United States · United States Congress · 11 May 1988
Amends the Merchant Marine Act, 1936 to include in the term "privately owned United States-flag vessels," as used in provisions relating to cargo preference, any U.S. flag vessel designated by the Secretary of Transportation as a Great Lakes Exempt Vessel (GLEV) regardless of the number of years the vessel has been documented under U.S. laws. Authorizes the Secretary to designate each of six vessels as a GLEV to enable vessels documented less than three years to engage temporarily in trade within the Great Lakes. Prohibits any vessel engaged primarily in bulk trade from being designated as a GLEV. Prohibits any vessel from retaining its GLEV designation if it has repair, reconditioning, or maintenance work done other than in a U.S. shipyard, subject to waiver by the secretary to enable a vessel to safely sail from a foreign port. Prohibits any GLEV from serving any other U.S. seaport than the Great Lakes, subject to exception. Prohibits the Secretary from designating a vessel as a GLEV unless it has been approved by the Secretary of Defense as suitable for national defense purposes. Terminates any GLEV designation on December 31, 1990.
United States · United States Congress · 28 April 1988
United States Grain Standards Act Amendments of 1988 - Amends the United States Grain Standards Act to extend authority through FY 1993 for: (1) grain inspection and weighing fees; and (2) authorization of appropriations. Limits annual inspection and weighing administrative and supervisory costs during such period to not more than 40 percent of total administrative and supervisory costs incurred annually by the Federal Grain Inspection Service. Extends authority for appointment of grain advisory committee members to up to 30 days after enactment of this Act.
United States · United States Congress · 27 April 1988
Women in Development Act of 1988 - Requires the Administrator of the Agency for International Development (AID) to take specific steps to strengthen the Agency's women in development policy, including: (1) incorporating and increasing the active participation of local women and local women's organizations in its development activities; (2) instructing Agency staff and contractors to collect sex-disaggregated data and to insure that country strategies, projects, and programs are designed so that the percentage of women receiving assistance in proportion to the higher of their traditional participation in the targeted activities or their proportion of the population; (3) insuring that project and program evaluations include an assessment of the extent to which the project integrates women in the development process and of the project's impact on women; (4) increasing the number and responsibility of women in professional positions within AID; and (5) establishing within AID a task force on women in development. Amends the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 to require that a minimum of $4,000,000 (currently, a maximum of $10,000,000) in funds made available for foreign assistance programs be used for programs to promote the participation and integration of women in the development process in developing countries. Requires that not less than $2,000,000 of such funds be extended as matching funds to support the efforts of AID field missions to integrate women into their programs. Requires the Administrator to report to the Congress annually on the implementation of this Act. Authorizes appropriations to be made available for the United Nations Development Fund for Women and the United Nations International Research and Training Institute for the Advancement of Women.
United States · United States Congress · 12 April 1988
Condemns the use of chemical weapons by Iraq and calls upon Iraq to halt the use of such weapons. Commends the President for his prompt condemnation of Iraq's recent chemical weapons attack on civilians. Urges the President to: (1) seek allied cooperation to tighten controls on the export of chemical compounds to countries seeking to develop a chemical weapons capability; (2) make appropriate diplomatic efforts to prevent Iran from developing or using chemical weapons; and (3) intensify American efforts at the Geneva Conference on Disarmament and in bilateral discussions with the Soviet Union to achieve an arms control agreement banning the production, use, and transfer of chemical weapons.
United States · United States Congress · 31 March 1988
Medicare Rural Long-Term Care Demonstration Act of 1988 - Directs the Secretary of Health and Human Services to conduct 25 five-year demonstration projects testing alternative approaches for delivering long-term care to elderly Medicare (title XVIII of the Social Security Act) beneficiaries residing in rural areas. Requires that, in determining which rural health care providers will participate in such projects, the Secretary: (1) take into account the extent to which the proposed project will test the use of volunteers and paraprofessionals in the delivery of such care; and (2) ensure that approximately 75 percent of the projects are community-based while approximately 25 percent are hospital-based. Requires the Secretary to conduct an on-going evaluation of each project which includes an analysis of the quality of care provided, community and recipient acceptance of the project, and the financial impact of the project on the programs under titles XVIII (Medicare), XIX (Medicaid), and XX (Grants to States for Social Services) of the Social Security Act. Provides that such projects may include case management services and home health, day, and respite care, but prohibits the inclusion of services for which payment is otherwise made under the Medicare and Medicaid programs. Directs the Secretary to report to the Congress on the results of such projects by January 1, 1994. Authorizes appropriations for such projects from the Federal Hospital Insurance Trust Fund through FY 1993.
United States · United States Congress · 31 March 1988
Expresses the sense of the Congress that it was the intent of the Congress in enacting specified legislation that: (1) the Federal Aviation Administration should use the requirement of Mode C transponders (radar tracking devices) to tie the high altitude en route to terminal airspace as a provision for safe transition; (2) Mode C should be required in all aircraft for all terminal areas where activity levels and traffic mix create a potential conflict; (3) Mode C is not needed outside of terminal areas where activity levels and traffic mix do not create potential conflict; and (4) Mode C should not be required at lower altitudes where there is no mix of commercial and general aviation traffic.
United States · United States Congress · 29 March 1988
Directs the Federal Communications Commission to establish and implement a telecommunications relay system to increase access to Federal departments and agencies for users of Telecommunications Devices for the Deaf (TDDs). Requires the system and its associated plans to include: (1) expansion of the existing relay system to a prescribed minimum service level; (2) accessibility of TDDs in Federal agencies; (3) publication of a TDD directory of Government access numbers; (4) adoption and display of logos identifying TDD stations; and (5) support for the development of cost-effective and hardware-based technologies. Authorizes appropriations.
United States · United States Congress · 25 March 1988
Designates as the John C. Stennis Space Center the National Space Technology Laboratories of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration located in Bay St. Louis, Mississippi.
United States · United States Congress · 24 March 1988
Expresses the sense of the Congress that: (1) the situation in Panama constitutes an extraordinary threat to the United States; (2) the United States should act immediately to impose additional pressure on General Noriega and should obtain his extradition from Panama; (3) the United States should take immediate steps to provide additional support to President Delvalle's government; and (4) the U.S. Government should consider a comprehensive package of emergency economic assistance to President Delvalle's transitional government after General Noriega has left Panama to assist in rebuilding Panama's economy.
United States · United States Congress · 18 March 1988
Emergency Assistance for the Nicaraguan Democratic Resistance Act - Transfers to the President a specified sum of unobligated funds to provide humanitarian assistance to the Nicaraguan democratic resistance and transportation for such assistance. Earmarks a specified amount of such assistance for the purchase, repair, and transportation of communications equipment. Provides that such transferred funds shall remain available until March 31, 1989. Directs the Secretary of Defense to make available through March 31, 1989, passive air defense equipment to assure the safety of transportation provided under this Act. Provides that, after a ceasefire is negotiated between the Government of Nicaragua and the resistance, delivery of the remaining assistance shall be made in accordance with the terms of the ceasefire agreement. Welcomes proposals by the President to the Congress for bilateral and multilateral action to: (1) provide additional economic assistance to the democratic countries of Central America; (2) facilitate the growth of their economies; (3) provide a more realistic plan to assist such countries in managing their foreign debt; (4) develop these initiatives in concert with democratic allies; and (5) lift the embargo on trade and other transactions against Nicaragua, and include Nicaragua as eligible for assistance, if it is in compliance with the Guatemala Accords. Authorizes the President, after consulting with congressional leaders, to submit to the Congress requests for additional assistance to the resistance anytime within 12 months after enactment of this Act. Sets forth congressional priority procedures for taking up such requests.
United States · United States Congress · 15 March 1988
National Appliance Energy Conservation Amendments of 1988 - Amends the Energy Policy and Conservation Act to include fluorescent lamp ballasts within the list of products covered by the Act. Directs the Secretary of Energy to prescribe by July 1, 1989, test procedures for such ballasts manufactured on or after January 1, 1990. Directs the Federal Trade Commission to prescribe labeling rules for such ballasts according to specified guidelines. Sets forth energy efficiency standards for such ballasts. Preempts State energy conservation standards for such ballasts unless such standards were prescribed or enacted before the date of enactment of this Act.
United States · United States Congress · 14 March 1988
Amends the Commercial Motor Vehicle Safety Act of 1986 to declare that its requirements do not apply to motor vehicles registered for farm use which are not driven more than 15,000 miles per year.
United States · United States Congress · 14 March 1988
Declares that the President should: (1) posthumously award the Presidential Medal of Freedom to Charles E. Thornton, Lee Shapiro, and Jim Lindelof in honor of their efforts to document the Afghan struggle for freedom; and (2) present the award to those individuals' families on March 21, 1988, the start of the new year in Afghanistan.
United States · United States Congress · 4 March 1988
Amends the National School Lunch Act to require that eligibility for free lunches under the school lunch program be based on the nonfarm income poverty guidelines prescribed by the Office of Management and Budget.
United States · United States Congress · 4 March 1988
Amends the Agricultural Act of 1949 to specify wheat, rice, and feed grains acquired by the Commodity Credit Corporation (CCC) through price support operations as eligible commodities for agricultural assistance under title II of the Agricultural Trade Development and Assistance Act of 1954 (P.L. 480). Directs the Secretary of Agriculture to make available to nonprofit and voluntary agencies and cooperatives in any country the same commodities available to it as a country friendly to the United States. Directs the Secretary, upon request, to make multiyear commodity distribution or sale agreements. Increases: (1) the scope of nonprofit on voluntary agency or cooperative foreign currency programs; and (2) the aggregate value of commodities available for such activities. Directs the Secretary, no later than 45 days after submission, to take final action on a proposal submitted by a nonprofit and voluntary agency or cooperative, with the concurrence of the field mission, for the delivery of commodities requested. Directs the Secretary, no later than 30 days prior to the issuance of a final guideline issued to carry out the Act, to provide notice of the proposed guideline to participating nonprofit agencies and cooperatives and to make such guideline available for review and comment. Directs that such commodity purchase or supply orders be transmitted to the CCC within 15 days of receipt of a qualifying field mission request. Increase minimum quantities of CCC grain, oilseeds, and dairy products available for assistance programs to developing and friendly countries. Amends the Food Security Act of 1985 to extend the farmer to farmer program through FY 1990. Makes the Federal Advisory Committee Act inapplicable to activities of an agricultural and trade mission (as established by P.L. 100-202).
United States · United States Congress · 3 March 1988
Designates the week of June 26 through July 2, 1988, as National Safety Belt Use Week. Authorizes and requests the President to: (1) urge the people to wear safety belts and use child safety seats; and (2) encourage State and local governments and concerned organizations and officials to promote greater use of these safety devices.
United States · United States Congress · 26 February 1988
Air Travel Rights for Blind Individuals Act - Amends the Federal Aviation Act of 1958 to preclude an air carrier from establishing aircraft seating restrictions based upon a passenger's visual acuity or use of a white cane or dog guide or other such means of assistance.
United States · United States Congress · 23 February 1988
Child Care Services Improvement Act of 1988 - Title I: Child Care Block Grant - Amends the Public Health Service Act to establish a child care services block grant program. Authorizes appropriations for FY 1989 through 1991 for allotments to States to carry out specified child care services activities. Provides for State allotments on the basis of numbers of children under age 12 and numbers of such children living in households with an income not greater than 200 percent of the poverty level. Provides for additional allotments under specified circumstances. Requires States to use allotment payments to make grants to eligible entities for specified projects. Includes among eligible entities: (1) local government units, including school districts; (2) nonprofit organizations; (3) professional or employee associations; (4) consortia of small businesses; (5) higher education institutions; (6) hospitals or health care facilities; (7) family care providers; (8) parents, to use for employment- or education-related child care expenses; or (9) entities that the State considers able and appropriate to carry out a project under this title. Includes among such projects: (1) child care certificate programs or scholarships to enable low income families to obtain adequate child care; (2) community or neighborhood child care centers, including renovation of public buildings for such purpose; (3) after-school child care programs; (4) grants or loans for start-up costs of employer-sponsored child care programs; (5) training programs for child care providers; (6) temporary care of sick children unable to attend child care programs in which they are enrolled; (7) expansion of existing part-day child care programs into full-day child care programs; (8) child care programs for homeless children; (9) linking of child care programs with programs to assist the elderly; or (10) any project consistent with the purposes of this Act. Sets forth limitations on the use of such funds and waivers of such limitations. Directs the Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS) to provide technical assistance to States in planning and operating activities under this title. Sets forth provisions for State administration of such funds. Requires States, in order to receive such funds, to certify that they will: (1) coordinate provision of child care services with other available child care services; (2) agree that such funds will be used to supplement, not supplant, non-Federal funds; (3) establish an advisory council on child care; (4) adopt standards of accreditation or licensing for family-based and group child care providers, and methods of inspection and certification based on such standards; (5) require unaccredited or unlicensed family or home-based child care providers, in order to redeem child care certificates, to register and then to become fully licensed or accredited within two years; and (6) regularly evaluate the impact of its distribution of funds on the quality and availability of child care. Requires annual State reports to the Secretary on the use of such funds, including specified information on child care in the State. Directs the Secretary of HHS to submit to the Congress an annual summary of such reports, with an analysis of particularly innovative and effective programs and an analysis of efforts to regulate unlicensed child care providers. Sets forth grant application requirements for eligible entities. Requires assessment of proportional income-based fees, parental involvement, and the meeting of State quality standards. Requires grantees to fund between ten and 50 percent of the project cost with non-Federal funds. Requires States to give priority to projects that will continue to carry out the purposes of this Act without Federal funds. Requires the State Governor to establish an advisory council on child care. Directs the Secretary of HHS to conduct, and support by grant or contract: (1) research on the effectiveness of early childhood education and quality child care on child growth and development; and (2) demonstration programs to test the effectiveness of innovative child care arrangements and programs. Title II: Child Care Liability - Part A: Child Care Liability Reform - Applies the provisions of this part, with specified exceptions, to any civil action, in any State or Federal court, against any child care provider who is in compliance with the licensing or accreditation requirements of the State in which the provider is located. Makes this part inapplicable to civil actions for intentional torts. Provides that this part shall preempt and supersede Federal or State law only to the extent such law is inconsistent with this part. Makes joint and several liability inapplicable to any action subject to this title. Makes an exception for concerted actions. Provides for reduction of awards for damages in cases of collateral sources of compensation. Sets forth standards and procedures for award of punitive or exemplary damages in civil actions under this part. Provides that nonprofit corporations or local educational agencies are not liable for damages in any civil action (to which this part applies) brought against a separate child care-providing corporation or business organization of which they are the parent or majority owners. Encourages States to establish expedited and simplified procedures under which nonprofit organizations and local educational agencies may inexpensively and quickly incorporate or otherwise organize such entities as separate child care providers. Part B: Child Care Liability Risk Retention Group - Authorizes any State to assist in the establishment and operation of a child care liability risk retention group (i.e. a corporation or other limited liability association whose members are child care providers licensed or accredited pursuant to State or local law or standards, and which otherwise satisfies specified criteria for risk retention groups). Sets forth State application requirements. Requires State plans to: (1) identify the lead agency designated and responsible for the administration of funds under this part; (2) provide that all participants in the child care liability risk retention group are child care providers who are licensed or accredited pursuant to State or local law or standards; (3) provide for maximum membership of family-based child care providers in the group; (4) provide that the State shall use at least the amount allotted to establish or maintain a liability risk retention group for child care providers; and (5) specify how any such liability risk retention group will continue to be financed after FY 1991, including by contributions by the State or by members of such pool. Directs the Secretary of HHS to review and approve State plans and to monitor State compliance with requirements of this part. Provides for suspension of payments upon a finding of noncompliance. Authorizes appropriations for FY 1989 to carry out this part and to remain available for assistance to States for FY 1989 through 1991. Directs the Secretary of Commerce to reserve specified portions of such funds for payments to specified U.S. territories and for administrative costs. Directs the Secretary of Commerce to allot the remainder to States on the basis of number of children who have not attained the age of 12. Permits a portion of such allotments to be used for State administrative costs. Sets forth provisions relating to entitlement, method, and State spending of allotment payments. Title III: Revolving Loan Fund - Sets forth requirements for State applications for assistance under this title. Requires State plans to set forth procedures and requirements whereby persons desiring to make capital improvements to their principal residence in order to become a licensed or accredited family-based child care facility may obtain a loan from the State revolving loan fund. Requires such fund to be administered by the State and to provide loans to qualified applicants, pursuant to terms and conditions the State establishes. Limits the amount of any such loan to $1,500. Requires the State plan to provide that the State establish a revolving loan fund with certain procedures. Authorizes appropriations for FY 1989 to carry out this title and to remain available for assistance to States for FY 1989 through 1991. Directs the Secretary of HHS to reserve specified portions of such funds for payments to specified U.S. territories and for administrative costs. Directs the Secretary of HHS to allot the remainder to States on the basis of number of children who have not attained the age of 12. Permits a portion of such allotments to be used for State administrative costs. Sets forth State application requirements. Title IV: Amendments to the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 - Child Care Facility Tax Incentive Act of 1988 - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to establish an income tax credit for employers for expenses paid or incurred to acquire, construct, maintain, or operate a qualified child care facility. Requires that such facility be operated by the employer. Requires that at least 30 percent of the facility's enrollees be dependents of employees of such employer. Requires that the facility be located at or near the employer's business premises. Requires that the facility be accredited or licensed under State and local laws. Sets forth special rules for allocation in the case of multiple employers or partnerships and for pass-through in the case of estates and trusts. Limits the amount of such credit. Makes an employer ineligible for such credit if the employer received a child care project grant under the Public Health Service Act during such taxable year. Entitles earnings from the provision of qualified family-based or in-home child care services to a lower rate of self-employment tax. Excludes such earnings from estimated taxes and wage withholding requirements. Requires cafeteria plans to provide a child care option. Provides for an additional double exemption for newborn and newly adopted children where the parent taxpayer (or one of the spouses in the case of a joint return) does not work during the period from the birth or adoption until the child is six months old. Limits such exemption to taxpayers whose adjusted gross income does not exceed 200 percent of the poverty level. Raises the limitation on the amount which may be contributed to individual retirement accounts for homemakers under provisions for income tax deductions. Provides that such deduction may be allowable even if the spouse is an active participant in a pension plan. Title V: Miscellaneous Federal Child Care Provisions - Establishes the President's Award for Responsive Management Policy to honor public and private sector employers who have: (1) successfully implemented in their businesses family-oriented personnel programs and policies responsive to the child care needs of working parents; or (2) made significant contributions to child care projects in their communities. Sets forth procedures for nomination, selection, and annual presentation of such awards. Directs the Secretary of Health and Human Services to coordinate all activities of the Department of Health and Human Services relating to child care, and coordinate such activities with similar activities of other Federal agencies.
United States · United States Congress · 19 February 1988
Amends the Internal Revenue Code to provide that rules requiring the capitalization of preproductive costs shall not apply with respect to livestock bred by the taxpayer.
United States · United States Congress · 19 February 1988
Condemns North Korea for its bombing of Korean Air Lines (KAL) flight 858 and its support for international terrorism. Commends the Government of South Korea for confronting North Korean terrorism and for efforts to ensure a safe International Olympic Games in Seoul this year. Expresses the sense of the Congress that: (1) those responsible for the KAL bombing should be brought to justice; (2) all nations should take appropriate measures against North Korea, including implementing trade and other sanctions; (3) international aviation groups, including the International Civilian Aviation Organization, should take steps against North Korea, including consideration of the suspension of air service; and (4) the Governments of Bahrain and Japan should be commended for their cooperation in the investigation of the KAL bombing.
![Official portrait of Sen. Lugar, Richard G. [R-IN]](https://www.congress.gov/img/member/l000504_200.jpg)