United States · United States Congress · 23 January 1990
Amends title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act to gradually eliminate differences in average standardized Medicare payments to large urban, other urban, and rural hospitals, based on methodologies developed by the Prospective Payment Assessment Commission and the Secretary of Health and Human Services.
United States · United States Congress · 23 January 1990
Amends the Ethics in Government Act of 1978 and the Ethics Reform Act of 1989 to apply the same honoraria provisions to Senators and officers and employees of the Senate as apply to Members of the House of Representatives and other officers and employees of the Government. Amends the Ethics Reform Act of 1989 to repeal provisions providing for annual cost-of-living salary increases for Senators and concurrent reductions in the limit on honoraria.
United States · United States Congress · 23 January 1990
Department of the Environment Act of 1990 - Title I: General Findings - Sets forth findings with respect to Federal environmental policy. Title II: Elevation of the Environmental Protection Agency to Cabinet Level - Department of the Environment Act - Redesignates the Environmental Protection Agency as the Department of the Environment, an executive agency to be administered by a Secretary of the Environment. Establishes: (1) a Bureau of Environmental Statistics within the Department; and (2) an Advisory Council on Environmental Statistics to advise the Bureau on statistics and analyses. Authorizes appropriations. Title III: Establishment of the Interagency Committee on Global Environmental Change - Establishes within the Executive Office of the President the Interagency Committee on Global Environmental Change to assist the President in coordinating all Federal programs and annual policy plans related to global environmental change. Title IV: Environmental Role of the United States in International Organizations to Which It Belongs - Urges: (1) the Secretary of the Treasury to instruct the U.S. executive directors of the multilateral development banks to promote energy conservation and environmental protection efforts of borrowing countries when voting to issue financial or technical assistance; and (2) the Secretary of State to convene international conferences to encourage the exchange of information on energy efficiency and environmentally acceptable renewable energy sources and the adoption of a multilateral global climate protection convention. Requires the President to encourage the establishment of an international office to monitor annual generation and removal of carbon dioxide and trace gases on a country-by-country basis. Title V: Establishment of the Commission on Improving Environmental Protection - Establishes the Commission on Improving Environmental Protection to make recommendations on integrating Federal environmental law and other authorities to improve U.S. environmental protection activities. Authorizes appropriations.
United States · United States Congress · 23 January 1990
Constitutional Amendment - Provides that no person shall be elected to the Senate for more than two full terms and that no person shall be elected to the House for more than six full terms. Prohibits Senators from serving for more than 14 years and Representatives for more than 13 years.
United States · United States Congress · 22 November 1989
Declares support for the United Nations Secretary General's current peace effort regarding Cyprus. Encourages both parties on Cyprus to resume negotiations under the auspices of the Secretary General.
United States · United States Congress · 21 November 1989
Television Decoder Circuitry Act of 1989 - Amends the Communications Act of 1934 to require that any television with at least a 13-inch screen which is manufactured, or imported for use, in the United States be equipped with built-in decoder circuitry designed to display closed-captioned TV transmissions. Prohibits shipping in interstate commerce, manufacturing, assembling, or importing any such television except pursuant to rules by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC). Requires such rules to provide performance and display standards for such built-in decoder circuitry. Requires the FCC, within five years, to evaluate compatibility issues and advancement in TV technology and take any action it deems necessary to amend such rules as to ensure that such decoder chip circuitry is capable of continuing service to closed-caption consumers regardless of new broadcast technologies.
United States · United States Congress · 21 November 1989
Amends the Controlled Substances Act to allow the imposition of the death penalty, when the crime does not involve killing, upon individuals found to be principal organizers of a continuing criminal enterprise involving the manufacture or distribution of large quantities of illicit drugs or if the criminal enterprise receives $10,000,000 from illicit drug operations. (Current law provides for mandatory life imprisonment.) Changes minimum sentences for crimes involving the killing of law enforcement officers. Amends procedures, guidelines, and aggravating and mitigating factors relating to the imposition of the death penalty.
United States · United States Congress · 20 November 1989
Continental Scientific Drilling Program Act of 1990 - Establishes a continental scientific drilling program in the Geological Survey in the Department of the Interior. Directs the Secretary of the Interior to develop an implementation plan which sets year-by-year goals through at least 1995. Directs the Secretary to make grants and contracts to public and private sector entities for associated studies. Authorizes appropriations for FY 1991 through 1995.
United States · United States Congress · 16 November 1989
Eliminates post-1968 service in the National Guard as a prerequisite to civil service retirement credit for former National Guard technicians. Amends the National Guard Technicians Act of 1968 to eliminate post-1968 service as a prerequisite for National Guard technicians for receipt of credit in the determination of length of Federal civil service for purposes of leave, Federal employees' death and disability compensation, group life and health insurance, severance pay, tenure, and status. Sets forth rules for applying provisions of this Act to affected individuals.
United States · United States Congress · 15 November 1989
Cable Television Consumer Protection Act of 1989 - Amends the Communications Act of 1934 to authorize a franchising authority to regulate rates of a cable system for the provision of basic cable services and for installing or renting equipment necessary for the receipt of such services if the franchise authority determines that the cable system is not subject to effective competition. Presumes effective competition if: (1) fewer than 30 percent of the households in the cable community subscribe to the cable service of such cable system; or (2) the cable community is served by more than one multichannel video programming distributor (MVPD). Outlines the circumstances under which a cable community shall be considered to be served by more than one MVPD. Requires a franchising authority authorized to regulate rates to establish a fair and efficient method for such regulation, in consultation with the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) and the operator of any affected cable system. Requires each cable operator that relies upon compulsory licensing for secondary transmissions by its cable system (known hereafter as a participating operator) to carry the signals of qualified local broadcast stations (local non-cable stations) in accordance with this Act. Requires each participating operator to carry a specified number of qualified local broadcast stations, such number increasing with the amount of usable activated channels of such participating operator. Requires, among the signals of qualified local broadcast stations to be carried by each participating operator, the carriage of signals of at least: (1) one qualified noncommercial educational television station for an operator with fewer than 54 usable activated channels; and (2) two such stations for an operator with 54 or more usable active channels. Allows a participating operator discretion in selecting which local broadcast signals shall be carried on its cable system once the minimum number of qualified local broadcast stations presented on its system exceeds the minimum number required under this Act, with specified conditions. Makes the carriage of the minimum required number of noncommercial educational television stations nondiscretionary. Requires, when feasible, the signal of the qualified local broadcast station on the cable system to be carried on the same channel on which the local broadcast station is normally carried over the air or upon a channel mutually agreed upon by the broadcaster and the principal operator. Outlines other required standards for the retransmission by a principal operator of the qualified local broadcast stations required under this Act. Requires local signals carried in fulfillment of this Act to be carried on the lowest-priced tier of basic cable service offered by the participating operator. Requires a participating operator to: (1) identify, upon request, those local broadcast signals carried on its system in fulfillment of requirements of this Act; and (2) provide written notice to a qualified local broadcast station, the franchising authority of such cable system, and subscribers of such system at least 30 days prior to either deleting or repositioning such signal on its cable system. Prohibits a participating operator from accepting money or other consideration for the carriage of local broadcast signals as required under this Act. Authorizes a qualified local broadcast station to file a complaint with the FCC when it believes that a participating operator is not complying with signal carriage requirements enumerated under this Act. Outlines administrative procedures for FCC review and rulings on such complaints. Amends provisions concerning renewal of cable television franchises to direct the franchising authority to issue written requests for: (1) a renewal proposal from the incumbent cable operator; and (2) proposals for a new franchise from any other person who notifies the franchising authority of its interest in providing cable service in the relevant area. Directs the franchising authority to provide prompt public notice of all cable franchise proposals received and to commence an administrative proceeding to determine the disposition of each such proposal. Outlines factors to be considered by the franchising authority in determining the disposition of such proposals, including the quality, reasonableness, and compliance of such proposals with community standards as well as standards of existing franchise law and regulations. Requires the franchising authority to issue a written decision to parties submitting proposals. Requires a franchising authority to grant an incumbent cable operator's renewal proposal if the franchising authority finds that the operator's performance and proposal satisfy all applicable standards. Repeals current provisions under the Communications Act of 1934 concerning the proper bases for denial of a proposal for renewal of a cable franchise. Provides that, in any First Amendment claim against a franchising authority or governmental entity arising from the regulation of cable communications or a decision to grant or deny a franchise or otherwise regulate a cable operator, any relief shall be limited to injunctive relief, declaratory relief, and attorneys' fees, except to the extent that such a claim involves activities of such authority or entity as an owner of a cable system. Requires a franchising authority, in establishing cable franchise requirements, to specifically identify those broad categories of programming and other services that are essential to the operation of a cable system in the public interest in that community, including broadcasting in a foreign language or towards a particular minority group. Authorizes any person aggrieved by the failure of a cable operator to meet the required technical standards of a franchise to petition the FCC for an order compelling compliance with such standards. Prohibits any entity engaged in the production, creation, or distribution of video programming that is owned or controlled by, or affiliated with, one or more cable systems from discriminating in the price, terms, or availability of its programming among cable systems, cable operators, or other MVPDs who purchase such programming for delivery to consumers. Allows such person to impose reasonable, nondiscriminatory requirements for creditworthiness, service, and financial stability, and allows price differentials which are attributable to cost differentials in the creation, sale, delivery, or transmission of such programming or which are made in good faith to meet the low price of a competitor. Prohibits, after October 31, 1989, any cable operator from controlling cable systems that individually or collectively provide service to more than 15 percent of all cable subscribers in the United States. Provides an exception for a cable operator who already controls 15 percent or more of such service on such date if that operator: (1) does not acquire additional interests in cable systems; and (2) reduces its interest so that, within one year after the enactment of this Act, such percentage is within that permitted. Authorizes the FCC to waive such prohibition in individual cases for up to six months. Provides that any civil action challenging the provision of this Act relating to the carriage of local broadcast signals by cable operators shall be heard by a district court. Provides that any action holding such a provision unconstitutional shall be reviewable as a matter of right by direct appeal to the Supreme Court if such appeal is filed within 20 days after such holding.
United States · United States Congress · 25 October 1989
Tourism Policy and Export Promotion Act of 1989 - Declares it to be the national goal to increase U.S. export earnings from U.S. tourism and transportation services with an eye toward: (1) the elimination of the travel and tourism export deficit of the United States and the U.S trade deficit; and (2) the achievement of a travel and tourism export surplus. Amends the Trade Act of 1974 to require the United States Trade Representative (USTR) to identify foreign trade barriers to U.S. travel and tourism. Requires the USTR to submit the National Trade Estimate to the President and the Senate Committees on Finance and Commerce, Science, and Transportation. Amends the International Travel Act of 1961 to require each annual tourism trade development plan to focus on those countries in which tourism trade development has the greatest potential for increasing travel and tourism export revenues. Declares that the Congress finds that increased efforts directed at the promotion of rural tourism will contribute to the economic development of rural America. Establishes the Rural Tourism Foundation. Authorizes appropriations.
United States · United States Congress · 25 October 1989
Amends the Disaster Assistance Act of 1989 to specify that the "net value" rather than the "value" of a replacement crop shall be considered when making specified disaster payment reductions. Applies such reductions only to replanted acreage. Requires separate consideration of planted and replanted acreage in determining emergency crop loss assistance under such Act. Requires the Secretary of Agriculture in determining replacement crop value to: (1) consider only the amount of replacement crop production that is in excess of 50 percent of the county average yield for such crop; (2) base the value of the excess replacement crop production on average market prices for such crop over a representative period; (3) reduce such crop's value by 25 percent; and (4) consider historical cropping patterns. Authorizes the Secretary to make crop acreage base adjustments to reflect crop rotation practices due to natural disasters. Amends the Agricultural Adjustment Act of 1938 to: (1) revise the formula for determining farm poundage quotas for dark air-cured tobacco and fire-cured tobacco; and (2) revise the definition of "preliminary farm yield" for other than flue-cured tobacco. Amends the Food Security Act of 1985 to permit the Secretary to waive the principal due on agricultural regular or producer reserve loans in order to avoid loan collateral forfeiture.
United States · United States Congress · 24 October 1989
Designates the week of December 3 through December 9, 1989, as National Autism Week. Designates 1990 as the National Silver Anniversary Year for the Autism Society of America.
United States · United States Congress · 17 October 1989
Mid-Dakota Rural Water System Act of 1989 - Authorizes appropriations to the Secretary of the Interior for planning and construction of a rural water treatment and distribution system in portions of specified counties in South Dakota. Prohibits the Secretary from obligating any Federal funds for the construction of such system until the Secretary finds that appropriate non-Federal interests have implemented water conservation programs throughout the system's service area. Provides for mitigation of fish and wildlife losses incurred as a result of the construction and operation of the system. Directs the Administrator of the Western Area Power Administration to make available, from power designated for future irrigation and drainage pumping for the Pick-Sloan Missouri River Basin Program and subject to certain conditions, the capacity and energy required to meet the pumping requirements of such system.
United States · United States Congress · 6 October 1989
Airline Competition Enhancement Act of 1989 - Amends the Federal Aviation Act of 1958 to require the Secretary of Transportation to ensure that computer reservation systems are available to all air carriers, ticket agents, and other persons on a nondiscriminatory basis. Prohibits air carriers (or affiliates) from operating such a system after January 20, 1991. Prohibits such a carrier from: (1) sharing its designator code with another air carrier for computer reservation purposes; and (2) using the designator code of another to identify a flight. Amends the Federal Trade Commission Act to provide that domestic and foreign air carriers shall not be under the jurisdiction of the Federal Trade Commission with respect to enforcement against the use of unfair methods of competition or deceptive practices by such carriers in the industry. Amends the Federal Aviation Act of 1958 to declare that an air carrier operating aircraft at a concentrated hub airport shall be presumed to have been engaged in unfair or deceptive practices or unfair methods of competition in air transportation (or the sale thereof) if such carrier is a dominant air carrier at such airport. Authorizes the Secretary to seek injunctive relief in district court against domestic and foreign air carriers, or ticket agents, who have been or are engaged in unfair or deceptive practices or unfair methods of competition in air transportation. Authorizes the operator of a concentrated hub airport to assess a charge on passengers enplaning at such airport. Directs the Secretary to implement a rule that provides for the withdrawal and transfer, by auction, of slots held by domestic and foreign air carriers at high density traffic airports. Requires deposit of the proceeds from any auction in the Airport and Airway Trust Fund for use in projects to enhance airport capacity.
United States · United States Congress · 6 October 1989
Expresses the sense of the Congress that the television networks and producers should increase their activity to monitor and remove offensive sexual material from their television broadcast programming.
United States · United States Congress · 4 October 1989
Amends the Medicare Catastrophic Coverage Act of 1988 to repeal provisions: (1) setting a cap on an individual's out-of-pocket expenses under part B (Supplementary Medical Insurance) of title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act; (2) establishing the Prescription Drug Payment Review Commission and outpatient drug study and reporting requirements; (3) creating the Federal Catastrophic Drug Insurance Trust Fund and the Medicare Catastrophic Coverage Account; and (4) imposing a supplemental Medicare premium on Medicare beneficiaries whose tax liability equals or exceeds $150. Amends part A (Hospital Insurance) of the Medicare program to cover post-hospital extended care services for up to 100 days in a calendar year and other extended care services to the extent the Secretary of Health and Human Services finds will not result in an increase of Medicare expenditures or after the acute care nature of the benefit. (Currently, coverage of extended care services is provided for up to 150 days in a calendar year.) Modifies the methods of determining the coinsurance amount required of recipients of post-hospital extended care services. Directs the Secretary to report to the Congress by February 1, 1990, on reasons for the unexpected increase in cost estimates of Medicare extended care services, including recommendations for further modification of such coverage while the provision of long-term care benefits receives consideration. Limits Medicare drug benefits to immunosuppressants and home IV drugs. Provides for the annual adjustment of the Medicare part B premium in a manner which takes into account this Act's changes in catastrophic coverage. Requires Medicare supplemental insurance policies from which individuals terminated their coverage as of January 1, 1989, (or the earliest renewal date thereafter) to offer such individual a continuation of coverage under terms respecting treatment of pre-existing conditions and group rating of premiums which are at least as favorable as terms which existed on December 31, 1988. Directs the Secretary to: (1) take this Act's amendments into account in determining the payments to be made to health maintenance organizations; (2) require such organizations to adjust their agreements with Medicare beneficiaries in consideration of such amendments; and (3) notify Medicare beneficiaries of changes made by this Act's amendments.
United States · United States Congress · 29 September 1989
Satellite Television Fair Marketing Act - Amends the Communications Act of 1934 to require anyone who encrypts satellite delivered programming for private viewing to: (1) make it available for private viewing by home satellite antenna users; (2) establish reasonable character and financial criteria for distributors of such programming; and (3) not discriminate between distributors for cable television subscribers and distributors for satellite antenna users, or among distributors offering similar distribution services to home satellite antenna users. Prohibits the manufacture or sale of equipment which makes possible the reception of encrypted satellite delivered programming without the authorization of the person encrypting such programming. Provides for the private enforcement of this Act. Directs the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to undertake a notice of inquiry, conduct a semiannual review, and report to the Congress concerning the effect of decoder price and availability on the ability of consumers to receive satellite television programming. Requires such inquiry to examine: (1) the economic impact on consumers resulting from manufacturers' measures to secure encryption technologies in existing and future devices required to receive satellite television programming; (2) whether lack of competition in the manufacture of home satellite television encryption equipment has produced artificially high consumer prices for such equipment; and (3) whether a single manufacturing licensing source restricts the evolution of competition among various providers of such equipment to distributors, retail entities, and consumers. Requires the FCC to include the development and integration of satellite television encryption and transmission standards in any current and future inquiries regarding high definition television technologies. Directs the Federal Trade Commission to investigate the competitiveness of the market for satellite television programming for home satellite antenna owners and, if necessary, to establish remedies to produce a competitive market. Requires the FCC to initiate a rulemaking to facilitate the provision of network broadcasting signals to persons unable to adequately receive a signal over the air from a local licensee.
United States · United States Congress · 28 September 1989
Designates November 11, 1989, as Washington Centennial Day in recognition of the economic, social, and historic contributions of Washington State to the United States over the past century.
United States · United States Congress · 22 September 1989
Telephone Operator Consumer Services Improvement Act of 1989 - Directs the Federal Communications Commission to initiate, within 30 days, a proceeding under the Communications Act of 1934 to establish regulations to protect from unfair and deceptive practices consumers who use operator services to place interstate telephone calls and to ensure that consumers have the opportunity to make informed choices in making such calls. Provides for the timing and content of such regulations, including certain minimum requirements. Directs the Commission, in making the regulations, to consider the need to prescribe compensation, other than advance payment by consumers, for owners of competitive public pay telephones for calls routed to carriers other than the designated provider of operator services. Directs the Commission to require each provider of operator service to file an informational tariff specifying rates, terms, and conditions with respect to calls for which operator services are provided. Directs the Commission to require any provider whose rates and charges appear unjust or unreasonable to demonstrate that its rates and charges are just and reasonable. Directs the Commission to: (1) initiate a proceeding examining specified aspects of service and report to the Congress; and (2) unless the Commission finds that market forces are securing rates and charges that are just and reasonable, establish regulations requiring that rates and charges for operator services be just and reasonable.
United States · United States Congress · 20 September 1989
United Services Organization's 50th Anniversary Commemorative Coin Act - Directs the Secretary of the Treasury to mint and issue not more than a specified number of five dollar gold coins, one dollar silver coins, and half dollar clad coins to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the United Services Organizations (USO). Requires such coins to be emblematic of USO Services to military service personnel and families. Sets forth certain features of such coins and provides for their design, issuance, and sale. Terminates the minting of such coins after February 4, 1991. Requires surcharges from the sale of such coins to be deposited in a coinage profit fund and used for USO programs and to reduce the national debt. Directs the Secretary to report to the Congress semiannually through December 31, 1992, on activities under this Act.
United States · United States Congress · 4 August 1989
Legislative Line Item Veto Act of 1989 - Amends the Impoundment Control Act of 1974 to grant the President legislative line item veto rescission authority. Authorizes the President to rescind all or part of any budget authority if the President determines that such rescission: (1) would help balance the Federal budget, reduce the Federal budget deficit, or reduce the public debt; (2) will not impair any essential Government functions; and (3) will not harm the national interest. Requires the President to notify the Congress of such a rescission by: (1) special message not later than 20 calendar days after enactment of appropriations legislation; or (2) special message accompanying the budget when such rescissions have not been proposed previously for that fiscal year. Makes such a rescission effective unless the Congress, during a review period of 20 calendar days, enacts a rescission disapproval bill. Describes: (1) information to be included in the President's message; and (2) procedures to govern consideration of rescission disapproval legislation in the Senate and the House of Representatives.
United States · United States Congress · 4 August 1989
Amends Federal copyright law to permit the unlicensed viewing of videos in a hospital, hospice, nursing home, or other group home providing health care if the institution: (1) provides long-term health care services to individuals on a regular basis; and (2) serves as a temporary or permanent home for such individuals. Prohibits such institutions from levying a direct charge for the video viewing and from transmitting such video viewing via closed-circuit television or other means.
United States · United States Congress · 4 August 1989
Prohibits the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) from enforcing, during the 12-month period following the enactment of this Act, its underground petroleum storage tank financial responsibility regulations promulgated pursuant to the Solid Waste Disposal Act with respect to certain underground tank owners. Permits enforcement after such period if the Administrator of the EPA determines that such enforcement would not impose an unjust economic burden on the owners. Requires the Administrator to conduct a study for the purpose of identifying the principal economic difficulties associated with compliance by underground tank owners with EPA technical standards for such tanks. Directs the Administrator to report the results of such study to specified congressional committees.
United States · United States Congress · 4 August 1989
Mid-Dakota Rural Water System Act of 1989 - Authorizes appropriations to the Secretary of the Interior for planning and construction of a rural water treatment and distribution system in portions of specified counties in South Dakota. Prohibits the Secretary from obligating any Federal funds for the construction of such system until the Secretary finds that appropriate non-Federal interests have implemented water conservation programs throughout the system's service area. Provides that mitigation for fish and wildlife losses incurred as a result of the construction and operation of the system shall be on an acre-for-acre basis, based on ecological equivalency, concurrent with project construction. Directs the Administrator of the Western Area Power Administration to make available, from power designated for future irrigation and drainage pumping for the Pick-Sloan Missouri River Basin Program and subject to certain conditions, the capacity and energy required to meet the pumping requirements of such system.
United States · United States Congress · 4 August 1989
Interstate Compact - Grants congressional approval to the South Dakota-Nebraska Boundary Compact, which establishes a permanent identifiable compromise boundary line between Dakota County, Nebraska, and Union County, South Dakota, fixed at the centerline of the main channel of the Missouri River established by the United States Corps of Engineers. Provides for the readjustment of such boundary through negotiations if the Missouri River's flow at any point along the course forming the boundary between the States occurs entirely within one of the States.
United States · United States Congress · 4 August 1989
Requests: (1) the Soviet Union to release the prison records of Raoul Wallenberg and account for his whereabouts; and (2) the President to pursue such release and accounting through diplomatic actions with the Soviet Union.
United States · United States Congress · 3 August 1989
Older Workers Benefit Protection Act - Amends the Age Discrimination in Employment Act of 1967 (ADEA) to specify that it prohibits discrimination against older workers in all employee benefits except when age-based reductions in employee benefit plans are justified by significant cost considerations. Declares that, as used in ADEA, the phrase "compensation, terms, conditions, or privileges of employment" encompasses all employee benefits, including those provided under a bona fide employee benefit plan. Requires that the actual amount of payment made or cost incurred on behalf of an older worker be no less than that made or incurred on behalf of a younger worker, for each benefit or benefit package, in order for an employee benefit plan not to violate ADEA. Places on the employer, employment agency, or labor organization the burden of proving, in any civil enforcement proceeding brought under ADEA, that specified actions are lawful. Requires a seniority system or employee benefit plan to comply with ADEA regardless of the date of adoption of such system or plan. Applies this Act to all actions or proceedings under ADEA that were brought after June 23, 1989, or that were pending on such date (which is the date on which the Supreme Court issued the decision in Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio V. Betts).
United States · United States Congress · 2 August 1989
Rural Hospital Improvements Act of 1989 - Amends title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act to provide an additional payment to each Medicare-dependent, small, rural hospital for discharges occurring from FY 1989 through 1994 equal to the amount by which such hospitals' reasonable costs exceed Medicare payments for such discharges. Maintains the regional referral center classification and payment rate of each hospital so classified as of September 30, 1989, until the Medicare urban/rural hospital reimbursement differential is eliminated.
United States · United States Congress · 27 July 1989
Domestic Volunteer Service Act Amendments of 1989 - Title I: National Volunteer Antipoverty Programs - Amends the Domestic Volunteer Service Act of 1973 (the Act) to increase the amounts to be used for publicity, recruitment, and assignment under the Volunteers in Service to America (VISTA) program. Requires the Director of the ACTION Agency (the Director) to appoint a national Administrator of Recruitment and Placement (the Administrator) for VISTA, and to hire appropriate support staff. Revises VISTA publicity, recruitment, application, and assignment procedures. Requires the Administrator to undertake specified recruitment, publicity, and information activities, and to coordinate them with those of the Peace Corps. Includes among such activities publicizing student loan deferment and forgiveness opportunities available to volunteers. Requires attempts to involve former volunteers in information dissemination activities. Requires the Administrator to provide VISTA volunteers assignments which, to the maximum extent practicable, are consistent with their abilities, experiences, and preferences, and with the needs and preferences of the projects or programs. Requires the Director, whenever feasible and appropriate, to assign low-income community volunteers to serve in their home communities in teams with nationally recruited specialist volunteers. Requires the Director to: (1) try to assign volunteers to serve in their homes or nearby communities; and (2) make national efforts to attract other individuals to serve in VISTA. Requires the Director to consider: (1) community-identified needs which cannot be met in the local area; and (2) individual volunteer desires with regard to geographic placement. Allows a sponsoring organization to recruit VISTA volunteers. Directs the Administrator to give such locally-recruited volunteers priority for placements in the sponsoring organization that recruited them. Requires the Director to ensure that, of all VISTA volunteers: (1) at least 20 percent are age 55 or older; and (2) by FY 1991, at least 20 percent are age 18 through 27. Raises the maximum monthly stipend for VISTA volunteers from $75 to $100. Requires the Director to: (1) set a subsistence allowance for VISTA volunteers so that the the average allowance is no less than 105 percent of the poverty line (reflecting higher costs-of-living in certain areas); and (2) report to appropriate congressional committees on methods for setting such allowances. Prohibits termination of VISTA assistance to any project or organization solely on the basis of the duration of assistance previously received. Requires case-by-case consideration of renewal applications, taking into account extenuating circumstances preventing attainment of original goals. Requires that new applications from organizations previously receiving assistance be considered on an equal basis with those that have not received assistance, if the proposed project is clearly distinct from the previously assisted activities. Prohibits taking duration of assistance into account in considering applications from intermediary organizations. Title II: Service-Learning Programs - Renames the Service-Learning Programs under the Act as the Student Community Service Programs. Title III: Special Volunteer Programs - Limits the amount of any grant or contract under the Special Volunteer Programs. Renames certain Special Initiatives as Drug Abuse Education and Prevention Services and Activities. Requires the Director to give priority, in awarding grants and contracts for such activities, to projects that serve communities, including those in rural areas, which have not previously received Special Volunteer Programs assistance for drug abuse education and prevention. Requires the Director to provide for evaluation of activities and projects conducted with assistance under such provisions. Requires applications for such grants in excess of a specified amount to include data on the use of such funds. Title IV: Administration and Coordination - Requires the Director to submit to the Congress within 60 days after the start of each fiscal year a report which includes descriptions of: (1) the annual VISTA recruitment plan; (2) VISTA activities and number of applicants, applicants approved, applicants assigned, and volunteers assigned outside of their home communities; (3) efforts made to involve former volunteers in recruitment and public awareness; and (4) number and location of ACTION Agency employees assigned to VISTA recruitment and public awareness duties. Requires the Director to evaluate the VISTA Literacy Corps as a separate program at least once every three years. Title V: Older American Volunteer Program - Amends title II (Older American Volunteer Programs) of the Act with respect to the Retired Senior Volunteer Program, the Foster Grandparent Program, and the Senior Companion Program. Requires the Director to establish, within each National Older American Volunteer Program, grants to support activities that address national problems on a local level. Sets forth award criteria and grant uses. Gives grant priority to activities assisting: (1) those with chronic debilitating illnesses such as AIDS; (2) drug and alcohol abuse prevention and treatment; (3) teenage parents; (4) mentoring of youth needing guidance; (5) adult and school-based literacy; (6) respite care; (7) before and after-school programs serving children of working parents; (8) boarder babies; (9) child care, especially of children with special needs; and (10) developmentally disabled adult individuals (and, when appropriate, involvement of such individuals as volunteers). Limits funding of such grants to those years when program funding is increased by a specified amount. Increases the amount of stipends or allowances under the Foster Grandparent Program. Revises provisions relating to individuals who are not low-income persons serving as volunteers without stipends under such program. Prohibits the Director from coercing any volunteer applicant or grant or contract recipient to engage in specified conduct with respect to such unpaid volunteer positions. Requires the Director to encourage and facilitate: (1) private organizational efforts to promote National Older American Volunteer Programs; and (2) involvement of older persons as volunteers in such programs. Requires the Director to expend specified funds for special efforts to publicize such programs, including notifying grant and contract recipients of all available information. Title VI: General Provisions - Includes among authorized VISTA volunteer assignments work in addressing significant health care problems, including chronic and life-threatening illnesses and health care for homeless individuals, especially homeless children, through prevention, treatment, and community-based care activities. Requires the Director to ensure that records are maintained to indicate the degree of compliance with a requirement that certain funds for the VISTA Literacy Corps supplement and not supplant other specified funds to address the problem of illiteracy. Authorizes the Director to provide: (1) technical and financial assistance to nonprofit organizations conducting operations in several areas and States for activities addressing the problem of illiteracy; and (2) technical assistance to employers who have established or wish to establish worksite literacy volunteer programs. Requires the Director to: (1) make appropriate cost-of-living adjustments in Federal financial assistance to meet administrative costs of applicants under National Older American Volunteer Programs; and (2) report to specified congressional committees on such adjustments. Authorizes the Director to approve multiple-year grants or contracts for projects. Amends the Human Services Reauthorization Act of 1986 to revise the Community Services Block Grant Program with respect to partnership agreements addressing the needs of the poor. Directs the Secretary of Health and Human Services annually to: (1) identify new programs for replication; and (2) evaluate and report to specified congressional committees on programs funded under this Act. Title VII: Authorization of Appropriations - Authorizes appropriations for FY 1990 through 1993 for the following National Volunteer Antipoverty Programs: (1) the VISTA volunteer program; (2) the VISTA Literacy Corps; (3) Service-Learning programs; and (4) Special Volunteer programs. Requires necessary amounts to be available for increasing numbers of years of VISTA volunteer service for FY 1990 through 1993. Requires the Director to give a reasonable period of advance notice to the relevant congressional committees upon determination that a reallocation is necessary because of insufficient appropriations to carry out VISTA programs. Requires that such reallocation be made from funds for Special Volunteer programs before reallocation from other parts of title I of the Act. Authorizes appropriations for FY 1990 through 1993 for administration of the Act. Authorizes appropriations for FY 1990 through 1993 for the following National Older American Volunteer Programs: (1) the Retired Senior Volunteer Program; (2) the Foster Grandparent Program; and (3) the Senior Companion Program. Title VIII: Technical Amendments - Makes technical amendments to the table of contents, headings, and other provisions of the Act. Title IX: Effective Date - Sets forth the effective date of this Act and the amendments it makes.
United States · United States Congress · 27 July 1989
Constitutional Amendment - Prohibits fiscal year Federal outlays (except those for retirement trust funds or repayment of debt principal) from exceeding receipts (except those derived from borrowing or retirement trust funds), unless three-fifths of both Houses of Congress provide for a specific excess. Directs the President, prior to each fiscal year, to transmit to the Congress a proposed budget in which outlays do not exceed receipts.
United States · United States Congress · 26 July 1989
Essential Air Service Preservation Act of 1989 - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to make funds from the Airport and Airway Trust Fund available for the essential air transportation program under the Federal Aviation Act of 1958. Authorizes the Secretary of Transportation to enter into contracts and agreements to provide essential air services prior to September 30, 1998.
United States · United States Congress · 25 July 1989
Title I - Product Liability Reform Act - Declares that this Act governs any product liability action brought against a manufacturer or product seller, on any theory, for harm caused by a product. States that a civil action brought against a manufacturer or product seller for loss or damage to a product itself or commercial loss shall be governed by applicable commercial or contract law. Supersedes any inconsistent State law regarding recovery in such actions. Lists specific laws not superseded, including: (1) defense of sovereign immunity asserted by any State or by the United States; (2) any Federal law (except the Federal Employees Compensation Act and the Longshore and Harbor Workers' Compensation Act); (3) the Foreign Sovereign Immunities Act of 1976; (4) State choice-of-law rules; (5) the right of any court to transfer venue or to apply the law of a foreign nation or to dismiss a claim of a foreign nation or citizen on the ground of inconvenient forum; and (6) any statutory or common law cause of action, including an action to abate a nuisance, that authorizes a State or person to institue an action for civil damages or civil penalties, clean up costs, injunctions, restitution, cost recovery, punitive damages, or any other form of relief from contamination or pollution of the environment or the threat of it. Declares that U.S. district courts shall not have jurisdiction over any civil action under this Act, based on specified provisions of Federal law relating to district court jurisdiction. Declares that, if any provision of this Act would shorten the period during which a manufacturer or seller would otherwise be exposed to liability, the claimant may, notwithstanding that period, bring any civil action under this Act within one year after the effective date of this Act. Title II - Allows any claimant to bring a civil action for damages against a person for harm caused by a product under applicable State law, except to the extent such law is superseded by this title. Sets forth expedited settlement measures, including: (1) an option to include an offer of settlement, for a specific dollar amount, by the plaintiff in the complaint and by the defendant in a responsive pleading; and (2) awarding attorney's fees and costs, in certain circumstances, to the prevailing party if the other party does not accept the settlement offer. Sets forth alternative dispute resolution procedures, including: (1) an option, in lieu of or in addition to a settlement offer, for a claimant or a defendant to offer to proceed under any voluntary alternative dispute resolution procedure established or recognized under the law of the State in which the action is brought or maintained; and (2) awarding of attorney's fees and costs to the offering party if the court determines that a refusal to so proceed was unreasonable or not in good faith. Creates a rebuttable presumption that a refusal to so proceed was unreasonable, or not in good faith, if a verdict is rendered in favor of the offeror. Title III - Allows a person seeking to recover for harm caused by a product to bring a civil action against the manufacturer or seller under applicable State or Federal law, except to the extent such law is superseded by this Act. Establishes a standard of product seller liability for proximate causes of harm, established by a preponderance of the evidence, which fall under the categories of negligence or express warranty. Allows the trier of facts, in a negligence action, to consider the conduct of the seller with respect to: (1) the construction, inspection, or condition of the product; and (2) failure to pass on warnings or instructions from the manufacturer. Deems the seller not liable for failure to provide warnings or instructions unless the claimant establishes that the seller failed to: (1) provide warnings or instructions received while the product was in the seller's possession and control; or (2) make reasonable efforts to provide users with warnings and instructions which it received after the product left its possession and control. Deems a seller not liable except for breach of warranty where there was no opportunity to inspect the product in a manner which would or should, in the exercise of reasonable care, have revealed the aspect which allegedly caused the harm. Declares that the seller shall be treated as the manufacturer and be liable for harm caused by a product as if it were the manufacturer if: (1) the manufacturer is not subject to service of process in any State in which the action might have been brought; or (2) the court determines that the claimant would be unable to enforce a judgment against the manufacturer. Allows punitive damages, if otherwise permitted by applicable law, to be awarded in any civil action under this title to any claimant who establishes by clear and convincing evidence that the harm suffered was the result of conduct manifesting a manufacturer's or product seller's conscious, flagrant indifference to the safety of those persons who might be harmed by a product. Declares that a failure to exercise reasonable care in choosing among alternative product designs, formulations, instructions, or warnings is not of itself such conduct. Prohibits awarding punitive damages in the absence of a compensatory award, subject to exception. Prohibits punitive damages against a manufacturer or seller of a drug or medical device where: (1) the drug or device was subject to pre-market approval by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA); or (2) the drug is generally recognized as safe and effective under conditions established by the FDA. Prohibits punitive damages against a manufacturer of an aircraft where: (1) the aircraft was subject to pre-market certification by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA); and (2) the manufacturer complied, after delivery, with FAA requirements and obligations with respect to continuing airworthiness. Provides for separate proceedings, if requested by the manufacturer or seller, with regard to punitive damages. Lists factors the trier of fact is allowed to consider in determining the amount of punitive damages. Bars any civil action under this title: (1) unless filed within two years after the claimant discovered or should have discovered the harm and its cause, subject to exception; and (2) if the product involved is a capital good that is alleged to have caused harm which is not a toxic harm unless filed within twenty-five years after delivery of the product, provided the claimant has received or would be eligible for State or Federal workers' compensation. Excludes a motor vehicle, vessel, aircraft, or railroad used primarily to transport passengers for hire from these time limitations. States that nothing in these provisions affects the right of any person who is subject to liability under this Act to obtain contribution or indemnity from any other person who is responsible for the harm. Requires reduction in the damages awarded by the sum of all State or Federal workers' compensation benefits to which the employee is or would be entitled. Requires an action to be stayed, at the sole discretion of the claimant, until a final determination is made on the amount payable as workers' compensation benefits. Declares that, unless the manufacturer or seller has expressly agreed to indemnify or hold an employer harmless, neither the employer nor the workers' compensation insurance carrier shall have a right of subrogation, contribution, or implied indemnity against the manufacturer or seller or a lien against the claimant's recovery. Prohibits a third party tortfeasor, where workers' compensation is involved, from maintaining any action for implied indemnity or contribution against the employer, any coemployee, or the exclusive representative of the injured person. Prohibits, for a person who is or would have been entitled to receive workers' compensation, any other action, unless a State or Federal workers' compensation law permits recovery based on a claim of an intentional tort. Makes these provisions inapplicable and declares that applicable State law shall control if the employer or the workers' compensation insurer asserts a right of subrogation, contribution, or implied indemnity against the manufacturer or seller or a lien against the claimant's recovery. Declares that, in any product liability action, the liability of each defendant for noneconomic damages shall be several and not joint. Requires the trier of fact to determine the proportion of responsibility of each party for the claimant's harm. Establishes a complete defense, in any civil action under this Act in which all defendants are manufacturers or sellers, that the claimant was under the influence of alcohol or any drug and that, as a result, the claimant was more than 50 percent responsible for the event which resulted in the harm. Defines "drug" to mean any non-over-the-counter drug which has not been prescribed by a physician.
![Official portrait of Sen. Pressler, Larry [R-SD]](https://www.congress.gov/img/member/p000513_200.jpg)