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United States · Official source
6,479 records where Sen. Kerry, John F. [D-MA] is listed as a sponsor, author, or other actor. Search with topics and years
United States · United States Congress · 7 June 1989
Designates October 22 through October 28, 1989, and the last full week of October in following years as National Adult Immunization Awareness Week.
United States · United States Congress · 6 June 1989
Amends the Tax Reform Act of 1986 to delay until 1990 the effective date of the nondiscrimination requirements for benefits provided under certain employee benefit plans. Amends the Internal Revenue Code to revise such nondiscrimination requirements by requiring the taxation of the excess health benefits of a highly compensated employee. Excludes from such requirements certain students, certain elderly, and prisoners. Imposes an excise tax on employers or employer plans if an employee benefit plan fails to satisfy certain administrative requirements. Restores prior law with respect to nondiscrimination requirements of group-term life insurance plans. Authorizes an employer to elect to use current nondiscrimination rules for years beginning 1990 or 1991 as they apply to health plans and dependent care assistance programs. Revises provisions relating to the nontaxable benefits of employers of leased employees, dependent care assistance, and group-term life insurance provided to highly compensated employees.
United States · United States Congress · 6 June 1989
Condemns the use of force by the People's Republic of China against unarmed advocates of democracy and human rights in China. Supports the President's actions, including suspension of all Government sales and commercial exports of arms to China. Praises the actions of American diplomatic personnel in China in seeking to insure the safety of American citizens there. Expresses the sense of the Senate that: (1) certain Chinese students studying in the United States should be granted permission to extend their stay; (2) applications to the Overseas Private Investment Corporation for the protection of investments in China and to the U.S. Export-Import Bank for the financing of trade with China should be reviewed; (3) U.S. departments charged with and considering liberalization of regulations relating to export licenses for sales to China should take into account the current situation; (4) the President should consult major U.S. allies to determine whether multilateral sanctions are necessary; (5) the President should inform the Congress of the results of his planned review of U.S.-Chinese relations and consult with the Congress on further actions to be taken; and (6) the Voice of America should increase its broadcasts to China.
United States · United States Congress · 2 June 1989
Designates the week of October 8 through October 14, 1989, as National Job Skills Week.
United States · United States Congress · 31 May 1989
Designates the week of September 24, 1989, as Religious Freedom Week.
United States · United States Congress · 31 May 1989
Designates the week beginning July 23, 1989, as Lyme Disease Awareness Week.
United States · United States Congress · 31 May 1989
Designates June 6, 1989, as National D-Day Remembrance Day.
United States · United States Congress · 18 May 1989
National Environmental Education Act - Directs the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to establish an Office of Environmental Education within the Office of External Affairs to carry out this Act. Establishes an Environmental Education and Training Program to train educational professionals in the development and delivery of environmental education and training programs and studies. Directs the Administrator to make an annual grant to an institution of higher education or nonprofit research institution to establish and operate such program. Sets forth application and eligibility requirements and criteria to be considered in awarding such grants. Authorizes the Administrator to enter into cooperative agreements or provide grants to support projects to design, demonstrate, and disseminate practices related to environmental education and training. Outlines activities eligible for grant support and priorities in awarding such grants. Requires the Administrator to publish an annual solicitation for environmental education grants. Authorizes local education agencies, colleges or universities, State education or environmental agencies, or nonprofit agencies to apply for such grants. Limits Federal funds for demonstration projects to 75 percent of the total cost, except in specified instances. Limits such grants to $100,000 and requires 25 percent of all funds obligated to be for grants of no more than $5,000. Requires the Administrator to provide for internships by postsecondary students with Federal agencies involved in environmental issues. Directs the Administrator, to the extent practicable, to support at least 150 internships annually. Makes eligible for participation in such program students enrolled at accredited colleges or universities who have successfully completed at least four courses or the equivalent in environmental sciences. Requires the Administrator to provide for a series of national awards recognizing outstanding contributions to environmental education to include: (1) the Theodore Roosevelt Award for environmental teaching or administration; (2) the Henry David Thoreau Award for literature on the environment and pollution problems; and (3) the Rachel Carson Award for film or print media for public education and information on environmental issues or problems. Provides that recipients of such awards shall be nominated by the Environmental Education Advisory Council. Requires the regional administrator of each EPA office to present an "Outstanding Environmental Educator Award" annually to a teacher or faculty member from a local education agency, college or university, or nonprofit organization in recognition of an outstanding contribution to environmental education. Establishes a National Environmental Education Advisory Council. Requires the Council to report biennially to the Congress on: (1) the extent and quality of environmental education in the Nation's schools; (2) activities conducted pursuant to this Act; (3) obstacles to improving environmental education; and (4) training and skills needed to respond to environmental problems. Establishes the Environmental Education Trust Fund to carry out this Act. Allocates funding for this Act's activities and authorizes 50 percent of penalties received under specified environmental Acts to be appropriated to the Fund.
United States · United States Congress · 18 May 1989
National High-Performance Computer Technology Act of 1989 - Title I: National High-Performance Computer Technology Program - Amends the National Science and Technology Policy, Organization, and Priorities Act of 1976 to direct the President, through the Federal Coordinating Council for Science, Engineering, and Technology (Council), to develop and implement a National High-Performance Computer Technology Plan, to be submitted to the Congress within one year of this title's enactment and revised at least biennially. Requires the plan to recommend a five-year proposal of goals and priorities for a Federal high-performance computer technology program. Describes required plan contents, including funding requirements and suggested roles for various Federal agencies. Designates the Council as the lead entity responsible for development and implementation of the plan, directing it to coordinate related activities among the agencies, review budget estimates, and work with the National Research Council and other researchers and potential users of the research. Suggests responsibilities appropriate to specified Federal agencies. Directs each Federal entity involved in high-performance computing to submit, as part of its annual budget request, a report to the Office of Management and Budget on the role of its activities with regard to the plan and relevant budget requests. Instructs the Chairman of the Council to submit to the President and to the Congress, by March 1 annually, a report on plan achievements and progress. Title II: National Research and Education Network - Directs the National Science Foundation (NSF) to provide for the establishment of a three gigabit-per-second computer network, to be known as the National Research and Education Network, with provisions for certain user charges, to link government, industry, and higher education. Requires the Council to: (1) establish a National Network Advisory Committee; (2) submit a report to the Congress evaluating effective mechanisms for providing operating funds for the long-term maintenance and use of the Network; and (3) allow Federal research grant recipients to use grant moneys to pay for computer networking and other telecommunications expenses. Requires the Department of Defense, through the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency, to be responsible for research and development of needed advanced fiber optics technology, switches, and protocols. Requires the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) (formerly the National Bureau of Standards) to develop common standards for network activities to provide interoperability, common user interfaces to systems, and enhanced security. Directs the National Telecommunications and Information Administration to determine the effect of current telecommunications regulations on private industry participation in the data transmission field and to report its findings to the Congress within one year of this Act's enactment. Authorizes FY 1990 through 1994 appropriations. Title III: National Information Infrastructure - Directs the NSF to coordinate the development of a national science and technology information infrastructure of data bases and knowledge banks accessible through the Network. Title IV: Software - Requires the Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP) to oversee the cooperative efforts of Federal departments and agencies in the research and development of high-performance computer software. Requires the NSF to: (1) establish clearinghouses to validate and distribute unclassified software developed by federally funded researchers and other software in the public domain; and (2) place special emphasis on the development of artificial intelligence (AI) and establish joint research programs among government, industry, and higher education to develop AI applications. Requires the NIST to develop standards for software programs purchased or developed by the Federal Government that promote development of interoperable software systems. Requires procurement regulations of departments and agencies to be changed so that contractors providing software to the Government are no longer required to forfeit the proprietary software development tools that they used to develop the software. Authorizes appropriations to the OSTP for distribution to relevant agencies for computer software research and development for FY 1990 through 1994. Title V: Computer Systems - Requires the NSF to ensure that the national supercomputer centers in the United States continue to have the most advanced, commercially available supercomputers produced by U.S. manufacturers. Requires Federal agencies to procure prototype or early production models of new high-performance computer systems and subsystems to stimulate development in the American high-performance computer industry. Directs the Secretary of Commerce, within 60 days of enactment of this Act, to review and report to the Congress on export controls that hinder the development of foreign markets for U.S. supercomputer and other high-performance computer technology manufacturers. Authorizes appropriations to the OSTP, for distribution as specified in the Plan, for research in computational science and engineering for FY 1990 through 1994. Title VI: Basic Research and Education - Requires the OSTP to: (1) support basic computer technology research; (2) create technology transfer mechanisms to make basic research results readily available to U.S. industry; (3) promote basic research in computer science, computational science, electrical engineering, and material science; and (4) educate more researchers in computer science and computational science. Authorizes appropriations to the NSF to support basic research and training of scientists and engineers in specified fields for FY 1990 through 1994.
United States · United States Congress · 18 May 1989
International Plutonium Control Act - Urges the President to seek negotiations with the Soviet Union on a verifiable agreement to end the production by both countries of plutonium and highly enriched uranium for weapons purposes. Expresses the sense of the Congress that the United States and the Soviet Union should: (1) establish verification arrangements to monitor the cessation of activities under this Act, including mutual inspections of production reactors, chemical separation and uranium enrichment facilities, and isotope separation plants; (2) furnish the equipment and personnel to implement safeguards at civilian nuclear facilities and consider transferring the safeguards mission to the International Atomic Energy Agency; and (3) consider increasing their respective contributions to the Agency to fund the assignment of fully trained inspectors to each country to assume additional safeguards responsibilities at civilian nuclear facilities. Urges the President to seek agreement with the Soviet Union that the United States and the Soviet Union will: (1) exchange information on the location, mission, and maximum annual capacity of their facilities essential to the production of tritium for stockpile replenishment; and (2) provide to each other a complete inventory of facilities dedicated to the production of plutonium and uranium for weapons purposes. Prohibits funds from being obligated or expended by the United States to operate facilities dedicated to the production of plutonium for weapons purposes unless the President certifies to the Congress that: (1) the Soviet Union has refused to enter in good faith into the negotiations; (2) the United States is unable to determine that Soviet facilities producing plutonium have ceased operation; or (3) the Soviet Union is continuing to obtain plutonium by operating civilian chemical separation plants that are not under bilateral U.S.-Soviet safeguards.
United States · United States Congress · 18 May 1989
Amends title XVI (Supplemental Security Income) (SSI) of the Social Security Act to exclude parental income and resources from the determination of a disabled child's SSI eligibility if such child requires the level of care provided in a hospital, skilled nursing facility, or intermediate care facility, but care outside such a facility is appropriate and, when considered with the SSI benefits to which such child is entitled, less costly than care within such a facility. Specifies the SSI benefit rate to which such children are entitled.
United States · United States Congress · 18 May 1989
Motor Vehicle Air Conditioner Ozone Depletion Act - Directs the Secretary of Commerce to issue regulations prohibiting the installation, maintenance, and repair of motor vehicle air conditioners after 1990, unless equipment certified as meeting standards set by the Society of Automotive Engineers for the extraction and reclamation of refrigerants is used. Requires service entities to document the number of air conditioners serviced and the amount of chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs) purchased and sold by such entities. Prohibits, after FY 1989, the sale of a CFC coolant in containers containing less than 15 pounds of such coolant if such container does not have a warning label indicating the danger such coolant poses to the stratospheric ozone layer. Prohibits, after 1990, the sale of any CFC coolant for use in a motor vehicle air conditioner: (1) other than for commercial or industrial use; and (2) in a container containing less than 15 pounds of such coolant. Directs the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency to set standards limiting the percentage of motor vehicles manufactured for sale in, or export from, the United States which contain air conditioners that use CFCs. Prohibits the use of such air conditioners in vehicles manufactured after model year 1994. Requires the Administrator to study and report to the Congress on the use of ozone-depleting chemicals, substitutes for such chemicals, and opportunities for recycling and recovery of such chemicals. Directs the Administrator, no later than January 15, 1991, to study and report to the Congress on ways to accomplish the systematic retrieval, storage, and reuse of CFCs from refrigerators, air conditioners, and motor vehicles facing immediate disposal. Directs the Administrator, no later than January 15, 1992, to study and report to the Congress on current information concerning ozone depletion and the development of motor vehicles which employ air conditioners using refrigerants other than CFCs. Directs the Secretary and the Administrator to consult with motor vehicle dealers and other appropriate business entities to publicize this Act.
United States · United States Congress · 18 May 1989
Designates November 19 through November 25, 1989, as National Family Caregivers Week.
United States · United States Congress · 18 May 1989
Commends the Flying Tigers for nearly 50 years of service to the United States.
United States · United States Congress · 18 May 1989
Designates June 21, 1989, as Chaney, Goodman, and Schwerner Day. Expresses the sense of the Congress that the Voting Rights Act of 1965 has helped to fulfill the promise of democracy in this Nation. Reaffirms the goal of removing remaining barriers to full voter participation in this Nation.
United States · United States Congress · 17 May 1989
Amends provisions of the Magnuson Fishery Conservation and Management Act (Magnuson Act) relating to determination of the total allowable level of foreign fishing in a fishery subject to the exclusive fishery management authority of the United States to remove references to involvement in that determination of fishery management councils and the Secretary of State. Requires that candidates for Regional Fishery Management Council voting membership seats reserved for a particular State be appointed only from a list submitted by the Governor of that State. (Current law allows appointment to reserved seats from a list submitted by the Governor of each applicable constituent State.) Allows staff members of the Council to be reimbursed for expenses. Revises procedures in connection with closed meetings of Councils or the scientific and statistical committees or advisory panels of Councils. Adds to the list of prohibited acts forcibly assaulting, resisting, intimidating, or taking other similar actions with regard to any observer on board a vessel under the Magnuson Act. Increases the maximum civil monetary penalty for violation. Includes such actions against an observer in the list of criminal offenses and increases the maximum monetary penalties for criminal offenses. Authorizes the Secretary of Commerce or the Secretary of the Treasury, notwithstanding any other law, from sums received as fines, penalties, or forfeitures of property for violations of any provision of the Magnuson Act, to pay: (1) claims of parties in interest to property disposed of under provisions of the Tariff Act of 1930 relating to seizure and summary sale; and (2) reimbursement to any Federal or State agency for services performed or personnel, equipment, or facilities utilized for enforcement under specified provisions of the Magnuson Act. Authorizes appropriations to carry out the Magnuson Act for FY 1990 through 1992.
United States · United States Congress · 17 May 1989
Designates August 8, 1989, as National Neighborhood Crime Watch Day.
United States · United States Congress · 16 May 1989
Biological Weapons Anti-Terrorism Act of 1989 - Amends the Federal criminal code to impose criminal penalties upon any person who knowingly: (1) develops, produces, stockpiles, acquires or possesses any agent, toxin, or delivery system for use as a weapon of mass destruction; or (2) assists a foreign state or an international organization to manufacture or acquire such an agent, toxin, or delivery system. Authorizes the Attorney General to seize and destroy any such agent, toxin, or delivery system. Authorizes the United States to obtain an injunction against conduct prohibited by this Act. Sets forth defenses to any seizure or injunction under this Act.
United States · United States Congress · 16 May 1989
Designates the month of November 1989 as National Diabetes Month.
United States · United States Congress · 16 May 1989
Designates October 1989 as National Domestic Violence Awareness Month.
United States · United States Congress · 16 May 1989
Designates September 1989 as National Alcohol and Drug Treatment Month.
United States · United States Congress · 16 May 1989
Designates October 1 through October 7, 1989, as National Disability Awareness Week.
United States · United States Congress · 12 May 1989
Radiation Victims Fair Treatment Act - Amends the Department of Defense Authorization Act, 1985 to repeal provisions which: (1) substitute the United States as defendant in all suits against private contractors for radiation injuries arising from atomic weapons testing programs; and (2) make the Federal Tort Claims Act the sole remedy for those injuries. Details the applicability of statutes of limitations.
United States · United States Congress · 12 May 1989
Designates the week of February 11 through February 17, 1990, as Vocational-Technical Education Week.
United States · United States Congress · 11 May 1989
Establishes the President's Award for Addiction Research. Provides that the award shall be made annually to an individual who has demonstrated excellence in research into the biochemical, genetic, or psychological basis of addiction or who has made an outstanding contribution to techniques of treating addictive maladies. Authorizes appropriations.
United States · United States Congress · 11 May 1989
National American Indian Museum Act - Establishes within the Smithsonian Institution a memorial to Native Americans to be known as the National Museum of the American Indian to provide for the study, research, collection, and exhibition of Native Americans and their culture. Designates specified areas in the District of Columbia and New York City as the sites of facilities for the Museum. Requires establishment of a facility for the conservation and storage of Museum collections at the Museum Support Center in Suitland, Maryland. Authorizes the Smithsonian to: (1) provide for the transfer of certain assets of the Heye Foundation for the benefit and use of the Museum; (2) construct such facilities; (3) provide for acquisition of Native American objects and artifacts from museums or private collections; and (4) maintain or loan objects and artifacts in the Museum collection. Establishes the Board of Trustees of the Museum. Directs the Board to: (1) recommend annual budgets for the Museum; and (2) assist the Board of Regents on matters relating to the Museum. Grants the Trustees sole authority to: (1) dispose of and acquire additional Museum property; and (2) establish policy with respect to the utilization of the Museum collections. Grants the Trustees authority to: (1) establish policy with respect to restoration, preservation, and maintenance of Museum collections; (2) solicit funds for the Museum; (3) approve expenditures from the Museum's endowment; (4) advise the Museum's Director; (5) provide for the exhibition of Native American objects and artifacts; and (6) conduct research and evaluation and educational programs with respect to the Museum collections. Requires the Trustees to submit annual reports to the Board of Regents and the Congress. Requires the Foundation's employees serving at the time of the transfer to be offered employment by the Smithsonian. Authorizes the Board of Regents to: (1) designate affiliate museums of the Museum in certain U.S. regions and in Alaska and Hawaii; and (2) establish an advisory council within each such region or State to oversee Museum curation and acquisitions and to provide necessary technical assistance for such affiliate museums. Directs the Board of Regents to: (1) identify the geographic and tribal origins of the skeletal remains of Indians and Alaska Natives in the Smithsonian; (2) conduct a study and make recommendations as to the final disposition of such remains; (3) consult with Native American traditional religious leaders in making such recommendations; and (4) report to the Congress within three years after this Act's enactment on the identity of such skeletal remains and the findings and recommendation of such study. Pledges that the United States will provide the funds needed to maintain and operate the Museum. Authorizes appropriations.
United States · United States Congress · 11 May 1989
Low-Income Housing Credit Act of 1989 - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to make permanent the low-income housing income tax credit (under current law the credit will expire after tax year 1989). Permits States a one-year carryover of unused credit authority. Assigns carryovers to the Secretary of Housing and Urban Development to allocate to eligible States applying for excess credit. Allows the credit only if an extended low-income housing commitment (beyond the current 15-year period) is in effect with respect to any building for the relevant taxable year. Describes procedures to effect transition to a non-low-income use in connection with such extensions. Permits the credit in connection with the acquisition of an existing building only if the taxpayer incurs rehabilitation expenditures of at least $3,000 per unit. Revises rent restrictions to: (1) declare unnecessary a required rent reduction below the initial rent if the median gross income of the area decreases; (2) permit higher rent if units are occupied by higher income individuals and the project has an operating deficit; (3) base income limitations on the number of bedrooms in a unit; and (4) use State median gross income in certain low-income housing status determinations. Broadens categories of existing buildings eligible for a waiver of the ten-year requirement for the low-income housing credit. Revises credit provisions relating to single-room occupancy units and special needs housing. Revises restrictions that limit credit benefits in connection with buildings financed with tax-exempt bonds and below market loans. Permits the credit to be allocated: (1) on a project basis; and (2) in connection with owner-occupied buildings of four units or less if a development plan is submitted. Directs housing credit agencies to adopt plans for allocating credit amounts among projects, prohibiting the credit with respect to any building not included in such a plan. Modifies at-risk rules in connection with buildings subject to the historic rehabilitation credit and those associated with financing provided by certain nonprofit organizations. Sets the tax credit rate on a semiannual basis rather than monthly. Increases the credit in connection with buildings in high cost areas (low-income census tracts or difficult development areas). Establishes special rules for determining the eligible basis and applying at-risk rules in connection with qualified buildings acquired in foreclosures.
United States · United States Congress · 10 May 1989
Amends the Coastal Zone Management Act of 1972 to designate the Secretary of Commerce as the lead Federal trustee with respect to ocean and coastal zone natural resources. Sets forth the duties of the lead trustee. Establishes an ocean and coastal resource fund for damage assessment and resource restoration, acquisition, and planning. Requires sums recovered by the Federal Government for destruction or loss of, or injury to, such resources to be deposited in such fund. Authorizes appropriations necessary to maintain such fund at a level of $10,000,000. Directs the Secretary to report to the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation and the House Committee on Merchant Marine and Fisheries whenever the balance of the fund is less than $5,000,000 and to recommend a supplemental appropriation. Provides for transfers of fund moneys to miscellaneous Treasury Department receipts whenever the balance of such fund exceeds $10,000,000.
United States · United States Congress · 10 May 1989
Amends the Trans-Alaska Pipeline Authorization Act to authorize appropriations to the Secretary of Commerce from the Trans-Alaska Pipeline Liability Fund for FY 1990 through 1999 to: (1) carry out a comprehensive monitoring and research program to determine the long-term effects of the Exxon Valdez oil spill on the marine and estuarine habitats and resources of Prince William Sound; and (2) apply the results of such monitoring and research to the development of methods to protect arctic and subarctic marine and estuarine environments from accidental discharges of oil. Requires the Secretary to report to specified congressional committees on such program. Prohibits oil and gas exploration, development, or production in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge until the Secretary's interim report has been submitted and the Secretary of Transportation assures that significant improvements have been made in the navigation safety of oil tankers in Prince William Sound.
United States · United States Congress · 10 May 1989
Designates the Labor Day Weekend beginning on September 2, 1989, as National Drive for Life Weekend. Calls on people to observe that weekend with a pledge to be responsible by driving sober.
United States · United States Congress · 10 May 1989
Recognizes the two centuries of service by the U.S. Coast Guard.
United States · United States Congress · 9 May 1989
Americans with Disabilities Act of 1989 - Title I: General Prohibition Against Discrimination - Declares that it shall be discriminatory, on the basis of disability, to deny opportunities or to afford them unequally, to provide opportunities less effectively (or differently or separately, unless necessary for effectiveness), to assist an organization or individual that discriminates, or to otherwise limit opportunities enjoyed by others. Prohibits the use of standards, criteria, or administrative methods that have the purpose or effect of discrimination or perpetuate discrimination. Declares it discriminatory to deny equal opportunities because of the relationship or association of an individual with another individual with a disability. Allows as a defense to a charge of discrimination that an application of standards or criteria has been demonstrated to be both necessary and substantially related to the ability of an individual to take advantage of the essential components of the opportunity, and that the taking advantage cannot be accomplished by reasonable accommodations, modifications, or the provision of auxiliary aids or services. Title II: Employment - Prohibits discrimination by any employer, employment agency, labor organization, or joint labor-management committee against any qualified individual with a disability in job application procedures, hiring or discharge, compensation, advancement, training, and other terms, conditions, and privileges of employment. Lists types of actions construed to be discrimination. Makes the remedies set forth in specified provisions of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and other specified Federal law available to any individual who believes that he or she is being or is about to be subjected to discrimination in violation of this Act. Title III: Public Services - Declares that no qualified individual with a disability shall be excluded from the participation in, denied the benefits of, or subjected to discrimination by a State, or by an agency, political subdivision, or other instrumentality of a State. Lists types of actions deemed, for purposes of this Act and specified provisions of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, to be discrimination with regard to public transportation. Makes the remedies and rights set forth in specified provisions of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 available to any individual who believes that he or she is being or is about to be subjected to discrimination in violation of this Act. Title IV: Public Accommodations and Services Operated by Private Entities - Prohibits discrimination on the basis of disability in the enjoyment of any place of public accommodation. Lists types of actions construed to be discrimination. Prohibits discrimination on the basis of disability in public transportation services provided by a private entity that is primarily engaged in transporting people, but that is not in the principal business of air transportation. Lists types of actions construed to be discrimination. Makes specified provisions of the Fair Housing Act relating to enforcement available, subject to exception, to any aggrieved individual. Title V: Telecommunications Relay Services - Defines "telecommunications relay services" to mean services that enable simultaneous communication between individuals who use telecommunications devices for the deaf (TDDs) or other nonvoice terminal devices and individuals who do not use such devices. Declares it discriminatory for any common carrier that offers telephone services to the public to fail to provide interstate or intrastate telecommunication relay services that are equal to those provided to their customers who are able to use voice services, except in any State in which services are provided through an entity designated by the State. Declares it discrimination by a State that makes such a designation if the State fails to provide interstate or intrastate relay services that are equal to those provided to their voice customers. Makes specified provisions of the Fair Housing Act relating to enforcement available, subject to exception, to any aggrieved individual. Requires the Federal Communications Commission to enforce this title. Makes specified provisions of the Communication Act of 1934 apply with respect to the enforcement of this title. Provides for cease and desist orders by the Commission and for monetary penalties. Title VI: Miscellaneous Provisions - Prohibits retaliatory discrimination against any individual because of actions related to this Act. Declares that a State shall not be immune under the 11th Amendment to the Constitution from an action in Federal court for a violation of this Act. Requires the Architectural and Transportation Barriers Compliance Board to issue minimum guidelines to supplement the existing Minimum Guidelines and Requirements for Accessible Design. Allows the awarding of reasonable attorney's fees, in certain circumstances, in any action or proceeding under this Act.
United States · United States Congress · 9 May 1989
Veterans Health-Care Personnel Act of 1989 - Title I: Pay Matters - Directs the Secretary of Veterans Affairs, for the pay period beginning on or after July 1, 1990, to establish the rates of basic pay for the following health-care personnel employed within the Veterans Health Services and Research Administration (HSRA) of the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA): registered nurses and registered nurse anesthetists, physicians, dentists, podiatrists, optometrists, nurses, physician assistants, dental assistants, certain clinical or counseling psychologists, certain therapists, practical or vocational nurses, pharmacists, and occupational therapists. Requires the director of each VA health-care facility to conduct a survey which will establish the rate of basic pay in each appropriate pay grade by a specified date. Requires the director to conduct an annual review to determine if such basic pay rates need to be adjusted, and to adjust them, if necessary. Requires the director, as part of such survey, to survey the equivalent entry-level positions for such work performed in non-VA health-care facilities in order to determine the amount of basic pay for similar work. Outlines further administrative provisions relating to the determination of a similar labor market area for purposes of making such pay-rate determinations, requiring the director of a VA facility to notify the Chief Medical Director (CMD) of the labor market identified of his or her selection of a labor market area, and requiring the CMD to approve or disapprove of such a labor market area selection within a specified time. Provides maximum amounts for such minimum rates of basic pay as established under this Act. Outlines employee exceptions to such basic pay rates. Requires the Secretary to submit an annual report to the Senate and House Veterans' Affairs Committees regarding the exercise of authority under this Act for the preceding fiscal year and to prescribe final regulations setting forth criteria and procedures to carry out this Act. Requires the director of each VA facility to establish and adjust such basic pay rates by a specified date even if such final regulations have not been implemented. Requires each director, within a specified period, to conduct a survey and establish an interim competitive pay rate to be followed until such final regulations and pay rates are determined. Makes conforming amendments. Authorizes overtime pay for nurses who perform in excess of 40 hours in an administrative workweek. (Currently, overtime is authorized only for work performed in excess of eight hours a day.) Authorizes the payment of six percent additional pay per hour for nurses performing work as a head nurse. Provides for the waiver of a mandatory reduction under Federal law for registered nurses working in positions of health-care professionals involved in direct patient care or in positions involving the provision of services incident to direct patient care. Increases the limitation on the amount authorized to be paid as special pay to certain individuals in the HSRA of the VA. Requires increases in such pay of a specified amount or more to be reported by the Secretary to the veterans' committees. Reduces from 90 to 45 days the time in which the Secretary must notify the President of the Secretary's intention to approve such special rates of pay. Authorizes a one-time lump-sum payment of special pay to each nurse who is recertified in the specialty in which the nurse is employed. Title II: Other Personnel Benefits - Directs the Secretary to establish by regulation a program under which the Secretary may pay a cash award to any VA employee who is a supervisor or manager employed in any of the following positions: physician, dentist, podiatrist, optometrist, nurse, physicians' assistant, or expanded-function dental auxiliary. Limits the amount of each award and the total number of recipients in each fiscal year. Directs the Secretary to establish and conduct a dependent care assistance program, which meets certain requirements of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, for the care of dependents of employees of the HSRA. Requires such program to be implemented no later than June 1, 1990. Directs the Secretary to establish a voluntary transfer of leave program for the benefit of health-care professionals of the HSRA. Authorizes the Secretary to establish a voluntary leave bank program for the benefit of such individuals. Requires such programs to be consistent with current Federal voluntary leave programs. Authorizes the Secretary and the Director of the Office of Personnel Management to enter into agreements permitting health-care professionals of the HSRA to participate in the current Federal voluntary leave transfer and voluntary leave bank programs. Requires the Secretary to implement such programs no later than October 1, 1990. Title III: Health Care Education - Requires the Secretary, in selecting applicants for the VA Scholarship Program, to ensure an equitable allocation of scholarships to persons enrolled in the second year of a program leading to an associate degree in nursing. Requires such requirement to be implemented beginning with scholarships awarded in 1990. Requires current representatives of the field of paramedics to assist in the establishment of cooperative arrangements to provide for the training of health and paramedical personnel in order to improve the manpower utilization of such personnel. Requires such requirement to be implemented no later than February 1, 1990. Authorizes appropriations for FY 1990 through 1993 for making grants for such cooperative programs. Title IV: Other Personnel Management Matters - Authorizes the Secretary, upon the recommendation of the CMD, to appoint in the competitive service any individual who: (1) has been awarded a degree or certificate in a health-care profession or occupation by an accredited institution; (2) has been appointed by the Secretary to a clinical education program conducted by an educational institution affiliated with a VA health-care facility; and (3) has successfully completed such program within one year before the individual's appointment into the competitive service. Directs the CMD of the VA to conduct a pilot program at no less than five VA medical facilities during FY 1990 through 1992 in order to determine the effect on employees of VA pay and personnel management practices. Requires the CMD to establish certain alternative pay and personnel management practices, such as increasing certain pay differentials for day versus evening duty, utilizing registered nurses in new ways for the furnishing of direct-patient care, and establishing flexible employment benefits programs for VA employees. Requires various reports between the CMD, the Secretary, and the veterans' committees relating to the results of such pilot program.
United States · United States Congress · 9 May 1989
High Definition Television Development Act of 1989 - Title I: Authority to Engage in Joint Actions to Promote Development - Amends the Communications Act of 1934 to prohibit the application of antitrust laws to any cooperative high definition television (HDTV) enterprise engaged in a joint research, development, or production venture with respect to which certain notification has been given. Title II: International Trade - Requires the Secretary of Commerce to submit a report to the President and the Congress on the implications for international trade of HDTV technology.
United States · United States Congress · 9 May 1989
Designates October 1989 and 1990 as National Down Syndrome Month.
United States · United States Congress · 9 May 1989
Designates October as National Quality Month.
United States · United States Congress · 9 May 1989
Declares that: (1) it is the sense of the Senate that child survival and development programs are to be commended; (2) the Senate reaffirms the goal of improvement of the survival rates, health, and development of people in all countries and urges the President to adopt this as a major priority; (3) the Senate urges the President to propose to the Secretary General of the United Nations that the Secretary General establish an independent advisory commission with regard to programs in primary health care, nutrition, basic education, and environment by members of the Grand Alliance for Children; (4) the Senate endorses the call for a representative World Summit on Children to provide a forum for governmental leaders to commit to specified goals; (5) the Senate endorses the goals of Universal Childhood Immunization by 1990 and Health for All by the year 2000; and (6) the Senate encourages the President to take a leading role in ensuring the convening of a World Summit on Children.
United States · United States Congress · 4 May 1989
International Narcotics and Terrorism Control Act of 1989 - Authorizes the President to impose additional specified transportation, immigration, and customs sanctions on certain countries if he determines that to do so would contribute to the reduction in the importation into the United States of narcotics from such countries. Amends the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 to require that the President's annual report to the Congress on U.S. policy with respect to an international strategy to prevent the cultivation and manufacture of, and traffic in, controlled substances include: (1) comments and recommendations regarding the war on drugs by the Departments of State, Justice, Defense, the Treasury, and Health and Human Services, the Agency for International Development, the Drug Enforcement Administration, the U.S. Customs Service, and other enforcement agencies; and (2) the results of a review of the connections between international narcotics trafficking, money laundering, and international terrorism. Directs the Director of National Drug Control Policy to include in the National Drug Control Strategy to be submitted to the Congress on February 1, 1990: (1) a study of current Federal personnel practices affecting all persons engaged in the war on drugs; and (2) a determination as to whether adequate resources are being devoted to the hiring, training, promotion, and retention of Federal employees responsible for fighting drugs. Requires the Secretary of State to report to the Senate Foreign Relations Committee and the House Foreign Affairs Committee not later than ten days after denying a request from a law enforcement agency for assistance by the Department of State, setting forth the reasons for such denial. Makes it unlawful for any person who was employed by the executive branch or by the Congress and who performed duties with respect to narcotics-related issues, to represent a foreign government on narcotics matters for three years after leaving such employment. Provides penalties for a violation. Requires the Secretary of State and any other officer or employee of the Department of State to submit the name of any individual or entity to the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the U.S. Customs Service, and the Drug Enforcement Administration for their determination that such individual or entity is not under indictment or has not been convicted of any narcotics or narcotics-related offense before they may enter into a contract on behalf of the Department with such individual or entity. States that no funds made available for the Department may be available for payment on any contract entered into with an individual or entity listed by such agency. Provides that no funds made available to any element of the U.S. Government authorized to conduct intelligence activities may be available for payment to any individual who has been convicted of narcotics trafficking or money laundering, with an exception. States that it is not a defense to prosecution for certain offenses in the Federal criminal code related to foreign relations that an individual was acting pursuant to the authority or direction of any department, agency, or officer of the U.S. Government, unless: (1) such action was taken pursuant to the specific authority or direction of the Secretary of State; and (2) the Foreign Affairs Committee and the Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence of the House and the Foreign Relations Committee and the Select Committee on Intelligence of the Senate were notified by the Secretary within 48 hours after the conferral of such authority or the giving of such direction.
United States · United States Congress · 4 May 1989
Expresses support for the right of the Panamanian people to full democracy in Panama. Condemns the Noriega regime's attempts to curtail the rights of participation in the election process. Calls upon the Noriega regime to: (1) guarantee free and open access to polling places, public access to voting lists, and public tabulation of ballots; and (2) accord full access for electoral activities to the official U.S. observer team, the Carter-Ford election observer group, and other international observer teams. Urges President Bush to: (1) encourage other democracies to send international observer teams to Panama; (2) report to the Congress on the extent to which the May 7, 1989, elections in Panama were conducted in a free and fair manner; and (3) consult with the Congress on the future course of action for U.S. policy in Panama.
United States · United States Congress · 3 May 1989
Authorizes and requests the President to designate the weeks of November 19 through November 25, 1989, and November 18 through November 24, 1990, as National Family Week.
United States · United States Congress · 3 May 1989
Designates October 6, 1989, as German-American Day.
United States · United States Congress · 2 May 1989
Provides for the establishment of categories of aliens who are subject to persecution in the Soviet Union or in Vietnam and therefore admissible as refugees into the United States. (Deems Jews and Evangelical Christians in the Soviet Union and Vietnamese registered with the Orderly Departure Program to be such categories.) Provides for the adjustment of status to refugee status for certain Soviet and Vietnamese parolees residing in the United States.
United States · United States Congress · 1 May 1989
National Voter Registration Act of 1989 - Requires each State to establish procedures with respect to presidential and congressional elections to permit voter registration by: (1) application in person simultaneously with application for a motor vehicle driver's license; (2) mail application; or (3) application in person at designated Federal, State, and private sector locations. Declares that this Act does not apply to any State that has no voter registration requirement with respect to presidential and congressional elections. Requires each State to: (1) assure that any eligible applicant who submits his or her application 25 days before the election is registered to vote in the election; (2) require the appropriate State election official to notify each applicant of the disposition of the application; and (3) provide that the name of a voter may not be removed from the official list of eligible voters except by reason of death, criminal conviction, mental incapacity, change in residence, failure to vote in two consecutive elections, or voter request. Requires each State to designate a chief State election official to coordinate State functions under this Act. Provides a private right of action for an individual aggrieved by a violation of this Act.
United States · United States Congress · 1 May 1989
Prohibits the United States from making any voluntary or assessed contributions to the United Nations or any of its affiliated organizations if such entity grants full membership as a state to any organization or group that does not have the internationally recognized attributes of statehood.
United States · United States Congress · 19 April 1989
Consumer Protection Against Price-Fixing Act of 1989 - Amends the Sherman Act to set forth evidentiary standards for price-fixing actions. Requires the court to allow the issue of concerted action to fix prices to be decided by the trier of fact if there is sufficient evidence from which a trier of fact could reasonably conclude that: (1) the supplier of a good or service received from a competitor of a reseller an express or implied suggestion, request, or demand that the supplier take steps to curtail or eliminate price competition; and (2) sales or supplies to the reseller were terminated by the supplier because of such communication. Prohibits the court from allowing the trier of fact to consider whether an individual and a competitor engaged in concerted action to set prices in violation of this Act if the court determines that the trier of fact could only find concerted action by making implausible inferences. Provides that the fact that a supplier and a reseller entered into an agreement to establish the resale price of a good or service shall be sufficient to constitute a price fixing violation, except when the agreement is to establish the maximum resale price of a good or service. Specifies that an agreement between the seller and the purchaser of a good or service to terminate another purchaser as a dealer or to refuse to supply such other purchaser because of that purchaser's pricing policies violates this Act, regardless of whether or not a specific price or price level is agreed upon.
United States · United States Congress · 19 April 1989
Designates the period commencing September 11, 1989, and ending September 15, 1989, as National Historically Black Colleges Week.
United States · United States Congress · 19 April 1989
Designates the week of October 8 through October 14, 1989, as National Week of Commitment to Helping the Homeless.
United States · United States Congress · 19 April 1989
Designates October 5, 1989, as Raoul Wallenberg Recognition Day.
United States · United States Congress · 19 April 1989
Expresses the sense of the Senate that the Bankruptcy Court and all involved parties should facilitate the prompt restoration of Eastern Airlines to full operations through appropriate action which may include appointment of a trustee, pending the sale of the company.
United States · United States Congress · 18 April 1989
Authorizes the Blackstone River Valley National Heritage Corridor Commission to make grants for historic preservation, an interpretative exhibit, and cultural and educational programs within the Blackstone River Valley National Heritage Corridor in Massachusetts and Rhode Island. Authorizes appropriations for FY 1988 through 1992.