United States · United States Congress · 29 July 1987
Directs the Secretary of Agriculture to establish a research program that includes: (1) developing technology for the rapid identification of infectious agents and toxins on farms and within the processing and distribution chain; (2) establishing a statistical framework for purposes of health risk assessment related to contamination of the animal product food chain by these infectious agents and toxins; (3) analyzing the animal product food chain to determine the most effective point for preventive intervention; and (4) developing techniques to monitor the production, processing, and distribution of food animals and their food product derivatives in order to detect potential microbiological or chemical agents. Authorizes the Secretary to award grants for the funding of projects to decrease the susceptibility of food products of animal origin to infectious or toxic agents. Identifies entities eligible for such grants. Authorizes appropriations.
United States · United States Congress · 28 July 1987
Renewable Energy and Energy Conservation Technology Competitiveness Act of 1987 - Sets forth specified national goals for the current wind, photovoltaics, and solar thermal energy programs. Requires the President's budget requests for FY 1989 to contain the recommendations of the Secretary of Energy for specified Department of Energy research and development programs for 1995, including biofuels energy systems, solar buildings energy systems, ocean energy systems, and geothermal energy. Authorizes appropriations for FY 1988 through 1990 for: (1) the wind energy research program; (2) the photovoltaic energy systems program; (3) the solar thermal energy systems program; (4) the biofuels energy systems program; (5) the solar buildings energy systems program; (6) the ocean energy systems program; and (7) the geothermal program. Mandates that the President's budget requests for FY 1990 include the Secretary's recommendations or proof of concept proposals for certain renewable energy projects. Requires the Secretary to submit an options analysis to the Congress regarding the accelerated commercialization of specified renewable energy technologies. Requires the President's budget requests for FY 1989 and 1990 to include the Secretary's recommendations of amounts to be set aside for energy conservation research and development initiatives. Authorizes appropriations for specified energy conservation research and development programs for FY 1988 through 1990. Directs the Secretary to establish joint research and development ventures in specified energy technologies and to report to the Congress on the implementation of such plans. Directs the Secretary to establish the following advisory bodies: (1) Advisory Committee on Photovoltaic Village Energy Systems; (2) Advisory Committee on Wind Energy Village Energy Systems; (3) Advisory Committee on Solar Thermal Community Total Energy Systems; (4) Advisory Committee on Energy Performance in Factory-Made Housing; (5) Advisory Committee on Advanced District Cooling Technology; (6) Advisory Committee on Integrated Renewable Energy Systems; (7) Advisory Committee on Energy Conservation and Renewable Energy Technology Exports; and (8) Federal Energy Analysis Team. Authorizes appropriations for FY 1988 through 1993 for such joint ventures. Requires the Secretary to evaluate and report to the Congress on the efforts of the Committee on Renewable Energy, Commerce and Trade to promote renewable energy technology exports. Authorizes appropriations for such Committee activities for FY 1988 through 1990. Requires the Secretary to make annual reports to the Congress regarding the research programs and ventures under this Act. Requires each annual submission of the National Energy Policy Plan to be accompanied by a three-year strategic plan for energy technology research, development, and demonstration, including energy conservation and renewable energy technologies.
United States · United States Congress · 24 July 1987
Comprehensive Child Development Centers Act of 1987 - Amends the Head Start Act to authorize the Secretary of Health and Human Services to make grants to eligible entities in rural and urban areas to pay the Federal share of the cost of projects designed to encourage intensive and comprehensive support services which will enhance the physical, social, emotional, and intellectual development of low-income children from birth to compulsory school age, including providing necessary support to their parents and other family members. Directs the Secretary to enter into contracts, agreements, or other arrangements with at least ten but not more than 25 eligible agencies to carry out such program. Lists characteristics of the eligible agency which the Secretary must consider. Authorizes the Secretary to make planning grants to eligible agencies. Limits such grants to not more than 30 in number and to one year in duration. Sets forth application requirements for such grants. Directs the Secretary to make grants to selected eligible agencies to pay the Federal share of the cost of carrying out projects for intensive and comprehensive supportive services for low-income infants, young children, parents, and other family members. Requires that rural projects receive some of these grants. Sets forth application requirements for such grants. Directs the Secretary to pay to eligible agencies with approved applications the Federal share (80 percent) of the cost of activities described in the application. Limits a planning grant to a single eligible agency to $35,000. Directs the Secretary to conduct or provide for an evaluation of the success of such projects. Requires grantees to furnish information for such evaluation. Directs the Secretary to report to the Congress by October 1, 1992, on such evaluation, with recommendations. Authorizes appropriations for FY 1988 through 1993 to carry out such program (other than the report). Authorizes appropriations for FY 1992 and 1993 for the evaluation and report.
United States · United States Congress · 24 July 1987
Protection for Institutionalized Disabled Individuals Amendments Act of 1987 - Amends the Civil Rights of Institutionalized Persons Act to establish a role for State "protection and advocacy systems" (protection and advocacy supported with allotments under the Developmental Disabilities Assistance and Bill of Rights Act or the Protection and Advocacy for Mentally Ill Individuals Act) in actions taken by the Attorney General under such Act with respect to institutions for the mentally ill, disabled, retarded, handicapped, or chronically ill.
United States · United States Congress · 24 July 1987
Declares that the Senate: (1) expresses its full support for General John Vessey in negotiations with Vietnam to determine the fate of Americans missing in action in Southeast Asia, to facilitate the return of the remains of those deceased missing in action, and to discuss humanitarian issues; and (2) calls on Vietnam to respond positively to the concerns of the American people in a humanitarian context.
United States · United States Congress · 22 July 1987
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 1989.)
United States · United States Congress · 21 July 1987
Family Security Act of 1987 - Replaces the Aid to Families with Dependent Children (AFDC) (part A of title IV of the Social Security Act) program with the Child Support Supplement (CSS) program. Title I: Child Support and Establishment of Paternity - Subtitle A: Child Support - Amends part D (Child Support and Establishment of Paternity) of title IV of the Social Security Act to require the withholding of child support payments from the non-custodial parent's wages upon the issuance or modification of a child support order. Waives such withholding requirement when both parents agree to an alternative arrangement or the State finds good cause to rely on an alternative arrangement. Amends part A of title IV of the Act to exclude the first $50 of child support payments which were due for a prior month from the determination of a family's need for CSS payments in the month during which such payments were received. Amends part D of title IV of the Act to require States to review State guidelines for child support award amounts at least once every five years. Makes such guidelines binding upon judges or other State officials unless the judge or official, pursuant to criteria established by the State, finds good cause to ignore such guidelines. Requires that child support awards established under such guidelines be reviewed at least once every two years. Requires the review of a child support award which was not established under such guidelines to adjust it in accordance with such guidelines if either parent requests such review and the State determines that the award should be reviewed. Gives parents at least 30 days notice of pending review or adjustment of a child support award. Subtitle B: Establishment of Paternity - Establishes State performance standards for the establishment of paternity which require the State's paternity establishment percentage for a fiscal year to be: (1) at least 50 percent; (2) the State's percentage for FY 1987 increased by three percentage points for each fiscal year after FY 1988; or (3) equal to or greater than the average percentage for all States. Authorizes the Secretary of Health and Human Services to modify such requirements to take into account variables which may affect a State's ability to meet such requirements. Directs the Secretary to report annually to the Congress regarding the data upon which State paternity establishment percentages are based and the performance of States in establishing paternity. Raises the Federal matching rate to 90 percent (from 68 percent in FY 1988) for laboratory costs incurred in determining paternity. Subtitle C: Improved Procedures for Child Support Enforcement and Establishment of Paternity - Requires the Secretary to establish time limits within which a State must accept and respond to requests for assistance in establishing and enforcing child support orders. Directs the Secretary to establish an advisory committee, composed of State officials involved in the Child Support Enforcement program, with which the Secretary must consult before issuing regulations regarding such time limits. Requires the issuance of final regulations by the first day of the seventh month after this Act's enactment. Requires States to establish automatic data processing and information retrieval systems to assist in the administration of the Child Support Enforcement program within ten years of the State's submittal (by October 1, 1989) of an advance planning document for such system to the Secretary, or, if earlier, by the date specified by the State in such document. Authorizes the Secretary to waive the Act's requirements for such documents and systems if the State has an alternative system which is in substantial compliance with the Act's requirements. Sets the Federal share of establishing such a system at 90 percent so long as time limits have not been exceeded. Directs the Secretary of Labor to give the Secretary prompt access to wage and unemployment compensation claims information and data maintained by the Department of Labor and State employment security agencies. Amends title II (Old Age, Survivors and Disability Insurance) of the Act to require States to collect the social security numbers of both parents when their child is born for use by State agencies administering Child Support Enforcement programs unless the State finds good cause for not requiring such numbers. Establishes the Commission on Interstate Child Support which, by October 1, 1988, must hold one or more national conferences on reform of interstate child support procedures. Directs the Commission to submit a report to the Congress by October 1, 1989, containing recommendations for improving the interstate establishment and enforcement of child support and for revising the Uniform Reciprocal Enforcement of Support Act. Terminates the Commission on October 2, 1989. Authorizes appropriations for such Commission. Title II: Joint Opportunities and Basic Skills Training Program - Amends part A of title IV of the Act to require States to establish, within three years of this Act's enactment, a job opportunities and basic skills training program (Program) which helps needy children and parents avoid long-term welfare dependence. Requires private sector involvement in planning and Program design to assure that participants are trained for jobs that will actually be available in the community. Requires non-exempt CSS recipients to participate in such Program if State resources permit such level of participation and necessary child care is available to participants. Allows exempt CSS recipients to participate on a voluntary basis. Authorizes States to require or allow absent fathers who are unemployed and unable to meet child support obligations to participate in the Program. Exempts from Program participation an individual who: (1) is ill, incapacitated, or of advanced age; (2) is needed in the home because of the illness or incapacity of another member of the household; (3) is a parent or relative of a child under age three or, at the State's option, less than age three but not less than age one (such exception applies to only one parent in a two-parent family and may be made inapplicable to both parents if the State provides the family with child care); (4) works more than 30 hours or more per week; (5) is a child under age 16 or attending elementary, secondary, or vocational school full time; (6) is a woman in the third trimester of pregnancy; or (7) resides in an area of the State where the Program is not available. Prohibits the requirement that the parent or a relative of a child under age six who is not the principal earner participate in the Program for more than 24 hours a week. Provides that if an individual is attending a school or a course of vocational or technical training designed to lead to employment when he or she would otherwise commence participation in the Program, such attendance may constitute satisfactory participation in the Program, though the costs of such schooling or training shall not be covered by the CSS program. Requires States to make an initial assessment of the education and employment skills of each Program participant and on that basis develop an employability plan for each participant which, to the maximum extent possible, reflects the participant's preferences. Authorizes the State to: (1) require each participant to then negotiate a contract with the State which specifies the duration of his or her participation as well as the activities the State will conduct and services it will provide in the course of such participation; and (2) assign to each participating family a case manager who is responsible for obtaining, on the family's behalf, any other services which may assure the family's effective participation. Requires State Programs to provide a broad range of services and activities, including: (1) high school or equivalent education; (2) remedial education to achieve basic literacy and instruction in English as a second language; (3) post-secondary education as appropriate; (4) work supplementation programs; (5) community work experience programs; (6) job search, training, and placement services; and (7) other employment, education, and training activities as determined by the State and allowed by the Secretary. Requires non-exempt custodial parents who have not attained age 22 or successfully completed a high school education to participate in high school or equivalent education, or literacy or English language education. Authorizes States to require such parents to participate in training or work activities if they fail to make good progress in educational activities or if their participation in such activities is inappropriate. Requires each work assignment to be consistent with the physical capacity, skills, experience, health, family responsibilities, and place of residence of each participant and not involve unreasonable travel. Gives participants the opportunity for a fair hearing in the event of a dispute involving his or her work assignment. Prohibits: (1) wage rates for work assignments from being set at less than the greater of the Federal or State minimum wage; and (2) work assignments which displace a currently employed worker or position, impair existing contracts for services or collective bargaining agreements, or fill the job of a worker who has been laid off or fired. Prohibits States from requiring participants to accept a job which would result in a loss of income to the participant's family unless the State maintains the family's income level through supplementary payments. Requires that Program activities be coordinated with Job Training Partnership Act programs and any other relevant employment, training, and education programs available in the State. Authorizes any State to institute a work supplementation program under which such State reserves sums which would otherwise be payable to program participants as child support supplements and uses such sums instead to subsidize jobs for such participants. Authorizes any State to establish a community work experience program to provide experience and training for individuals not otherwise able to obtain employment. Limits such programs to projects which serve a useful public purpose, utilizing, if possible, the participant's prior training, experience, and skills. Requires that other Program activities be coordinated with the community work program so that job placement has priority over participation in such program. Authorizes States to require individuals to participate in job search activities for up to eight weeks after applying for child support supplements and for up to eight weeks in any 12-month period thereafter. Subjects the families of individuals who are required to participate in the Program and fail to do so without good cause to the reduction or elimination of child support supplements. Continues sanctions for a minimum of three months if such individual failed to participate on a previous occasion and for six months if such noncompliance has occurred more than one time previously. Requires the State to notify recipients of any failure to comply with work or training requirements and the actions which must be taken to terminate the sanction. Sets the Federal matching rate for Program costs at 90 percent up to a specified dollar amount and 60 percent thereafter. Sets such rate for administrative costs (for needs assessments, case management services, and agency-client contracts) at 50 percent. Reduces the rate of Federal reimbursement for non-administrative Program expenditures to 50 percent if: (1) more than 40 percent of the non-Federal share of such expenditures is contributed in-kind; or (2) less than 60 percent of such expenditures is targeted at individuals who have received child support supplements for 30 of the preceding 60 months, are custodial parents under age 22 who have not completed and are not enrolled in high school, or are parents in families that are eligible for supplements by reason of the unemployment of the principal earner. Requires States to provide child care (or day care for an incapacitated individual living in the home of a dependent child) for families to the extent that it is necessary to an individual's participation in work, education, and training activities. Provides coverage for certain transportation and other work-related expenses. Sets forth technical and conforming amendments. Requires the Secretary to: (1) publish final Program regulations within one year of this Act's enactment; (2) submit recommended Program performance standards to the Congress within five years of this Act's enactment; (3) study State implementation of the Program; and (4) select five States to participate in three-year demonstration projects to study the relative cost-effectiveness of different approaches for assisting long-term CSS recipients under the Program. Sets forth cost-effectiveness study reporting requirements. Authorizes appropriations for the State implementation study for FY 1988 through 1990 and for the cost-effectiveness study for FY 1988 through 1992. Title III: Transitional Assistance for Families After Loss of CSS Eligibility - Provides a family which loses CSS eligibility due to an increase of earned income with nine months of transitional child care if the State determines such assistance to be necessary for continuing employment and the family has received child support supplements for three of the preceding six months. Terminates transitional child care if the family ceases to include a dependent child or the caretaker relative engages in certain conduct prohibited under the CSS program. Requires families to contribute to the costs of such care on the basis of their ability to pay for such care. Amends title XIX (Medicaid) of the Act to require a State to continue a family's Medicaid eligibility for four months after the family loses CSS eligibility because of increased earnings if the family has received supplement payments for three of the preceding six months, and for an optional five additional months if the family has received the entire four months of extended Medicaid coverage. Terminates extended Medicaid coverage if the family ceases to include a dependent child or the caretaker relative engaged in certain conduct prohibited under the CSS program. Authorizes States to provide the extended Medicaid coverage by paying a family's expenses for health insurance offered by the caretaker relative's employer (or, if more cost-effective, by the absent parent's employer) or a family's expenses, during the five-month extension period, for enrollment in a group health plan offered to the caretaker relative, a group health plan offered by the State to its employees, or a health maintenance organization. Denies a family the five-month extension period if its earnings exceed 185 percent of the Federal poverty level. Requires States to impose a premium on families receiving the five months of extended coverage, but prohibits its exceeding ten percent of the amount by which a family's monthly earnings exceed $581 (as adjusted to reflect changes in the cost of living). Title IV: Family Living Arrangements - Amends part A of title IV of the Act to condition an unmarried minor parent's receipt of CSS payments on his or her residence with a parent, legal guardian, or other adult relative, or in an adult-supervised supportive living arrangement. Makes such requirement inapplicable if: (1) such individual has no living parent or legal guardian or is not allowed to live with such parent or legal guardian; (2) the health and safety of the child or minor parent would be jeopardized if such individual lived with the parent or legal guardian; (3) such individual has not lived at home for at least one year prior to the child's birth or making a claim for CSS payments; or (4) the State otherwise finds good cause for waiving the requirement. Requires that (where possible) CSS payments be made to the parent or legal guardian on behalf of the minor parent and child. Authorizes States to require minor parents who have not graduated from high school to attend school (and parent-training classes when available) on at least a part-time basis as a condition of their receipt of CSS payments. Alters the definition of a "dependent child" to include a child who is poor because of the unemployment of the principal earner in the family. Authorizes States to increase the number of hours which an individual who received a CSS payment in the preceding month may work and remain eligible for such payments. (Currently, an individual must work less than 100 hours per month to maintain such eligibility.) Authorizes States to count for up to four of the six quarters of work required of a parent in the 13 quarters preceding application for CSS payments such parent's: (1) full-time attendance as an elementary or secondary school student; (2) full-time attendance in a vocational or technical training course; and (3) participation in a Job Training Partnership Act education or training program. Title V: Benefit Structure Improvements - Requires each State to make scheduled reevaluations of its need and payment standards for CSS benefits at least once every five years and report to the Secretary and the Congress regarding the results of the reevaluations. Title VI: Demonstration Projects - Authorizes the Secretary to approve, as alternatives to the CSS program, five-year demonstration projects testing: (1) New York State's Child Support Supplement Program; and (2) Washington State's Family Independence Program. Directs the Secretary to enter into an agreement with four States, by April 1, 1988, for the conduct of two-year demonstration projects testing and evaluating model procedures for reviewing child support award amounts. Provides Federal coverage for 90 percent of the costs of such projects. Requires the Secretary to report the results of such projects to the Congress within six months after completion of all such projects. Amends part A of title IV of the Social Security Act to establish a program providing grants to States selected to conduct demonstration projects testing whether CSS housing costs can be reduced by constructing and rehabilitating permanent housing for rental to CSS recipients who would otherwise require CSS emergency assistance in the form of temporary housing. Provides that, to be eligible for selection as one of two States authorized to conduct such a project, a State must: (1) be currently providing CSS emergency housing assistance; (2) have an acute need for Federal assistance by virtue of the large number of homeless CSS families, and shortages of low-income housing, in the jurisdiction(s) where such project would be conducted; and (3) submit a plan to achieve significant cost savings over a ten-year period through the conduct of such project. Requires that such grants be used to provide permanent housing which is: (1) owned by the State, an instrumentality of the State, or a nonprofit organization; (2) available to families who have been unable to find decent housing at rents that can be paid with CSS aid for shelter; and (3) located in jurisdictions experiencing a critical shortage of such housing. Requires that: (1) the most costly temporary housing be retired from use in the emergency assistance program as permanent housing becomes available for occupancy, unless temporary housing is demonstrably needed; and (2) the costs of providing permanent housing be lower than costs which would be incurred if, instead, the State made CSS emergency assistance payments providing temporary housing. Sets the State contribution to the cost of constructing or rehabilitating such housing at at least the current State CSS share increased by ten percent. Authorizes appropriations for the grant program for each of the first five fiscal years following FY 1987. Amends part A (General Provisions) of title XI of the Act to authorize the Secretary to make grants to States for one- to five-year demonstration projects for CSS children testing financial incentives and alternative approaches to reducing school dropouts, encouraging skill development, and avoiding welfare dependence. Authorizes the Secretary to make grants to States for demonstration projects designed to increase compliance with child access provisions of court orders. Authorizes appropriations for FY 1988 and 1989. Directs the Secretary to report to the Congress on the effectiveness of such projects by July 1990. Authorizes the Secretary to make grants to States for three-year demonstration projects testing innovative methods for providing suitable foster care arrangements and other necessary social and medical services for infants abandoned by their parents or removed from their parents' custody and placed in a hospital's care. Authorizes appropriations for FY 1988 through 1990. Directs the Secretary to make grants to between five and ten States for three-year demonstration projects increasing the availability of child care in communities by the acquisition or renovation of child care facilities, and the provision of child care transportation services. Favors States that propose to conduct the project primarily in communities having fewer than 50,000 inhabitants. Requires the Secretary to report to the Congress regarding such projects by October 1, 1991. Authorizes appropriations for FY 1989 through 1991. Authorizes the Secretary to make grants to up to five States for demonstration projects testing whether the employment of parents of dependent children receiving child support supplements as day care providers will facilitate the conduct of the Program and afford a significant number of families a realistic opportunity to avoid welfare dependence. Title VII: Payments to American Samoa, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, Guam, and the Virgin Islands - Amends part A (General Provisions) of title XI of the Act to include American Samoa in the CSS program. Limits Federal funding for American Samoa's program to $1,000,000 for any fiscal year. Increases the total amount of Federal payments which may be made to Puerto Rico, Guam, and the Virgin Islands in any fiscal year under titles I (Grants to States for Old-Age Assistance for the Aged), X (Grants to States for Aid to the Blind), XIV (Grants to States for Aid to the Permanently and Totally Disabled), XVI (Grants to States for Aid to the Aged, Blind, or Disabled), and parts A (Aid to Families with Dependent Children) and E (Foster Care and Adoption Assistance) of title IV of the Act. Title VIII: Waiver Authority - Amends title IV of the Act to add a new "Part F: Waiver Authority," which sets forth the required content of State applications to the Secretary for the approval of demonstration projects experimenting with methods to more effectively assist the poor and reduce their welfare dependence. Prohibits the Secretary from approving the conduct of more than ten projects under part F at any one time. Permits applications to include within their proposed projects: (1) title IV programs; (2) social service block grants under title XX of the Act; and (3) any non-Federal public program within the State which is designed to alleviate poverty. Protects individuals and families included in a project from having their benefits reduced below what they would have been in the absence of the project. Requires State applications for projects involving work, education, or training activities to contain specified assurances, including assurances that: (1) mandatory participants in such activities be provided with child care; and (2) work assignments will not displace current employees or impair existing contracts or collective bargaining agreements. Prohibits the Federal share of project funding from being greater than the Federal share in the absence of such project under the programs included in the project. Authorizes the Secretary to approve projects replacing current entitlement programs with new entitlement programs provided such replacement does not cause a large increase or decrease in Federal funding. Requires the Secretary to notify a State of the approval or disapproval of its project within four months of the submission of the application. Sets forth reporting requirements. Provides that such projects shall terminate after five years unless the State Governor or Secretary terminates the project sooner. Title IX: Technical and Conforming Amendments Relating to Replacement of AFDC Program by Child Support Supplement Program - Sets forth technical and conforming amendments relating to the replacement of the AFDC Program by the CSS program. Title X: Reorganization and Redesignation of Title IV; General Conforming Amendment Relating to Such Reorganization and Redesignation - Reorganizes and redesignates the parts of title IV of the Act.
United States · United States Congress · 21 July 1987
Authorizes and requests the President to present a gold medal to Lawrence Eugene Doby and posthumously to Jack Roosevelt Robinson in recognition of their achievements in baseball and their contributions to the advancement of civil rights. Authorizes appropriations. Authorizes the Secretary to cause bronze duplicates of the gold medals to be coined and sold at a price sufficient to cover the cost of such duplicates and gold medals.
United States · United States Congress · 15 July 1987
Designates the week beginning November 15, 1987, as African American Education Week. Authorizes and requests the President to issue a proclamation calling upon: (1) the Department of Education and State and local governments to support activities observing such week; (2) schools and communities with African Americans to demonstrate their commitment to the education of African Americans; and (3) community organizations to intensify their support of academic excellence by African Americans.
United States · United States Congress · 14 July 1987
Pediatric Emergency Medical Services Act of 1987 - Amends part B (Federal-State Cooperation) of title III of the Public Health Service Act to direct the Secretary of Health and Human Services to make a grant for FY 1988 for a feasibility study on establishing and operating a National Center for Pediatric Emergency Medical Services (National Center). Directs the Secretary to request the Institute of Medicine of the National Academy of Sciences to submit an application for the grant and, if the Institute submits an acceptable application, to make the grant to the Institute. Directs the Secretary, in the absence of an acceptable application from the Institute, to request an application from one or more nonprofit private entities and to make the grant to the entity submitting the best acceptable application. Directs the Secretary, after reviewing the report prepared under such grant and consulting with the American Academy of Pediatrics and the American College of Emergency Physicians, if a National Center is feasible, to make grants for FY 1989 and each succeeding fiscal year for the establishment and operation of a National Center. Requires the National Center, with regard to pediatric medical emergencies, to: (1) develop and disseminate standards and quality assurance mechanisms; (2) facilitate training of health professionals; and (3) develop and disseminate information for the public on the prevention of, and responses to, such emergencies. Directs the Secretary to make grants to States, public and nonprofit private entities, and academic institutions for the development, establishment, and operation of regional centers for pediatric emergency medical services. Requires such centers to: (1) train health professionals; (2) provide for the appropriate use of bilingual personnel; (3) conduct research on prevention and treatment; and (4) conduct activities relating to prevention, including dissemination of information to the public. Authorizes appropriations for FY 1988 through 1990. Repeals a provision of the Public Health Service Act relating to emergency medical services for children.
United States · United States Congress · 14 July 1987
Amends the Internal Revenue Code to provide that the prohibition against indirect income tax deductions through pass-through entities shall not apply to any regulated investment company whose shares are: (1) continuously offered pursuant to a public offering; (2) regularly traded on an established securities market; or (3) held by or for at least 500 persons at all times during the taxable year.
United States · United States Congress · 10 July 1987
Expresses the sense of the Senate that: (1) the President should continue to make clear the support of the United States for the Haitian people's efforts to establish a democracy; (2) Haiti's National Council of Government should respect and abide by decisions made by the Provisional Election Council in conducting elections called for under the new Haitian constitution; (3) the Haitian armed forces should respect human rights and exercise restraint in carrying out their duties; and (4) all Haitians need to work to avoid further violence and allow the democratic transition to proceed in a peaceful atmosphere.
United States · United States Congress · 7 July 1987
Authorizes the Director of the U.S. Information Agency to: (1) provide for educational exchanges between U.S. and Soviet youths under 21; and (2) award higher education scholarships to exceptional students under 25 who are studying in the Soviet Union in programs approved by their own higher education institutions and maintaining satisfactory proficiency. Earmarks specified funds for FY 1988 and 1989 to carry out this Act. Refers to the activities specified in this Act as the Samantha Smith Memorial Exchange Program.
United States · United States Congress · 30 June 1987
Student Loan Amendments Act of 1987 - Amends the Higher Education Act of 1965 to revise the insurance premium rule for the guaranteed student loan program. Requires the collection of a single insurance premium which shall be applied uniformly to all loans. Requires that such premium be not less than 0.5 percent nor more than three percent of the principal amount of the loan. Provides that a multistate guaranty agency may set the premium for each State for which it has received advances as the designated State guarantor, with a single uniform rate to be set for the balance of the activity of the agency with other States. Permits a guaranty agency, after 60 days' notice, to cease to guarantee loans for students at an otherwise eligible institution if the cumulative default rate of loans at such institution in repayment exceeds 25 percent of the amount insured by the guaranty agency which holds the preponderance of the value of the loans outstanding at such institution (unless the guarantor is the designated State guaranty agency in the State where the eligible institution is located and insures loans for the lender of last resort in that State under specified provisions).
United States · United States Congress · 30 June 1987
Wampanoag Tribal Council of Gay Head, Inc., Indian Claims Settlement Act of 1987 - Establishes the Wampanoag Tribal Council of Gay Head, Inc. Claims Settlement Fund in the Treasury. Authorizes appropriations for such fund. Requires the State of Massachusetts to contribute an amount equal to the U.S. contribution to such fund before any part of it can be spent. Provides that any transfer of lands within the United States made by or on behalf of the Wampanoag Tribal Council of Gay Head or any land transfer made within the town of Gay Head by any Indian or Indian tribe shall be deemed to have been made: (1) in accordance with the Constitution and laws of the United States; and (2) with the consent of the Congress. Provides for the extinguishment of: (1) any aboriginal title to such transferred lands held by the Council or any other entity known as the Gay Head Indians; and (2) any Indian claim which is based on the transfer of such lands or on any aboriginal title to such lands. Provides that certain personal claims shall not be affected. Prohibits the Secretary of the Interior from purchasing or transferring lands to be held in trust for the Council pursuant to a settlement agreement between the Council and interested parties in Massachusetts until: (1) Massachusetts enacts legislation authorizing the town of Gay Head to convey certain lands to the Secretary for the Council and giving the Council authority to regulate any hunting by Indians on the settlement lands conducted by means other than firearms or crossbow; and (2) the town of Gay Head has authorized the conveyance of the certain lands to the Secretary for the Council. Authorizes the Secretary to expend a specified amount to acquire the private settlement lands under such agreement. Requires the Secretary to obtain a survey of public settlement lands within 60 days after acquiring such lands and to provide reimbursement for a previous appraisal of private settlement lands. Requires the Secretary to expend any remaining funds to acquire for the Council additional lands that are contiguous to the private settlement lands. Authorizes the Secretary to commence condemnation proceedings necessary to: (1) acquire title in any private settlement land; and (2) condemn any interest adverse to any ostensible owner of such land. Prohibits any Indian tribe from exercising any form of jurisdiction over any part of the settlement lands, except as provided by this Act, the applicable State implementing Act, or the settlement agreement. Provides that subsequent holders of settlement lands shall be bound by the terms and conditions applicable to the Council. Provides that the settlement lands will be subject to: (1) any authority to impose a lien or seizure of lands as provided in the State implementing Act; (2) the Secretary's authority to approve leases; and (3) the Council's legal capacity to transfer the settlement lands to a tribal entity which may be a successor in interest. Provides that land held by the Secretary will be exempt from State or local taxation or other assessment to the extent provided in the settlement agreement. Subjects Indian lands in Gay Head to the civil and criminal laws of Massachusetts and the town. Sets a statute of limitations upon actions to contest the constitutionality of this Act. Vests exclusive jurisdiction over such actions in the U.S. District Court for the District of Massachusetts.
United States · United States Congress · 26 June 1987
Public Health Service Act Infant Mortality Amendments of 1987 - Amends the Public Health Service Act to increase the FY 1988 authorization of appropriations for health centers providing services to migratory and seasonal agricultural workers and their families. Increases the FY 1988 authorization of appropriations for community health centers. Directs the Secretary of Health and Human Services (Secretary), in making grants to community health centers, to give special consideration to the needs of frontier areas. Requires that, if amounts appropriated for community health centers for FY 1988 exceed a specified amount, the excess shall be available for grants to community health centers for prenatal services to decrease infant mortality and perinatal coordination projects to develop and coordinate referral arrangements between community health centers and other agencies. Directs the Secretary to give priority to community health centers in areas in which there is a high or increased incidence of infant mortality. Directs the Secretary to contract with schools of medicine and osteopathy for area health education center programs which include training of personnel to offer maternal and child health services in underserved areas, giving priority to programs which train personnel to provide service in areas along the border between the United States and Mexico, in frontier areas, and in areas in which the rate of infant mortality and low birthweight are disproportionately higher than for the State in which such area is located. Requires participating schools to provide for participation by administrative personnel in each of the departments of pediatrics, obstetrics and gynecology, and family medicine. Exempts schools participating in such programs from existing requirements that no less than ten percent of undergraduate medical or osteopathic clinical education be conducted in an area health education center and locations under the sponsorship of such center. Requires programs to conduct a medical residency program in obstetrics and gynecology enrolling at least six individuals in first year positions. Requires area health education centers to involve nurse midwives in their interdisciplinary training. (Current provisions require involvement of physicians, physician assistants, and nurse practitioners.) Increases the authorization of appropriations for FY 1988. Requires a specified amount to be available for contracts for area health education center programs under this Act. Amends part A (Special Projects) of title VIII (Nurse Training) of the Public Health Service Act to direct the Secretary to make grants to public or nonprofit private schools of nursing for fellowship programs for the education of nurse midwives and pediatric, family, obstetric, and gynecologic nurse practitioners. Directs the Secretary, after consultation with educational, nursing, and medical organizations, to prescribe guidelines for the fellowship programs. Specifies minimum requirements to be included in the guidelines. Requires the fellowships to cover 100 percent of costs of tuition, books, living, moving, and transportation expenses. Requires individuals receiving fellowships to be registered nurses. Requires schools of nursing, in awarding fellowships, to give priority to applicants employed in and recommended by a facility serving underserved populations. Authorizes appropriations for FY 1988.
United States · United States Congress · 26 June 1987
Quality Control Amendments of 1987 - Amends the Consolidated Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1985 to extend the moratorium on the reduction of payments to States for high erroneous payment rates under part A (Aid to Families with Dependent Children) of title IV of the Social Security Act through FY 1988. (Currently, such moratorium is set to expire at the close of June 1988.) Includes payments to States under title XIX (Medicaid) of the Act within such moratorium. Amends the Food Security Act of 1985 to place a moratorium on penalties for high erroneous payment rates under the Food Stamp program through FY 1988.
United States · United States Congress · 26 June 1987
Expresses the sense of the Senate that: (1) the United States supports the efforts of Koreans to establish fair and free elections and peacefully evolve to a full democratic government; (2) the necessary conditions for achievement of a genuine democracy in South Korea are flexibility and fairness and the renunciation of violence; (3) the necessary conditions for meaningful and free elections include specified internationally recognized human rights standards; (4) the United States recognizes President Chun Doo Hwan's commitment to initiate the first peaceful transition of executive power; (5) a peaceful transfer of power is endangered by inability to agree on timely democratic reforms; (6) the United States calls on all parties in South Korea to resume the search for a peaceful agreement on democratic reform; and (7) the President of the United States should facilitate negotiations among all parties to achieve democracy in South Korea.
United States · United States Congress · 26 June 1987
Declares that the American people reaffirm their commitment to promoting the development of democracy in all the Americas. Expresses the sense of the Senate that: (1) the Government of Panama should respond to the points contained in the communique issued on June 17, 1987, by the Panamanian Episcopal Conference; (2) the vital interests of the United States in securing authentic democracy in Panama would be best served by the peaceful establishment of genuine democratic institutions in accordance with the Panamanian constitution; (3) compliance with internationally recognized human rights and the lifting of the suspension of constitutional guarantees are essential preconditions to the restoration of democracy in Panama; (4) an independent investigation into allegations against senior Panamanian civilian and military officials should be conducted by an objective group of Panamanians with authority to publish their findings without delay or fear of reprisal; and (5) the Government of Panama should direct the current commander of the Panama Defense Forces and any other implicated officials to relinquish their duties pending the outcome of the independent investigation.
United States · United States Congress · 24 June 1987
Developmental Disabilities Assistance and Bill of Rights Act Amendments of 1987 - Title I: General Provisions - Amends the Developmental Disabilities Assistance and Bill of Rights Act (the Act) to require additional topics to be covered in an annual report which current law requires the State Planning Council to prepare and transmit to the Secretary of Health and Human Services (Secretary). Adds topics to an annual report which current law requires the Secretary to submit to the President, the Congress, and the National Council on the Handicapped. Title II: State Assistance Program - Amends the Act to revise requirements regarding State plans for the provision of services for persons with developmental disabilities. Requires such plan (plan) to designate one State agency (designated agency) to administer or supervise the administration of the plan. (Current law allows one or more agencies to be so designated.) Authorizes the Governor of a State in which the designated agency, on the date of enactment of this Act, provides or pays for services to determine not to change the designation of such agency. Requires such determination to be made after the Governor has considered the comments of the general public and the non-agency members of the State Planning Council. Broadens the requirements for areas which must be covered in the plan. Requires each State Planning Council to conduct a comprehensive review and analysis regarding services to persons with developmental disabilities. Mandates that the plan describe a process and timetable for completion of such comprehensive review. Requires each State Planning Council to conduct a review and analysis of effectiveness and consumer satisfaction regarding functions and services provided or paid for from Federal and State funds for persons with developmental disabilities. Requires each State Planning Council to convene public forums to present the findings of such reviews and analyses, obtain comments regarding unserved and underserved populations, and prepare recommendations on how to remove barriers to services. Requires each State Planning Council to prepare and transmit to the Governor and legislature of its State a final report regarding such reviews and analyses containing recommendations concerning specified matters. Directs the Governor of each State to submit to the Secretary a copy of such report. Directs the Secretary to submit a summary of such reports to the appropriate committees of the Congress. Revises the provisions of such Act regarding assurances which must be contained in or support the plan to require certain funds paid to a State be used to significantly enhance the independence, productivity, and integration into the community of persons with developmental disabilities. Requires the plan to provide for the examination, at least once every three years, of the provision of and the need for the provision of Federal and State priority areas. Specifies minimum contents of such examination. Eliminates certain provisions relating to required contents of the plan regarding: (1) a comprehensive plan to address unmet needs; (2) the use of priority service funds for specified additional services; and (3) consideration of certain data collected by the State education agency. Revises the provisions of such Act regarding: (1) requirements that a certain percentage of specified sums available to the State be expended in the priority areas; and (2) standards which must be required by the plans. Revises the requirements for the process of development and annual review of the habilitation plan for a person with developmental disabilities. Revises the provisions of such Act requiring States which receive assistance under this part to establish a State Planning Council and specifying the makeup of such Council, including having a representative of the State agency that administers funds provided under the Older Americans Act of 1965. Authorizes each State Planning Council to prepare and approve a budget using amounts paid to the State under this part to hire staff and obtain the services of personnel as necessary. Makes the staff and personnel of a State Planning Council responsible solely for assisting such Council and prohibits their assignment to duties by any other agency or office of the State. Revises the formula for allotment of funds appropriated under existing provisions of the Act. Allows amounts obligated but not expended by a State to be reobligated during the immediately succeeding two fiscal years. Adds failure to implement the State plan or applicable regulations of the Secretary to the reasons for withholding payments of such allotments. Authorizes appropriations for FY 1988 through 1990. Title III: Protection and Advocacy - Revises the requirements regarding elements mandated as a part of the system to protect and advocate the rights of persons with developmental disabilities. Revises the formula for allotment of funds for such system. Authorizes appropriations for FY 1988 through 1990. Title IV: University Affiliated Programs - Directs the Secretary to make grants to university affiliated programs receiving grants under specified provisions of the Act for training personnel in early intervention, programs for the elderly, community-based service programs, and other areas. Specifies the factors the Secretary shall consider in making grant determinations. Authorizes university affiliated programs to use such grants to assist in paying the costs of courses of training or study and to establish fellowships or traineeships providing stipends and allowances. Authorizes the Secretary to make grants to university affiliated programs receiving grants under specified provisions of the Act for: (1) training of parents of persons with developmental disabilities, professionals, volunteers, and other personnel; and (2) conducting an applied research program. Authorizes the Secretary to make a grant to a university to study the feasibility of establishing a university affiliated program or a satellite center. Limits the amount of such grant. Sets forth additional assurances applications for such grants must contain or by which such applications must be supported. Revises the minimum amount limits for such grants. Directs the Secretary to consider applications for grants for four university affiliated programs or satellite centers more each fiscal year than the previous fiscal year for FY 1988 through 1990. Requires such programs and centers to be geographically distributed to serve States which are underserved. Authorizes appropriations for such grants for FY 1988 through 1990. Makes amounts appropriated for a fiscal year for the administration and operation of certain activities of a university affiliated program available for obligation and expenditure until the end of the succeeding fiscal year. Title V: Projects of National Significance - Expands the Secretary's authority to include entering into contracts for projects of national significance, technical assistance, and demonstration projects regarding persons with developmental disabilities. (Current law authorizes making grants for such purposes.) Directs the Secretary to publish annually proposed and final priorities for such grants and contracts. Authorizes appropriations for FY 1988 through 1990.
United States · United States Congress · 23 June 1987
Amends the Coastal Zone Management Act of 1972 to require Federal agencies conducting natural resources activities in a coastal zone to conduct such activities in a manner consistent with the mandatory policies of approved State management programs, unless the Federal activity is: (1) undertaken to counter the effects of a declared national emergency; (2) undertaken for reasons of national security; (3) required by Federal law which prevents consistency with such a coastal zone management program; or (4) undertaken pursuant to the Magnuson Fishery Conservation and Management Act.
United States · United States Congress · 19 June 1987
Nursing Shortage Reduction Act of 1987 - Amends title VIII (Nurse Training) of the Public Health Service Act to add a new part on initiatives to reduce nursing shortages. Directs the Secretary of Health and Human Services to establish a special advisory committee to develop a comprehensive plan regarding long-term solutions to problems in recruiting and retaining nurses. Directs the Secretary to make a grant to a nonprofit private entity with a record in supporting innovative health initiatives for a project to demonstrate and evaluate innovative hospital nursing practice models. Requires models to include initiatives to: (1) restructure the role of the hospital nurse, through changes in the composition of hospital staffs; (2) test innovative wage structures for nurses; and (3) evaluate the effectiveness of providing benefits such as pensions, sabbaticals, and payment of educational expenses for nurses. Prohibits the Federal share of the costs of the project from exceeding 50 percent. Authorizes appropriations for FY 1988 through 1990. Directs the Secretary to make grants to or enter into contracts with public and nonprofit private collegiate schools of nursing for projects to demonstrate and evaluate innovative nursing practice models regarding long-term health care services in the home or in long-term care facilities. Authorizes appropriations for FY 1988 through 1990. Directs the Secretary to make grants to and enter into contracts with public and nonprofit private entities to develop, establish, and operate at least one and not more than five regional model professional nurse recruitment centers to recruit individuals to enter programs to train nurses. Sets forth requirements for centers. Authorizes appropriations for FY 1988 through 1990.
United States · United States Congress · 18 June 1987
Amends the Internal Revenue Code to increase the income tax deduction for the amount of health insurance costs of a self-employed individual from 25 percent to 100 percent of such costs for the medical care of the taxpayer and the taxpayer's spouse and dependents. Permits an income tax deduction for self-employed individuals in the amount of their contributions to group health plans that are not self-insured and that provide medical benefits to employees. Requires: (1) an eligible plan to benefit all employees not covered by another group health plan: and (2) that at least half of the plan participants not be self-employed individuals or employee family members of such individuals.
United States · United States Congress · 18 June 1987
Democracy in South Korea Act of 1987 - Imposes certain sanctions on South Korea unless the President submits, and the Congress enacts a joint resolution approving, a certification that the Government of South Korea: (1) is taking steps to afford internationally recognized workers' rights and has ended its pattern of violations of internationally recognized human rights; and (2) has made significant progress in establishing a peaceful transition to democracy. Specifies such sanctions as: (1) making South Korea ineligible as a beneficiary developing country for purposes of the generalized system of preferences; (2) prohibiting the Overseas Private Investment Corporation from providing any insurance, reinsurance, guarantees, or financing for projects in South Korea; and (3) requiring the U.S. Executive Director of each relevant multilateral development bank to cast a negative vote on any loan or other financial or technical assistance for South Korea which is not directed to programs which serve basic human needs.
United States · United States Congress · 16 June 1987
Family Planning Amendments of 1987 - Amends title X (Population Research and Voluntary Family Planning Programs) of 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 1988 through 1991. Authorizes appropriations for FY 1988 through 1991 for technical assistance and personnel training. States that such training shall include clinical training for obstetric-gynecologic nurse practitioners and training for educators and counselors. Repeals existing formula grant provisions. 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 contraceptive development and evaluations of contraceptive devices, drugs, and methods. Authorizes appropriations for FY 1988 through 1991. States that amounts appropriated under this provision are in addition to amounts allocated under a specified provision for the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development. 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 conduct, or make grants and enter into contracts for, training and technical assistance for such programs. 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 1988 through 1991. Requires not more than ten percent of amounts appropriated to be available for training and technical assistance and for educational and informational materials. 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. Authorizes the Secretary to make grants and enter into contracts for such data collection. Requires the information to be made available to the public. Requires an annual report, currently required to be submitted by the Secretary to the Congress regarding family planning matters, to be based on the data collected.
United States · United States Congress · 9 June 1987
Performing Arts Labor Relations Amendments - Amends the National Labor Relations Act to exclude specified types of employers and performers in the performing arts from coverage under unfair labor practice provisions prohibiting specified contracts or agreements between employers and labor organizations and prohibiting specified actions of labor organizations to force or require cessation of dealings with others, joining of labor or employer organizations, or recognition of or negotiation with labor organizations not certified as representative. Permits such employers, excluding employers in the broadcasting or motion picture industries, to: (1) agree with a labor organization to make membership in such organization a condition of performing arts employment; and (2) make agreements with a labor organization covering performing artists even if the majority status of the organization has not yet been established. Defines "employer" to include purchasers of musical performance services. Defines "employee" to include independent contractors engaged to perform musical services.
United States · United States Congress · 9 June 1987
International Child Abduction Act - Title I: Provisions Implementing the Convention - Grants State courts, the courts of the District of Columbia and the territories and possessions of the United States, and U.S. district courts original jurisdiction with regard to actions arising under the 1980 Hague Convention on the Civil Aspects of International Child Abduction (Convention) and this Act. Sets forth requirements with regard to notice and burden of proof for such actions. Allows any court exercising jurisdiction over a petition filed pursuant to the Convention or this Act to take provisional measures under Federal or State law to protect the well-being of the child or prevent the child's removal or concealment. Prohibits any court from ordering the provisional removal of a child from the person having physical control unless the applicable requirements of State law are satisfied. States that any application submitted to the Central Authority for the United States or petition submitted in accordance with the terms of the Convention shall be admissible in court without regard to the need for legalization or authentication. Directs the President to designate a Federal agency to serve as Central Authority for the United States for the purpose of: (1) issuing regulations to implement the Convention and this Act; (2) obtaining information from the Federal Parent Locator Service; and (3) collecting, maintaining, and disseminating information for purposes relating to the Convention and this Act. Directs the Secretary of State, the Secretary of Health and Human Services, and the Attorney General to designate Federal employees and private citizens to serve as an interagency coordinating group to monitor the operation of the Convention and provide advice on its implementation. Authorizes appropriations to carry out the purposes of the Convention and this Act. Title II: Amendments to Other Laws - Amends the Social Security Act to provide the Central Authority for the United States access to the services of the Parent Locator Service. Amends the Internal Revenue Code to permit the disclosure of tax returns and return information to Federal, State, and local child support enforcement agencies for the purpose of locating individuals in connection with the abduction or wrongful restraint or retention of a child.
United States · United States Congress · 5 June 1987
Expresses the sense of the Senate that: (1) the President should endorse the original position of the United States in ongoing international negotiations to protect the Earth's ozone layer; and (2) the United States should continue to seek an international agreement which will provide for an immediate freeze in the production of the major ozone depleting chemicals at 1986 levels, an automatic reduction of not less than 50 percent in the production of such chemicals, and the virtual elimination of such chemicals.
United States · United States Congress · 4 June 1987
Expresses the sense of the Senate that at the seven-nation economic summit to be held in Venice, Italy: (1) the United States should seek commitments from West Germany and Japan to reduce their trade surpluses by substantially increasing their imports; (2) the United States should seek commitments from the European Community and Japan to liberalize their agricultural import policies; (3) the United States should seek commitments for cooperation to combat and prevent the spread of AIDS; and (4) the President should encourage the Allies at the summit to cooperate in diplomatic and military measures which may be necessary to ensure Western security interests in the Persian Gulf.
United States · United States Congress · 3 June 1987
Solar Development Initiative Act of 1987 - Expresses the sense of the Congress that the authorizations provided by this Act indicate the minimum levels for a solar research effort that is sensitive to both the Federal deficit and to the growth of the domestic solar energy industry. Authorizes appropriations for FY 1988 through 1990 for specified Federal solar energy research and development programs. Directs the Secretary of Energy to include in the FY 1989 budget the funding necessary to implement a solar and renewable energy research program which: (1) has near-term commercial applications; and (2) enhances the international competitiveness of the solar and renewable energy industries. Directs the Secretary of Energy to establish an information-dissemination program for Federal procurement and loan officers regarding the application of solar heating and cooling technology in Federal buildings. Directs the Committee on Renewable Energy, Commerce, and Trade to continue to coordinate Federal programs affecting commerce in renewable energy products and services. Expresses the sense of the Congress that the renewable energy technologies programs established by the Secretary of Commerce should be funded in FY 1988 through 1990 through the Department of Energy at a specified minimum level. Amends the Caribbean Basin Economic Recovery Act to direct the President to take into account, when determining whether to designate a beneficiary country, the degree to which it undertakes self-help measures to promote energy self-sufficiency using locally available renewable resources. Mandates that the design for new Federal facilities for specified agencies include consideration of energy systems using solar energy or other renewable energy forms. Amends the Export-Import Bank Act of 1945 to mandate that a specified percentage of loan authority be available only for solar and renewable energy loans. Amends the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 to prohibit the use of administrative funds for incentives, grants, and studies for renewable energy and other small business activities. Amends the Small Business Act to: (1) repeal provisions regarding loans to small business concerns for solar energy and energy conservation measures; (2) mandate that a certain percentage of loan authority be used only for small business energy measures; and (3) direct the Administrator of the Small Business Administration to give due consideration to the export potential of solar and renewable energy products, and to include a list of solar and renewable energy loan guarantees in an annual report to the Congress.
United States · United States Congress · 2 June 1987
Public Health Service Amendments of 1987 - Title I: Health Services Research, Health Care Technology, Health Statistics, and Preventive Health Programs - Amends the Public Health Service Act to authorize appropriations for FY 1988 through 1990 for health service research, evaluation, and demonstration activities regarding health statistics, health services, and health care technology assessment, and regarding the National Center for Health Services Research and Health Care Technology Assessment. Directs the Secretary of Health and Human Services (Secretary) to obligate from any funds appropriated not less than a specified amount for health care technology assessment activities. Authorizes appropriations for FY 1988 through 1990 for health statistical and epidemiological activities for the National Center for Health Statistics. Increases from 15 to 16 the number of members of the National Committee on Vital and Health Statistics and increases their term of office from three to four years. Repeals provisions of the Public Health Service Act which direct the Secretary to: (1) conduct a study of the present and future health costs of pollution and other environmental conditions resulting from human activity; (2) develop a plan for the collection and coordination of statistical and epidemiological data on the effects of the environment on health; and (3) establish guidelines for the collection and distribution of statistics and information regarding the effects of conditions of employment and indoor and outdoor environmental conditions on the public health. Changes the due date of an annual report from the Secretary to the Congress regarding health services research, health statistics, and health care technology. Directs the Secretary to obligate not less than a specified amount for each of FY 1988 through 1990 for grants regarding a council on health care technology. Prohibits a grant unless the application contains assurances that specified amounts will be spent from non-Federal sources for the operation of the council. Authorizes appropriations for FY 1988 through 1990 for grants for preventive health service programs related to immunization with vaccines approved for use, and recommended for routine use, after enactment of this provision, and for other vaccines. Authorizes appropriations for FY 1988 through 1990, upon implementation of subtitle 2 (National Vaccine Injury Compensation Program) of title XXI of the Public Health Service Act, for grants for immunization programs. Directs the Secretary, acting through the Director of the Centers for Disease Control, to acquire and maintain a supply of vaccines sufficient to provide vaccinations throughout a six-month period. Authorizes appropriations for FY 1988 through 1990 for acquiring and maintaining such supply. Authorizes appropriations for FY 1988 through 1990 for grants for preventive health service programs for tuberculosis and for certain activities relating to prevention and control of diseases through vaccination. Authorizes the Secretary to make grants to States and other public and nonprofit private entities for: (1) research; (2) demonstration projects; (3) public information and education; and (4) education, training, and clinical skills improvement activities regarding prevention and control of drug-resistant and other tuberculosis. Prohibits making grants unless an application is submitted to the Secretary. Authorizes appropriations for FY 1988 through 1990 for technical assistance and grants for the prevention and control of sexually transmitted diseases. Mandates the inclusion of grants relating to chlamydia. Title II: National Health Service Corps Loan Repayment Program - Amends subpart II (National Health Service Corps Program) of part D of title III of the Public Health Service Act to direct the Secretary to establish the National Health Service Corps Loan Repayment Program (Loan Repayment Program) to assure an adequate supply of certain trained medical personnel. Sets forth participation eligibility requirements. Mandates inclusion with application and contract forms sent to potential applicants by the Secretary: (1) a summary of the rights and liabilities of individuals whose applications are approved; and (2) information regarding meeting the service obligation through private practice. Directs the Secretary to give priority to certain types of applicants. Specifies elements the contract is required to contain, including: (1) that the Secretary will pay loans on behalf of the individual; (2) that the individual will serve for a period of time (period of obligated service) in a health manpower shortage area; and (3) the damages to which the United States is entitled for breach of the contract. States that loan payment shall include payment of principal, interest, and related expenses on governmental and commercial loans for tuition and educational and living expenses. Authorizes the Secretary to pay any increased Federal, State, or local income tax liability resulting from such loan payments. Prohibits counting individuals who have entered into loan repayment contracts under provisions of this Act against any employment ceiling affecting the Department of Health and Human Services. Directs the Secretary to submit an annual report to the Congress regarding the individuals receiving loan payments under the Program, the educational institutions at which such individuals are receiving their training, the applications filed, and the amount of loan payments made. Provides that certain individuals who do not complete their education shall, in lieu of any service obligation, be liable to the United States for the amount which has been paid on their behalf under the contract. Provides a formula for determining the liability of other individuals who breach the contract. Directs the Secretary to report annually to the Committee on Labor and Human Resources of the Senate and the Committee on Energy and Commerce of the House of Representatives, and the Committees on Appropriations of the Senate and the House of Representatives. Requires the reports to contain information on the number of health care providers needed and the number of people the Secretary proposes to use to meet that need from scholarships, loan repayments, and other sources. Authorizes appropriations for scholarships and loan repayments. Authorizes the Secretary to make grants to States for programs similar to the Loan Repayment Program. Requires any State program supported with a grant under this provision to: (1) either establish minimum standards for the designation of areas in which obligated service will be performed or provide that obligated service will be performed in health manpower shortage areas designated by the Secretary; and (2) establish minimum standards for the determination of obligated service under the State program. Prohibits making a grant unless an application is submitted to the Secretary. Declares that the Federal share of the costs of any State program under this provision shall not exceed 75 percent. Authorizes appropriations for FY 1988 through 1990. Title III: Further Revisions and Extensions of the Program for the National Health Service Corps - Amends the Public Health Service Act to prohibit the Secretary from removing an area from the areas designated as health manpower shortage areas until interested parties have had a chance to provide data and information in support of designation. Adds ability to pay for health services as a criterion the Secretary must consider when making determinations regarding such designations. Sets forth regulations regarding dates by which the Secretary must, for individuals receiving scholarships under the Scholarship Program or under contract to receive loan repayment under the Loan Repayment Program, make certain determinations, provide information, make certain appointments, or make designations of individuals as members of the Corps. Authorizes the Secretary, at the request of the individual, to defer such dates. Adds individuals under contract for loan repayment to provisions allowing the Secretary to release individuals from their service obligation if they agree to engage in private practice in a health manpower shortage area. Removes a provision authorizing the Secretary to make arrangements, for individuals engaging in private practice in lieu of their service obligation, for the use of equipment and supplies and for the lease or acquisition of other equipment and supplies. Removes a provision authorizing the Secretary to make one grant or one loan to individuals who have completed at least two years of their period of obligation. Authorizes the Secretary to make one loan to a Corps member who has entered into specified agreements regarding private practice, in a health manpower shortage area. Requires the loan to be used for the costs of beginning the practice, including acquiring equipment and renovating facilities, and hiring of nurses and other personnel. Prohibits use of the loan for purchase or construction of any building. Limits the amount of the loan. Authorizes appropriations for the general operations of the National Health Service Corps for FY 1988 through 1990.
United States · United States Congress · 2 June 1987
Economic Equity Act of 1987 - Title I: Employment - Part A: Pay Equity - Federal Employee Compensation Equity Act of 1987 - Establishes the Commission on Compensation Equity to provide for a consultant to study the classification, grading, and pay-setting processes within and between the position classification system and the job-grading system. Requires the study to determine whether these processes result in the payment of rates of basic pay for positions: (1) in which either sex is numerically predominant or any race or ethnic group is disproportionately represented; and (2) where such differences in pay are not in proportion to the duties, difficulty, responsibility, or qualification requirements of the work performed. Provides a timetable for: (1) the Commission to report to appropriate congressional committees and the Director of the Office of Personnel Management with advisory recommendations; (2) the Director to report to the committees and the Commission with a plan to carry out any of the recommendations; (3) additional comments from the Commission; and (4) termination of the Commission. Part B: Equal Credit - Amends the Equal Credit Opportunity Act to prohibit the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System from exempting from such Act any class of credit transactions that are primarily for personal, family, or household purposes. Permits the Board to exempt (for five years) a type or class of business or commercial transaction only after determining that application of such Act to such transaction would not contribute substantially to effecting the purposes of such Act. Part C: Pension and Health Benefits for Nonfull-time Workers - Part-Time and Temporary Workers Protection Act of 1987 - Amends the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA) to bring certain part-time employees within the participation, vesting, and accrual rules governing pension plans. Addresses any employee who, within a relevant 12-month period: (1) has customarily completed more than 500 but fewer than 1,000 hours of service; or (2) is employed in a type of position in which employment customarily consists of such a number of hours. Provides that completion of such hours of service will be treated as completion of 1,000 hours of service (thereby bringing the employee within the ERISA benefit framework). Permits a reduction in the employer-provided premium under a group health plan in the case of a part-time employee only when such employee: (1) has customarily completed fewer than 30 hours of service per week; or (2) is employed in a type of position in which employment customarily consists of such a number of hours. Limits such a premium reduction, when permissible, to not less than a ratable portion of the premium ordinarily provided in the case of an employee who completes 30 hours of service per week. Revises the ERISA definition of "employee" to include non-employees who, pursuant to a contract or agreement, provide employee-like service to an employer for at least one year at the rate of 500 or more hours per year. Part D: Economic Security - Social Security Equity Act of 1987 - Amends title II (Old Age, Survivors and Disability Insurance) of the Social Security Act to provide that the combined earnings of a married couple which are attributable to the period of their marriage shall be shared equally between them for purposes of determining the eligibility for, and amount of, OASDI benefits to which each spouse is or may become separately entitled. Credits the survivor of the marriage with 100 percent of the combined total wages for the period of the marriage. Provides that this Act shall not apply in specified cases when it would result in a reduction of OASDI benefits. Sets forth certain age and marriage requirements with which married couples must comply in order for this Act to apply. Repeals the separate definition of disability applicable to widows and widowers. Permits the months of a widow's or widower's entitlement to Supplemental Security Income benefits (title XVI of the Social Security Act) on the basis of a disability to be counted toward the 24 months needed to become entitled to hospital insurance benefits under Medicare (title XVIII of the Social Security Act) on that basis. Pension Reform Act of 1987 - Amends the Tax Reform Act of 1986 to extend to all accrued benefits existing in plan year 1989 and thereafter the amendments made with regard to the nondiscriminatory coordination of defined contribution plans with Old Age, Survivors and Disability Insurance (OASDI). Amends the Internal Revenue Code (IRC) to repeal provisions that permit a certain disparity in simplified employee pension plan contributions with respect to nondiscriminatory coordination with OASDI. Provides for the repeal, effective for plan year 2000 and thereafter, of IRC rules relating to: (1) the nondiscriminatory coordination of defined contribution plans with OASDI; and (2) pension integration exceptions. Amends the IRC to establish distinct minimum employee coverage requirements applicable in cases when an employer with respect to a plan is treated as operating a single line of business. Requires such a plan to benefit all the employer's employees. Limits the exception to minimum coverage requirements available to employers treated as operating separate lines of business for a year. Amends the IRC and the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 to eliminate the special vesting requirements governing multiemployer plans. Directs the Comptroller General of the United States, as soon as possible after this Act's enactment, to undertake thorough studies with respect to: (1) possible methods of requiring employee pension plans to provide cost of living and other adjustments to plan benefits; and (2) potential pension portability mechanisms, including ways to preserve and enhance the real value of deferred vested pension benefits. Lists specific items to be addressed in each study. Requires submission of the studies to specified Congressional committees within two years of this Act's enactment. Medicaid Community Spouse Safety Net Act of 1987 - Amends title XIX (Medicaid) of the Social Security Act to set special resource and income eligibility standards for institutionalized individuals so as to provide support and maintenance of their noninstitutionalized spouses. Nondiscrimination in Insurance Act - Bans discrimination on the basis of race, color, religion, sex, or national origin in the consideration of applications for, or the granting of, insurance policies and the terms of such policies. Prohibits the use of any statistical table as a basis for action banned by this Act, and discrimination in any manner against a person because that person has opposed any practice made unlawful under this section. Grants to States having insurance discrimination laws the primary opportunity to enforce the pertinent prohibitions. Permits a civil action against the insurer to be filed in State or Federal court by or on behalf of an aggrieved person. Authorizes the Attorney General to bring a civil action in district court (without regard to the amount in controversy) when there is reasonable cause to believe that a person or group is engaged in a pattern or practice of violating these rights and that such violation raises an issue of general public importance. Directs the court to: (1) order the defendant to amend any relevant contract to comply with these provisions; (2) award actual damages for the period of noncompliance; and (3) award the aggrieved person reasonable attorney fees. Authorizes an award of punitive damages, in addition to actual damages. Describes rights, liabilities, premiums, benefits, and insurance coverages that are not to be affected by these antidiscrimination provisions. Federal Council on Women Act - Establishes a Federal Council on Women to: (1) collect and evaluate information with respect to any problems that are particular to women in the United States; (2) review and evaluate Federal policy related to any such problems; (3) coordinate the activities of the Council with similar activities conducted by States, local governments, and concerned organizations; and (4) make recommendations. Directs the Council to report its findings and recommendations to the Congress. Authorizes appropriations. Title II: Dependent Care - Part A: Improving the Quality of Dependent Care - Family Day Care Provider Assistance Act of 1987 - Directs the Secretary of Health and Human Services to make payments to States for grants to support family day care providers. Directs States to make such grants to community nonprofit organizations with experience in working with family day care and which furnish or propose to furnish support primarily to providers serving low-income families. Requires such grants to be used to: (1) provide training to family day care providers; (2) operate resource centers for making available developmentally appropriate curriculum materials; (3) operate a system of substitute caregivers for providers; (4) furnish technical assistance to providers in understanding local regulations and relevant tax and other policies; (5) provide subgrants for the purchase of small equipment; and (6) provide other appropriate support to family day care providers. Directs the Secretary to establish a National Resource Center on Family Day Care, to be administered by the Administration for Children, Youth, and Families. Authorizes appropriations. Sets forth a formula for State allotments. Child-Care Standards Improvement Act of 1987 - Authorizes appropriations for FY 1988 through 1990 for grants to improve State child-care licensing and regulatory systems. Requires, as a condition of eligibility for such grants, the establishment of a State Advisory Committee on Child-Care Standards to review a State's child-care licensing and regulatory systems. Requires reports by such committees. Establishes a National Advisory Committee on Child-Care Standards to assist and provide guidance to the States in improving the quality of child-care services. Requires the National Advisory Committee to submit to the Secretary of Health and Human Services proposed recommended standards for child-care programs within 14 months after the enactment of this Act. Terminates the National Advisory Committee 90 days after the publication by the Secretary of final recommended standards. Part B: Access to Dependent Care for All Families - Amends Internal Revenue Code provisions relating to the income tax credit for employment-related dependent care expenses to: (1) make the credit refundable; (2) increase the amount of the credit from 30 percent to 50 percent of the relevant expenses, reduced (but not below 20 percent) by one percent for each full $1,000 amount by which the taxpayer's adjusted gross income (AGI) exceeds $15,000, subject to an annual adjustment for inflation (the current reduction is one percent for each $2,000 in excess of $10,000 AGI with no provision for a cost of living adjustment); and (3) apply the credit to expenses for certain respite care of qualifying dependents of the taxpayer. Permits credit for up to $1,200 ($2,400 in cases involving more than one qualifying individual) of respite care expenses incurred in the care of: (1) a dependent of the taxpayer who is under the age of 15; or (2) a spouse or other dependent of the taxpayer who is physically or mentally incapable of self-care. Amends the Federal National Mortgage Association Charter Act and the Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corporation Act to bring within their respective frameworks loans or advances secured by a single residential property occupied as a single family residence in which community child care service is provided (thus making such loans eligible for purchase under each Act). Part C: Increasing Availability of Dependent Care for Low-Income Families - Amends the Social Security Act to increase appropriations for FY 1988 and thereafter for block grants to the States for social services. State Dependent Care Grants Amendments Act of 1987 - Amends the State Dependent Care Development Grants Act to require that amounts paid to States for use in the operation of child care services be designed to enable children whose families lack adequate financial resources to participate in before or after school child care programs. Requires State Governors to include specified information in their grant reports. Extends from September 30, 1987, to September 30, 1991, the time until which necessary revisions of grant program descriptions must be submitted. Public Housing Child Care Act - Directs the Secretary of Housing and Urban Development to: (1) make grants to public housing agencies to contract for lower-income resident child care services; and (2) design such program to determine the extent to which it facilitates resident employability. Requires a report to the Congress within three years. Authorizes FY 1987 through 1989 appropriations.
United States · United States Congress · 2 June 1987
Designates August 1, 1987, as Helsinki Human Rights Day. Requests the President to: (1) reassert the American commitment to the Helsinki Accords; (2) raise the issue of noncompliance with such Accords with the Soviet Union, Bulgaria, Czechoslovakia, the German Democratic Republic, Hungary, Poland, and Romania; (3) convey to all signatories of such Accords that respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms is vital to progress in the ongoing Helsinki process; (4) convey to U.S. allies the necessity of unity regarding such Accords; (5) continue his efforts to achieve the release of political prisoners of the Soviet Union, an increase in Soviet emigration, resolution of family reunification cases, and cessation of radio transmission jamming; (6) seek the inclusion, in any concluding document agreed to in Vienna, of a mechanism to sustain human rights progress after the Vienna Conference on Security and Cooperation in Europe; and (7) convey to signatory states the desire of the United States for a result at Vienna that will not favor military security at the expense of human rights.
United States · United States Congress · 29 May 1987
Insurance Competition Improvement Act of 1987 - Amends the McCarran-Ferguson Act to declare that the continued exemption of the business of insurance from the Federal antitrust laws is not in the public interest. Provides that the antitrust laws shall apply to the business of insurance with certain exceptions. Specifies limited activities that may be subject to an exempt agreement, understanding, or concert of action between or among insurers, members of an advisory organization, or other persons. Permits insurers or other persons participating in joint underwriting, pools, or residual market mechanisms to cooperate with each other in the making of rates, rating systems, policy forms, underwriting rules, surveys, inspections, and investigations if the residual market mechanism is required by law or approved by a State regulatory agency, or if the joint underwriting or pools do not unreasonably restrain trade. Permits any State to: (1) establish or approve a residual market mechanism; and (2) require a workers' compensation and employers' liability insurer to adhere to the uniform classification system and uniform rating plan applicable to such types of insurance in such State, provided that no such insurer shall agree with any other insurer or with an advisory organization to use any rate. States that treble damages and criminal penalties for alleged violations of Federal antitrust law may not result from conduct (which would have been lawful under the McCarran-Ferguson Act) occurring within two years of enactment of this Act. Provides that no relief shall be granted against any person for conduct occurring within two years of enactment of this Act if the defendant relied in good faith on an advisory opinion issued by the Department of Justice.
United States · United States Congress · 29 May 1987
Designates the week beginning October 18, 1987, as Financial Independence Week. Urges all citizens to pursue financial independence through sound planning and management of their individual resources.
United States · United States Congress · 21 May 1987
Minimum Health Benefits for All Workers Act of 1987 - Title I: Amendments to Public Health Service Act - Amends the Public Health Service Act to add provisions which require each employer to enroll each of its employees and their families in a health benefit plan. Makes State employers which do not so enroll their employees and their families ineligible to receive grants, contracts, loans, or loan guarantees under such Act. Title II: Amendments to Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 and Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 - Amends the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 to add provisions which require each employer to enroll each of its employees and their families in a health benefit plan. Amends the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 regarding supersedure of State laws relating to contracts or policies of insurance issued to or under a health benefit plan under title III of this Act. Title III: Requirements for Health Benefit Plans for Employees and Their Families - Part A: Requirements and Definitions - Applies this title to employers required to enroll employees in health benefit plans under certain provisions of the Public Health Service Act or the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938. Requires each small and certain large employers to use a regional insurer, subject to certain exceptions and conditions. Requires that enrollment of an employee in a health benefit plan under this title includes enrollment of the employee's family in the plan. Prohibits the employee from waiving personal or family enrollment. Provides exceptions to avoid duplicate family enrollment. Prohibits employers from discriminating against any individual because such individual has a spouse or child required under this title to be enrolled in a health benefit plan. Part B: Requirements for Health Benefit Plans - Sets forth general requirements for plans. Permits a health benefit plan to be considered as meeting such requirements provided the actuarial benefits under the plan are not less than would have applied if the plan met the requirements of this part. Specifies benefits which a plan must provide, including inpatient and outpatient hospital care and physician services, tests, and prenatal and well-baby care. Specifies requirements regarding the date of initial coverage and interim coverage. Prohibits pre-existing condition provisions. Allows a plan to require an employee to pay for premiums, deductibles, copayments, and coinsurance, not to exceed certain limits. Prohibits a plan from requiring a premium for an employee whose hourly wage is less than a specified amount. Sets limitations on deductibles. Part C: Certification of Regional Insurers - Directs the Secretary of Health and Human Services (Secretary) to designate six to eight health insurance regions and to establish competitive procedures for the periodic certification of two to five insurers for each region. Specifies requirements for application for and consideration of applications for such certification. Directs the Secretary to periodically evaluate the performance of regional insurers and, under certain circumstances, to terminate the certification of the insurer. Sets forth requirements regarding the types of plans each regional insurer must offer. Requires each regional insurer to fix premiums under a community rating system. Prohibits adjustment of such premiums based on age, gender, or other factors relating to the projected or actual use of services. Permits regional insurers to enter into subcontracts. Directs the Secretary to encourage regional insurers to enter into arrangements with entities representing groups of small businesses for the provision of administrative services. Requires such insurers to reduce the premiums charged by an amount which reflects the value of such services. Directs the Secretary to provide technical assistance to employers, utilizing to the maximum extent feasible entities with experience in providing health insurance services to small businesses. Part D: Regulations and Enforcement - Directs the Secretary to promulgate rules to carry out this title by specified deadlines. Provides for civil penalties for any nongovernmental employer who does not comply with certain provisions of this Act. Makes nongovernmental employers who knowingly fail to comply with certain provisions of this Act liable for damages, including health care costs incurred, to the employee or the employee's family. Allows any individual injured, adversely affected, or aggrieved by violation of certain requirements of this Act to bring an action for injunctive relief. Title IV: Effective Date - Provides for the effective date of this Act and transition rules for certain circumstances. Declares that no employer will be required under title III of this Act to provide any health benefit in addition to the benefits required to be provided by specified provisions of this Act unless: (1) such additional benefit is for a service which State Medicaid plans (under title XIX of the Social Security Act) are required to cover for certain individuals; and (2) before the enactment of such requirement, the benefits and costs of requiring the provision of such additional health benefit have been analyzed and considered by the Congress, according to certain procedures.
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