United States · United States Congress · 23 February 1988
Amends the Internal Revenue Code to exempt from the ten percent penalty tax on early distributions any distribution received on or after retirement by public safety officers (law enforcement or corrections officers, firefighters, or emergency service personnel) under a deferred compensation plan maintained by a Federal or other governmental entity.
United States · United States Congress · 17 February 1988
Marine Research Act of 1988 - Amends the Marine Protection, Research, and Sanctuaries Act of 1972 to authorize the establishment of Regional Marine Research Centers (Centers) to coordinate, plan, and support research, monitoring, and assessment activities concerned with the environmental quality of marine and coastal waters. Authorizes the Governors of a majority of States in a marine research region to develop and submit for approval to the Marine Research Coordination Board (Board) a combined, interstate proposal for a Center which identifies the research organizations which will participate in the Center and the goals of such Center. Identifies the marine research regions as the Gulf of Maine, Greater New York Bight, Mid-Atlantic Bight, Tropical, Gulf of Mexico, Southern California Bight, North Pacific, Gulf of Alaska and Arctic Seas, and Insular Pacific Regions. Requires each Center to develop and submit for the Board's approval a three-year marine research plan which: (1) identifies research needs and priorities in the region over the next ten years; (2) describes the mechanism for coordinating federally-funded marine research and monitoring activities in the region during the three-year term of the plan: (3) describes the research projects, areas, and programs anticipated to be assisted with appropriations authorized pursuant to this Act; and (4) lists the equipment and supplies used commonly for research projects in the region. Requires that the plan be updated and resubmitted to the Board at least once every three years. Authorizes each Center which has an approved research plan to submit an application to the Board for annual administrative, research, and equipment grants. Sets forth reporting requirements. Requires each Center to support baseline monitoring of fundamental marine environmental conditions and prepare periodic assessments of marine environmental quality and resources in their region. Requires that such assessments be made available to the public as well as to local, State, and Federal agencies, the Board, and State Governors. Authorizes the establishment of the Marine Research Coordination Board at the Federal level to manage and coordinate the efforts of the Centers and report periodically to the Congress on the activities and findings of such Centers. Authorizes appropriations for FY 1989 through 1993.
United States · United States Congress · 4 February 1988
Child Protection and Obscenity Enforcement Act of 1988 - Title I: Child Pornography - Amends the Federal criminal code to make it illegal to use a computer to transport information in interstate or foreign commerce concerning the visual depiction of minors engaging in sexually explicit conduct (child pornography). Establishes criminal penalties for buying, selling, or transferring the custody of a minor: (1) knowing that, as a consequence of the sale or transfer, the minor will be used in child pornography; or (2) with the intent to promote child pornography. States that such sale or transfer must involve: (1) the minor or other actor traveling in interstate or foreign commerce; (2) communications in interstate or foreign commerce; or (3) conduct in a territory or possession of the United States. Requires any person who produces a book, magazine, periodical, film, videotape, or other matter which contains any visual depiction of sexually explicit conduct (which is shipped or intended for shipment in interstate or foreign commerce, or contains material shipped in interstate or foreign commerce) to maintain certain records regarding the performers portrayed in such conduct. Directs the Attorney General to issue regulations regarding the maintenance and availability of such records. Includes the sexual exploitation of children as a predicate offense to the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations (RICO) statute. Title II: Obscenity - Makes it a Federal criminal offense to receive or possess, with the intent to distribute, obscene matter which has been transported in interstate or foreign commerce. Makes it a Federal criminal offense to knowingly use a facility or means of commerce to sell or distribute obscene matter in interstate or foreign commerce. Establishes a rebuttable presumption, with respect to Federal criminal offenses involving obscene matter, that obscene matter produced in one State (or outside the United States) which is subsequently located in another State (or in the United States) was transported, shipped, or carried in interstate (or foreign) commerce. Establishes criminal and civil forfeiture procedures with respect to Federal offenses involving obscene material and child pornography. Includes communications by means of cable or subscription television within the prohibition against broadcasting obscene language. Amends the Communications Act of 1934 to modify the penalty provisions of such Act with respect to obscene telephone communications. Amends the Federal criminal code to establish criminal penalties for the possession or sale of obscene matter on Federal property. Adds obscenity offenses to the list of crimes for which the Government may obtain wiretaps.
United States · United States Congress · 4 February 1988
Authorizes the Vietnam Women's Memorial Project, Inc., to construct a statue of a woman Vietnam veteran within the Vietnam Veterans Memorial site in Washington, D.C., to honor and recognize the women of the U.S. armed forces who served in the Vietnam conflict. Subjects the location and design of the statue to approval by the Secretary of the Interior, the Commission of Fine Arts, and the National Capital Planning Commission. Expresses the sense of the Congress that: (1) the addition of the statue is well within the intent of the law authorizing the establishment of the Memorial; and (2) after the addition of such statue, such Memorial will be complete and no further additions to the site should be authorized or undertaken.
United States · United States Congress · 4 February 1988
Amends the Public Health Service Act to require alcoholic beverages in commerce in the United States to have labels bearing a specified health warning, including that: (1) alcohol consumption during pregnancy cause birth defects; (2) alcohol consumption impairs ability to drive a car or operate machinery; (3) alcohol is hazardous in combination with some drugs; (4) alcohol can increase the risk of developing hypertension, liver disease, and cancer; and (5) alcohol may be addictive. Makes the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms the enforcing agency. Establishes civil penalties, exemptions, and liabilities.
United States · United States Congress · 26 January 1988
Authorizes the Secretary of Health and Human Services to establish a National Voluntary Reunion Registry system to facilitate, on a voluntary mutual request basis, the reunion of biological parents and adoptees, biological siblings, or other biological relatives of adoptees through a centralized computer network. Authorizes the Secretary to establish such system by contract with public or private nonprofit agencies or organizations. Directs the Secretary to report annually to the Congress on activities under this Act. Sets forth provisions for participation in the Registry and initiation of the matching process. Directs the Secretary to establish procedures to protect the confidentiality and privacy rights and interests of all participants. Provides for the collection of reasonable fees for Registry services. Allows the Registry to include similar State systems under specified conditions. Allows the Registry to include referral to existing programs that provide counseling services. Authorizes appropriations to carry out this Act for FY 1988 through 1990.
United States · United States Congress · 26 January 1988
Veterans' Compensation Cost-of-Living Adjustment Act of 1988 - Directs the Administrator of Veterans Affairs to increase the rates of veterans' disability compensation and the rates of dependency and indemnity compensation paid to the survivors of disabled veterans by the Veterans Administration. Provides that certain payments that were increased under the Veterans' Compensation Cost-of-Living Adjustment Act of 1987 are to be further increased by the same percentage that benefit amounts payable under title II (Old Age, Survivors and Disability Insurance) of the Social Security Act are increased as of a specified date (such percentage increase being determined by the cost-of-living increase as referenced by the Consumer Price Index). Requires the Administrator to publish such increases in the Federal Register at the same time that increases under title II of the Social Security Act are required to be published.
United States · United States Congress · 26 January 1988
Commends the President, Secretary of State, and Administrator of the Agency for International Development for their response to the drought and food emergency in Ethiopia and other nations of sub-Saharan Africa, and urges them to continue efforts to preclude the onset of famine and to ensure the timely delivery of medical and other emergency relief supplies. Declares that: (1) the Government response to these food emergencies should include initiatives to prevent the dislocation of large numbers of persons across national borders and/or into relief camps; and (2) the plight of the refugees or displaced should be addressed by emphasizing the provision of basic human needs, such as food, water, and shelter.
United States · United States Congress · 22 December 1987
Amends Federal veterans' benefits provisions to authorize the Secretary of Defense, after consultation with the Secretaries of the military departments, the Secretary of Transportation, and the Administrator of Veterans Affairs, to adjust certain individuals' reduction in basic pay (reduced for the purpose of the provision of basic educational assistance for members of the armed forces serving on active duty during a specified period) so that such reduction is no more than $100 and no less than $60 for the first 20 months (with a $1,200 total reduction limit) that the individual is entitled to such pay. Makes identical changes to the reduction in such pay for members of the Selected Reserve component of the armed forces. Provides that, in the event of the service-connected death of an individual whose basic pay has been reduced for the provision of basic educational assistance and who had not received such educational assistance, the Administrator shall pay to the living survivors (in a specified order of priority) the amount by which the individual's basic pay had been so reduced exceeds the total amount of educational assistance paid to such individual.
United States · United States Congress · 22 December 1987
Thanks the Honorable John C. Stennis, President pro tempore, for the manner in which he presided over the Senate during the first session of the 100th Congress.
United States · United States Congress · 16 December 1987
Public Health Service Amendments Act of 1987 - Amends provisions of the Public Health Service Act relating to emergency medical services for children to direct the Secretary of Health and Human Services 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. Directs the Secretary 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 to the public information on the prevention of, and responses to, such emergencies. Authorizes appropriations for FY 1988 through 1990. Amends the Public Health Service Act to: (1) remove certain restrictions on the authority of the Secretary to make grants to and contracts with health professions schools related to geriatric medicine and care; (2) expand the authority of the Secretary to make grants and contracts for geriatric medicine training projects to include podiatrists as well as physicians and dentists; (3) require that the National Advisory Council on Health Professions Education include a representative of a school of clinical psychology; and (4) add graduate programs in clinical psychology to provisions relating to discrimination on the basis of sex.
United States · United States Congress · 15 December 1987
Raoul Wallenberg Monument Resolution - Authorizes the Raoul Wallenberg Tribute Committee to establish a monument to honor Raoul Wallenberg on Federal land in the District of Columbia or its environs. Prohibits the United States from paying any expense of the establishment of the monument.
United States · United States Congress · 11 December 1987
Comprehensive Alcohol Abuse, Drug Abuse, and Mental Health Amendments Act of 1987 - Title I: Mental Health and Alcohol and Drug Abuse Block Grants - Amends title XIX (Block Grants) of the Public Health Service Act to authorize appropriations for FY 1988 through 1991 for block grant allotments to States for prevention, treatment, and rehabilitation projects with respect to alcohol and drug abuse and for mental health services. Changes the formula for determining the amount by which State allotments shall be reduced for failure to implement a State comprehensive mental health services plan. Sets forth requirements regarding a report by the Comptroller General of the General Accounting Office with respect to plan implementations. Authorizes the Secretary of Health and Human Services (Secretary) to use not to exceed one percent of the amounts appropriated for the allotments in each of the FY 1988 through 1991 to conduct evaluations and prepare reports concerning the effectiveness of the block grant programs. Revises the formula for determination and distribution of the allotments. Sets forth requirements for allotment applications, including requirements that the chief executive officer of each State certify: (1) that the funds will be used for comprehensive mental health services and community mental health centers; (2) that the State will establish reasonable evaluation criteria; (3) the specific purposes for which the funds will be used; (4) that the State will use the funds for specified alcohol and drug abuse activities; (5) that the State will use certain funds to provide new mental health services and programs; and (6) other matters. Requires States, in order to receive allotment payments, to agree to coordinate among mental health services institutions the establishment of a State comprehensive community mental health system. Requires the chief executive officer of a State to establish a State mental health services planning council. Directs the Secretary to report annually to specified committees of the Congress regarding the new State mental health services. Amends title V of the Public Health Service Act to require the Directors of the National Institute of Mental Health, the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism, and the National Institute on Drug Abuse, in cooperation with State alcohol, drug, and mental health agencies and national organizations, to collect data on mental health and on alcohol and drug abuse treatment. Directs the Secretary to report to specified congressional committees every two years on drug and alcohol and mental health services. Directs the Secretary, through the Director of the National Institute of Mental Health, to develop a model plan for a community-based system of care for seriously mentally ill individuals. Amends title XIX (Block Grants) of the Public Health Service Act to add a new subpart on acquired immune deficiency syndrome (AIDS). Authorizes appropriations for FY 1988 through 1991 for grants for projects and programs that seek to reduce the transmission of AIDS in and by users of illegal intravenous drugs. Sets forth a formula for allotment to States of funds appropriated. Requires, in order to receive an allotment, an information and assurances section to be included with a State's application for an alcohol, drug abuse, and mental health block grant. Requires payments to be used to establish programs of treatment for users of illegal intravenous drugs, outreach services to such users, efforts to prevent transmission among such users, and necessary training and organizational efforts. Allows the Secretary, if in the Secretary's judgment a State is unlikely to use funds available to that State during a fiscal year for the specified purposes, to withhold the amount otherwise available to that State in the next fiscal year. Authorizes appropriations for FY 1988 for special alcohol abuse and drug abuse treatment and rehabilitation programs as provided for in current law. Sets forth a formula for allotment to States of funds appropriated. Title II: National Institutes of Mental Health, On Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism, and On Drug Abuse - Amends title V (Administration and Coordination of the National Institute of Mental Health, the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism, and the National Institute on Drug Abuse) of the Public Health Service Act to add the Office of Substance Abuse Prevention to the list of agencies of the Alcohol, Drug Abuse, and Mental Health Administration (Administration). Changes requirements for reporting to the Congress with regard to prevention efforts of the Administration from annually to once every three years. Requires prompt and appropriate response to information respecting scientific misconduct. (Current law requires such response to information respecting scientific fraud.) Authorizes the Administrator of the Administration to: (1) accept voluntary and uncompensated services; and (2) conduct and support research training for which fellowship support is not provided by National Research Service Awards and which is not residency training of physicians or other health professionals. Authorizes the Secretary, through the Director of the National Institute of Mental Health (Director), to make grants for: (1) the planning, coordination, and improvement of community services for seriously mentally ill individuals, seriously emotionally disturbed children and adolescents, elderly individuals, and homeless chronically mentally ill individuals, and for the conduct of research concerning such services; (2) prevention services demonstration projects regarding individuals who are at risk of developing mental illness; (3) planning, coordination, and improvement of community mental health services for rural residents and for the conduct of research concerning such services; (4) the provision of suicide prevention services, giving priority in making grants to applicants that provide assurances of cooperative planning by agencies and entities that are in contact with the youth in the community; (5) improving the recognition, assessment, treatment, and clinical management of depressive disorders through educational activities that focus on the general public, primary care providers, and mental health providers; (6) the provision of staff training to improve post-legal adoption services and for the conduct of research regarding the most effective models for providing and financing post-legal adoption services; and (7) demonstration projects to provide mental health services to elderly individuals, giving priority to areas with a high percentage of elderly individuals. Authorizes appropriations for FY 1988 through 1991. Requires materials developed and published by the Director regarding causes and prevention of suicide to relate especially to suicide among individuals under the age of 24. (Current law requires such a focus on individuals under the age of 21.) Extends through 1989 a requirement that the Secretary of Health and Human Services make payments under allotments to States for community mental health services to homeless individuals who are chronically mentally ill. Extends through 1991 the authorization of appropriations for provisions relating to community mental health services for the homeless. Directs the Secretary, through the Director of the National Institute of Mental Health, to develop and maintain an ongoing program of service research of community mental health programs and services. Authorizes the research and evaluation to be carried out through grants, contracts, or cooperative agreements. Sets forth reporting requirements. Authorizes appropriations for FY 1988 through 1990 for programs of the Office for Substance Abuse Prevention and for prevention, treatment, and rehabilitation model projects for youth at high risk for drug abuse and alcohol abuse. Requires the Director of the Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism to establish and implement a public information program to educate the public on and reduce the incidence of fetal alcohol syndrome. Sets forth reporting requirements. Authorizes appropriations for FY 1988 through 1991 for research and for demonstration projects related to alcohol abuse and alcoholism, including alcohol and drug abuse treatment services for homeless individuals. Authorizes appropriations for FY 1988 through 1991 for drug abuse research and for drug abuse demonstration projects. Directs the Secretary, through the Directors of the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism and the National Institute on Drug Abuse, to develop an ongoing program of research and evaluation of alcohol and drug abuse treatment programs with regard to the effectiveness of treatment methods and the cost-effectiveness of different methods. Authorizes the research and evaluation to be carried out through grants, contracts, or cooperative agreements. Sets forth reporting requirements. Authorizes appropriations for FY 1988 through 1991 for technical assistance related to alcohol abuse and alcoholism, drug abuse, and mental health services. Authorizes appropriations for provisions of this Act relating to acquired immune deficiency syndrome for FY 1988 through 1991. Title III: Institute of Medicine - Directs the Secretary to contract with the Institute of Medicine of the National Academy of Sciences to conduct a study concerning the effective and appropriate treatment, rehabilitation, and continuing care of persons suffering from severe and disabling mental illnesses. Sets forth reporting requirements. Authorizes appropriations for FY 1989. Title IV: Miscellaneous - Requires the Directors of the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism and the National Institute on Drug Abuse to each designate, in their own Institute, an Associate Director for Special Populations. Directs the Secretary, through each Associate Director, to assure increased emphasis on the needs of women and minorities.
United States · United States Congress · 8 December 1987
Corporation for Small Business Investment Charter Act - Amends the Small Business Investment Act of 1958 to give a licensee in good standing three months from the date the Small Business Administration receives notice that it is ready to conduct business to qualify for conducting business with the Corporation for Small Business Investment and a special-purpose trust established by this Act. Requires the Administration, within six months after receiving notice that a licensee is ready to conduct business, to promulgate regulations to effect the termination of operations of any licensee which has not qualified for conducting business with the Corporation for Small Business Investment and the Trust. Sets forth the requirements for the final regulations for termination of the operations of any licensee and directs the Administration to furnish to the Corporation all books and records necessary to carry out the provisions of this Act. Establishes the Corporation for Small Business Investment and requires it to maintain its principal office in the District of Columbia. Requires the President to appoint an interim board of directors for the Corporation. Sets forth procedures for selecting the Corporation's permanent board of directors. Requires the board to determine the Corporation's general policies and to select persons to fill the offices provided for in the bylaws. Describes the Corporation's stock structure. Authorizes any depository institution to: (1) make payments to the Corporation of capital contributions; (2) receive the Corporation's stock as evidence of capital contributions; and (3) dispose of such stock. Authorizes the Corporation to issue nonvoting preferred stock. Sets forth limitations on obligations and securities issued by the Corporation. Authorizes the Secretary of the Treasury to purchase obligations issued by the Corporation. Sets forth limitations on the amount and yield of such purchases and requires advance approval of the Congress. Makes all obligations issued by the Corporation acceptable as security for all fiduciary, trust, and public funds controlled by the United States. Authorizes the Corporation to issue commitments or otherwise deal in small business investment securities after the permanent board has been duly constituted. Sets forth the procedure for perfecting a security or ownership interest in small business investment securities created by the Corporation. Authorizes the Corporation to guarantee specified securities. Sets forth criteria for the qualifications of small business investment companies to conduct business with the Corporation. Authorizes the Corporation to enter into agreements with small business investment companies. Authorizes such companies to provide equity capital and loans to small-business concerns. Limits small business investment companies to activities contemplated by this Act and sets forth procedures for eliminating conflicts of interest. Requires the Corporation to adopt a rule prohibiting small business investment companies from assuming control over small-business concerns except on a temporary basis. Sets forth restrictions on the financing of small business investment companies, including a limitation on the aggregate amount of obligations and securities acquired for such companies and a prohibition on providing financing for relending and purchasing or guaranteeing securities that would exceed a specified percentage of the Corporation's assets. Provides that loans from small business investment companies to small business concerns are exempt from the provisions of the Constitution or State laws that limit the terms of such loan, unless the exemption is overriden by a State. Requires the Corporation to adopt criteria for making investments in disadvantaged small business concerns. Establishes a special-purpose trust which shall operate in accordance with a trust agreement between the trust and the Corporation. Sets forth procedures for appointing the trustees. Requires the trust to establish separate accounting for all preferred securities, debentures, loss reserves, and other funds acquired and to make an annual accounting of the trust's operations to the Secretary of the Treasury. Sets forth the powers of the trustees. Requires the Administration, within 30 days after receiving notice from the Corporation that it is prepared to conduct business, to convey to the Corporation all of the right, title, and interest to all securities and outstanding debentures issued by small business investment companies which are not in liquidation. Requires the trust to apply all of the funds held in trust and income to: (1) cover any losses realized on debentures purchased or guaranteed by the Corporation; (2) reduce the interest rate on debentures issued by special small business investment companies; (3) purchase preferred securities issued by special small business investment companies; and (4) cover the operating costs of administering the trust. Authorizes the trustees of the trust to purchase preferred securities and the Corporation to purchase or guarantee the payment of principal and interest on debentures issued by special small business investment companies. Sets forth the terms and conditions for small purchases. Authorizes a special small business investment company to request the Corporation to purchase or guarantee debentures issued by such company. Provides that such debentures shall be subordinate to any other obligations of such companies. Provides that if the Corporation purchases or guarantees debentures issued by special small business investment companies, in addition to such debentures acquired in lieu of the trust purchasing nonvoting stock, they shall be subordinate to any other obligations unless the Corporation determines otherwise. Sets forth restrictions on the interest rate on and total amount of such debentures. Provides that all outstanding preferred securities purchased by the trust from special small business investment companies shall be redeemed and transferred to the U.S. Treasury 50 years after the effective date of this Act. Gives the Administration review authority over the Corporation. Authorizes the Administration to examine the Corporation's books and records. Requires that the corporation's books be audited annually and that a report of each such audit be made by the Secretary of the Treasury to the President and to the Congress' small business committees. Provides that the Corporation's books and records shall be subject to audit by the General Accounting Office at the request of either of the Congress' small business committees and by the Administration's Office of Inspector General while specified debentures remain outstanding. Requires the Corporation to transmit to the President and the Congress' small business committees an annual report. Authorizes the Secretary of the Treasury to sell to the Corporation on September 30, 1988, its interest in small business investment company securities guaranteed by the Administration and held by the Federal Financing Bank, providing such securities are due in FY 1989 or any subsequent year and are not in default. Sets an upper limit on the purchase price. Requires the Secretary of the Treasury, within ten days of receiving notice that the Corporation is ready to conduct business, to propose the sale price for the securities which the Corporation is to purchase. Sets forth procedures for determining the purchase price if the board finds the Secretary's proposal unacceptable. Requires the Corporation to submit a report, within 30 days of the completion of the purchase of the securities, to the Committee on Small Business of the House and of the Senate setting forth the activities of the Secretary, the Corporation, and their representatives under this Act. Prohibits the Administration from making any payments to the Department of the Treasury on debentures guaranteed under the Small Business Investment Act after they are sold to the Corporation. Prohibits the Administration from selling or encumbering loans or debentures it has made or issued, except as specified in this Act. Requires the General Accounting Office, by January 1, 1993, to prepare a report for the House and Senate Small Business Committees on the Corporation's impact in achieving the purposes of this Act.
United States · United States Congress · 8 December 1987
Designates December 8, 1987, as Pearl Harbor Shipyard Day, commemorating the 46th anniversary of the rescue of trapped battleship crew members by civilian shipyard employees the day after the attack by Japan on Pearl Harbor.
United States · United States Congress · 4 December 1987
Designates December 8, 1987, as Pearl Harbor Shipyard Day, commemorating the 46th anniversary of the rescue of trapped battleship crew members by civilian shipyard employees the day after the attack by Japan on Pearl Harbor.
United States · United States Congress · 1 December 1987
Polygraph Protection Act of 1987 - Prohibits any employer from: (1) requiring or suggesting that an employee or prospective employee take a lie detector test; (2) using lie detector test results; or (3) taking employment action against an employee or prospective employee who refuses to take a lie detector test or institutes a proceeding under or related to this Act. Requires the Secretary of Labor (the Secretary) to prepare notices setting forth such prohibitions. Requires employers to post such notices. Provides civil penalties for violations of this Act. Grants the Secretary authority to restrain violations of this Act. Allows employees and prospective employees to bring civil actions against any employer who violates the provisions of this Act. Imposes a three-year statute of limitations for such actions. Exempts from coverage under this Act: (1) Federal, State, and local governments; (2) certain Federal contractors; and (3) tests conducted pursuant to the performance of intelligence or counterintelligence functions. Provides a limited exemption under which an employer may request certain employees to submit to a polygraph test if the test is administered in connection with an ongoing investigation involving economic loss or injury to the employer's business, including theft, embezzlement, misappropriation, or an act of unlawful industrial espionage or sabotage. Specifies reporting requirements of the employer under such circumstances. Requires the employer to comply with applicable State and local laws and any negotiated collective bargaining agreement that limits or prohibits the use of lie detector tests on employees. Declares that such limited exemption does not apply if an employee is discharged, dismissed, disciplined, or discriminated against in any manner on the basis of the results of one or more polygraph tests or the refusal to take a polygraph test, without additional supporting evidence. Sets forth the right of an examinee during the pretest phase, the actual testing phase, and the post-test phase. Specifies the qualifications of an examiner and directs the Secretary to promulgate standards for such individuals. Prohibits the disclosure of information obtained from a polygraph test, except as provided by this Act.
United States · United States Congress · 30 November 1987
Expresses the sense of the Senate that the current policies of the Government of Brazil toward the informatics industry (computer software and related equipment and services) impose an unreasonable burden on commerce and have worsened since the initiation of an investigation of such policies under the Trade Act of 1974. Supports the action announced by the President to raise tariffs against certain Brazilian products and to prohibit imports of certain Brazilian informatics products.
United States · United States Congress · 20 November 1987
Clean Air Standards Attainment Act of 1987 - Title I: Requirement for Nonattainment Areas - Amends the Clean Air Act to authorize States to submit a revised implementation plan for nonattainment areas unable to attain the national primary ambient air quality standard for photochemical oxidants (ozone) and/or carbon monoxide, requiring compliance no later than the end of 1992. Requires such revised plan to include: (1) a vehicle emission control inspection and maintenance program; (2) gasoline vapor recovery of hydrocarbon emissions in certain ozone nonattainment areas; (3) a schedule for implementing the use of alternative fuels or power sources; (4) emissions reductions through the adoption of reasonably available control technology in ozone nonattainment areas; and (5) compliance with the lowest achievable emission rate by new or modified major stationary sources. Requires States to develop an implementation plan for nonattainment areas where ozone exceeds the national primary ambient air quality standard by more than 50 percent and the extended compliance schedule cannot be met by the implementation of the additional requirements. Requires this implementation plan to require the identification and adoption of specific enforceable strategies and transportation control measures, including: (1) restricted vehicle use in emission concentration areas; (2) high occupancy vehicle limitations; (3) improved public transit; (4) the use of cleaner fuels by fleet vehicles; and (5) other traffic flow and ridesharing measures. Requires such ozone nonattainment areas to achieve a specified percent total emissions reduction annually, including major stationary sources. Permits a State to substitute a percentage that will achieve the national primary ambient air quality standard within ten years. Requires per ton fees and excess emissions penalties. Requires monies collected to be used to fund air pollution control programs under this Act. Requires compliance reports at least every three years. Requires offsetting emission reductions in such area to be at least twice as great as the amount of allowable emissions from proposed sources. Requires that the use of technology or emission reduction methods in nonattainment areas should reflect the highest ten percent achieved for the same class or category of source when meeting the lowest achievable emission rate for new or modified sources. Directs the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency to publish and revise control technique guidelines for specified categories of sources, including wood furniture coating and hazardous waste facilities. Establishes ozone transport regions and commissions within each region to facilitate the attainment of the national air quality standard for ozone in nonattainment areas affected by emissions in other areas. Requires such commissions to identify controllable sources and other measures to attain the ozone air quality standard. Prohibits the construction or modification of a major stationary source or the award of certain Department of Transportation grants in any nonattainment area which remains a nonattainment area or which is not in compliance with plan implementation requirements. Prohibits the introduction of any pollutant into a publicly owned sewage treatment works with a Clean Water Act permit by a source not utilizing such treatment works prior to a plan implementation violation in a nonattainment area, except when the applicable implementation plan provides for an offset. Permits ozone nonattainment areas to delay compliance with the primary national ambient air quality standard for up to three years if all good faith efforts to attain such standard have been made. Authorizes the Administrator to make grants to facilitate the implementation of revised standards and plans. Requires activities under the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act performed on the Outer Continental Shelf to comply with the requirements of the Clean Air Act as they would apply to the adjacent State. Authorizes States to control emissions from vessels within their jurisdiction. Title II: Acid Deposition Control - Amends the Clean Air Act to require each State to adopt Administrator-approved enforceable measures to reduce sulfur dioxide emissions in three stages between 1993 and 2000, and to reduce oxides of nitrogen emissions by 1996. Requires covered stationary sources in each State to certify the means of compliance and to be in compliance by specified dates. Prohibits emission increases from newer sources without a corresponding net reduction not otherwise required. Authorizes States with actual utility emissions at specified levels to substitute other standards and enforceable measures. Requires States to submit to the Administrator electric load forecasts and emission reduction contingency plans. Sets emissions limitations for States without enforceable measures. Sets forth methods which may be used, including: (1) energy conservation as the first priority; (2) least emissions dispatch; (3) source retirement; (4) trading of reduction requirements within State; and (5) precombustion cleaning of fuels. Prohibits interstate trading of emissions reductions except in areas served by a utility service territory in more than one State. Directs the Secretary of Energy, acting jointly with the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency, to carry out a program of construction and operation of facilities to develop experience in the commercial deployment of clean coal technologies which significantly reduce air emissions of sulfur dioxide or oxides of nitrogen from the generation of electricity or industrial process steam. Includes within such program the solicitation, selection, supervision, monitoring, and dissemination of information about results of proposed projects to deploy such technologies. Requires project selection to be based on applicability to existing coal-fired sources of emission, reductions achievable, and cost-effectiveness, including the ability to use feedstock coal mined in the United States. Prohibits the application of reductions achieved through this program to reductions required under a State implementation plan. Limits Federal funds to 50 percent of costs over a two-year period. Directs the Secretary and the Administrator to establish a Clean Coal Technologies Advisory Committee to select projects. Authorizes appropriations for FY 1988 through 1992. Requires primary nonferrous smelters to be in compliance with applicable emission standards by 1988. Directs the President to negotiate with Canada and Mexico to establish cooperative efforts in controlling transboundary air pollution, including uniform standards of performing to control air pollutant emissions. Directs the Secretary of the Treasury to study and report to the appropriate congressional committees on a system of tariffs on emissions to encourage reductions. Directs the National Academy of Sciences to evaluate and report to the Congress on research priorities for sources and the long-range transport of air emissions. Directs the Administrator to report to the appropriate congressional committees on the feasibility and effectiveness of acid deposition standards to protect sensitive and critically sensitive aquatic and terrestrial resources, including an identification of such resources and impediments to implementing such a control program. Title III: Mobile Source and Other Federal Controls - Sets emission standards for light-duty vehicles and engines: (1) for hydrocarbons after model year 1992; (2) for oxides of nitrogen after model year 1990; and (3) for particulates after model year 1989. Sets emission standards for heavy-duty vehicles and engines for oxides of nitrogen during and after model year 1991 and model year 1995. Sets standards for particulates from heavy-duty diesel vehicles and engines for model years 1991 and 1994. Sets emission standards for light-duty trucks and engines during and after model year 1990 for oxides of nitrogen, hydrocarbons, particulates, and carbon monoxide. Requires motorcycles and motorcycle engines to comply with the standards for light-duty vehicles during and after model year 1992. Requires onboard hydrocarbon control technology for light-duty vehicles during and after model year 1991. Requires the Administrator to regulate formaldehyde emissions. Directs the Administrator to prohibit the manufacture and sale of engines requiring leaded gas. Requires additional regulation of carbon monoxide emissions. Doubles the useful life of light-duty vehicles and engines for purposes of standards established by this Act. Requires each of a manufacturer's vehicles and engines, not the average, to meet each of the emission standards of this Act. Directs the Administrator to add an idle test mode to the Federal Test Procedure for light-duty vehicles. Requires certificates of conformity to be suspended or revoked if fewer than 90 percent of new vehicles or engines tested in a sampling period conform with applicable regulations. Requires the Administrator to use State information when making determinations of nonconformity. Requires the Administrator to establish a testing center for high altitude conditions. Prohibits the sale of devices designed to be installed in a motor vehicle to defeat pollution control and other devices required by this Act. Sets forth procedures for determining civil penalties. Requires States with vehicle inspection and maintenance programs to adopt quality control audits. Requires new vehicles to be labeled with pollution control warranty costs. Sets standards for sulfur content in diesel fuel after July 1, 1990. Sets standards for Reid vapor pressure of gasoline sold during warm weather months following April 1, 1990. Requires the sale of oxygenated fuels in nonattainment areas. Directs the Administrator to report to the appropriate congressional committees on the use of such fuels. Sets forth procedures for determining civil penalties. Prohibits the use of fuels or additives in a motor vehicle not designed for such fuels or additives. Requires the Administrator to establish emission limitations, or standards of performance, composition, or application for hydrocarbon emissions associated with specified categories of sources, including solvents, coatings, and pesticide application. Increases criminal penalties for the knowing violation of certain provisions of this Act, including provisions relating to applicable implementation plans, and for the making of false statements. Directs the Administrator to promulgate performance standards for emission of specified air pollutants, including particulate matter, oxides of sulfur, and lead, from new or modified municipal waste incineration units. Requires such standards to reflect the best level of emission limitation achieved in practice by similar units under optimal conditions. Makes available specified technologies, including dry and wet scrubbing, fabric filtration, and source reduction and source separation. Establishes specific, minimum requirements for degree of thermal destruction of combustibles, reductions of emissions of certain pollutants, and outlet gas concentrations of certain pollutants. Requires jurisdictions served by a municipal incineration unit to have an enforceable solid waste management plan before a State program may issue a permit for a new or modified unit. Requires such plan to reflect the operation of the new or modified unit. Directs the Administrator to promulgate regulations requiring existing units to meet the emissions standards promulgated under this Act according to a timetable which requires compliance within six years. Requires the shutdown of units which fail to meet certain outlet gas concentration limitations by specified dates. Requires owners or operators of municipal waste incineration units to monitor emissions at the point such emissions move into the ambient air and at other points as necessary to protect human health and the environment. Requires such owners or operators to pay for a program to detect impacts of the unit on humans or the environment, including the testing for and reporting of significant levels of contaminants. Requires such owners or operators to comply with certain reporting requirements under Superfund. Sets monitoring standards, including continuous and periodic monitoring. Requires unit permits to be reviewed every five years after their issuance for compliance with emissions and other requirements of this Act. Permits States to submit for Administrator approval a State program of enforcement, treating the State as an enforcing entity under this Act. Authorizes the Administrator to withdraw such authority if the State is not adequately enforcing these requirements. Directs the Administrator to establish a model State program for the training and certification of municipal waste incinerator personnel. Requires operating personnel to pass such training or be certified by an authorized State program. Amends the Solid Waste Disposal Act to direct the Administrator to develop and promulgate criteria and testing procedures for managing municipal incinerator bottom and fly ash controlled by flue gas emissions control equipment which presents a substantial hazard to human health or the environment. Requires the installation of liners, a leachate collection system, and groundwater monitoring. Requires such criteria and procedures to determine leaching, total chemical analysis, respirability, and toxicity. Requires owners or operators of each such unit to separately test the bottom and fly ash, if possible. Authorizes corrective action for releases of hazardous constituents from such facilities, including post-closure monitoring. Title IV: Ambient Air Quality Standards - Amends the Clean Air Act to require the Administrator to periodically review and revise criteria and standards for each pollutant to reflect the latest available research. Directs the Administrator to report annually to the appropriate congressional committees on such review process. Directs the Administrator to promulgate additional national primary ambient air quality standards for ozone, nitrogen dioxide, sulfur dioxide, fine particles, and acid aerosols based upon concentrations over different time periods and different conditions. Authorizes a substitution of standards for particulate matter. Requires the Clean Air Scientific Advisory Committee to advise the Administrator on high-altitude concentrations of carbon monoxide. Title V: Hazardous Air Pollutants - Requires the Administrator to promulgate, review, and revise emission standards for listed categories of pollutants every three years. Provides for the addition and deletion of substances to and from such list. Directs the Administrator to list categories of sources emitting listed toxic pollutants. Requires emission standards for such pollutants from such sources to be at least equivalent to the most stringent levels achieved in practice. Directs the Administrator to promulgate leak detection and correction requirements to protect human health and the environment which may require annual audits and safety inspections. Sets forth a schedule for promulgating such emission standards based upon quantities and toxicity. Requires the Administrator to list and report to the Congress on categories of area sources of air pollutants subject to control under these requirements to require reductions of emissions according to a prescribed schedule. Revises the national emission standards for hazardous air pollutants. Expands the scope of hazardous air pollutants to include air pollutants which may have adverse environmental as well as human health effects. Requires the Administrator's list of such pollutants to include categories of the source emitting such pollutants. Directs the Administrator to develop criteria to assess air pollutants or classes of pollutants for addition to such list. Requires that decisions to list or not to list a pollutant be subject to public comment. Requires a final determination within five years of an initial determination that insufficient information exists to judge a pollutant as hazardous or nonhazardous. States that the emitters of such pollutant may be required to finance the research to determine its status. Requires such standards to protect human health with an ample safety margin unless a more stringent standard is required to protect the environment. Prohibits consideration of cost and technological feasibility when setting such standards. Permits more stringent interim standards for suspected carcinogens. Grants existing sources up to three years to meet applicable standards (current law allows 90 days). Permits an exemption for up to eight years for a source emitting a pollutant for which there is no health effects threshold where the owners or operators would experience extraordinary economic hardship. Requires such sources to comply with an alternative emission limitation resulting from the application of the best available technology. Imposes emissions standards and other requirements for stationary sources through permits. Authorizes each State to develop and submit to the Administrator for approval programs for control of emissions of toxic and hazardous air pollutants from stationary sources or for the prevention and mitigation of releases of extremely hazardous air pollutants from facilities in such State. Authorizes States to assume the Administrator's authorities to control such pollutants, either in whole or in part. Directs the Administrator to publish guidance for such programs within one year. Includes procedures and standards for emissions control as well as registration of all facilities handling any listed extremely hazardous air pollutant. Directs the Administrator to establish an air toxics clearinghouse to provide information and assistance to States. Authorizes the Administrator to make grants to States to assist in program development. Offers States an opportunity to modify unapproved programs. Requires the Administrator to withdraw approval of any State program which is not administering or enforcing its program. Requires the Administrator to list extremely hazardous substances which may cause acute or chronic adverse human health effects as a result of non-sudden or episodic events. Requires owners or operators of facilities or devices where such releases might take place to carry out hazardous assessments. Establishes within EPA the Chemical Safety and Hazards Investigation Board, an independent safety board to investigate and report on chemical accidents, evaluate hazard assessment techniques, and make recommendations to the Administrator on the safety of chemical production, handling, and storage. Requires the Administrator to explain any refusal to implement such a recommendation. Authorizes the Board to hold hearings, secure data and written reports from any person handling chemicals, and conduct inspections where extremely hazardous substances are produced, handled, or stored. Grants the Board an independent budget. Requires that Board-collected information, other than trade secrets, be made available to the public. Requires the Board to report annually to the President and the Congress on accidents, recommendations, and priorities for research and investigations. Authorizes appropriations for FY 1988 through 1992. Authorizes the Administrator to promulgate release prevention, detection, and correction requirements for extemely hazardous air pollutant facilities. Includes monitoring, recordkeeping, and other design, equipment, and operational practices. Authorizes the Administrator to secure injunctive or other relief when an extremely hazardous air pollutant from a facility poses an imminent and substantial endangerment to the public health or welfare or the environment. Establishes per day civil penalties for violations of such orders. Directs the Administrator to publish guidance for the coordination of such authority with the relevant authorities under other Federal environmental laws. Authorizes the Administrator to require owners or operators of facilities emitting hazardous or toxic air pollutants or producing or handling extremely hazardous listed air pollutants to monitor emissions from the source and in the vicinity, maintaining records of the results. Directs the Administrator to assess and report to the Congress on hazards associated with emissions of hydrogen sulfide, benzene, and aromatic hydrocarbons.
United States · United States Congress · 20 November 1987
Authorizes the Vietnam Women's Memorial Project, Inc., to construct a statue of a woman Vietnam veteran within the Vietnam Veterans Memorial site in Washington, D.C., to honor and recognize the women of the U.S. armed forces who served in the Vietnam conflict. Expresses the sense of the Congress that after the addition of such statue, no further additions to the site should be authorized or undertaken. Directs the Secretary of the Interior to select a site for the statue within the Memorial with the approval of the Commission of Fine Arts and the National Capital Planning Commission. Makes the design proposal subject to the approval of the Secretary and such Commissions. Prohibits the United States or the District of Columbia from paying any expense of constructing the statue. Requires that the construction of such statue be commenced within five years of the date of enactment of this Act, and that funds sufficient to insure completion are certified to be available by the Secretary prior to groundbreaking, or the authority provided by this Act shall lapse. Grants the Secretary the responsibility for the statue's maintenance and care.
United States · United States Congress · 19 November 1987
Act for Better Child Care Services of 1987 - Authorizes appropriations for FY 1988 and such sums as necessary for FY 1989 through 1992 to carry out the purposes of this Act. Specifies the manner of making allotments for child care services. Requires the designation of a lead agency in each State which participates in the programs under this Act. Requires States to submit, in order to qualify for assistance under this Act, an application and plan to the Secretary of Health and Human Services. Requires each plan to cover a five-year period and to meet specified requirements for providers of child care services. Authorizes the use of State allotments: (1) by contracts with or grants to eligible child care providers, or public or private nonprofit agencies, to enable such providers or agencies to operate programs directly or by subcontract; or (2) by distributing child care certificates that parents may use as payment for child care services. Requires that a percentage of funds be reserved to enable part-day programs to extend existing hours of operation and provide full-day child care services. Authorizes the Secretary to make planning grants to States which desire to participate under this Act but cannot fully satisfy the requirements of a State plan without financial assistance. Provides for a review of the operation of a State plan during the five-year period to determine the State's continued eligibility for funds. Requires the Governor of each participating State to establish: (1) a State interagency advisory committee on child care to assist the lead agency in carrying out its responsibilities; and (2) a State committee on licensing to review the licensing requirements, the law, and the policies regulating child care services and programs within State. Requires each participating State to recognize private nonprofit community-based organizations, or public organizations, as resources and referral agencies for particular geographic areas. Requires each participating State to require that all employed or self-employed persons providing licensed or regulated child care complete at least 15 hours per year of inservice, continuing education, or other training as described in this Act. Directs the Secretary to establish within the Department of Health and Human Services an Administrator of Child Care to carry out the provisions of this Act. Establishes enforcement provisions for review of State plans and monitoring of State compliance. Declares the Federal share of child care programs to be 80 percent and requires the State to demonstrate that the remaining 20 percent will be provided from other sources. Requires the Secretary to establish a National Advisory Committee on Child Care Standards to: (1) review Federal policies on child care services and such other data as appropriate; (2) submit to the Secretary proposed minimum standards for child care programs; and (3) develop and make available to lead agencies model regulations for resources and referral agencies. Terminates the committee 90 days after the date of publication of final minimum child care standards. Prohibits the use of funds under this Act for: (1) sectarian purposes or activities; (2) capital improvements to sectarian institutions; and (3) tuition.
United States · United States Congress · 13 November 1987
Court Interpreters Improvement Act of 1987 - Requires the Director of the Administrative Office of the United States Courts to establish a program to facilitate the use of certified and otherwise qualified interpreters in judicial proceedings instituted by the United States. Requires the Director to certify interpreters for the hearing impaired and for at least eight additional languages. Requires the Director to establish criteria for the selection of otherwise qualified interpreters: (1) in languages for which no interpreters have been certified; and (2) where no certified interpreter is reasonably available. Requires the Director to maintain a list of all certified interpreters. Calls for periodic, rather than annual, reporting in connection with the use and performance of interpreters. Subjects their fees to periodic review. Requires the clerk or district executive of a court to secure the services of interpreters for proceedings initiated by the United States. Directs the presiding judicial official, upon the request of any party, to require judicial or grand jury proceedings in which interpreters are used to be electronically sound recorded. Authorizes appropriations for the establishment of such program.
United States · United States Congress · 13 November 1987
Authorizes the convening of a National Silver Haired Congress in Washington, District of Columbia, in 1989. Directs the Speaker of the House of Representatives and the President pro tempore of the Senate to facilitate and coordinate the convening of such a Congress. (Describes such Congress as one with representatives from each State which would serve as a national grassroots forum to determine on a nonpartisan basis the recommendations for solutions to older American concerns without regard to race, creed, national origin, or social status.)