary and only if certain criteria are met. Defines "bona fide claim," for such purposes, as: (1) a charge of age discrimination filed with the EEOC; (2) an action alleging age discrimination filed in court by the individual or the individual's representative; or (3) a specific allegation of age discrimination communicated in writing by the individual or the individual's representative directly to the employer, employment agency, labor organization, or their representatives. Provides that, effective upon the enactment of this Act, a specified rule on waivers issued by the EEOC shall have no force and effect.
United States · United States Congress · 25 January 1989
Smart Start: The Community Collaborative for Early Childhood Development Act of 1989 - Directs the Secretary of Education (the Secretary) to make grants to States and localities with approved plans and applications to assist them to expand or establish full-day early childhood development services for prekindergarten children. Authorizes appropriations for FY 1990 through 1994. Sets forth requirements relating to State and local eligibility for Federal assistance under this Act, including establishment or designation of a State Advisory Task Force and a Local Policy Group. Provides for Federal assistance to localities in States which elect not to participate. Prohibits any locality funded under specified provisions from receiving less than $25,000 in total Federal and State funds provided under this Act. Allows any locality to apply for a six-month planning grant to the State or, if the State does not participate, to the Secretary. Provides for State Advisory Task Forces. Requires each Task Force to report annually to the Governor and the Secretary on the status of early childhood development programs and child care programs operating within the States. Allows a State to use an existing comparable task force for such purposes. Directs the Governor to designate a Lead State Agency to administer the early childhood development programs assisted under this Act. Requires any locality desiring to receive a grant under this Act to form a Local Policy Group. Requires each Group to report annually to the State Advisory Task Force on the status of early childhood development programs and child care within the locality. Requires selection of a local administering agency by specified local officials from among specified types of local agencies. Makes a child eligible to participate in programs assisted under this Act in the school year two years prior to the school year in which the child would be eligible under State law to enter first grade. Permits any State or locality which has served all children of the eligible age group requesting services to use funds to serve children in the school year three years prior to the school year in which they would be eligible under State law to enter first grade. Sets forth family contribution requirements. Provides services under this Act without charge to eligible children in families with incomes under 115 percent of the poverty line. Requires, for eligible children from families with incomes at or above 115 percent of the poverty line, payment of fees on a sliding scale up to the full cost of such services. Sets forth minimum standards for service providers, including maximum group size and child to adult ratios, staff training and credentials, parental involvement, and health, safety, and nutrition requirements. Requires Local Policy Groups to: (1) arrange for periodic on-site evaluation of local programs; and (2) report annually to the Task Force. Requires the Task Force to: (1) arrange for periodic on-site monitoring, inspection, and evaluation of programs; and (2) report annually to the Governor and the Secretary. Directs the Secretary, either directly or by grant or contract, to provide for continuing evaluation of programs, especially on the use of nonparticipant control groups. Authorizes the Secretary to require States or localities to provide for independent evaluations. Directs the Secretary to: (1) publish results of evaluations within 90 days of their completion; and (2) submit copies to the appropriate congressional committees. Directs the Secretary to report annually to the appropriate congressional committees.
United States · United States Congress · 25 January 1989
Whistleblower Protection Act of 1989 - Separates the Office of Special Counsel from the Merit Systems Protection Board. Empowers the Special Counsel to represent and act as legal counsel on behalf of employees alleging prohibited personnel practices, especially whistleblowers. Revises current law with respect to the Special Counsel to reflect its advocate status. Authorizes the Board to grant protective orders to protect a witness or other individual from harassment either during a proceeding before the Board or during a Special Counsel investigation. Requires the Board, when it considers alternative places for conducting hearings or proceedings, to select the place closest to the location of the individual involved, unless the total administrative costs to the Government in conducting such hearings or proceedings would be less elsewhere. Authorizes the Special Counsel to file a petition to the Board against an official for: (1) engaging in prohibited personnel practices; (2) violating a law within the jurisdiction of the Special Counsel; or (3) failing to comply with an order of the Board. Sets forth procedures for disciplining such officials. Prohibits the Special Counsel from intervening in cases without the employee's consent, except: (1) where the employee is charged with a prohibited personnel practice; or (2) where the Special Counsel allows an agency to take disciplinary action against an employee under Special Counsel investigation. Prohibits the Special Counsel from providing information concerning any person making an allegation of a prohibited personnel practice, except in accordance with applicable law, without the consent of such person. Prescribes procedures for the Special Counsel when disclosures are made by persons other than an employee, former employee, applicant for employment, or employee who obtained information in connection with official duties. Requires the Special Counsel to report annually to the Congress on its activities. Establishes requirements for the Special Counsel to make public certain information, including noncriminal matters. Authorizes employees who have been adversely affected by a prohibited personnel practice to bring an action before the Board (instead of or in addition to taking such action to the Special Counsel). Prohibits reprisals against an employee for disclosing information to the Inspector General of an agency or to the Special Counsel, or for failing to follow orders to disobey a law. Authorizes Federal agencies to give preference in granting transfers to whistleblowers. Provides interim relief for certain appellants to the Board. Authorizes appropriations for the Merit Systems Protection Board for FY 1989 through 1993 and for the Office of Special Counsel for FY 1989 through 1991. Provides that the relevant agency shall be named respondent in employee appeals of Board decisions where the appeal involves the underlying personnel action or a request for attorney fees.
United States · United States Congress · 25 January 1989
Intellectual Property Antitrust Protection Act of 1989 - Provides that an intellectual property right shall not be presumed to define a market or to establish market power or monopoly power in any action in which the right holder is alleged to have violated antitrust laws in marketing or distributing a protected product or service.
United States · United States Congress · 25 January 1989
Civil Rights Amendments Act of 1989 - Amends the Civil Rights Act of 1964 to prohibit discrimination on the basis of affectional or sexual orientation. Provides that this Act shall not be construed to permit a finding of discrimination based on statistical differences or the fashioning of any remedy requiring a quota.
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
Amends the Internal Revenue Code to set as the amount of a qualified artistic charitable contribution for income tax deduction purposes the fair market value of the property contributed (determined at the time of contribution). Defines "qualified artistic charitable contribution" as the contribution of certain literary, musical, artistic, or scholarly composition, letter or memorandum, or similar property. Disregards the deduction for qualified artistic charitable contributions when determining alternative tax itemized deductions.
United States · United States Congress · 25 January 1989
National Acid Rain Control Act of 1989 - Title I: Acid Deposition Control and Assistance Program - Amends the Clean Air Act to require fossil fuel fired electric utility generating plants burning coal with excessive sulfur content to clean that coal prior to combustion. Requires such plants using flue gas desulfurization units to use adipic acid treatment. Directs the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), within 18 months after the enactment of this Act, to compute a State share for each of the 48 contiguous States of a 12,000,000 ton reduction in annual emissions of sulfur dioxide by the year 2000 below that of 1985. Sets forth a formula for determining State shares. Permits States to reallot shares among themselves if the required total reduction in annual emissions of sulfur dioxide is still achieved. Sets deadlines and procedures for submission and approval of State plans for such State shares. Requires the owner or operator of any fossil fuel fired facility which is a major but not new stationary source to comply with an emission limitation equivalent to an average of 1.0 pounds of sulfur dioxide per million Btu's of heat input on a rolling 30-day average, if its State has not submitted or implemented an approved plan. Requires such owners or operators to submit a compliance plan to the Administrator for approval. Establishes in the Treasury the Acid Deposition Control Fund to provide funding for emissions reductions from specified appropriations. Sets forth conditions and administrative provisions for such Fund. Imposes a fee on each kilowatt hour of electric energy generated by an electric utility in the contiguous States. Directs the Administrator to make grants and contracts to accelerate research for developing other advanced industrial processes to reduce levels of sulfur dioxide and oxides of nitrogen, including limestone injected multistaged burner (LIMB) technology. Authorizes appropriations for FY 1990 through 1994. Title II: Control of Emissions of Oxides of Nitrogen - Directs the Administrator to revise nitrogen oxides emissions standards for electric utility steam generating units which burn bituminous or subbituminous coal. Sets maximum subbituminous emissions at 0.30 pounds per million Btu's and maximum bituminous coal emissions at 0.40 pounds per million Btu's, based on a 30-day rolling average. Requires the Administrator to promulgate emissions standards for new, large fossil fuel fired steam generating units. Establishes oxides of nitrogen emissions standards for light duty trucks after model year 1990. Title III: Motor Vehicle Fuel Conservation Act of 1989 - Motor Vehicle Fuel Conservation Act of 1989 - Amends the Motor Vehicle Information and Cost Savings Act to make passenger automobiles for model years 1992 and thereafter subject to new average fuel economy standards under this Act. Includes the term "light truck" within the definitions of such Act and makes conforming amendments. Exempts manufacturers of fewer than 10,000 light trucks per year from average fuel economy standards. Applies testing and calculation procedures of average fuel economy for passenger automobiles to light trucks. Establishes new average fuel economy standards for passenger automobiles and light trucks to set graduated increases over economy achieved for model year 1988 for model years 1992 and thereafter. Authorizes manufacturers to apply to the Secretary of Transportation for modification of such standards. Prohibits the adjustment of such standard if such adjustment would increase or decrease such standard by an amount in excess of 0.5 miles per gallon. Requires the Secretary to report annually to the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation and the House Committee on Energy and Commerce on any such adjustment. Alters the average fuel economy standards established by this Act for model years 1992 through 2002 for manufacturers of passenger automobiles and light trucks which achieved average fuel economies of 27.5 and 21 miles per gallon, respectively, for model year 1985. Directs the Secretary, upon determining that a manufacturer failed to meet the applicable average fuel economy standard, to require such manufacturer to pay a vehicle fuel conservation fee. Substitutes such fee for the current requirement of a civil penalty and makes conforming amendments. Requires 50 percent of each fee to be deposited in the Vehicle Fuel Conservation Fund. Allows the Fund to be used for grants for vehicle fuel conservation research and authorizes appropriations for such research. Establishes average fuel economy standards for all passenger automobiles and light trucks acquired by executive agencies after model year 1991. Provides that any manufacturer that offers for sale to an executive agency a fleet of such vehicles which achieves at least ten percent more fuel efficiency than a fleet of similarly sized vehicles shall have its bid reduced by two percent. Requires the Administrator to consult with the Secretary of Energy before establishing testing and calculation procedures for measuring average fuel economy for passenger automobiles and light trucks. Authorizes (current law requires) fuel economy tests to be conducted in conjunction with emissions tests 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 not 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 Secretary of Transportation to report biennially to the President, the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation, and the House Committee on Energy and Commerce on such measurements and calculations. 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. Directs the Secretary, within two years of enactment of this Act, to submit suggestions to the Congress for additional legislation to carry out the purposes of the Motor Vehicle Information and Cost Savings Act. Requires the National Academy of Sciences to: (1) review the current state of research and development in passenger automobile and light truck fuel economy; (2) assess the potential for improving fuel efficiency and reducing energy consumption of such vehicles; and (3) report to the Congress on such review and recommend research priorities that could result in improvements in commercialization through the next century. Directs the Secretary of Transportation, no later than FY 1994, to develop and adopt post-2000 vehicle energy efficiency standards. Requires the Secretary to evaluate the economic justification for such standards and directs the Attorney General to determine the impact of any lessening of competition likely to result from such standards. Amends gas guzzler tax provisions of the Internal Revenue Code to: (1) revise the fuel economy standards used to determine the tax for automobile model years 1988 and later; and (2) increase the tax rate with respect to these same model years. Revises the definition of "model type" for purposes of these provisions. Allows tax credits for the purchase of fuel efficient passenger vehicles for model years 1992 through 2000. Title IV: Acid Deposition Damage Mitigation Program - Establishes a grants program for States with Administrator-approved plans for mitigating water quality damage caused by acid deposition. Limits such grants to 80 percent of State-expended funds for mitigation. Apportions funds among the States upon the basis of need.
United States · United States Congress · 25 January 1989
Designates the Arctic Coastal Plain Wilderness within the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, Alaska, as a component of the National Wilderness Preservation System.
United States · United States Congress · 25 January 1989
Minimum Wage Restoration Act of 1989 - Amends the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 (the Act) to increase the Federal minimum wage per hour from $3.35 to: (1) $3.85 in 1990; (2) $4.25 in 1991; and (3) $4.65 in 1992 and thereafter. Increases the small business exemption by revising the definition of an enterprise engaged in commerce, for purposes of coverage under the Act ("the enterprise test"). Exempts from such coverage retail or service establishments whose annual gross volume of sales or business is less than $500,000 (currently $362,500), effective in 1989. Requires employers who were covered in 1988, but who are exempt under the new threshold, to continue to pay the $3.35 per hour minimum wage (and to continue to be covered by overtime and child labor provisions.) Directs the Secretary of Labor, on petition of the Minimum Wage Board of Puerto Rico, to appoint a special industry committee to recommend the minimum rate or rates of wages to be paid under the Act to employees in Puerto Rico, based on specified determinations. Authorizes the Secretary to issue wage orders (pursuant to special industry committee recommendations) prescribing a wage order rate for an employee in Puerto Rico that is: (1) less than the minimum wage rate in effect under the Act; but (2) not less than $3.35 an hour. Removes the Virgin Islands from coverage by provisions for special industry committee wage determinations, including those involving employment under special certificates for learners, apprentices, and messengers and for students.
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.
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