United States · United States Congress · 28 June 1988
Library Improvement Act of 1988 - Provides assistance for: (1) library services for economically disadvantaged or handicapped individuals; (2) library resource sharing; and (3) library research and assessment of services. Authorizes appropriations for FY 1989 through 1993 to carry out this Act. Directs the Secretary of Education (the Secretary) to make specified allotments or reallotments to States from funds for titles I and II of this Act. Sets forth State application requirements. Title I: Library Services to Disadvantaged Americans - Directs the Secretary to make grants, from State allotments, to States to carry out projects or activities that provide new or expand existing library services to economically disadvantaged or handicapped individuals to enhance their educational opportunities or to facilitate their greater use of such services. Permits State library administrative agencies to support projects either directly or through grants to, or contracts with, public or private entities, including Indian tribes. Allows such projects to include joint projects among libraries and other types of institutions, such as schools. Specifies kinds of library projects and activities which States may support with title I funds. Requires States to use title I funds only for the support of new, or the expansion of existing, projects or activities. Prohibits States from using such funds to: (1) support a project or activity for more than five years; (2) acquire, expand, or construct buildings, other than minor remodeling to improve access to libraries or library services for handicapped individuals; or (3) pay State administrative costs under this title. Title II: Library Resource Sharing - Part A: State Grants - Directs the Secretary to make grants, from State allotments, to States to develop new, and expand existing, interstate and intrastate library networks. Permits State library administrative agencies to support projects either directly or through grants to or contracts with public or private entities, including Indian tribes. Prohibits States from using part A funds to: (1) support a new, or expand an existing, intrastate library network for more than five years; or (2) pay State administrative costs under this part. But allows a State to expend up to five percent of its grant for any fiscal year for the planning of interstate library network. Part B: Discretionary Awards - Directs the Secretary, from reserved funds, and through grants to or cooperative agreements or contracts with public or private entities, to develop new, or expand existing, interstate library networks. Part C: General Provisions - Specifies kinds of projects and activities for which part A or B funds may be used. Title III: Library Research and Assessment - Directs the Secretary, either directly or through grants to or contracts or cooperative agreements with public or private entities, to support library research and assessment projects and activities to improve library services. Specifies authorized uses for such funds. Title IV: Repeals and Effective Date - Repeals: (1) the Library Services and Construction Act; (2) title II (Academic Library and Information Technology Enhancement Research) of the Higher Education Act of 1965; and (3) provisions of the Higher Education Amendments of 1986 for a study of the effectiveness of the needs criteria for the college library resource program. Sets forth the effective date of this Act.
United States · United States Congress · 23 June 1988
Technology-Related Assistance for Individuals With Disabilities Act of 1988 - Title I: Grants to States - Directs the Secretary of Education to make grants to States for consumer-responsive comprehensive statewide programs of technology-related assistance for individuals of all ages with disabilities. Lists functions and activities which may be included in the programs. Directs the Secretary to award to States three-year grants for statewide programs of technology-related assistance for individuals with disabilities. Provides for the number and amounts of the grants. Gives States receiving grants in one fiscal year priority in the availability of amounts appropriated in the next fiscal year. Directs the Secretary to award grants in a manner that is geographically equitable and that distributes them among States that have differing levels of development of programs of technology-related assistance. Sets forth information and assurances which must accompany an application. Authorizes the Secretary to award a two-year extension grant to any State that demonstrates significant progress of a statewide program of technology-related assistance under a grant provided for in this Act. Provides for the amounts of the extension grants and for priority for previously-participating States. Specifies elements which must be included in an extension grant application. Requires each State that receives a grant under this title to submit an annual report to the Secretary. Sets forth specific requirements for reports with respect to extension grants. Directs the Secretary to establish a system to assess the extent to which States which receive grants under this title are making significant progress. Subjects any State which fails to comply with the requirements of this title to a corrective action plan. Declares that nothing in this title shall be construed to permit the State or any Federal agency to reduce medical or other assistance available or to alter eligibility under: (1) title II (Old Age, Survivors and Disability Insurance), title V (Maternal and Child Health), title XVI (Supplemental Security Income), title XVIII (Medicare), title XIX (Medicaid), or title XX (Block Grants for States for Social Services) of the Social Security Act; (2) the Education of the Handicapped Act; (3) the Rehabilitation Act; or (4) laws relating to veterans' benefits. Authorizes appropriations for FY 1989 through 1993. Directs the Secretary to reserve from amounts appropriated one percent for provision to States of information and technical assistance. Authorizes the Secretary to reserve sums as necessary to cover the cost of on-site visits. Directs the Secretary, directly or by contract, to: (1) conduct a national evaluation of the grant program authorized by this title; and (2) report to the Congress not later than October 1, 1992. Authorizes the Secretary to work with the States to consider and develop a uniform information system designed to report and compile a qualitative and quantitive description of the impact of the grant program. Title II: Programs of National Significance - Part A: Study on Financing of Assistive Technology Devices and Assistive Technology Services for Individuals with Disabilities - Requires the National Council on the Handicapped to: (1) conduct a study and make recommendations to the Congress and the President concerning financing and other aspects of technology-related assistance, devices, and services; and (2) appoint an advisory committee in accordance with the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 to assist the Council in carrying out the Council's duties under this part. Directs the heads of all Federal agencies, to the extent not prohibited by law, to cooperate with the Council. Authorizes the Council, with the consent of the agency involved, to use the resources of Federal, State, local, and private agencies, with or without reimbursement. Sets forth reporting requirements. Part B: National Information and Program Referral Network - Directs the Secretary to enter into any contract or cooperative agreement necessary in order to establish a national information and program referral network to assist States regarding such technology-related assistance, if the Secretary determines it appropriate to establish the network. Requires the contracts or agreements, if any, to be entered into before the end of 30 months after appropriations are enacted. Directs the Secretary to conduct a study of the feasibility and desirability of creating such a network. Authorizes the Secretary to enter into a contract or cooperative agreement necessary to conduct the study. Provides for the content and timetable of the study. Part C: Training and Public Awareness Projects - Directs the Secretary to enter into contracts or cooperative agreements concerning training with regard to the provision of technology-related assistance. Specifies eligible activities. Directs the Secretary to make grants to assist institutions of higher education to prepare personnel for careers relating to the provision of technology-related assistance. Sets forth priorities and specifies allowed uses of funds. Directs the Secretary to make grants or enter into contracts to carry out national projects that build awareness of the importance and efficacy of assistive technology devices and services for individuals of all ages with disabilities functioning in various settings of daily life. Sets forth allowed uses of the funds. Directs the Secretary to establish priorities for the grants and to publish the priorities, along with an explanation of how the priorities were determined, in the Federal Register. Part D: Demonstration and Innovation Projects - Directs the Secretary to make grants or enter into contracts or cooperative agreements to pay all or part of the cost of demonstration and innovation projects concerning technology-related assistance for individuals with disabilities. Sets forth allowed uses of the funds. Part E: Authorization of Appropriations - Authorizes appropriations for FY 1989 through 1993. Sets forth priorities depending on specified levels of appropriations.
United States · United States Congress · 21 June 1988
National Forest System Public Safety Act of 1988 - Amends the National Forest System Drug Control Act of 1986 to provide additional law enforcement authority for the Forest Service in dealing with Controlled Substances Act violations by: (1) removing the limitation on the number of Service personnel who may exercise specified law enforcement powers; (2) permitting the exercise of such powers by Service personnel outside of the boundaries of the National Forest System; and (3) authorizing such personnel to conduct investigations of Federal offenses committed within such System in the absence of investigation by any other Federal agency with jurisdiction. Grants the Service authority, with respect to the specified law enforcement powers, to: (1) cooperate with the Attorney General in carrying out the seizure and forfeiture provisions of the Controlled Substances Act as such activities relate to the manufacture, distribution, or dispensing of controlled substances within the System; and (2) accept law enforcement designation from any other Federal or State agency for the purpose of cooperating, as part of multi-agency task force operations, in the investigation and enforcement of any other Federal or State agency regulations which when violated involve dual jurisdictions. Establishes criminal penalties for: (1) placing injurious devices on or interfering with the administration of Federal lands; and (2) polluting such lands while manufacturing, distributing, or dispensing a controlled substance.
United States · United States Congress · 21 June 1988
Choices in Child Care Act of 1988 - Title I: Supplemental Child Care Assistance for Low-Income Working Parents - Authorizes the Secretary of Health and Human Services to make grants to the States to provide certificates to eligible individuals for child care services. Sets out eligibility criteria, including a requirement that a State submit a plan detailing its program for child care services for low-income children under 14 to enable family members to work or to participate in employment training programs. Prescribes the process for review of applications, reimbursement procedures, and reporting requirements in connection with the program. Authorizes appropriations. Title II: Block Grants to States for Activities Relating to Dependent Care Services - Amends the State Dependent Care Development Grants Act to increase the FY 1989 amount authorized for grants to States for dependent care services and to authorize FY 1990 through 1993 appropriations. Restructures the block grants program for dependent care services, enumerating a wide range of permissible uses for allotments paid to States under the program. Includes such activities as loans to establish child care services to school-age children before or after school, training programs for child care providers, scholarships to low-income individuals for child care training, activities designed to make liability insurance more available and affordable for care providers, and projects to meet the care needs of special populations. Decreases the permissible Federal share of the cost of projects under the program. Revises reporting requirements in connection with the program to require State reporting. Applies nondiscrimination provisions to the program, but permits the refusal of a fund recipient to provide services to a child on the basis of handicap under limited circumstances when other care is reasonably available. Title III: Tax Credit for Families with Young Children - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to allow an individual a refundable income tax credit for each dependent under age six who resides in the household. Sets a maximum credit of $100 per qualified dependent child. Reduces the credit for taxpayers whose adjusted gross income exceeds $20,000. Disallows the credit with respect to a dependent claimed under the dependent care income tax credit. Directs the Secretary of the Treasury to prescribe tables to be used to determine the credit amount. Provides for advance credit payments by employers to employees who provide certification of eligibility. Requires taxpayers to file information returns to reflect such payments. Revises the dependent care credit to: (1) disqualify children six years old or older from credit determinations (current law permits the credit with respect to dependents up to age 15); and (2) disallow the credit to taxpayers whose adjusted gross income exceeds $30,000. Permits businesses a ten percent investment tax credit in connection with certain depreciable property used as part of a child care facility operated by the employer on or near the work site for the care of enrollees, at least 30 percent of whom must be dependents of the employer's employees. Provides for recapture of the credit amount if the facility ceases to be a qualified child care property. Limits to $200,000 the annual qualified investment subject to the credit. Sets reduced self-employment tax rates in connection with income earned from child care services in either a family-based (at the home of the taxpayer) or in-home (at the home of the recipient child) child care facility. Amends the Social Security Act to reflect this provision. Excludes income earned from child care services from wage withholding requirements and from the surtax imposed for failure to pay estimated income tax. Title IV: Miscellaneous - Directs the Secretary of Labor to study and report to specified congressional committees concerning barriers to employer provision of child care services for their employees. Repeals the Child Development Associate Scholarship Assistance Act of 1985 (a grant program providing scholarships to low-income candidates for the Child Development Associate credential).
United States · United States Congress · 21 June 1988
Expresses the sense of the Senate that the Internal Revenue Service tax offset program should be: (1) reauthorized as soon as possible; and (2) permanently authorized.
United States · United States Congress · 17 June 1988
Federal Personnel Improvements Act of 1988 - Title I: Alternative Compensation Programs - Directs the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) to implement demonstration programs using alternative compensation systems as set forth in this Act. Provides for participation in such systems by employees in collective bargaining units. Describes the types of alternative systems as follows: (1) a system under which annual pay adjustments are made so that total pay and benefits are comparable to those of private enterprise for the same level of work; (2) a system under which annual pay adjustments are made so that rates of basic pay are consistent with those for the same level of work in private enterprise within the same geographic region; (3) a system under which conditions of employment shall be subject to collective bargaining; and (4) a system which identifies separate career categories, adjusts pay based on specified factors, provides pay differentials, and authorizes special awards and performance recognition. Title II: Higher Minimum Rates of Pay, Miscellaneous Allowances, and Other Matters - Authorizes OPM, when it finds that the Government is experiencing significant difficulty in recruiting or retaining well-qualified employees under a statutory pay system for one or more occupations in one or more areas or locations, to establish minimum rates of basic pay for one or more grades or levels, occupational groups, series, classes, or subdivisions thereof, and to make corresponding increases in all rates of the pay range for each such grade or level. Describes conditions which may require higher minimum rates of pay as: (1) pay rates for the positions involved are generally less than the rates payable for similar positions held by individuals outside the Government, or held by individuals within the executive branch of the Government; (2) the remoteness of the area or location involved; (3) the undesirability of the working conditions or the nature of the work involved, including exposure to toxic substances or other occupational hazards; and (4) any other circumstance which OPM may identify. Requires an increase in such higher minimum rates of pay by not less than any percentage of the increase in rates of pay under the General Schedule. Authorizes recruitment and retention bonus payments and advance payment of basic pay to employees eligible for higher minimum rates of pay. Eliminates the GS-11 grade requirement for paying new employees above the minimum rate of the appropriate grade. Removes the limitation on allowances based on duty at remote worksites. (Currently, such amount may not exceed $10 per day.) Removes certain limitations on uniform allowances for agency employees, including that such costs be limited to $125 per employee a year. Authorizes incentive special pay for commissioned nurse officers in the Public Health Service.
United States · United States Congress · 17 June 1988
College Savings Bond Act of 1988 - Authorizes the Secretary of the Treasury to issue college savings bonds in the interest of encouraging long-term savings for postsecondary education. Amends the Internal Revenue Code to exclude from the gross income of an individual any interest on college savings bonds to the extent these proceeds are used to pay the qualified educational expenses (tuition, fees, books, supplies, reasonable living expenses) of the taxpayer, spouse, child, or dependent at an institution of higher education, including a postsecondary vocational school. Decreases the permissible exclusion for taxpayers having adjusted gross income above $60,000, allowing no exclusion if income exceeds $80,000.
United States · United States Congress · 14 June 1988
Designates August 1, 1988, as Helsinki Human Rights Day. Requests the President to: (1) reassert American commitment to the Helsinki Accords; (2) raise the issue of noncompliance with such Accords with the Soviet Union, Bulgaria, Czechoslovakia, the German Democratic Republic, Hungary, Poland, and Romania; (3) convey to all signatories of such Accords that respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms is vital to progress in the ongoing Helsinki process; (4) convey to U.S. allies the importance of unity regarding such Accords; (5) continue his efforts to achieve, before the end of the Vienna meeting, the release of all political prisoners of the Soviet Union, an increase in Soviet emigration, resolution of all family reunification cases, cessation of all radio transmission jamming, and the repeal of laws and practices which undermine human rights; (6) seek the inclusion, in any concluding document agreed to in Vienna, of a mechanism to sustain human rights progress after the Vienna meeting; and (7) convey to signatory states the insistence of the United States for a result at Vienna that will not favor military security at the expense of human rights.
United States · United States Congress · 7 June 1988
Biennial Budget Act of 1988 - Amends the Congressional Budget Act of 1974, including provisions of the Congressional Budget and Impoundment Control Act of 1974, to revise the Federal and congressional budget processes by establishing a two-year budgeting and appropriations cycle and timetable, beginning in the 101st Congress. Defines the budget biennium as the two consecutive fiscal years beginning on October 1 of any odd-numbered year. Devotes the first session of any Congress to the budget resolution and to appropriations decisions, retaining current deadlines in most cases, specifying the year as the odd-numbered year. Changes relevant deadlines as follows to conform the congressional budget process to the biennial scheme: (1) from April 1 to March 31 for the Senate Budget Committee's report on the concurrent resolution on the budget; (2) from June 15 to September 30 for completion of congressional action on reconciliation legislation; and (3) from June 30 to September 30 for completion of congressional action on appropriations bills. Devotes each second session to authorization activity, subject to deadlines of: (1) May 15 for the submission of the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) report to the Budget Committees; and (2) the last day of the session for completion of congressional action on bills and resolutions authorizing new budget authority for the next biennium. Changes from January 15 to February 15 of each year the date by which the CBO Director must submit to the Congress a report on authorizations. Applies current law with respect to each year in the biennium in connection with: (1) CBO duties; (2) committee allocations, including restrictions on points of order; (3) the requirement prohibiting consideration of legislation providing new budget authority, spending authority, or changes in revenues or of the public debt limit prior to agreement on the concurrent budget resolution; (4) revisions of budget resolutions; and (5) procedures for consideration of budget resolutions. Requires in connection with all regular appropriations bills providing new budget authority for the biennium beginning on October 1 of any odd numbered year, that: (1) the Committee on Appropriations of the House of Representatives report to the House by June 10 of that odd-numbered year; (2) the House of Representatives pass all such bills by June 15; (3) the Committee on Appropriations of the Senate report to the Senate by June 30; (4) the Senate pass all such bills by July 31; and (5) the Congress complete action on all such bills by September 30. Requires the Director of the CBO to issue four-year projections of congressional budget action. (Current projections are on a five-year basis.) Amends provisions relating to the reconciliation process to: (1) increase from 20 hours to 100 hours the time of debate permitted in the Senate with respect to reconciliation measures; and and (2) make it out of order in both the House and the Senate to consider any reconciliation legislation changing any provision of law other than one relating to new budget or spending authority, revenues, or the amount of the public debt limit. Conforms to the biennial budget framework provisions concerning: (1) agreement of new budget authority, new spending authority, and revenue legislation with appropriate levels specified in the concurrent budget resolution; and (2) parallel agreement in connection with legislation providing entitlement authority. Revises the extent of projections to be included in CBO analyses of reported bills. Mandates that various committee reports required in connection with the concurrent budget resolution or certain bills affecting budget or spending authority or budget outlays, as well as CBO summaries and projections of congressional budget actions, contain tables corresponding to those set forth in the table of appropriation and fund accounts contained in the President's budget. Requires certain of the reports to include, in addition, estimates of budget and spending authority that will become available without congressional action, and resulting outlay estimates. Amends Federal law to require the President's budget for the biennium beginning October 1, 1989, to be set forth in the same accounts as those set forth in the table titled "The Federal Program by Agency and Account" in the budget submitted for FY 1989. Requires the President to consult with committees having jurisdiction over programs affected by proposed changes before any changes may be made in the budget tables. (Current law requiring consultation with the Budget and Appropriations Committees remains unchanged.) Conforms provisions governing the President's budget, including maximum deficit amount requirements, to the biennial framework. Changes the due date for the President's report on estimated budget outlays and proposed budget authority, making the report due at the same time as the President's budget. Requires the Joint Economic Committee to submit its evaluation of these estimates by February 25 of each odd-numbered year. (The current annual deadline is March 1). Amends Federal law to conform to the biennial framework provisions relating to: (1) year-ahead requests for authorizing legislation; (2) budget information on consulting services; and (3) the title and style of appropriations Acts. Directs the heads of Federal executive agencies, as well as congressional agencies, to provide studies, analyses, reports, and other documentation concerning program administration to assist the standing committees of the House and the Senate having jurisdiction over the programs in question. Amends the Rules of the House of Representatives to conform to the biennial framework. Makes appropriations to continue projects and activities provided for under any regular appropriations Act not enacted by the beginning of a budget period at a rate of operations not exceeding the rate provided for the project or activity in the preceding budget period. Makes these continuing appropriations available until the earlier of the day after all regular appropriations bills for the budget period are enacted or the last day of the budget period.
United States · United States Congress · 26 May 1988
Amends the Internal Revenue Code to provide that the manufacturers excise tax on bows, arrows, and related accessories shall be due and payable on the date for filing the appropriate return. (This provision corresponds to the treatment of sport fishing equipment under current law.)
United States · United States Congress · 24 May 1988
Congressional and Judicial Equal Employment Opportunity Act of 1988 - Amends the Civil Rights Act of 1964 to require that personnel actions affecting employees or applicants in the legislative and judicial branches of the Government be free from any discrimination based on race, color, national origin, religion, sex, handicap, or age. Allows Members of Congress to take into consideration an individual's domicile and political affiliation. Establishes within the judicial branch an Employment Review Board. Provides that members of the board be appointed from the retired judges of the Supreme Court and Courts of Appeals. Authorizes an aggrieved individual to file a written complaint with the Board. Establishes procedures for the Board to investigate, settle, hear, and determine the claims alleged. Provides that if a violation is found an order for relief may compel the defendant to: (1) employ or reinstate such individual on such terms and conditions as may be appropriate; (2) pay compensatory damages; and (3) pay fees and allowances of witnesses and reasonable attorneys' fees. Authorizes the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit to review, enjoin, set aside, suspend, modify, or enforce orders of the Board. Requires members of the Board to submit written reports to the Committee on Standards of Official Conduct of the House of Representatives and the Senate Select Committee on Ethics describing complaints during the reporting period involved.
United States · United States Congress · 23 May 1988
Urges the Government of Iran to uphold the human rights of all its nationals, including members of the Baha'i faith, and to restore fully the rights guaranteed by the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. Calls upon the President to: (1) monitor and report on developments affecting the Baha'i minority in Iran and in other countries; (2) cooperate with other governments in continuing to make appeals to Iran concerning the situation of the Baha'is; (3) initiate and support efforts in the United Nations and its agencies on behalf of the Baha'is; and (4) provide, and urge others to provide, for refugee and humanitarian assistance for those Baha'is fleeing their homelands to escape religious repression.
United States · United States Congress · 12 May 1988
Declares it to be the policy of the United States that employers should give reasonable advance notice to employees affected by major employment reductions. Directs the Secretary of Labor (the Secretary) to encourage: (1) employers to comply with such policy, both directly and by communications with trade associations and other employer organizations; and (2) employer organizations to develop codes of ethics or other mechanisms to publicize and promote such policy among their members. Directs the Secretary to: (1) collect data on the extent to which businesses give or do not give advance notice of major employment reductions, as well as on the circumstances surrounding such reductions; and (2) compile such data and, on request, make it available to the Congress. Authorizes the Secretary to: (1) investigate flagrant instances in which such reductions occur without advance notice; and (2) publicize the facts and circumstances surrounding such instances. Directs the Secretary to make recommendations to deter such occurrences. Requires each government contractor who is required to file a written affirmative action compliance program (pursuant to regulations issued under a specified Executive Order) to specify as an appendix to such program the minimum period of advance notice, and any exceptions thereto, that the contractor will give of major employment reductions. Provides that the substance of such appendix shall not be subject to review or approval by the Secretary or the contracting agency. Provides that nothing in this Act shall be considered to require any advance notice that would interfere with an employer's ability to raise financing necessary to prevent major employment reductions or otherwise impede the continuance of operations.
United States · United States Congress · 11 May 1988
Amends the Merchant Marine Act, 1936 to include in the term "privately owned United States-flag vessels," as used in provisions relating to cargo preference, any U.S. flag vessel designated by the Secretary of Transportation as a Great Lakes Exempt Vessel (GLEV) regardless of the number of years the vessel has been documented under U.S. laws. Authorizes the Secretary to designate each of six vessels as a GLEV to enable vessels documented less than three years to engage temporarily in trade within the Great Lakes. Prohibits any vessel engaged primarily in bulk trade from being designated as a GLEV. Prohibits any vessel from retaining its GLEV designation if it has repair, reconditioning, or maintenance work done other than in a U.S. shipyard, subject to waiver by the secretary to enable a vessel to safely sail from a foreign port. Prohibits any GLEV from serving any other U.S. seaport than the Great Lakes, subject to exception. Prohibits the Secretary from designating a vessel as a GLEV unless it has been approved by the Secretary of Defense as suitable for national defense purposes. Terminates any GLEV designation on December 31, 1990.
United States · United States Congress · 28 April 1988
Pension Portability Act of 1988 - Amends the Internal Revenue Code (IRC) and the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA) to require pension plans, including annuity plans, to provide that any single-sum distribution from the plan, with respect to an employee whose present nonforfeitable accrued benefit is $3,500 or less, be made as a direct trustee-to-trustee transfer within ten days of the employee's designation of another individual retirement plan. Requires reporting in connection with such transfers. Excludes transferred amounts from gross income for income tax purposes. Authorizes the Secretary of the Treasury to permit tax-exempt rollovers of amounts attributable to employee contributions. Prescribes special rules to govern the administration of such transfers in connection with individual retirement accounts and annuities. Imposes an excise tax, to be paid by the responsible trustee, on any failure to comply with a proper transfer request within the required period. Prescribes a rate of one percent of the unconsummated transfer for each day the request remains unfilled, with a $10 minimum and $100 maximum per day. Places liability with the person responsible for honoring the request. Amends IRC and ERISA provisions to require that distributions from individual retirement accounts and annuities be made only with the consent of the participant or beneficiary and in accordance with a timely application in accordance with the terms of the plan. Prescribes acceptable forms of distribution. Imposes an excise tax on each failure of an individual retirement plan to provide spousal survivor benefits. Fixes the rate at five percent of the amount credited to the employee under the plan immediately before the failure first occurs. Imposes a subsequent 100 percent tax when the failure is not corrected within a specified time. Amends ERISA to define an "IRA pension plan" (individual retirement accounts and annuities and their combinations) and to prescribe their treatment, applying to them generally the same participation, vesting, and other basic requirements currently applied to pension plans under ERISA. Amends the IRC to authorize an employee to elect an alternative salary reduction arrangement under a simplified employee pension plan. Provides that the employer may make elective contributions to the pension on behalf of the employee or directly to the employee in cash for any year, subject to a maximum salary reduction amount.
United States · United States Congress · 28 April 1988
Amends the Merchant Marine Act, 1936 to extend indefinitely, with regard to certain cargo preference provisions, the requirement that the Secretary of Transportation take steps to preserve the percentage share, or metric tonnage of bagged, processed, or fortified commodities experienced in calendar year 1984, of waterborne cargoes exported from Great Lakes ports pursuant to specified provisions of the Agricultural Trade Development and Assistance Act of 1954.
United States · United States Congress · 14 April 1988
Spending Control and Programs Evaluation Act of 1988 - Title I: Reauthorization of Government Programs - Sets forth a ten-year schedule for reauthorization of all Federal programs according to budget function and subfunction as set forth in the Budget of the United States Government for FY 1988. Sets forth the procedure in the House of Representatives and the Senate for the consideration of any bill, resolution, or amendment which authorizes new budget authority. States that it is not in order for either House to consider any legislation which authorizes the enactment of new budget authority for a program for a period of more than ten years, for an indefinite period, or for any fiscal year beginning after the next reauthorization date applicable to such program. Provides that before the Congress can appropriate funds for any program after its first reauthorization date, there must be a specific authorization in law to support the appropriation. Requires the committees of the Senate and House of Representatives to schedule and conduct a sunset review of programs to be reauthorized. Requires that the report accompanying such reauthorizations contain specified information and be completed during the Congress in which the program is scheduled for reauthorization. Exempts from the requirements of this Act specified programs such as interest on Federal debts, health care services, general retirement and disability payments, litigation activities which have as their objectives the protection and implementation of civil rights guaranteed by the Constitution, and specified retirement pay and benefits. Allows the reauthorization schedule set forth in this Act to be changed by concurrent resolution of the two Houses of Congress and sets forth the procedure for such change. Requires all legislation and other matters related to changes in the dates for programs under this Act to be referred to the committee with legislative jurisdiction over any program affected by the proposal and, sequentially, to the Committee on Rules in the House of Representatives and to the Committee on Rules and Administration in the Senate. Requires such committees to report any concurrent resolution or bill referred to it by a committee of legislative jurisdiction within 30 days, with a statement on each of its recommendations. Title II: Program Inventory - Directs the Comptroller General and the Director of the Congressional Budget Office, in cooperation with the Director of the Congressional Research Service, to prepare an inventory of Federal programs. Declares that the purpose of such program inventory is to advise and assist the Congress in carrying out reauthorization and reexamination requirements and to link such reauthorization and review process with the budget process. Requires the Comptroller General to submit such program inventory to each House of Congress no later than January 1, 1989. Sets forth the contents of the inventory program, including the type of authorization provided for such programs' new budget authority and the manner in which related program areas may be grouped for evaluation and review. Directs the congressional committees, the Congressional Budget Office, and the Congressional Research Service to review the program inventory and to suggest revisions. Requires that the program inventory be revised at the end of each session of the Congress, and that such revisions be reported to each House. Requires that periodic reports tabulate the progress of congressional action on bills and resolutions authorizing budget authority for programs in the inventory. Requires the Comptroller General and the Director of the Congressional Budget Office to submit periodic reports to the Congress on the adequacy of the functional and subfunctional categories for grouping programs of like missions or objectives. Title III: Program Reexamination - Requires each committee of the Senate and the House of Representatives to reexamine selected programs or groups of programs over which it has jurisdiction. Sets forth procedures for such review, and criteria for selection of program areas for evaluation. Directs each committee to consult with the appropriate committees of either the House of Representatives or the Senate in order to achieve coordination of program reevaluation. Directs each Committee to inform itself of the related activities of or assistance available from the General Accounting Office, the Congressional Budget Office, the Congressional Research Service, the Office of Technology Assessment, and other appropriate instrumentalities in the executive and judicial branches. Requires each committee to deliver a report on the reexamination to the Secretary of the Senate or the Clerk of the House at the date specified in the funding resolution first reported by such committee in 1989 and thereafter for the first session of each Congress. Allows two or more committees which have legislative jurisdiction over the same programs or portions of the same programs to examine such programs jointly and submit a joint report. Stipulates that such report: (1) contain the findings, recommendations, and justifications of the program; and (2) include specified information including, but not limited to, an assessment of the cost-effectiveness of the program and an identification of any trends, developments, and emerging conditions which are likely to affect the nature and extent of the problems or needs which the program is intended to address. Requires each executive department or agency which is responsible for a program selected for reexamination to submit a report to the Office of Management and Budget and to the appropriate committees of the Congress on its findings, recommendations, and justifications of specified aspects of the program. Title IV: Miscellaneous - Permits the committees of the Congress to obtain from agencies estimates or requests for appropriations, or requests for increases in an item of any such estimate or request, and recommendations as to how the revenue needs of the Government should be met. Sets forth administrative procedures and requirements. Directs the President, with the cooperation of the head of each appropriate agency, to submit to the Congress a Regulatory Duplication and Conflict Report for all programs scheduled for reauthorization in the next Congress. Requires that each such report identify duplicative or conflicting rules and regulations promulgated by executive departments, independent agencies, and State and local governments and contain recommendations which address such conflicts or duplications. Directs the chairmen of the House and Senate committees having jurisdiction over a program scheduled for reauthorization during a Congress to introduce a bill constituting a reauthorization within 15 days of the beginning of the second session of that Congress. Declares that it shall be in order to discharge a committee from consideration of such a bill if the committee fails to report the bill by a specified date. Makes it the duty of the Committees on Governmental Affairs and on Rules and Administration of the Senate and the Committees on Government Operations and Rules of the House to review the operation of the procedures established by this Act and to submit a report every five years beginning December 31, 1994. Authorizes appropriations through FY 1999.
United States · United States Congress · 11 April 1988
Continuing Appropriations Rescission Act of 1988 - Allows the President to rescind all or part of an item of appropriation contained in a continuing appropriations bill or joint resolution. Requires the President, before effecting such rescission, to transmit a report to both Houses of the Congress specifying: (1) the item and amount of appropriation which is proposed to be rescinded; (2) the Government entity to which the item of appropriation is available for obligation and the project or governmental function involved; (3) the reasons why the item of appropriation should be rescinded; (4) the estimated fiscal, economic, and budgetary effect of the proposed rescission; and (5) all facts, circumstances, and considerations relating to the proposed rescission. Allows the Congress to enact legislation disapproving the proposed rescission. Prohibits the President from rescinding items of appropriation for the judicial and legislative branches.
United States · United States Congress · 23 March 1988
Amends the Revenue Act of 1987 to delay until October 1, 1988, the imposition of excise tax on wholesale sales of diesel and aviation fuels. (Under current law the tax applies to sales after March 31, 1988.)
United States · United States Congress · 21 March 1988
Designates the period beginning September 15 and ending October 15 each year as National Hispanic Heritage Month. (Current law designates the week including September 15 and 16 each year as National Hispanic Heritage Week.)
![Official portrait of Sen. Quayle, Dan [R-IN]](https://www.congress.gov/img/member/q000007_200.jpg)