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United States · Official source
3,423 records where Sen. Matsunaga, Spark M. [D-HI] is listed as a sponsor, author, or other actor. Search with topics and years
United States · United States Congress · 3 June 1987
Designates November 15 through November 22, 1987, as National Arts Week.
United States · United States Congress · 3 June 1987
Prohibits the proposed enhancement or upgrade in the sensitivity of technology of, or the capability of, Maverick missiles for Saudi Arabia.
United States · United States Congress · 2 June 1987
Economic Equity Act of 1987 - Title I: Employment - Part A: Pay Equity - Federal Employee Compensation Equity Act of 1987 - Establishes the Commission on Compensation Equity to provide for a consultant to study the classification, grading, and pay-setting processes within and between the position classification system and the job-grading system. Requires the study to determine whether these processes result in the payment of rates of basic pay for positions: (1) in which either sex is numerically predominant or any race or ethnic group is disproportionately represented; and (2) where such differences in pay are not in proportion to the duties, difficulty, responsibility, or qualification requirements of the work performed. Provides a timetable for: (1) the Commission to report to appropriate congressional committees and the Director of the Office of Personnel Management with advisory recommendations; (2) the Director to report to the committees and the Commission with a plan to carry out any of the recommendations; (3) additional comments from the Commission; and (4) termination of the Commission. Part B: Equal Credit - Amends the Equal Credit Opportunity Act to prohibit the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System from exempting from such Act any class of credit transactions that are primarily for personal, family, or household purposes. Permits the Board to exempt (for five years) a type or class of business or commercial transaction only after determining that application of such Act to such transaction would not contribute substantially to effecting the purposes of such Act. Part C: Pension and Health Benefits for Nonfull-time Workers - Part-Time and Temporary Workers Protection Act of 1987 - Amends the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA) to bring certain part-time employees within the participation, vesting, and accrual rules governing pension plans. Addresses any employee who, within a relevant 12-month period: (1) has customarily completed more than 500 but fewer than 1,000 hours of service; or (2) is employed in a type of position in which employment customarily consists of such a number of hours. Provides that completion of such hours of service will be treated as completion of 1,000 hours of service (thereby bringing the employee within the ERISA benefit framework). Permits a reduction in the employer-provided premium under a group health plan in the case of a part-time employee only when such employee: (1) has customarily completed fewer than 30 hours of service per week; or (2) is employed in a type of position in which employment customarily consists of such a number of hours. Limits such a premium reduction, when permissible, to not less than a ratable portion of the premium ordinarily provided in the case of an employee who completes 30 hours of service per week. Revises the ERISA definition of "employee" to include non-employees who, pursuant to a contract or agreement, provide employee-like service to an employer for at least one year at the rate of 500 or more hours per year. Part D: Economic Security - Social Security Equity Act of 1987 - Amends title II (Old Age, Survivors and Disability Insurance) of the Social Security Act to provide that the combined earnings of a married couple which are attributable to the period of their marriage shall be shared equally between them for purposes of determining the eligibility for, and amount of, OASDI benefits to which each spouse is or may become separately entitled. Credits the survivor of the marriage with 100 percent of the combined total wages for the period of the marriage. Provides that this Act shall not apply in specified cases when it would result in a reduction of OASDI benefits. Sets forth certain age and marriage requirements with which married couples must comply in order for this Act to apply. Repeals the separate definition of disability applicable to widows and widowers. Permits the months of a widow's or widower's entitlement to Supplemental Security Income benefits (title XVI of the Social Security Act) on the basis of a disability to be counted toward the 24 months needed to become entitled to hospital insurance benefits under Medicare (title XVIII of the Social Security Act) on that basis. Pension Reform Act of 1987 - Amends the Tax Reform Act of 1986 to extend to all accrued benefits existing in plan year 1989 and thereafter the amendments made with regard to the nondiscriminatory coordination of defined contribution plans with Old Age, Survivors and Disability Insurance (OASDI). Amends the Internal Revenue Code (IRC) to repeal provisions that permit a certain disparity in simplified employee pension plan contributions with respect to nondiscriminatory coordination with OASDI. Provides for the repeal, effective for plan year 2000 and thereafter, of IRC rules relating to: (1) the nondiscriminatory coordination of defined contribution plans with OASDI; and (2) pension integration exceptions. Amends the IRC to establish distinct minimum employee coverage requirements applicable in cases when an employer with respect to a plan is treated as operating a single line of business. Requires such a plan to benefit all the employer's employees. Limits the exception to minimum coverage requirements available to employers treated as operating separate lines of business for a year. Amends the IRC and the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 to eliminate the special vesting requirements governing multiemployer plans. Directs the Comptroller General of the United States, as soon as possible after this Act's enactment, to undertake thorough studies with respect to: (1) possible methods of requiring employee pension plans to provide cost of living and other adjustments to plan benefits; and (2) potential pension portability mechanisms, including ways to preserve and enhance the real value of deferred vested pension benefits. Lists specific items to be addressed in each study. Requires submission of the studies to specified Congressional committees within two years of this Act's enactment. Medicaid Community Spouse Safety Net Act of 1987 - Amends title XIX (Medicaid) of the Social Security Act to set special resource and income eligibility standards for institutionalized individuals so as to provide support and maintenance of their noninstitutionalized spouses. Nondiscrimination in Insurance Act - Bans discrimination on the basis of race, color, religion, sex, or national origin in the consideration of applications for, or the granting of, insurance policies and the terms of such policies. Prohibits the use of any statistical table as a basis for action banned by this Act, and discrimination in any manner against a person because that person has opposed any practice made unlawful under this section. Grants to States having insurance discrimination laws the primary opportunity to enforce the pertinent prohibitions. Permits a civil action against the insurer to be filed in State or Federal court by or on behalf of an aggrieved person. Authorizes the Attorney General to bring a civil action in district court (without regard to the amount in controversy) when there is reasonable cause to believe that a person or group is engaged in a pattern or practice of violating these rights and that such violation raises an issue of general public importance. Directs the court to: (1) order the defendant to amend any relevant contract to comply with these provisions; (2) award actual damages for the period of noncompliance; and (3) award the aggrieved person reasonable attorney fees. Authorizes an award of punitive damages, in addition to actual damages. Describes rights, liabilities, premiums, benefits, and insurance coverages that are not to be affected by these antidiscrimination provisions. Federal Council on Women Act - Establishes a Federal Council on Women to: (1) collect and evaluate information with respect to any problems that are particular to women in the United States; (2) review and evaluate Federal policy related to any such problems; (3) coordinate the activities of the Council with similar activities conducted by States, local governments, and concerned organizations; and (4) make recommendations. Directs the Council to report its findings and recommendations to the Congress. Authorizes appropriations. Title II: Dependent Care - Part A: Improving the Quality of Dependent Care - Family Day Care Provider Assistance Act of 1987 - Directs the Secretary of Health and Human Services to make payments to States for grants to support family day care providers. Directs States to make such grants to community nonprofit organizations with experience in working with family day care and which furnish or propose to furnish support primarily to providers serving low-income families. Requires such grants to be used to: (1) provide training to family day care providers; (2) operate resource centers for making available developmentally appropriate curriculum materials; (3) operate a system of substitute caregivers for providers; (4) furnish technical assistance to providers in understanding local regulations and relevant tax and other policies; (5) provide subgrants for the purchase of small equipment; and (6) provide other appropriate support to family day care providers. Directs the Secretary to establish a National Resource Center on Family Day Care, to be administered by the Administration for Children, Youth, and Families. Authorizes appropriations. Sets forth a formula for State allotments. Child-Care Standards Improvement Act of 1987 - Authorizes appropriations for FY 1988 through 1990 for grants to improve State child-care licensing and regulatory systems. Requires, as a condition of eligibility for such grants, the establishment of a State Advisory Committee on Child-Care Standards to review a State's child-care licensing and regulatory systems. Requires reports by such committees. Establishes a National Advisory Committee on Child-Care Standards to assist and provide guidance to the States in improving the quality of child-care services. Requires the National Advisory Committee to submit to the Secretary of Health and Human Services proposed recommended standards for child-care programs within 14 months after the enactment of this Act. Terminates the National Advisory Committee 90 days after the publication by the Secretary of final recommended standards. Part B: Access to Dependent Care for All Families - Amends Internal Revenue Code provisions relating to the income tax credit for employment-related dependent care expenses to: (1) make the credit refundable; (2) increase the amount of the credit from 30 percent to 50 percent of the relevant expenses, reduced (but not below 20 percent) by one percent for each full $1,000 amount by which the taxpayer's adjusted gross income (AGI) exceeds $15,000, subject to an annual adjustment for inflation (the current reduction is one percent for each $2,000 in excess of $10,000 AGI with no provision for a cost of living adjustment); and (3) apply the credit to expenses for certain respite care of qualifying dependents of the taxpayer. Permits credit for up to $1,200 ($2,400 in cases involving more than one qualifying individual) of respite care expenses incurred in the care of: (1) a dependent of the taxpayer who is under the age of 15; or (2) a spouse or other dependent of the taxpayer who is physically or mentally incapable of self-care. Amends the Federal National Mortgage Association Charter Act and the Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corporation Act to bring within their respective frameworks loans or advances secured by a single residential property occupied as a single family residence in which community child care service is provided (thus making such loans eligible for purchase under each Act). Part C: Increasing Availability of Dependent Care for Low-Income Families - Amends the Social Security Act to increase appropriations for FY 1988 and thereafter for block grants to the States for social services. State Dependent Care Grants Amendments Act of 1987 - Amends the State Dependent Care Development Grants Act to require that amounts paid to States for use in the operation of child care services be designed to enable children whose families lack adequate financial resources to participate in before or after school child care programs. Requires State Governors to include specified information in their grant reports. Extends from September 30, 1987, to September 30, 1991, the time until which necessary revisions of grant program descriptions must be submitted. Public Housing Child Care Act - Directs the Secretary of Housing and Urban Development to: (1) make grants to public housing agencies to contract for lower-income resident child care services; and (2) design such program to determine the extent to which it facilitates resident employability. Requires a report to the Congress within three years. Authorizes FY 1987 through 1989 appropriations.
United States · United States Congress · 2 June 1987
Designates the period commencing on June 21, 1989, and ending on June 28, 1989, as Food Science and Technology Week.
United States · United States Congress · 29 May 1987
Designates the week beginning on the third Sunday of September 1987 and 1988 as National Adult Day Care Center Week.
United States · United States Congress · 29 May 1987
Authorizes and requests the President to designate the month of April as Fair Housing Month.
United States · United States Congress · 29 May 1987
Designates October 1, 1987, as National Medical Research Day.
United States · United States Congress · 29 May 1987
Designates the week of September 20 through September 26, 1987, as Emergency Medical Services Week.
United States · United States Congress · 28 May 1987
Renewable Energy/Fuel Cell Systems Integration Act of 1987 - Directs the Secretary of Energy to implement a research program regarding: (1) fuel cell use of methane gas generated from biomass forms; (2) technologies using renewable energy sources (such as wind and solar energy) to produce hydrogen for fuel cell use; and (3) fuel cell technology for electric power production as backup spinning reserve components to renewable power systems in rural and isolated areas. Authorizes the Secretary to make grants to, and enter into contracts with, private research laboratories. Requires the Secretary to report to the Congress regarding the fuel cell research program. Authorizes appropriations for FY 1988.
United States · United States Congress · 28 May 1987
Fuel Cells Energy Utilization Act of 1987 - Amends the Energy Policy and Conservation Act to redefine the term "domestic renewable energy industry" to include industries using fuel cell technology (thus bringing fuel cells systems technology within the ambit of Federal energy legislation). Directs the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency to prepare guidelines for cities and municipalities specifying environmental and safety standards for the use of fuel cell technology. Directs the Secretary of Commerce to report to the Congress regarding the export market potential for integrated systems of fuel cells with renewable power technologies.
United States · United States Congress · 28 May 1987
Hydrogen Research and Development Act - Title I: Hydrogen Production and Use - Directs the Secretary of Energy to prepare and submit to specified congressional committees a comprehensive five-year program management plan for a research and development program designed to permit the development of a domestic hydrogen fuel production capability within the shortest practicable time. Requires the Secretary to send the Congress annual plan descriptions including any necessary plan modifications. Directs the Secretary to establish such program within the Department of Energy. Requires that the areas to be addressed in such program include production, liquefaction, transmission, distribution, storage, and utilization. Requires priority to be given to production techniques that use renewable energy sources as their primary energy sources. Directs the Secretary to conduct demonstrations to evaluate technical and nontechnical parameters to determine commercial applicability of hydrogen technology and to prepare a comprehensive large-scale hydrogen demonstration plan. Requires the Secretary to prepare a comprehensive technology application plan which shall include: (1) the potential applications for the use of hydrogen; (2) technical market and economic readiness assessments for such potential applications; (3) an assessment of Government actions needed to develop such application; and (4) an analysis of the impact of such applications on domestic energy supplies. Requires the Secretary to consult with other Federal agencies and departments in carrying out this program. Requires the establishment of a Hydrogen Technical Advisory Panel of the Energy Research Advisory Board to advise the Secretary on the conduct of the hydrogen program. Requires the Panel to submit an annual report on the program to the Energy Research Advisory Board which shall subsequently report to the Secretary. Authorizes appropriations to carry out this title for FY 1988 through 1992. Title II: Hydrogen-Fueled Aircraft Research and Development - Directs the Administrator of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) to prepare and submit to specified congressional committees a comprehensive five-year program management plan for a research and development program for the development of a domestic hydrogen-fueled aircraft capability within the shortest practicable time. Requires the Administrator to transmit to Congress an annual plan description including any necessary modifications with respect to the plan. Requires the Administrator to establish such program within NASA and to prepare and transmit to the Congress a comprehensive flight demonstration plan which shall confirm the technical feasibility, economic viability, and safety of liquid hydrogen as a fuel for commercial transport aircraft. Provides that the research and development program under this title shall include, at a minimum, the development of the systems associated with the production, transportation, storage, and handling of liquid hydrogen for commercial aircraft application. Provides that the Administrator shall consult with other Federal agencies and departments in carrying out the program. Establishes a Hydrogen-Fueled Aircraft Advisory Committee to advise the Administrator on the programs established by this title. Requires the Committee to report annually to the Administrator on its activities and on the status of such programs. Authorizes appropriations to carry out this title for FY 1987 through 1991.
United States · United States Congress · 28 May 1987
Designates July 20 of each year as Space Exploration Day.
United States · United States Congress · 28 May 1987
Amends a specified Federal law relating to the use of surplus Government vessels for health and humanitarian services to identify those ships, currently in the National Defense Reserve Fleet and with the Maritime Administration, which are to be used for such purposes. Authorizes appropriations to refit such vessels for such purposes, under certain conditions.
United States · United States Congress · 28 May 1987
Designates August 29, 1988, as National China-Burma-India Veterans Appreciation Day.
United States · United States Congress · 28 May 1987
Designates the week of July 13, 1987, as Snow White Week.
United States · United States Congress · 28 May 1987
Designates July 13 through July 26, 1987, as U.S. Olympic Festival-'87 Celebration. Designates July 17, 1987, as U.S. Olympic Festival-'87 Day.
United States · United States Congress · 28 May 1987
Designates July 20, 1987, as Space Exploration Day.
United States · United States Congress · 21 May 1987
Federal Credit Management and Debt Collection Improvements Act of 1987 - Establishes in the Department of the Treasury an Under Secretary of the Treasury for Debt Collection and Credit Management, who shall be appointed by the President, by and with the consent of the Senate. Sets forth the functions of the Under Secretary with respect to establishing and implementing a comprehensive Federal debt collection and credit management plan. Directs the Comptroller General to report to the Congress an analysis of such plan, together with comments. Requires executive agency proposals for new credit programs to contain an explicit statement of any subsidies involved. Requires interest rates in new direct loan programs to be related to market rates for comparable private sector loan programs. Requires the assessment of loan origination and application fees to defray administrative costs and costs of defaulted loans. Prohibits loans to persons who are delinquent in debt payments to the United States. Sets forth the circumstances under which a person who has defaulted on a prior loan may be allowed another loan. Requires loan contracts to contain default and acceleration clauses. Requires each loan applicant to be provided with a written notice specifying Federal debt collection policies and practices. Directs the President to provide for a study of private sector alternatives to Federal loan programs. Directs the Secretary of the Treasury to establish Federal credit management policies and promulgate regulations to implement this Act. Requires each executive agency to report to the Congress, within one year of enactment of this Act, on its delinquency and default standards. Directs the Comptroller General, within two years of enactment of this Act, to audit agency credit programs. Requires agencies to conform to regulations under this Act within one year of enactment of this Act. Establishes a collection target amount of $15,000,000,000 during the period beginning October 1, 1987, and ending September 30, 1990. Increases an agency's funding when it exceeds its debt collection target, and decreases such funding for not meeting its target. Directs the Secretary of the Treasury to promulgate regulations to assist agencies in developing proposals for debt collection targets. Requires the use of credit bureaus and private collection agencies to recover indebtedness owed the Federal Government. Provides for routine adjustments of Federal pay for non-controversial overpayments. Amends the Internal Revenue Code to authorize agencies to use Internal Revenue Service information in debt collection. Requires the inclusion of debt collection data in the budget process. Directs each agency head to investigate the feasibility and cost effectiveness of selling debts to the private sector. Makes State laws inapplicable with respect to time limitations for bringing legal actions on debts owed to the United States.
United States · United States Congress · 20 May 1987
Designates the week beginning on the third Sunday in May 1988 as National Tourism Week.
United States · United States Congress · 20 May 1987
Designates October 1987 as Polish American Heritage Month.
United States · United States Congress · 19 May 1987
Amends title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act to provide coverage for services performed by a physician assistant outside institutional settings.
United States · United States Congress · 15 May 1987
Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome Education, Information, Risk Reduction, Training, Prevention, Treatment, Care, and Research Act of 1987 - Amends the Public Health Service Act to create a new title on acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS). Directs the Secretary of Health and Human Services (Secretary), acting through the Director of the Centers for Disease Control (Director), to prepare and transmit to the Committee on Labor and Human Resources of the Senate and the Committee on Energy and Commerce of the House of Representatives a comprehensive national plan containing specified elements relating to education, information, and risk reduction activities concerning AIDS. Directs the Secretary to submit to the committees each year for the next ten years a revision of the plan. Directs the Secretary, acting through the Director, to make grants to States for the development, implementation, or expansion of State plans for education, information, risk reduction, and other activities relating to AIDS. Requires States, in order to receive grants, to submit an application with specified contents. Directs the Secretary to provide technical assistance to States relating to these grants. Directs the Secretary to make grants to local governments and public and private nonprofit entities for development, establishment, or expansion of programs for targeted education, information, and risk reduction activities relating to AIDS. Directs the Secretary to give grant priority to activities directed toward individuals at highest risk of becoming infected with the acquired immunodeficiency virus. Prohibits grants from being made unless an application with specified contents is submitted. Directs the Secretary to give preference to community-based organizations which are located in, have a history of service in, and will serve specified areas. States that the Secretary may review the content of any educational or information materials developed with grants only for scientific and factual validity. Directs the Secretary to establish a program of fellowships at the Centers for Disease Control for the training of individuals to develop skills in epidemiology, surveillance, testing, counseling, education, information, laboratory analysis, and risk reduction relating to AIDS. Declares that individuals receiving fellowships shall not be counted in determining the number of full time equivalent employees of the Department of Health and Human Services for specified purposes. Directs the Secretary to make grants to international organizations concerned with public health for: (1) programs of education, information, and risk reduction relating to AIDS; (2) projects to train individuals to develop skills and technical expertise regarding AIDS; and (3) epidemiological research relating to AIDS. Directs the Secretary to inform the Secretary of State and the Administrator of the Agency for International Development of grants made under this provision. Prohibits grants from being made unless an application is submitted. Requires that not less than 50 percent of the grants be made through the World Health Organization and, in the Western Hemisphere, through the Pan American Health Organization. Requires grants to be in furtherance of the global strategy of the World Health Organization Special Programme on Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome. Authorizes appropriations for FY 1988 through 1990 for grants to States, for grants to local governments and public and private nonprofit entities, for fellowships at the Centers for Disease Control, and for grants to international organizations. Authorizes the Secretary to make grants to public and nonprofit private entities for the development, establishment, or expansion in a service area of networks of comprehensive medical services for individuals who have AIDS or who are infected with the virus. Requires networks to provide: (1) comprehensive services, or referrals to comprehensive services, for such individuals, including specified services; and (2) continuing education for health care personnel involved in the delivery of services to individuals infected with the virus. Specifies allowed and prohibited uses of grants. Prohibits making grants unless an application with specified contents is submitted. Requires entities applying for a grant, prior to applying, to establish a network advisory committee to assist in development of grant applications, provide support for the development, establishment, or expansion of the network, and monitor the implementation of, and the services provided through, the network. Directs the Secretary, in making grants, to give priority to specified types of applicants. Directs the Secretary to make at least one grant each fiscal year to an applicant in each service area in which there is a high incidence of children who are infected with the virus. States criteria for selecting such applicant. Directs the Secretary to make grants to public and nonprofit private entities for projects to demonstrate innovative models for cost-effective delivery of health services to individuals with AIDS. Requires projects supported with such grants to provide for the delivery of health services in conjunction with the comprehensive medical services networks. Prohibits making grants unless an application with specified contents is submitted. Authorizes appropriations for comprehensive medical service networks and for innovative models for cost-effective delivery of health services for FY 1988 through 1990. Directs the Secretary, through the Director of the National Institute of Mental Health, to make grants to public and private nonprofit entities for the development, establishment, or expansion of programs to: (1) provide long-term counseling to individuals who have AIDS or who have tested positively for the presence of antibodies to the virus; and (2) conduct evaluations of the effectiveness of such counseling. Specifies purposes for which grants may be used. Prohibits making grants unless an application with specified contents is submitted. Directs the Secretary, in making grants, to give priority to entities based at, or having relationships with, entities providing comprehensive health services to individuals who have AIDS or who are infected with the virus. Authorizes appropriations for FY 1988 through 1990. Directs the Secretary, through the Director of the National Institute on Drug Abuse, to make grants to public and nonprofit private agencies for the study of, and projects for the demonstration of, effective methods, with regard to intravenous drug abusers, to reduce the transmission of the virus and provide treatment to individuals who have AIDS or who are infected with the virus. Prohibits making grants unless an application with specified contents is submitted. Authorizes appropriations for FY 1988 through 1990. Amends title IV (National Research Institutes) of the Public Health Service Act to create the National Program on Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome, consisting of: (1) a research program on AIDS, including a research program relating to the prevention of AIDS; and (2) demonstration, education, and other programs for the detection, diagnosis, prevention, and treatment of AIDS and for the provision of counseling concerning AIDS. Requires the Director of the National Institutes of Health (NIH) to designate one of the Directors of the national research institutes as the Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome Coordinator. Makes the AIDS Coordinator responsible for administration of the Program. Directs the AIDS Coordinator to develop and implement a plan for NIH to expedite the award of grants, contracts, or cooperative agreements by any agency of NIH for projects relating to AIDS, including projects initiated by investigators not in response to any solicitation for proposals. Requires the plan to provide, in the case of applications made in response to solicitations for proposals, for making of awards or disapproval of applications within six months after the date on which a solicitation is issued. Directs the AIDS Coordinator, in conjunction with the Directors of the national research institutes and in consultation with the National Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome Advisory Board (Advisory Board), to promote cooperation between specified agencies in the diagnosis, prevention, and treatment of AIDS. Directs the AIDS Coordinator to prepare and transmit to the Committee on Labor and Human Resources of the Senate and the Committee on Energy and Commerce of the House of Representatives a report with specified contents. Directs the AIDS Coordinator to expand clinical trials of treatments and therapies for AIDS and infection with the virus. Authorizes the AIDS Coordinator to: (1) establish or support the large-scale production or distribution of specialized biological materials or other therapeutic substances for research relating to AIDS and set standards of safety and care for persons using such materials; (2) support, in consultation with the Advisory Board, research relating to AIDS outside the United States in certain circumstances, collaborative research involving American and foreign participants, the training of American scientists abroad and foreign scientists in the United States, and programs of education and training, including education and laboratory and clinical research training; (3) encourage and coordinate research relating to AIDS by industrial concerns in certain circumstances and provide for the exchange of information between Federal agencies and private entities involved in specified ways with therapies and vaccines for AIDS; (4) acquire, improve, repair, operate, and maintain, in consultation with the Advisory Board, laboratories and other real and personal property, make grants for the renovation of facilities, and lease certain spaces for a limited period; (5) enter into contracts and cooperative agreements to expedite and coordinate research relating to AIDS; and (6) maintain and operate the International Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome Research Data Bank. Directs the Secretary, in consultation with the AIDS Coordinator, to establish in NIH a National Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome Advisory Board to: (1) review and evaluate the implementation of the Program; (2) advise and make recommendations to the Congress, the Secretary, the Director of NIH, the AIDS Coordinator, and the heads of other Federal agencies; and (3) maintain liaisons with other advisory bodies and key non-Federal entities involved with the control of AIDS. Requires the Advisory Board to prepare an annual report for the AIDS Coordinator describing the Advisory Board's activities and making recommendations regarding the Program. Authorizes the Director of the Institute to enter into cooperative agreements with and make grants to public or private nonprofit entities for planning, establishing, or strengthening, and providing basic operating support for, centers for basic and clinical research into, and training in, advanced diagnostic, prevention, and treatment methods for AIDS. Specifies permitted uses for Federal payments under a cooperative agreement or grant. Limits support of a center to five years, subject to extension for periods of up to five years, if recommended by a peer review group. Requires, in the Institute, appointment of an Associate Director for Prevention to coordinate and promote the programs in the Institute concerning the prevention of infectious diseases, including AIDS. Directs the Associate Director for Prevention to prepare, for inclusion in a biennial report required by existing law, a description of the prevention activities of the Institute. Requires the Director of the Institute to establish a virus and serum bank in which all human immunodeficiency virus serotypes and serum are available to qualified investigators. States that AIDS is included within the scope of the purpose of the National Institute on Allergy and Infectious Diseases. Directs the Secretary, acting through the Director of the National Institute on Allergy and Infectious Diseases, to make awards, under existing provisions for National Research Service Awards, for the training of individuals to participate in national research efforts relating to AIDS. Requires the Director of the Office of Management and Budget, the Director of the Office of Personnel Management, or the Administrator of General Services to respond to any priority request made by the AIDS Coordinator of the NIH within 14 calendar days.
United States · United States Congress · 14 May 1987
Expresses the sense of the Congress commending the Department of Agriculture on its 125th anniversary. Authorizes and requests the President to issue a proclamation commemorating such event.
United States · United States Congress · 13 May 1987
Marine Science, Technology, and Resource Development Act of 1987 - Amends the National Sea Grant College Program Act to declare the need for a national ocean policy and to revise definitions under such Act. Expands coverage of such Act to include Great Lakes resources. (Current law covers ocean and coastal resources.) Requires the Administrator of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (Administrator) to develop and publish every three years the Sea Grant Strategic Research Plan (Plan) identifying and describing a limited number of priority areas for strategic marine research. Requires the Plan to be submitted to specified congressional committees. Describes the priority area on which the Plan shall concentrate, including: (1) critical resource and environmental areas of national or global scope where adequate funding is otherwise precluded under other provisions of the National Sea Grant College Program Act; and (2) areas where sustained programmatic research and technology transfer can be utilized. Authorizes the Secretary of Commerce (Secretary) to make grants to carry out such strategic marine research to sea grant colleges, programs, regional consortia, and individuals meeting certain criteria. Authorizes appropriations for such purposes for FY 1988 through 1992. Describes the academic, congressional, Federal, and postdoctoral fellowships which may be awarded. Adds to the duties of the sea grant review panel the responsibility of giving advice with respect to applications, proposals, performance, grants, and contracts awarded under the Sea Grant Strategic Research Plan. Authorizes appropriations for the National Sea Grant College Program for FY 1988 through 1992. Amends provisions of the Sea Grant Program Improvement Act of 1976 relating to the purposes of the Sea Grant International program to authorize grants and contracts to enhance international research, promote marine activities with foreign universities, encourage technology transfer, and promote foreign data exchanges. Authorizes appropriations for such purposes for FY 1988 through 1992. Allows additional funding to be provided through other Federal program elements with a marine science or technology transfer component, or both.
United States · United States Congress · 13 May 1987
Prohibits the proposed sale to Honduras of 12 F-5E/F aircraft with spares, munitions, support equipment, and training.
United States · United States Congress · 12 May 1987
Authorizes the Secretary of the Interior to acquire specified lands for inclusion in the Kilauea Point Wildlife Refuge, Hawaii. Requires the Secretary to construct and maintain access trails through such lands. Authorizes appropriations.
United States · United States Congress · 12 May 1987
Veterans' Administration Health-Care Personnel Act of 1987 - Amends Federal veterans' benefits provisions to authorize the Administrator of Veterans Affairs to provide premium pay if necessary to obtain or retain the services of pharmacists or occupational therapists. Authorizes premium pay for nurses performing a shift any part of which is performed on a Saturday. (Currently, such premium pay is authorized only for Sunday duty.) Directs the Administrator to require that the Chief of Nursing Service (or designee) at each Veterans Administration (VA) facility be included in the membership of each policymaking and fiscal committee at each such facility. Repeals current provisions governing the Veterans' Administration Health Professional Scholarship Program and adds a new chapter establishing a program to be known as the Veterans' Administration Health Professional Educational Assistance Program (the Program), to be comprised of: (1) the Veterans' Administration Health Professional Scholarship Program (the Scholarship Program); and (2) the Veterans' Administration Health Professional Tuition Reimbursement Program (the Tuition Reimbursement Program). Outlines eligibility requirements and application procedures for participation in the Scholarship Program. Requires the Administrator and a successful applicant to enter into a written contract which allows the applicant to accept payment of educational assistance in return for the promise to serve a period of obligated service within the VA's Department of Medicine and Surgery. Entitles the United States to damages for a participant's breach of contract. Allows the monthly stipend paid under the Scholarship Program or the tuition reimbursement paid under the Tuition Reimbursement Program to be increased for each school year in conformity with increases in the GS wage levels of the Government. Directs the Administrator, no later than March 1 annually, to report to the Congress detailing certain information concerning the number of applicants, participants, scholarships awarded, and tuition and other expenses paid under the two educational assistance programs, as well as the number of participants who successfully completed such program during the previous year. Directs the Administrator to prescribe regulations to carry out the Educational Assistance Program. Provides that any obligation of a participant for service or payment of damages for breach of contract is canceled upon the death of the participant. Directs the Administrator to prescribe regulations providing for the waiver or suspension of any obligation under such Program when compliance by the participant is impossible due to circumstances beyond the control of the participant or whenever the Administrator determines that such waiver or suspension would be in the best interest of the VA. Authorizes such required service to be exchanged with similar service required under other Federal programs. Exempts educational assistance payments from State or Federal taxation. Prohibits the Administrator from furnishing scholarships to new participants in the Scholarship Program after September 30, 1992. Outlines eligibility requirements and application procedures for participation in the Scholarship Program. Requires the Administrator to notify the Senate and House Veterans' Affairs Committees no less than 60 days before awarding a scholarship in a course of training other than medicine or nursing. Requires the Administrator and a successful applicant under the Scholarship Program to enter into a written contract which allows the participant to accept such scholarship payments from the Administrator in return for the participant's agreement to serve for a specified period of time in the VA's Department of Medicine and Surgery. Sets forth the amounts of scholarship payments, educational expenses, and monthly stipends to be provided under the Scholarship Program. Provides for participation as a part-time student in the Scholarship Program for individuals who are full-time VA employees permanently assigned to a VA health-care facility. Provides for a reduced monthly scholarship payment for individuals participating as part-time students, and allows a scholarship for a part-time student to be extended for up to six school years if the Administrator determines such extension to be in the best interest of the United States. Requires each participant in the Scholarship Program to provide service as a full-time employee of the VA for the agreed-upon period. Requires the Administrator, for either a full-time or part-time student participant in the Scholarship Program, to notify the participant of the applicable date for the commencement of the obligated period of service as a VA employee. Provides further information concerning the obligated period of service for Scholarship Program participants and the determination of the service commencement period, including the determination of such commencement period for students who are required as part of their educational requirements to serve a period of medical internship or residency. Outlines provisions concerning the liability of a Scholarship Program participant who refuses to accept the scholarship payments as required under the written contract or who instructs the educational institution being attended to refuse to accept such payments. Specifies an amount to be owed to the United States as liquidated damages for breach of contract in such cases. States than an individual shall be liable to the United States for any amount that has been paid to the participant for which such participant failed to perform the service obligation as specified in the written contract. Outlines eligibility requirements and application procedures for participation in the Tuition Reimbursement Program. Gives priority in the selection of individuals to individuals who have demonstrated superior proficiency and performance as determined by the Chief Nurse of the facility at which the individual is employed. Requires the Administrator, not less than 60 days before awarding tuition reimbursement assistance to any individual for a course of training other than nursing, to notify the Senate and House Veterans' Affairs Committees of the reasons for the awarding of such assistance. Requires the Administrator and a successful applicant to enter into a written contract under the Tuition Reimbursement Program whereby the Administrator agrees to provide tuition reimbursement assistance in return for the participant's promise to serve as a full-time employee in the VA's Department of Medicine and Surgery for a specified period of obligated service. Sets an annual ceiling on the amount of tuition reimbursement paid per individual. Requires participants in the Tuition Reimbursement Program to provide full-time clinical practice service for the VA for the period of obligated service as provided in the written contract. Requires a participant whose tuition was paid pursuant to a contract with an educational institution to provide courses at a VA health-care facility to complete the period of obligated service provided in the written contract even if the participant fails to complete the course involved for which the tuition was reimbursed. Outlines the liability of a participant in the Tuition Reimbursement Program who fails to maintain full-time employment with the VA while in such Program or who fails to complete the required period of obligated service. Requires the Administrator, in determining the amount of funding necessary for the Tuition Reimbursement Program, to take into account: (1) the personnel ceiling for nursing personnel; and (2) the recruitment and retention needs of that facility.
United States · United States Congress · 12 May 1987
Requires Puerto Rico, upon the call of its Governor, to hold a referendum on its admission to the Union as a State, between January 1, 1989, and December 31, 1994. Requires the Governor to count the votes in the referendum in the manner provided for in general elections. Applies the election laws of Puerto Rico to the referendum. Authorizes appropriations for the direct costs of the referendum.
United States · United States Congress · 8 May 1987
Designates March 16, 1988, as Freedom of Information Day.
United States · United States Congress · 7 May 1987
Federal Employees Health Care Freedom-of-Choice Act of 1987 - Amends provisions of law relating to Federal employee health benefits to authorize direct payment or reimbursement for services performed by licensed health practitioners in the State where they practice.
United States · United States Congress · 6 May 1987
Farm Credit Borrower Relief, System Reform and Local Control Act of 1987 - Title I: Interest Rate Reduction - Provides for: (1) a mandatory two-year interest rate reduction of at least seven percent on all Farm Credit System (System) loans; (2) an additional reduction of up to two points, upon a borrower's written request, to be funded by applying up to one-half of each borrower's stock against interest otherwise due; and (3) a five-year guarantee of borrower stock. Title II: Borrower Relief: Forbearance and Restructuring - Amends the Farm Credit Act of 1971 to require all banks and associations to have a forbearance program providing for loan extensions, deferrals, or late payments to delinquent borrowers who meet specified criteria. Prohibits foreclosure if a borrower is making efforts to repay a loan, is taking care of the property, and has the capacity to work out of debt. Provides: (1) that a borrower must have at least 30 days' written notice before a foreclosure action is filed against him; and (2) a ten-day right to appeal such action. Requires System institutions to make efforts to permit a borrower in a foreclosure or voluntary liquidation action to retain ownership or possession of a principal residence and a reasonable amount of adjoining land in order to maintain a family. Requires System institutions to establish lease-back buy-back programs to avoid displacing farm operators and depressing land values. Includes within such programs provisions regarding: (1) leases with repurchase options; (2) repurchase options; (3) maximum ten-year terms for holding collateral; (4) the use of loan collateral as bond collateral; (5) appeal rights; and (6) program inapplicability to wetland and highly erodible land. Title III: Borrowers Rights - Amends the Farm Credit Act of 1971 to protect a borrower from: (1) being required to provide additional collateral; (2) being foreclosed for failing to provide such collateral; or (3) being requested to furnish additional financial information unless provided for in the loan agreement, or unless the borrower requests an agreement change. Provides for borrower access to documents and information. Grants a borrower the right to sue any System institution in U.S. district court. Title IV: Sunset of the Capital Corporation and Halt to System Centralization Through Service Organizations - Amends the Farm Credit Act of 1971 to terminate the Farm Credit System Capital Corporation 90 days after enactment of this Act. (Currently, such Corporation expires as of December 31, 1990.) Prohibits the Farm Credit Administration from chartering any entities except Federal land banks and associations, Federal land bank associations, Federal intermediate credit banks, production credit associations, banks for cooperatives, the Central Bank for Cooperatives, and the Federal Farm Credit Banks Funding Corporation. Liquidates all service organizations established before the effective date of this Act, except the Federal Farm Credit Banks Funding Corporation, within 90 days of the effective date of this Act. Title V: Future Stability Through Farm Credit Reserve Fund - Amends the Farm Credit Act of 1971 to direct the Farm Credit Administration to establish a reserve fund within 30 days of the effective date of this Act. States that such reserve shall be used to: (1) guarantee borrower stock; and (2) protect institution viability. Funds such reserve initially through a one-time issue of an uncollateralized joint obligation of System banks. Provides for perpetual reserve funding through obligation contributions. Sets forth operating provisions. Title VI: Termination of Loss-Sharing That Conflicts With the Reserve Fund - Repeals authority for interbank loss-sharing agreements. Title VII: Local Control - Amends the Farm Credit Act of 1971 to provide a referendum method for stockholder elections of separate boards of directors for System banks. Terminates a district board if separate boards are established for two or more banks in such district. Sets forth related operating provisions. Title VIII: Mandatory Cool-Off Period for Mergers - Amends the Farm Credit Act of 1971 to provide for a mandatory cooling-off period before a merger between System associations becomes effective. Title IX: Funding Corporation Report - Amends the Farm Credit Act of 1971 to require the Federal Farm Credit Banks Funding Corporation to report annually to each System institution detailings its bond placements, budget, costs, and expenses.
United States · United States Congress · 6 May 1987
Designates May 9 through May 15, 1988, as National Stuttering Awareness Week.
United States · United States Congress · 5 May 1987
Medicare Catastrophic Loss Prevention Act of 1987 - Amends part A (Hospital Insurance) of title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act to remove durational limitations on Medicare coverage of inpatient hospital services, and cover 150 days of post-hospital extended care services per year, for an individual covered under parts A and B (Supplementary Medical Insurance) of the Medicare program. (Individuals covered only under part A would be subject to current durational limitations on such services.) Provides that an individual covered under parts A and B of the Medicare program shall not be required to pay more than one deductible for inpatient hospital services and one deductible for blood furnished in connection with such services per year. (Currently such deductibles are imposed for each "spell of illness.") Eliminates the coinsurance requirement imposed on such individuals for extended hospital stays. Imposes a coinsurance rate, equal to 15 percent of the average per diem cost of post-hospital extended care services, for the first ten days of a part A and B beneficiary's receipt of such services per year. (Currently, the coinsurance requirement applys to days 21 through 100 of a "spell of illness" requiring such services.) Amends part B of the Medicare program to cover all of the out-of-pocket Medicare expenses which a part B beneficiary incurs in excess of $1,700 in 1988, adjusted annually thereafter to reflect changes in the cost-of-living. Provides for the adjustment of Medicare payments to organizations providing health care on a prepaid basis so as to reimburse them for such excess out-of-pocket costs incurred on behalf of enrollees. Counts amounts an organ transplant patient spends on immunosuppressive drugs toward the out-of-pocket expense limit. Imposes a monthly catastrophic coverage premium of $4 for 1988 on an individual covered under parts A and B of the Medicare program, with annual adjustments to such premium thereafter reflecting changes in the amount of catastrophic benefits paid. Imposes a smaller monthly catastrophic coverage premium on individuals who are only covered under part B of the Medicare program. Imposes a supplemental part B premium of $12 per year, adjusted annually to reflect increases in the cost of catastrophic benefits, for each $150 of income tax due in excess of $150. Sets an annual cap on the supplemental premium. Covers, as home health services, daily nursing care and home health aide services furnished for up to 21 days with a physician's certification of the need for such daily care. Covers such services on a daily basis for 45 days when provided to a part B beneficiary within 30 days of his or her hospital discharge. (Currently such care must be provided on a part-time or intermittent basis.) Defines as "homebound" (a prerequisite of eligibility for Medicare home health services) any person who has a condition which restricts his or her ability to leave the home without support or for whom leaving the home is medically contraindicated. Directs the Secretary to notify Medicare beneficiaries, when they apply for benefits under part A or enroll under part B, and annually thereafter, regarding the extent of and limitations on Medicare coverage, including the ways in which coverage differs between those who are and those who are not covered under part B. Requires the Secretary to take into account the costs incurred by organizations providing health care on a prepaid basis as a result of this Act's amendments in modifying contracts with such organizations. Requires such organizations to adjust their agreements with Medicare beneficiaries in consideration of such amendments. Directs the Secretary to request the Institute of Medicine to perform a study to determine which prescription drugs should have their costs covered by the Medicare program or counted toward the part B beneficiary's out-of-pocket expense limit. Requires the Institute to submit an interim report within six months and a final report within one year of this Act's enactment to the Secretary and the Congress regarding such study. Creates an extension period of hospice care for terminally ill beneficiaries which is to follow the two 90-day periods and the subsequent 30-day period of hospice care coverage currently provided in an individual's lifetime. Requires that State regulatory standards for Medicare supplemental health insurance policies be at least as stringent as the National Association of Insurance Commissioners (NAIC) Model Standards, amended within 90 days of this Act's enactment to reflect changes made by this Act. Provides that if the NAIC Model Standards are not amended, Federal model standards shall be established and serve as the basis for evaluating State regulatory standards for Medicare supplemental health insurance policies. Requires that States use savings accrued under Medicare from catastrophic Medicare coverage to expand Medicaid (title XIX of the Act) coverage of the low-income elderly and community spouses of institutionalized individuals. Directs the Secretary to report to the Congress by October 1, 1989, on a study to be conducted by the Institute of Medicine into private and public funding options for long-term care. Requires the Secretary to report to the Congress within 180 days of this Act's enactment on steps taken to eliminate the three-day prior hospitalization requirement for extended care services.
United States · United States Congress · 5 May 1987
Designates the week of October 18 through October 24, 1987, as Gaucher's Disease Awareness Week.
United States · United States Congress · 5 May 1987
Directs the President to designate the week of May 10 through May 16, 1987, as Just Say No to Drugs Week.
United States · United States Congress · 5 May 1987
Designates the week of June 15 through June 21, 1987, as National Anti-Apartheid Week and June 16, 1987, as National Anti-Apartheid Day.
United States · United States Congress · 1 May 1987
Designates August 11, 1987, as National Neighborhood Crime Watch Day.
United States · United States Congress · 30 April 1987
Authorizes and requests the President to designate May 3, 1987, as Solidarity Sunday for Soviet Jewry.
United States · United States Congress · 29 April 1987
Underground Nuclear Explosions Control Act of 1987 - Makes congressional findings concerning the testing of nuclear weapons. Prohibits the obligation of funds, during a two-year period beginning 180 days after enactment of this Act, for the conducting of an underground nuclear explosion: (1) with a yield greater than one kiloton, except for two test explosions, each with a yield not exceeding 15 kilotons; (2) at a location that is not part of a single designated test area; and (3) unless a public announcement has been made at least 30 days before the date of the explosion. Specifies that such prohibition shall not apply if the President certifies to the Congress (and the Congress approves such certification) that the Soviet Union: (1) has carried out such tests; or (2) has refused to implement reciprocal, in-country monitoring arrangements. Declares that such limitations on nuclear test explosions shall be supplanted by a U.S.-Soviet agreement which makes reductions in the number or yield of underground nuclear explosions permitted under treaties between the United States and the Soviet Union signed before January 1, 1987. Sets forth definitions. Specifies special procedures for considering legislation approving presidential certifications required by this Act.
United States · United States Congress · 29 April 1987
Medicare and Medicaid Nursing Home Quality Care Amendments of 1987 - Amends titles XVIII (Medicare) and XIX (Medicaid) of the Social Security Act to impose a common set of requirements on Medicare skilled nursing facilities and Medicaid intermediate care facilities (nursing facilities). Includes within such set requirements that nursing facilities: (1) maintain clinical records on all residents and assess, upon the resident's admission and periodically thereafter, the resident's mental, physical, and psychosocial needs, utilizing a minimum data set to be established by the Secretary of Health and Human Services; (2) provide 24-hour nursing services, employ at least one full-time registered professional nurse (both staffing requirements are currently imposed on skilled nursing facilities), and employ at least one full-time social worker; (3) provide care without requiring certain assurances regarding the source of payment for such services or discriminating against individuals who are eligible for Medicare or Medicaid; (4) protect specified resident rights and notify residents regarding such rights; (5) transfer or discharge a resident without the resident's consent only when such action is essential to the resident's welfare, the health or safety of others would otherwise be endangered, or the resident fails to pay allowable charges, and only after complying with specified procedures; (6) provide the Secretary, the States, service providers, and resident relatives with specified access and visitation rights; (7) maintain a quality assessment and assurance program which is attuned to the comments and complaints of nursing facility staff and residents; (8) require each of their nursing aides to successfully complete a training and testing program that entails competency-based testing before the assumption of direct resident care and at least 100 hours of initial training; and (9) protect a resident's personal funds. Requires, in addition, that Medicare skilled nursing facilities create or revise a written plan of care for each of their residents after making an assessment of a resident's mental, physical, and psychosocial needs. Directs the Secretary to establish a program providing grants to Medicare skilled nursing facilities for facility projects that enhance the quality of care or life of facility residents. Sets forth reporting requirements. Authorizes appropriations for such program for FY 1988 through 1990. Provides for Federal inspection and certification of Medicaid intermediate care facilities. (Currently States survey and certify such facilities.) Requires that intermediate care and skilled nursing survey results be posted in a place accessible to patients. Amends part A (General Provisions) of title XI of the Act to authorize the Secretary to make provider performance reports available to the public after giving the provider 30 days (currently, 60 days) to review and comment on such reports, but removes time restrictions on the release of such information to ombudsmen. Amends the Medicare program to make the Secretary responsible for certifying State nursing facilities and States responsible for certifying other nursing facilities. Bases such certification on surveys to be conducted by a multidisciplinary team of professionals upon any change in the ownership of the nursing facility and, on an unannounced basis, at nine- to 15-month intervals. Subjects nursing facilities with poor compliance records to extended surveys. Directs the Secretary to develop and test a protocol for conducting surveys. Requires States to: (1) provide for the investigation of complaints against nursing facilities; (2) use specialized survey teams to survey and carry out enforcement action against chronically substandard nursing facilities; and (3) provide survey teams with specified training in survey and certification techniques. Requires that State long-term care ombudsmen be notified of any adverse action to be taken against a nursing facility. Directs the Secretary to establish criteria and procedures for evaluating a nursing facility's plans for the correction of its violation of Medicare and Medicaid nursing facility standards. Requires the Secretary to: (1) conduct surveys of no fewer than five percent of the nursing facilities surveyed by each State in a year to test the adequacy of each State's surveys; and (2) prescribe standards for measuring the performance of State survey and certification programs and sanctions against States failing to meet such standards. Requires that survey results and nursing facility cost report information be made available to the public. Directs the Secretary and the States to develop: (1) a range of intermediate sanctions to apply to nursing facilities whose violation of nursing facility standards does not immediately jeopardize the health and safety of their residents; and (2) specific criteria as to when and how intermediate sanctions are to be applied, with incrementally more severe fines being imposed for repeated or uncorrected deficiencies. Requires the Secretary to review, at least once every three months, the effectiveness of intermediate sanctions imposed by States. Authorizes the Secretary and the States to appoint a receiver to establish and oversee the implementation of a plan to bring nursing facilities into compliance with Medicare and Medicaid requirements when they chronically fail to satisfy such requirements or their deficiencies immediately jeopardize residents' health and safety. Directs the Secretary to compile and periodically update a list of items and services covered under each State Medicaid plan and make such list available to Medicaid beneficiaries and providers. Amends part A (General Provisions) of title IX of the Act to require the Director of the Office of Technology Assessment to establish a National Commission on Long-Term Care composed of members having expertise in the provision and financing of long-term care. Requires the Commission to advise the Congress regarding: (1) methods of ensuring the quality of care in long-term care facilities and home-care programs; (2) the costs, appropriate staffing, and reimbursement of such facilities and programs; and (3) the access of Medicare and Medicaid beneficiaries to such facilities and programs. Sets forth reporting requirements. Authorizes appropriations for such Commission.
United States · United States Congress · 29 April 1987
Directs the Secretary of State to prepare and annually update a report describing the scientific, economic, environmental, agricultural, and public health effects, including the number of deaths and injuries, of the April 1986 accident at the Chernobyl nuclear power plant in the Soviet Union. Expresses the sense of the Congress that: (1) the President should initiate negotiations with the Soviet Union for the purpose of establishing an international medical center in the Soviet Union to treat victims of the Chernobyl nuclear accident; (2) such negotiations should include proposals that any concerned government should be allowed to send medical personnel to serve on the staff of such center and that the costs of operating such center should be shared among all participating nations; (3) the United States should participate in such center only if the center's facilities and services are made available to all who need them; and (4) the United States should encourage individuals and organizations from the private sector to donate or loan necessary medical equipment, supplies, and services to such center.
United States · United States Congress · 28 April 1987
Expresses the sense of the Senate that the President should take immediate action to: (1) provide sufficient funding to increase the number of air traffic controllers to at least pre-strike 1981 levels; and (2) ensure that air safety is given the highest funding priority.
United States · United States Congress · 27 April 1987
Expresses the sense of the Senate that the period of May 23 through May 30, 1987, is recognized as Hokule'a Week, celebrating the return to Hawaii after a two and one-half year voyage of the Polynesian Voyaging Society's sailing canoe.
United States · United States Congress · 23 April 1987
National Nutrition Monitoring and Related Research Act of 1987 - Title I: Nutrition Monitoring and Related Research - Establishes a ten-year coordinated program, to be known as the National Nutrition Monitoring and Related Research Program, which will be implemented by the Secretaries of Health and Human Services and Agriculture. Establishes an Interagency Board for Nutrition Monitoring and Related Research to facilitate the implementation of such program. Authorizes the Secretaries to appoint an Administrator of Nutrition Monitoring and Related Research to coordinate such program. Sets forth the functions of the Secretaries with respect to such program, including: (1) establishing matching grants programs for specified nutritional and dietary purposes; and (2) submitting an annual report to the President for transmittal to the Congress. Requires the Secretaries to prepare and implement a comprehensive national nutrition monitoring and related research plan which shall: (1) assess and report on U.S. nutritional and dietary trends; (2) assess and report on low-income food and household expenditures; (3) sponsor and conduct research; (4) develop and update a national dietary and nutritional status data bank; (5) assist State and local agencies in developing procedures and networks for nutrition monitoring and surveillance; and (6) focus the activities of Federal agencies. Requires the plan to allocate the project functions and activities among the various Federal agencies and offices involved. Provides that the comprehensive plan shall be carried out during the period ending with the close of the ninth fiscal year following the fiscal year in which the final comprehensive plan is submitted. Requires the Secretaries to provide for and coordinate such scientific research and development as may be necessary to support the coordinated program and comprehensive plan. Authorizes appropriations. Title II: National Nutrition Monitoring Advisory Council - Establishes an 11-member Advisory Council to: (1) provide scientific and technical advice on the development and implementation of all components of the coordinated program and the comprehensive plan; (2) evaluate such program and plan; and (3) submit an annual report to the Secretaries. Title III: Dietary Guidance -Directs the Secretaries, by the start of 1990 and every five years thereafter, to publish and review dietary guidelines for the general public.
United States · United States Congress · 22 April 1987
Amends title XX (Block Grants to States for Social Services) of the Social Security Act to increase amounts authorized for fiscal years succeeding FY 1987.
United States · United States Congress · 22 April 1987
Medicare Home Health Services Improvement Act of 1987 - Amends title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act to permit patients to receive Medicare home health services on a daily basis for up to 60 days, and longer when the patient's physician certifies that exceptional circumstances require continued daily services. Provides Medicare coverage of up to three weeks of post-hospital skilled and nonskilled home health care, as long as the cost of such benefits does not exceed the cost of care in a skilled nursing facility for an equivalent period of time. Defines as "homebound" (a prerequisite of eligibility for Medicare home health services) any person who has a condition which restricts his or her ability to leave the home without support or for whom leaving the home is medically contraindicated. Provides Medicare home health coverage for homebound individuals in need of occupational therapy. (Currently, occupational therapy is included only after an individual qualifies for home health services by reason of needing skilled nursing care or speech or physical therapy.) Requires Medicare fiscal intermediaries which perform home health payment services to provide an explanation of claim denials for home health services and promptly notify the parties requesting a reconsideration of such determinations of the results of such reconsideration. Requires fiscal intermediaries to make partial payments of disputed claims when such notice has not been transmitted within 60 days of receipt of the reconsideration request. Makes an intermediary's performance on appeals of home health care payment determinations part of the Secretary of Health and Human Services' overall appraisal of the intermediary. Requires a Medicare home health agency to: (1) protect and promote the rights of each individual under its care; (2) furnish the State licensing entity with the name and social security number of any individual hired by the agency as well as information as to whether such individual has been convicted of a felony; (3) inform the State licensing entity of changes in agency ownership or control; (4) furnish items and services through licensed health professionals or persons who have completed or are enrolled in a training program which meets minimum standards established by the Secretary by July 1988; and (5) include the patient's plan of care within its clinical records. Requires an appropriate State or local agency to conduct a standard survey every nine to 15 months and upon a change in the ownership of, or significant number of complaints against, a home health agency, of the quality of patient care provided by such agencies. Subjects home health agencies which perform poorly on such surveys to an extended survey. Directs the Secretary to evaluate the assessment process, report to the Congress on the results of such evaluation, and make appropriate modifications to such process by 1992. Requires the Secretary to develop and implement criteria and procedures for evaluating plans of correction submitted by home health agencies found out of compliance with Medicare participation requirements. Authorizes the Secretary to impose intermediate sanctions on agencies whose failure to correct deficiencies pursuant to approved plans of correction does not immediately jeopardize the health and safety of health care beneficiaries. Requires the Secretary to promulgate major Medicare rules, requirements, or policy statements through the regulatory process. Sets forth publication requirements. Directs the Secretary to publish and make available to the public without charge a directory of home health agencies certified to participate in the Medicare program, including certain information gathered with respect to each agency during the latest certification survey. Requires appropriate State or local agencies to maintain: (1) toll-free hotlines to receive complaints and answer questions regarding home health agencies in the State or locality; and (2) units with enforcement authority and access to consumer medical records and survey reports to investigate such complaints. Directs the Secretary to: (1) report to the Congress before 1988 on the appropriateness of reimbursing home health agencies on either a rural or urban basis rather than considering an agencies mix of urban and rural clientele; and (2) determine home health agency cost limits on the basis of recent agency cost reports.
United States · United States Congress · 21 April 1987
Terminates the application of certain Veterans Administration (VA) regulations relating to the reimbursement of transportation costs of claimants and beneficiaries in connection with medical care provided by the VA.
United States · United States Congress · 21 April 1987
Authorizes the classification of a named individual as a child within the meaning of the Immigration and Nationality Act.
United States · United States Congress · 21 April 1987
Authorizes the classification of a named individual as a child within the meaning of the Immigration and Nationality Act.
United States · United States Congress · 21 April 1987
Authorizes the classification of a named individual as a child within the meaning of the Immigration and Nationality Act.