United States · United States Congress · 16 October 1989
Small Governments Regulatory Partnership Act of 1989 - Title I: Establishment of the Office for Small Government Advocacy and Small Government Coordinators - Establishes within the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) the Office for Small Government Advocacy (OSGA) to: (1) receive complaints, criticisms, and suggestions concerning the regulatory policies and activities of agencies which affect small governments (governments of localities with populations of less than 50,000); (2) represent the views and interests of small governments before such agencies; (3) develop proposals for changes in such policies and activities to fulfill the purposes of this Act and communicate such proposals to appropriate agencies; (4) monitor the costs and other burdens of Federal regulation on small governments and make proposals for eliminating excessive or unnecessary regulatory burdens; (5) monitor agency compliance with regulatory function analysis provisions applicable to small governments; (6) oversee and consult with the Small Government Coordinators; (7) chair the Interagency Committee of Small Government Coordinators; and (8) consult and cooperate with the Small Government Advisory Council. Requires OSGA to be managed by a Director who is familiar with small government needs and problems with the Federal regulatory process. Requires the Director to submit an annual report to the Congress which includes: (1) a summary of proposals and actions taken pursuant to such proposals; (2) a detailed assessment of the costs and other burdens of Government regulation on small governments; (3) a description of the Director's activities under regulatory function analysis provisions; (4) an account of agency compliance with such provisions; and (5) a summary of the activities of the Interagency Committee and the Small Government Advisory Council. Requires such report to be based upon the information submitted by Small Government Coordinators. Establishes within certain Federal agencies a Small Government Coordinator to be responsible for: (1) representing the small government perspective on agency rules and policies; (2) overseeing agency efforts to comply with regulatory function analysis as applied to small governmental jurisdictions; (3) overseeing establishment of agency small government data banks; (4) reporting annually to the Director on his or her activities and involvement in rulemaking processes; and (5) participating in the Interagency Committee. Establishes within OMB the Interagency Committee to coordinate the programs, plans, activities, and policies of the Small Government Coordinators. Requires the Director to establish a Small Government Advisory Council to advise him or her to ensure that OSGA programs and policies are familiar to, and meet the needs of, small governments. Requires the Council to report annually to the Director on its activities. Title II: Small Government Considerations in the Analysis of Regulatory Functions - Authorizes the Director to appear as amicus curiae in any action brought in a U.S. court to review a rule to present his or her views with respect to its effect on small governmental jurisdictions. Revises provisions concerning regulatory function analysis to increase the scope of analysis of regulatory impact on small entities. Revises the contents of initial regulatory flexibility analyses to include: (1) a description of data resources including outreach efforts used in making certain determinations; and (2) a statement as to whether adequate information was available to determine the number of small businesses, organizations, and governmental jurisdictions affected by the proposed rule and the significance of that impact. Prohibits application of provisions relating to regulatory flexibility analysis descriptions of significant alternatives to certain proposed rules and application of final regulatory flexibility analysis to any proposed or final rule, if the agency head certifies that the rule will not have a significant impact on a substantial number of small entities. Requires agencies to publish such certification in the Federal Register with the general notice of proposed rulemaking, along with a statement explaining the reasons for such certification. Title III: Data Banks on Small Governments - Directs the General Accounting Office (GAO) to issue a report which develops and assesses: (1) at least three measures of the impact of the implementation of Federal regulations on small governments; and (2) a standard designation of government size categories which agencies can use in data collection on such governments. Requires Government Coordinators to establish and oversee data banks on small governments which shall contain all information collected by the agency relating to the impact of Federal regulations on such governments for use as an agency-wide resource to develop regulatory burden estimates. Directs the head of each agency with a Small Government Coordinator to require its offices to assist such Coordinator by contributing all information it has collected that relates to the impact of the implementation of Federal regulations on small governments. Directs Small Government Coordinators to issue guidelines to govern such information to facilitate establishment and maintenance of such data banks. Requires such guidelines to include a designation of the three measures developed by GAO and standard government size categories.
United States · United States Congress · 13 October 1989
Solid Waste Disposal Act Amendments Act of 1989 - Amends the Solid Waste Disposal Act to outline requirements for State solid waste disposal plans. Directs each State to certify to the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency that it will have adequate capacity to manage all solid waste generated in such State for the next 20 years. Requires the Secretary of Transportation to withhold 20 percent of certain funds from each State which: (1) does not have an approved plan or fails to submit such certification; or (2) fails to manage solid waste in accordance with such plan or certification. Raises the percentage of the amount to be withheld for each subsequent year of noncompliance with such plan or certification. Considers a State which is required to transport over 20 percent of its solid waste annually to another State to have failed to manage such waste in accordance with a plan and certification. Makes it unlawful for any State to transport waste in interstate or foreign commerce unless such waste is transported under a written agreement with another State under which such State agrees to accept such waste. Authorizes the Administrator to assess civil penalties or commence civil actions for unlawful transportation of waste. Permits two or more States to enter into agreements or compacts for cooperative efforts and mutual assistance for the management of solid waste. Grants congressional approval to such compacts. Makes the Interstate Commerce Commission responsible for investigating and reviewing interstate operations and agreements involving the transportation, treatment, and disposition of solid waste. Prohibits any sanitary landfill from being established within: (1) a 50 year floodplain; (2) a wetland; or (3) two miles of a State or national park, forest, wild and scenic river, or river study boundary. Requires landfills sited under the Solid Waste Disposal Act to: (1) have methods to detect and prevent leakage or contamination of soils and waters; (2) show financial responsibility capabilities for damages resulting from operations; (3) have appropriate requirements for source separation and recycling prior to disposal; and (4) have appropriate requirements for closure and postclosure care.
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 · 2 October 1989
Designates the week of October 22 through October 29, 1989, as National Red Ribbon Week for a Drug-Free America. Recognizes and commends the hard work and dedication of certain individuals and organizations and urges activities that support community and alcohol education during such week. Encourages Americans to wear or display red ribbons during such Week to present and symbolize their commitment to a healthy, drug-free lifestyle, and to develop an attitude of intolerance to the use of drugs.
United States · United States Congress · 29 September 1989
Coal Industry Health Benefit Stabilization Act of 1989 - Authorizes the transfer of surplus assets from a coal industry pension plan to a coal industry health benefits plan, under specified conditions, without certain adverse effects in tax treatment under the Internal Revenue Code. Obliges specified employers to continue to contribute to multiemployer coal industry health benefits plans. Provides that nothing in this Act shall diminish or adversely affect any cause of action of such a plan, or its board of trustees, against an employer for contributions based on a collective bargaining agreement between the employer and a labor organization which is a settlor of the plan. Directs the United Mine Workers of America and the Bituminous Coal Operators' Association to report by February 1, 1994, on the effect of this Act on the delivery of retiree health benefits in the bituminous coal industry.
United States · United States Congress · 28 September 1989
Racial Justice Act of 1989 - Amends the Federal judicial code to make it unlawful to impose or execute sentences of death under color of State or Federal law in a racially discriminatory pattern. Prohibits a person from being put to death in the execution of a sentence imposed pursuant to any law if that person's death sentence furthers a racially discriminatory pattern. Provides that ordinary methods of statistical proof shall suffice to establish a racially discriminatory pattern. States that it shall not be necessary to show discriminatory motive, intent, or purpose on the part of any individual or institution. Establishes the requirements for a prima facie showing that a racially discriminatory pattern exists. States that a State or Federal entity may rebut a prima facie showing by establishing by clear and convincing evidence that identifiable nonracial factors explain the racial disparities constituting the pattern. Requires any State or Federal entity that provides for the imposition of the death penalty to collect and maintain pertinent data on the charging, disposition, and sentencing patterns for all cases of death-eligible crimes. Provides for the appointment of counsel for all indigent clients (and the furnishing of investigative and other services) for habeas corpus actions arising under this Act. Provides that no State court determination on the merits of a factual issue pertinent to a claim under this Act shall be presumed to be correct unless: (1) the State has collected and maintained the necessary death penalty data; and (2) the determination was made in a court proceeding where the defendant was afforded his rights required under this Act. States that nothing contained in this Act shall be construed to affect the lawfulness of any sentence of death that does not violate this Act. States that the failure to raise such a claim before the enactment of this Act shall not bar future claims.
United States · United States Congress · 20 September 1989
Authorizes the transfer of the Colonial Court House of York, Pennsylvania, a national historic site, to the National Park Service. Authorizes appropriations.
United States · United States Congress · 20 September 1989
Amends the Railroad Retirement Solvency Act of 1983 to extend for two years provisions for the transfer of tier 2 railroad retirement benefit taxation revenues from the general fund of the Treasury to the Railroad Retirement Account.
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 · 18 September 1989
Amends the Internal Revenue Code to extend from December 31, 1989, until December 31, 1991, the exemption from the termination of small issue bonds for farm property and manufacturing facilities located in rural areas.
United States · United States Congress · 14 September 1989
Torture Victim Protection Act of 1989 - Imposes civil liability on anyone who, under actual or apparent authority of a foreign nation, subjects any person to torture or extrajudicial killing.
United States · United States Congress · 13 September 1989
Poland and Hungary Democracy Act of 1989 - Title I: Enterprise Funds in Poland and Hungary - Authorizes appropriations to the President for promoting the development of the Hungarian and Polish private sectors through the support of a Polish-American Enterprise Fund and a Hungarian-American Enterprise Fund. Allows the President to designate two private, nonprofit organizations as the Funds. Requires the President to designate an executive agency to grant such monies to the Funds. Permits the agency to use a specified amount of such monies for carrying out functions under this title. Makes certain commodities eligible for assistance programs under the Agricultural Act of 1949 and the Agricultural Trade Development and Assistance Act of 1954 available to the Funds to generate local currencies. Authorizes grants to be made to the Funds only if the Funds are in compliance with this title. Provides for annual audits of the Funds. Requires the Funds to ensure that: (1) each recipient of Fund assistance keeps separate accounts and financial records; and (2) the Funds have access to such records for audit purposes. Directs each Fund to publish annual reports. Title II: Labor Market Transition - Requires the Secretary of Labor to provide technical assistance to Poland and Hungary for the implementation of labor market reform and to facilitate adjustment during the period of economic transition and reform. Authorizes the Secretary to transfer a specified amount from Department of Labor funds to provide such assistance. Title III: Environmental Initiatives - Authorizes the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency to: (1) undertake environmental protection activities in Hungary and Poland; and (2) use specified amounts of funds made available for FY 1990 through 1992 under the Clean Water Act and other authorizing statutes to carry out such activities. Requires the Administrator to: (1) establish an air quality monitoring network in the Krakow metropolitan area; and (2) improve water quality and the availability of drinking water in such area. Directs the Administrator to work with U.S. and Hungarian officials and private parties to establish and support a center in Budapest, Hungary, for facilitating cooperative environmental activities between governmental experts and U.S. and Eastern and Western European organizations.
United States · United States Congress · 12 September 1989
Disadvantaged Minority Health Improvement Act of 1989 - Title I: Health Promotion and Disease Prevention for Minorities - Subtitle A: Programs for Minorities Generally - Amends the Public Health Service Act (PHSA) to provide for the establishment of an Office of Minority Health. Authorizes the Secretary of Health and Human Services to make grants and contracts for research, training, education, epidemiological studies, and data collection with respect to the prevention and control among minority groups of diseases or other adverse health conditions. Authorizes appropriations. Directs the Secretary to administer provisions of the PHSA in cooperation with specified types of individuals, agencies, and organizations. Directs the Secretary to make grants or contracts for new and innovative programs in health information and health promotion, preventive health services, and education in the appropriate use of health care, specifically targeted at improving the health status of disadvantaged minorities. Authorizes appropriations. Subtitle B: Programs for American Samoa - Directs the Secretary to make grants or contracts for health promotion and disease prevention services for American Samoans living in the continental United States and the State of Hawaii. Authorizes appropriations. Title II: Disadvantaged Minorities in Health Professions - Subtitle A: Health Professions Generally - Requires that the Federal capital contribution and the school contribution to a student loan fund under existing provisions be used only for making loans to individuals from disadvantaged backgrounds. Authorizes appropriations. Authorizes the Secretary to make grants to health professions schools for scholarships to full-time students who are members of underrepresented minority groups and are from disadvantaged backgrounds. Authorizes appropriations. Directs the Secretary to establish a loan repayment program to assure an adequate supply of health professionals who are members of underrepresented minority groups and from disadvantaged backgrounds. Requires that loan recipients agree to accept a full-time faculty appointment at certain schools for at least two years. Authorizes appropriations. Subtitle B: Nursing - Authorizes the Secretary to make grants to schools of nursing for scholarships for full-time students who are members of underrepresented minority groups and from disadvantaged backgrounds. Authorizes appropriations. Directs the Secretary to establish a loan repayment program for full-time students in their final year of study who are members of underrepresented minority groups and from disadvantaged backgrounds. Requires that loan recipients agree to accept a full-time faculty appointment at certain schools for at least two years. Authorizes appropriations. Title III: Coordination of Federal Expenditures for Health Programs of Trust Territories of the Pacific Islands - Directs the Secretary to establish the Pacific Basin Health Services Council to monitor the need for health services and health professions development in the Pacific Basin and to establish priorities for the expenditure of public health funds in the Pacific Basin. Defines Pacific Basin to mean the Federated States of Micronesia, the Republic of Palau, the Republic of the Marshall Islands, the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, Guam, and American Samoa. Requires the Council to give first priority in expending funds to continuing a specified medical officer training program. Authorizes appropriations.
United States · United States Congress · 12 September 1989
Revises the boundaries of Gettysburg National Military Park, Pennsylvania. Requires the Secretary of the Interior to take appropriate action to encourage the conservation of the battlefield setting at Gettysburg. Authorizes appropriations.
United States · United States Congress · 12 September 1989
Amends title XVII (Health Information and Health Promotion) of the Public Health Service Act to direct the Secretary of Health and Human Services to establish, in the Office of the Assistant Secretary for Health, an Office of Minority Health. Sets forth the duties of the new office regarding AIDS and other minority health matters. Requires the Secretary to appoint a Director for the new office who is a member of the Public Health Service Corps. Authorizes appropriations for title XVII for FY 1991 through 1993. Revises provisions relating to the research, community, and information programs the Secretary is authorized to conduct and support to insert references to minorities and minority communities and to make other changes. Directs the Secretary to submit to the President for transmission to the Congress an annual report on the status of minority health care efforts.
United States · United States Congress · 6 September 1989
Amends the Internal Revenue Code to authorize individuals to designate one dollar of overpayment or a cash contribution on income tax forms to the Vietnam POW/MIA Rescue Fund. Establishes such Fund to make payments to individuals as rewards for delivering into the custody of the U.S. Government a living Vietnam POW/MIA. Authorizes the granting of political asylum to individuals receiving rewards.
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 · 2 August 1989
Community Education Employment Center Act of 1989 - Authorizes the Secretary of Education (the Secretary) to make five-year grants to eligible recipients to establish and operate not more than 15 community education employment centers nationwide to meet the needs of low-income secondary students in poor areas. Sets forth requirements for such programs (including offering gifted and talented and special education programs). Sets forth requirements for building use, support services, parent, community, labor, and business participation, eligible students, eligible recipients, grant applications, evaluations, and information. Directs the Secretary to collect evaluations and other additional information and to submit one report to the Congress within three years and a second report within five years. Authorizes appropriations for FY 1990 through 1994.
United States · United States Congress · 27 July 1989
National and Community Service Act of 1989- Title I: School Based Community Service - Part A: School Based Community Service - Serve America, the Service to America Act of 1989 - Authorizes the Secretary of Education (the Secretary) to make grants to States or local applicants to create or expand service opportunities for students and out-of-school youth and for community members, particularly senior citizens, to volunteer in schools. Limits the term of such grants to three years. Authorizes the Secretary to fund: (1) one or more national or regional clearinghouses on service; (2) national model youth service programs; and (3) development of innovative curriculum materials for use in student community service programs and school volunteer and partnership programs. Authorizes appropriations for FY 1991 through 1995. Part B: Higher Education - Amends the Higher Education Act of 1965 (HEA) to revise and rename a certain program Innovative Projects for Community Service. Provides that grants for innovative projects are to encourage student participation in community service activities before, during, or after the completion of the student's higher education. Authorizes the Secretary to appoint a limited number of technical employees to administer Postsecondary Improvement Programs. Authorizes appropriations for FY 1991 through 1995 for grants for innovative projects for community service. Part C: Work Study Programs - Amends HEA provisions relating to grants for State student incentives to direct the Secretary to make an additional reservation and allotment of funds for campus-based community work learning study jobs whenever appropriations exceed a specified amount. Amends HEA provisions for Work Study Programs to: (1) decrease the maximum Federal share of compensation of students employed in the work study program from 70 percent to 60 percent for academic year 1992-1993; and (2) increase the maximum Federal share of compensation of students employed in the work study for community service-learning programs from 90 percent to 100 percent. Part D: Publication - Amends HEA provisions for the direct (Perkins) and guaranteed (Stafford) student loan programs to require publicizing of the current loan repayment deferral program for full-time volunteers with the Peace Corps, VISTA, ad tax-exempt organizations. Requires informing students of this deferral program option in their exit counseling. Requires the Secretary of Education to: (1) provide students with specified information on the deferral program; and (2) gather data on loan deferrals and cancellations for such volunteers. Part E: Direct Loans to Students in Institutions of Higher Education - Amends HEA provisions for the direct (Perkins) student loan program to provide for partial loan cancellation for full-time volunteer service with a tax-exempt organization. (Current law provides for such partial cancellation for service in the Peace Corps or VISTA.) Part F: Loan Forgiveness - Amends HEA provisions for the guaranteed (Stafford) student loan program to provide for partial loan cancellation for service in the Peace Corps or VISTA or for comparable full-time service as a volunteer with a tax-exempt organization. Title II: Youth Service Corps - American Conservation and Youth Service Corps Act of 1989 - Authorizes the National Service Board (the Board, established under title IV of this Act) to provide grants to State and local applicants to create or expand full-time or summer youth service corps programs. Sets forth provisions for grant duration and renewal, allocation of funds, and State and lcoal applications. Sets forth authorized project for conservation corps programs and for human services corps programs. Sets forth ineligible service categories. Encourages use of program services by related programs administered under the authority of the Secretary of Health and Human Services. Directs the Board to: (1) fund only programs that involve projects on public lands or Indian lands or provide a public benefit; and (2) consult with the Department of the Interior in reviewing applications proposing programs or projects on public lands or Indian lands. Requires program agencies to provide to participants: (1) in-service training and education; and (2) post-service education and training assistance. Limits enrollment in programs under this title to individuals who at the time of enrollment are: (1) 16 through 25 years of age (15 through 21 for summer programs); and (2) U.S. citizens or nationals or lawful permanent resident aliens. Requires program agencies to provide post-service education and training benefits in specified amounts for each participant. Excludes such amounts from gross income for specified purposes of the Internal Revenue Code. Authorizes the program agency to provide certain services. Requires the program agency to provide necessary job guidance and placement information and assistance to participants, in coordination with other appropriate entities. Requires that each participant in a full-time youth service corps program receive a living allowance and health insurance. Authorizes the Board to develop regulations and standards for joint projects coordinating activities under this title with activities under employment and training programs administered by the Department of Labor (including the Job Training Partnership Act programs). Makes participants, crew leaders, and volunteers responsible to, and the responsibility of, the program agency administering the project. Provides that participants and crew leaders shall not be considered Federal employees, except for purposes of work-related injuries, tort claims procedure, and allowances for quarters. Authorizes appropriations for FY 1991 through 1995 to carry out this title. Title III: National Service Demonstration Program - National and Community Service Demonstration Act - Directs the National Service Board, not later than one year from the date of enactment of this title, to make grants to States to create full-time and part-time national service demonstration programs. Limits authorization to exercise an alternative voucher option to no more than 25 percent of the States. Requires that at least 25 percent of funded programs include full-time, part-time, and special senior service participants. Limits the number of States authorized to operate full-time or part-time programs in specified fiscal years. Requires program participants to perform national service to meet unmet educational, human, environmental, and public safety needs, especially those relating to poverty. Sets forth various authorized types of such national service. Requires part-time volunteers to agree to serve for: (1) at least three years but not more than six years, at the individual's discretion; and (2) two weekends a month and two weeks during the year, or an average of nine hours per week. Requires full-time volunteers to agree to serve for: (1) at least one year but not more than two years, at the individual's discretion; and (2) at least 40 hours per week. Requires special senior service participants to serve either part-time or full-time as allowed by the Board. Authorizes the Board to provide a participant with a portion of specified financial assistance if the State releases the participant from completion of service for compelling personal circumstances. Allows individuals to serve part-time if they are: (1) age 17 or over; and (2) U.S. citizens or lawful permanent U.S. residents. Requires States, in selecting part-time participants, to give priority to applicants who are currently employed. Allows individuals to serve full-time if they: (1) are age 17 or over; (2) have received a high school diploma or equivalent, or agree to work toward it while participating; and (3) are U.S. citizens or lawful permanent U.S. residents. Allows individuals to serve as special senior service members if they: (1) are age 60 or over; and (2) meet eligibility criteria established by the Board. Directs the Board to provide to each participant annually a nontransferable voucher equal to: (1) $3,000 for each year of part-time service; and (2) $8,500 for each year of full-time service. Makes special senior service participants ineligible for such vouchers. Limits use of such vouchers to payment of: (1) a student loan; (2) downpayment or closing costs for a first home; or (3) tuition at an institution of higher education on a full-time basis, or expenses of full-time participation in an approved apprenticeship program. Allows some States to apply to the Board for authorization to offer an alternative option limiting voucher use to either those education or those housing purposes. Excludes such vouchers from gross income for specified Internal Revenue Code purposes. Requires that each full-time participant receive a living allowance and health insurance. Requires that each full-time special senior service participant receive an equivalent living allowance and such other assistance as the Board considers necessary and appropriate. Requires that each participant receive three weeks of specified training conducted by the Board in cooperation with the State. Authorizes States to provide additional training. Requires that each participant receive additional training from the sponsoring organization in relevant skills. Sets forth prohibited and allowable uses of Federal funds. Requires each State receiving funds under this title to provide to each full-time participant in-service educational services and materials to enable such participant to obtain a high school diploma or equivalent. Sets forth provisions relating to the treatment of such vouchers or living allowances for purposes of certain student aid determinations under the Higher Education Act of 1965. Authorizes appropriations for FY 1991 through 1995 to carry out this title. Title IV: Corporation for National Service - Establishes the Corporation for National Service (the Corporation), as a nonprofit corporation that shall not be considered an agency or establishment of the U.S. Government. Declares that the Corporation shall be directed by a National Service Board consisting of members appointed by the President, by and with the advice and consent of the Senate. Directs the Corporation, pursuant to title III of this Act, to: (1) issue housing and education vouchers; and (2) establish living allowances, taking account of variations in the cost of living. Requires each State receiving funds under specified provisions of this Act to report annually to the Board on the status of national and community youth service programs in that State and on compliance with specified nonduplication and nondisplacement requirements. Authorizes States to require local grantees to supply necessary information for such reports. Requires the Board to report annually to specified congressional committees. Requires each State applying for funds under titles IA, II, or III of this Act to form a State Advisory Board for National and Community Service, with members appointed by the Governor. Sets forth State board duties, including coordinating service programs with related programs, disseminating information, recruiting participants, and developing materials and activities. Directs the National Board to provide for continuing evaluation of programs assisted under titles II and III of this Act. Sets a deadline for the evaluation of title III programs' effectiveness in reaching specified objectives. Directs the Board to: (1) administer programs under titles II and III; (2) provide training and technical assistance; (3) provide one or more service information clearinghouses; (4) consult with appropriate Federal agencies; and (5) arrange for program evaluation. Authorizes the President to make Presidential Awards for service to: (1) individuals demonstrating outstanding community service; and (2) outstanding service programs. Authorizes one individual award and one program award in each congressional district, and one statewide program award in each State. Provides for dissemination of information on such individuals and programs. Directs the President to design a comprehensive Federal service strategy including specified elements. Title V: Expansion of Volunteers in Service to America - VISTA Expansion Act of 1989 - Amends the Domestic Volunteer Service Act of 1973 to authorize appropriations increasing amounts for FY 1990 through 1993 for the Volunteers in Service to American (VISTA) program. Title VI: National Older Americans Volunteer Programs - National Older American Volunteer Programs Expansion Act of 1989 - Amends the Domestic Volunteer Service Act of 1973 to require the Director of the ACTION Agency 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 for 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. Authorizes appropriations in increasing amounts for FY 1990 through 1993 for: (1) the Retired Senior Volunteer Program; (2) the Foster Grandparent Program; and (3) the Senior Companion Program.
United States · United States Congress · 24 July 1989
Amends the Internal Revenue Code to exclude from the minimum coverage requirements for pensions all railroad employees who are not covered by a collective bargaining agreement which includes a qualified cash or deferred arrangement pension plan.
United States · United States Congress · 18 July 1989
Federal Bureau of Investigation Inspector General Act of 1989 - Amends the Inspector General Act of 1978 to provide for an Office of Inspector General in the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) under the authority, direction, and control of the Director of the FBI.
United States · United States Congress · 13 July 1989
Comprehensive Illiteracy Elimination Act of 1989 - Title I: Literacy Coordination - Literacy Coordination, Research, and Dissemination Act of 1989 - Establishes the Cabinet Council for Literacy Coordination. Amends the Department of Education Organization Act to establish in the Department of Education an Office on Literacy, to be administered by a Director. Requires the Director to: (1) coordinate the administration of literacy programs within the Department; and (2) work with the Cabinet Council for Literacy to coordinate the related programs of other Federal agencies. Directs the Secretary of Education (the Secretary), through the Office on Literacy, to make a grant to establish and operate a nonprofit National Center for Literacy, with a Director of the Center. Requires such grant to be awarded on a competitive basis, and to be limited to not more than five years (renewable). Allows the Center to use such grant funds for: (1) basic and applied research; (2) technical assistance; (3) an information clearinghouse; (4) policy analysis and program evaluation; and (5) a model demonstrative program of remedial training and placement. Directs the Secretary to establish an advisory committee to advise the Secretary and the Director of the Center on policy issues and on Center selection and operation of major research and demonstration projects. Requires the Director of the Center to report annually to the Congress and the Cabinet Council. Authorizes appropriations for FY 1991 through 1995 for the Center, limiting the amount which may be used for its model demonstration program. Authorizes the Secretary to make grants to pay the Federal share of costs of establishing and operating State literacy resource centers. Limits the amount and duration of such grants. Allows each State to contract on a competitive basis with a volunteer or community-based or other nonprofit organization to operate such a State center. Authorizes appropriations for FY 1991 through 1995 for such purpose. Title II: Workforce Literacy - Workforce Literacy Act of 1989 - Amends the Adult Education Act (AEA) to authorize appropriations for FY 1991 through 1995. Earmarks funds to train professional teachers, volunteers, and administrators, emphasizing minority teacher training and training of teachers to recognize and better serve illiterate individuals with learning disabilities and low-level reading abilities. Provides that, if a majority of the illiterate population assisted under basic program provisions of AEA has been served, the authorization of appropriations for each of the succeeding fiscal years during FY 1991 through 1995 shall be equal to that for the fiscal year in which such determination is made. Provides that adult education programs for which AEA grants have been made to States shall be carried out by public or private nonprofit entities only if the applicable local educational agency has been consulted and has had an opportunity to comment on the application. Requires State educational agencies receiving such basic State grants to assure direct and equitable access to Federal funds to local educational agencies, public or private nonprofit agencies, community-based organizations, and institutions which serve educationally disadvantaged adults. Grants preference to those organizations which will serve adults with a reading ability below the fifth grade level. Raises from 20 percent to 25 percent the limit on the portion of a State's grant allotment earmarked for high school equivalency certificate programs. Requires that at least ten percent of funds received under provisions for business, industry, labor, and education partnerships for workplace literacy be used for research, teacher training (including learning disabled identification and teaching), and technical assistance. Extends the authorization of appropriations for such provisions through FY 1995. Directs the Comptroller General to update, within 18 months, a 1975 study of the adult basic education program. Title III: Families for Literacy - Families for Literacy Act of 1989 - Amends the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (ESEA) to extend through FY 1995 the authorization of appropriations for Even Start programs operated by local educational agencies. Establishes a Families for Literacy program under which the Secretary may make ten demonstration grants to nonprofit entities (or consortia of businesses, nonprofit entities, and local educational agencies) to pay 80 percent of the cost of establishing intergenerational learning programs (emphasizing literacy skills) for children aged three and under and their parents. Directs the Secretary to give priority to applicants whose programs serve hard-to-serve populations. Sets forth program requirements for staff teams and community advisory councils. Authorizes the Secretary to enter into a contract with the Corporation for Public broadcasting to produce and disseminate a family literacy program to assist parents in improving their knowledge and skills regarding early childhood education, language development, and literacy. Authorizes appropriations for: (1) FY 1991 through 1995 for the Family Literacy Program demonstration grants; and (2) FY 1991 for the family literacy program public broadcasting contract. Title IV: Books for Families - Books for Families Literacy Act of 1989 - Amends ESEA provisions for the inexpensive book distribution program for reading motivation to require the contractor (the Reading Is Fundamental organization), beginning in FY 1990 and thereafter, to: (1) give priority to programs which target rural and urban areas with large concentrations of economically disadvantaged children and students; and (2) report annually to the Department of Education on the number and description of such individuals. Amends the Library Services and Construction Act (LSCA) to extend through FY 1995 the authorization of appropriations for making specified grants under title VI (Library Literacy Programs) of LSCA. Authorizes appropriations for FY 1991 through 1995 to make grants for model library literacy centers and for the inexpensive book distribution program. Authorizes the Secretary, under LSCA, to make grants to State and local public libraries to establish model library literacy centers. Requires the Secretary to establish a peer review panel to assist in establishing criteria for awarding such grants. Authorizes the Secretary, under LSCA, to contract with the Reading Is Fundamental organization to promote the establishment of reading motivation programs which include the distribution of inexpensive books. Requires such contract to provide for: (1) giving priority to programs which target rural and urban areas with large concentrations of economically disadvantaged children and students; (2) increasing access to children's books for parents of newborns through children aged five; and (3) developing motivational materials to reach parents most disconnected from the education community, by making children's books available in specified types of places. Title V: Students for Literacy - Students for Literacy Act of 1986 - Amends the Higher Education Act of 1965 to extend through FY 1995 the authorization of appropriations for: (1) the Student Literacy Corps; and (2) College Work-Study (CWS) programs. Exempts literacy training programs and the creation and placement of literacy jobs for students from specified caps on CWS funds. Sets the Federal share of the compensation of students employed in literacy work-study training programs at 100 percent. Title VI: Volunteers for Literacy - Volunteers for Literacy Act of 1989 - Amends the Domestic Volunteer Service Act of 1973 to provide that, whenever they do not exceed a specified amount the funds for the VISTA Literacy Corps shall supplement and not supplant specified VISTA services provided in FY 1989 to address the problem of illiteracy. Establishes service-learning literacy programs. Authorizes the Director of the ACTION Agency (the Director) to make grants to and contracts with public and private nonprofit entities to enable students in secondary schools, secondary vocational schools, and postsecondary schools to serve as volunteers in projects addressing illiteracy. Gives priority to projects using peer tutoring and involving partnerships to meet a wide range of needs. Requires the Director to make grants and contracts for a program of full-time volunteer service to be known as University Year for Literacy, which establishes and supports innovative ways to use full-time students enrolled in higher education institutions as volunteers: (1) in addressing the problems facing illiterate and functionally illiterate individuals; and (2) in assisting organizations which combat illiteracy and those problems. Gives priority to individuals pursuing a course of study related to a career in a field addressing the problem of illiteracy. Authorizes the Director to make grants and contracts to provide training and technical assistance to increase the effective use of full-time and part-time student volunteers to combat illiteracy. Authorizes the Director to provide technical and financial assistance to nonprofit organizations conducting operations in several areas or States that are engaged in, or wish to become involved in, activities to solve the problems of illiteracy. Authorizes the Director to provide technical assistance in obtaining, training, and integrating volunteers to employers who have established or wish to establish worksite literacy programs. Establishes a program of literacy challenge grants. Authorizes the Director to award such grants to eligible public agencies and private organizations for a portion of the costs of community or employee literacy programs that include use of volunteers. Establishes a Retired Senior Volunteer Literacy Program (which may be jointly administered with other Retired Senior Volunteer Programs). Authorizes the Director to make grants to establish such program to enhance the role of senior volunteers in addressing the problem of illiteracy. Extends through FY 1995 the authorization of appropriations for the VISTA Literacy Corps. Authorizes appropriations for FY 1991 through 1995 for specified programs established under this Act.
United States · United States Congress · 12 July 1989
Police Corps Act - Establishes an Office of the Police Corps within the Justice Department to be headed by a Director. Authorizes the Director of the Office of the Police Corps to agree to repay the educational loans of State Police Corps program participants and reimburse them for educational expenses of up to $40,000 following their completion of: (1) an educational course of study; (2) Federal training; and (3) four years of State or local police force service. Limits participants in such programs to 25,000 people per year. Declares that the Director's obligation to pay a participant's educational expenses shall be void and the Director shall be entitled to recover from the participant the amount of any interest on an educational loan that the Director has paid if the participant fails to complete the educational study, Federal training, and required service unless the failure is the result of death or permanent disability. Entitles a dependent child of a law enforcement officer who is not a program participant and who is killed in the line of duty to the educational assistance authorized in this Act without incurring any service obligation. Sets forth selection criteria of and qualifications for participants for State Police Corps programs. Requires each State participating in the Police Corps to make special efforts to seek and recruit minorities without relaxing admission standards. Requires the Director to establish up to three training centers to provide basic law enforcement training to State Police Corps program participants. Requires participants to attend two eight-week training sessions at such training centers and to meet certain performance standards in order to remain in the Police Corps program. Requires the Director to pay participants a weekly stipend during training. Establishes a nine-member Board of Directors to administer such training centers. Requires the Director to serve as chairman of the Board. Requires a State, in order to participate in the Police Corps program, to submit a plan for implementing such program to the Director for approval. Requires such plan to: (1) include assurances that participants will receive additional State or local training after completing Federal training which shall count toward the four-year service obligation; and (2) provide that program participants shall be assigned to community and preventive patrol in geographic areas with the greatest need for additional law enforcement personnel. Provides for the swearing in of participants as members of the police force to which they are assigned after completing Federal training and meeting the requirements of that police force. Requires the Director to report annually to the President and the Congress. Authorizes appropriations.
United States · United States Congress · 22 June 1989
Comprehensive Violent Crime Control Act of 1989 - Title I: Firearms and Related Amendments - Amends the Federal criminal code to prohibit the transfer of firearms to non-residents of the State in which the transferor resides. Provides for the disposition of forfeited firearms. Classifies as serious drug offenses for purposes of the Armed Career Criminal Act of 1984 serious drug offenses committed by juveniles. Specifies that if a conviction was for a violent felony involving the threatened or actual use of a firearm or explosives, or was for a serious drug offense, such person shall be considered convicted for purposes of this Act irrespective of any pardon, setting aside, expunction, or restoration of civil rights. Permits the judicial officer to consider pretrial detention with respect to certain firearms and explosives offenses. Provides for enhanced penalties for: (1) the use of a semiautomatic firearm during a crime of violence or drug trafficking offense, with exceptions; and (2) possession of a firearm or explosive during the commission of such offenses. Sets forth penalties for smuggling firearms in aid of drug trafficking and for theft of firearms and explosives. Bars the sale or possession of firearms and explosives to or by persons convicted of violent or serious misdemeanor drug or narcotic offenses. Provides for the mandatory revocation of the supervised release of an individual for possession of a firearm. Increases penalties for: (1) making knowingly false, material statements in connection with the acquisition of a firearm from a licensed dealer; and (2) a second offense of using an explosive to commit a Federal felony. Prohibits the assembly of semiautomatic rifles or shotguns which are prohibited from being imported into the United States, with exceptions. Title II: Capital Punishment - Capital Punishment Procedures Act of 1989 - Amends the Federal criminal code to establish criteria for the imposition of the death penalty for Federal crimes. Requires the Government, for any offense punishable by death, to serve notice upon the defendant a reasonable time before trial or acceptance of a plea, that it intends to seek the death penalty and the aggravating factors upon which it will rely. Requires a separate sentencing hearing before a jury, or the court upon motion by the defendant, when the defendant is found guilty or pleads guilty to an offense punishable by death. Allows the defendant and the Government to present any information relevant to sentencing, without regard to the rules of evidence, but permits evidence to be excluded where its probative value is substantially outweighed by the danger of creating unfair prejudice, confusing the issues, or misleading the jury. Specifies mitigating factors which the defendant must establish by a preponderance of the information and aggravating factors which the Government must prove beyond a reasonable doubt. Sets forth special aggravating factors for espionage, treason, homicide, and the attempted murder of the President. Directs the court, or the jury by unanimous vote, to impose the death penalty upon a finding that such sentence is justified based on consideration of both the aggravating and mitigating factors. States that no person who was under 18 years of age at the time of the offense may be sentenced to death. Requires the court to instruct the jury not to consider the race, color, national origin, creed, or sex of the defendant or victim in its consideration of the sentence. Establishes procedures for appeal from a death sentence. Requires the court of appeals, upon consideration of the record and the information and procedures of the sentencing hearing, to affirm the decision if: (1) the sentence was not imposed under the influence of passion, prejudice, or any other arbitrary factor; and (2) the information supports the finding of aggravating factors. Requires the court to provide a written explanation of its determination. Sets forth procedures for the implementation of the sentence of death. Limits the circumstances under which the offense of delivering defense information to aid foreign governments is punishable by death. Provides for the imposition of the death penalty for: (1) murder committed by prisoners in Federal prisons; (2) kidnappings which result in the death of any person; (3) hostage takings which result in the death of any person; (4) attempting to kill the President of the United States (if such attempt results in bodily injury or comes dangerously close to causing the President's death); (5) "murder for hire"; (6) murder in the aid of a racketeering activity; (7) international terrorism (where the killing is a first-degree murder); and (8) engaging in a criminal enterprise activity which results in death. Increases the minimum sentence to life imprisonment for the crime of bank robbery which results in death. Provides for appointment of counsel where a defendant is charged with a crime with respect to which a sentence of death is sought and is or becomes financially unable to obtain adequate representation. Title III: Prohibited Gun Clips and Magazines - Includes ammunition feeding devices (AFDs) within the definition of firearms for purposes of Federal firearms laws. Defines an AFD to include any detachable magazine, feed strip, or similar device which has a capacity of, or which can be readily converted to accept, more than 15 rounds of ammunition, with exceptions. Prohibits the importation, manufacture, transfer, receipt, or possession of AFDs, with exceptions. Requires the Secretary of the Treasury to maintain a central registry of all such devices transferred after the effective date of this Act which, after such transfer, are not under the control of the United States or any State or political subdivision. Specifies that such registry shall include: (1) identification of the device; (2) date of registration; (3) identification and address of the person entitled to possess the device; and (4) such other information as may be required by regulations promulgated by the Secretary. Establishes additional registration procedures. Requires all AFDs to be identified by a serial number and such other identification as the Secretary may prescribe. Provides for criminal penalties for violation of provisions of this Act relative to AFDs. Authorizes specified individuals engaged in the manufacture or importation of AFDs requiring a license to continue to engage in such business pending final action on the application. Title IV: Drug Testing of Defendants on Post-Conviction Release - Requires: (1) the Director of the Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts to establish a program of drug testing of criminal defendants on post-conviction release; and (2) the chief probation officer in each district to arrange for the drug testing of such defendants. Requires, as an explicit condition of probation, parole, or supervised release of a defendant involving a felony or a specified violent or drug offense, that the defendant refrain from any unlawful use of a controlled substance and submit to periodic drug tests. Sets limitations on the authority to require such tests and to take action against a defendant based on test results. Title V: Exclusionary Rule - Exclusionary Rule Reform Act of 1989 - Amends the Federal criminal code to provide that evidence obtained by a search or seizure undertaken in an objectively reasonable belief that it was in conformity with the fourth amendment to the U.S. Constitution is admissible. States that evidence obtained pursuant to and within the scope of a warrant constitutes prima facie evidence of such a reasonable belief. States that, except as provided by statute or a rule of procedure prescribed by the Supreme Court pursuant to statutory authority, evidence which is otherwise admissible shall not be excluded on the ground that the evidence was obtained in violation of a law, rule, or regulation. Title VI: Habeas Corpus Reform - Reform of Federal Intervention in State Proceedings Act of 1989 - Amends the Federal judicial code to condition consideration of a habeas corpus claim by a prisoner on a showing of actual prejudice resulting from the Federal right violated and that: (1) State or Federal Government action precluded assertion of that right; (2) the Federal right did not previously exist; (3) the factual basis of the claim could not have been discovered by reasonable diligence; or (4) the violation asserted probably resulted in an erroneous conviction, a sentence predicated on an erroneous conviction, or a sentence predicated on an erroneous factual determination. Establishes a one-year statute of limitations for habeas corpus actions brought by State prisoners and a two-year statute of limitations for similar motions made by Federal prisoners. Vests authority to issue certificates for probable cause for appeal of habeas corpus orders exclusively in the courts of appeals. Permits denial on the merits of habeas corpus writs notwithstanding the failure to exhaust State remedies. Prohibits the granting of a habeas corpus writ with respect to any claim which has been fully and fairly adjudicated in State proceedings. Provides for appointment of counsel for a petitioner who is or becomes financially unable to afford counsel at the court's discretion, with exceptions. Title VII: 1990 Fiscal Year Authorization - Authorizes appropriations for FY 1990 to the Department of Justice for: (1) general administration; (2) the Office of Inspector General; (3) the United States Parole Commission; (4) general legal activities; (5) the Antitrust Division; (6) the Foreign Claims Settlement Commission; (7) United States Attorneys; (8) the United States Marshals Service; (9) the support of United States prisoners in non-Federal institutions; (10) fees and expenses of witnesses; (11) the Community Relations Service; (12) the United States Trustees System Fund; (13) the Assets Forfeiture Fund; (14) organized crime drug enforcement; (15) the Federal Bureau of Investigation; (16) the Drug Enforcement Administration; (17) the Immigration and Naturalization Service; (18) the Federal Prison System; and (19) Office of Justice Programs.
United States · United States Congress · 20 June 1989
Radio License Renewal and Improvements Act of 1989 - Amends the Communications Act of 1934 to direct the Federal Communications Commission, with respect to applications for radio license broadcast renewals, to grant a renewal if during the preceding term of the license the licensee: (1) has broadcast material responsive to issues of concern to the residents of its service area; and (2) has not committed violations of such Act or the rules or regulations of the Commission, which taken together would constitute a pattern of abuse. Authorizes the Commission to deny a renewal or grant limited renewal if an applicant has failed to meet such requirements. Prohibits the Commission, in evaluating a licensee's performance in broadcasting material responsive to matters of public concern, from establishing or applying any requirement with respect to the broadcast of any specific subject or quantity of material. Directs the Commission to accept the licensee's judgment if found to be reasonable and made in good faith. Prohibits the Commission, in determining whether to renew a license, from considering whether the public interest, convenience, and necessity might be served by granting a license to a competing applicant. Directs the Commission to conduct an inquiry and prescribe any necessary regulations concerning any additional information that licensees should be required to maintain and make available to the public regarding the licensee's responsibility to broadcast material responsive to matters of public concern. Makes it unlawful for a license applicant and any other person, while a license application is pending, to effectuate an agreement whereby the other person withdraws or withholds the filing of a competing application, an informal objection, or a petition to deny in exchange for the payment of anything of value by, or on behalf of, the applicant. Requires the Commission to establish a procedure for the review of informal complaints received by the Commission during the license term of a radio licensee. Authorizes the Commission to consider such complaints at the time of a license renewal if such complaints constitute a pattern of abuse for purposes of this Act or evidence of the licensee's effort to serve the public interest.
United States · United States Congress · 15 June 1989
Designates June 16, 1989, as Soweto Remembrance Day. Encourages Americans to participate in local activities designed to commemorate the victims of Soweto and to show solidarity with those who are fighting to end apartheid.
United States · United States Congress · 13 June 1989
Amends the District of Columbia Code to set a 12-month limit on the term of imprisonment which may be imposed for contempt in child custody cases. Requires the District of Columbia Court of Appeals to hear an appeal from an order of the Superior Court of the District of Columbia holding an individual in contempt and imposing imprisonment on such individual in the course of a child custody case within 60 days after such individual requests such appeal.
United States · United States Congress · 8 June 1989
Veterans' Agent Orange Exposure and Vietnam Service Benefits Act of 1989 - Directs the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to pay a monthly disability or death benefit to a veteran or his or her survivors for any disability or death of a veteran who served in the active forces in Vietnam during the Vietnam era and who suffered from non-Hodgkins lymphoma or a soft-tissue sarcoma. Provides an exception to the payment of such benefits when there is affirmative evidence that such disease was not incurred during such service in Vietnam or that there was an intervening disease since such service. Provides the rates for the payment of such disability or death benefit. Prohibits such payments when other disability compensation is being paid for such disability. Provides that such disabilities shall be treated as service-connected for the purposes of all laws administered by the Department of Veterans Affairs (Department). Terminates such payments as of April 15, 1992, unless extended by a joint resolution of the Congress. Outlines congressional procedures for the consideration of such joint resolution. Requires the Secretary to take all reasonable actions necessary to notify veterans and their survivors of the availability of such payments. Requires the Secretary to inform such recipients of the temporary nature of such payments. Provides that the disease of chloracne in Vietnam veterans shall be considered to have been service-connected if such disease became manifest to a ten percent degree of disability or more within one year after the last date on which the veteran performed such service in Vietnam. Provides a presumption of service-connection in the case of a Vietnam veteran suffering from a disease associated with effects of exposure to certain dioxins or other herbicide agents during such service in Vietnam. Directs the Secretary to prescribe regulations listing a positive association between any disease and the biological effects of exposure to an herbicide agent in Vietnam. Requires the Secretary to update such list continually. Requires the Secretary, in prescribing and revising such list, to obtain by contract the determinations and estimates of a contract scientific organization. Requires such organization to: (1) determine which diseases have any degree of association with the biological effects of exposure to an herbicide agent; and (2) estimate the extent of association between each such disease and each such biological effects. Requires the organization to determine such association specifically with respect to non-Hodgkins lymphoma, each soft-tissue sarcoma, lung cancer, and each other cancer. Outlines contract provisions required in such agreements between the Secretary and the scientific organization, including surveys, evaluations, and periodic determinations. Requires such scientific organizations to provide reports to the Secretary and the Senate and House Veterans' Affairs Committees regarding its determinations and evaluations. Requires such organization to determine, in the event of a positive association, whether there is a reasonable basis for concluding that a Vietnam veteran with the highest level of exposure to that herbicide agent in Vietnam was exposed to such agent under the circumstances necessary for such biological effects. Requires a report from the organization to the Secretary and the veterans' committees when there is no such reasonable basis found. Requires the Secretary to make certain determinations and follow-up reports after receiving such reports from the contract scientific organization, including the issuance of a report to the veterans' committees and the promulgation of positive association regulations, if necessary. Requires benefits to be continued even though a disease is removed from the regulations listing diseases having positive associations. Terminates such contracting authority ten years after the first day of the fiscal year in which a scientific organization transmits its first report to the Secretary. Provides interim regulations and special effective dates. Directs the Secretary to compile and analyze all clinical data that: (1) are obtained by the Department in connection with examinations and treatment of veterans for disabilities related to exposure to certain herbicides or to service in Vietnam; and (2) are likely to be scientifically useful in determining the association, if any, between the disabilities of such veterans and their exposure to such herbicides and other toxic substances. Requires the Secretary to submit an annual report to the veterans' committees concerning such analysis and its results. Directs the Secretary to consult with the Director of the Office of Technology Assessment (OTA) before compiling and analyzing such information. Requires the Director of OTA to review each annual report submitted by the Secretary and transmit to the Secretary an evaluation of the contents of each report. Directs the Secretary to establish and maintain a system for the collection and storage of voluntarily contributed samples of blood and tissue of veterans who performed active service in Vietnam during the Vietnam era. Outlines provisions concerning the security and authorized uses of such specimens, as well as limitations on the acceptance of such samples. Requires the Secretary to consult with the National Academy of Sciences (NAS) to the extent that an agreement has been reached with the NAS serving as the contract scientific organization for the Secretary. Requires the Secretary to consult with the Director of OTA in the event of no agreement with NAS. Directs the Secretary to establish a program to provide for the conduct of studies of the feasibility of conducting additional scientific research on health hazards resulting from: (1) exposure to dioxin; (2) exposure to other toxic agents in herbicides used in support of U.S. and allied military operations in Vietnam during the Vietnam era; and (3) active military, naval, or air service there. Requires the Secretary to report to the veterans' committees on the results of such studies. Requires the Secretary to consult with the NAS before undertaking such studies and requires the NAS to review such studies and report recommendations to the Secretary and the veterans' committees to the extent provided under any agreement between the Secretary and NAS. Amends the Veterans' Benefits Improvement Act of 1988 to require the Secretary to annually furnish updated information to affected veterans on health risks resulting from exposure to dioxin or other toxic agents in herbicides as a result of service in Vietnam during the Vietnam era. Directs the Secretary of Health and Human Services to report to the veterans' committees on the research being conducted to develop treatments for physiological absorption of dioxin and other toxic agents used in herbicides by the United States in Vietnam, including research relating to exposure to dioxin and other toxic agents outside Vietnam. Extends through December 31, 1993, the eligibility for hospital and nursing home care for veterans exposed to toxic substances in Vietnam. Amends the Veterans' Benefits Improvement Act of 1988 to authorize direct consultation between the Ranch Hand Advisory Committee and Department of the Air Force scientists conducting the Ranch Hand Study (a study of the long-term health effects of exposure to phenoxy herbicides and contaminants). Requires the preparation and submission of annual reports and a final report in connection with such study.
United States · United States Congress · 7 June 1989
Designates August 1, 1989, 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 any signatory nation which may be in violation, in particular, 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; and (4) convey to U.S. allies the necessity of unity regarding such Accords.
United States · United States Congress · 6 June 1989
Condemns the use of force by the People's Republic of China against unarmed advocates of democracy and human rights in China. Supports the President's actions, including suspension of all Government sales and commercial exports of arms to China. Praises the actions of American diplomatic personnel in China in seeking to insure the safety of American citizens there. Expresses the sense of the Senate that: (1) certain Chinese students studying in the United States should be granted permission to extend their stay; (2) applications to the Overseas Private Investment Corporation for the protection of investments in China and to the U.S. Export-Import Bank for the financing of trade with China should be reviewed; (3) U.S. departments charged with and considering liberalization of regulations relating to export licenses for sales to China should take into account the current situation; (4) the President should consult major U.S. allies to determine whether multilateral sanctions are necessary; (5) the President should inform the Congress of the results of his planned review of U.S.-Chinese relations and consult with the Congress on further actions to be taken; and (6) the Voice of America should increase its broadcasts to China.
United States · United States Congress · 1 June 1989
Amends the Carl D. Perkins Vocational Education Act to extend through FY 1995 the authorization of appropriations for programs and activities under such Act.
United States · United States Congress · 18 May 1989
Rural Partnerships Act of 1989 - Title I: Rural Business and Job Creation - Subtitle A: Rural Partnerships Investment Board - Establishes a Rural Partnerships Investment Board to provide lines of credit through local revolving funds for rural business expansion. Terminates the Board five years after enactment of this Act. Establishes in the Treasury the Rural Business Investment Fund to provide funds for such purpose. Limits an entity's credit line to $750,000. Stipulates that a State agency may receive up to $1,250,000. Requires a participating entity to: (1) provide matching funds at least equal to the line of credit; and (2) demonstrate financial institution participation. Requires only 50 percent matching funds in areas with per capita income levels below specified levels. Limits the maximum amount of Federal contributions to each State's revolving funds to $100,000. Obligates a specified amount of appropriated funds for businesses serving very distressed rural areas or providing specified rural services, including health care, elderly and handicapped services, educational services, or transportation. Authorizes FY 1990 through 1992 appropriations. Requires each participating entity to establish a local revolving fund to: (1) make loans, investments, or loan guarantees; and (2) pay for various training and related programs. Requires local revolving funds to enter into 50 percent matching loan or investment partnerships with banks and other financial institutions. Limits a fund's annual investments in any one business to $250,000. Sets forth compliance and enforcement provisions, including: (1) grounds for revocation of a line of credit; (2) investigatory authority of the Board; (3) unlawful acts of officers, directors, employees, or agents; (4) penalties; and (5) Board authority to bring an action in district court. Subtitle B: Rural Economic Development Promoted by the Rural Electrification Administration - Amends the Rural Electrification Act of 1936 to direct the Administrator of the Rural Electrification Administration (REA) to appoint an Assistant Administrator for Economic Development to carry out REA programs concerning the involvement of rural electric and telephone systems in community and economic development. Directs the Administrator to establish a technical assistance unit to assist borrowers with respect to community and economic development activities. Permits a borrower to defer loan repayments (five or ten years, depending on the project) for amounts invested in community or economic development projects. Limits such deferment to 50 percent of a project's cost. Authorizes and limits water and waste facility loans to the lesser of $40,000,000 or ten percent of fiscal year REA insured loan authority. Sets forth loan priority provisions. Requires private sector assistance under specified circumstances. Targets electrification borrower investments in: (1) the Incubation Fund established by this Act or other business incubators; and (2) community, business, or economic development projects. Expands the scope of REA rural economic development functions. Establishes in the Treasury a Rural Business Incubation Fund to make grants and reduced interest loans to electric and telephone borrowers in order to promote business incubation programs or to create rural business incubators. Requires such incubators to: (1) be operated on a not-for-profit basis; and (2) assist businesses to become viable business entities. Provides for funding of such incubators by assisted businesses, REA borrowers, and the Treasury. Deems investments by REA telephone borrowers in rural telecommunication or other rural development projects not to be dividends or capital distributions. Title II: Enhancing Human Resources - Establishes a grant program to increase rural educational opportunities through the use of telecommunications and related technologies. Authorizes FY 1990 through 1994 appropriations. Requires grantee partnerships to consist of: (1) REA borrowers; (2) specified national telecommunication organizations; and (3) educational institutions. Establishes the Rural Educational Opportunities Board to advise grant recipients, evaluate programs and technology, serve as a liaison with REA and the Secretary of Education, and review and make grant application recommendations. Requires REA and the Secretary of Agriculture to make an annual program report to the appropriate congressional committees. Provides for expedited REA telephone loans. Establishes: (1) a rural medical link telecommunications grant program; and (2) a rural business link telecommunications grant program. Authorizes FY 1990 through 1994 appropriations for such programs. Title III: Focus on Rural America by the Department of Agriculture - Amends the Rural Development Act of 1972 to direct the Secretary to establish an Extension Service rural economic and business program to permit State or county extension services to hire business development and related telecommunications specialists. Authorizes appropriations beginning with FY 1990. Directs the Secretary to: (1) establish a program to study economically distressed rural counties; (2) evaluate the nature and availability of assistance needed by such counties; and (3) report to the appropriate congressional committees in each of FY 1990 through 1993. Authorizes appropriations. Directs the Secretary to establish a rural development assistance information program. Authorizes appropriations. Directs the Secretary to report to the appropriate congressional committees by September 1, 1989, concerning the coordination of Department of Agriculture rural development activities. Directs the Secretary to conduct a study and report to the appropriate congressional committees with respect to the Department's data processing functions and whether they can be performed more economically in rural areas. Authorizes appropriations. Title IV: Rural Business and Employment Assistance - Directs the Secretary to make technical assistance grants for rural business development, including business support centers. Prohibits the use of such funds for political activity or business relocation. Authorizes appropriations. Amends the Consolidated Farm and Rural Development Act to direct the Secretary to make grants for rural technology assistance. Authorizes appropriations. Directs the Secretary to make rural emergency assistance loans to communities of less than 20,000 persons. Limits such loans to two-year periods, with a maximum of $50,000 to any one borrower. Authorizes appropriations. Title V: National Rural Information Center Clearinghouse - Directs the Secretary to establish within the National Agricultural Library a National Rural Information Center Clearinghouse. Authorizes FY 1990 through 1994 appropriations. Title VI: Water and Sewer Assistance - Amends the Consolidated Farm and Rural Development Act to increase the authorization of appropriations for small community water and waste facility grants. Directs the Secretary to establish an emergency water assistance grant program for rural and small communities (less than 3000 population, median household income below State nonmetropolitan level) with significant water shortages, or to enable such communities to comply with the requirements of the Federal Water Pollution Control Act or the Safe Drinking Water Act. Limits grants to: (1) $75,000 for existing system repairs; and (2) $500,000 for water shortage areas. Authorizes appropriations. Directs the Secretary to base loan rates for health care and related facilities solely on the income of the area to be served. Directs the Administrator of the Farmers Home Administration to establish a national rural waste water circuit rider program modeled after the existing National Rural Water Association rural water circuit rider program. Authorizes appropriations. Title VII: Miscellaneous - Directs the Census Bureau to: (1) expand data collection efforts to gather data on the changing economic conditions of rural America, including employment, poverty and income, and the labor force; and (2) employ rural residents for such efforts in FY 1990. Authorizes appropriations. Directs the Secretary of the Interior to establish regulations regarding projects funded under this Act with respect to the preservation of historic properties and historical and archaeological data. Authorizes certain Farm Credit System banks to make small community water and waste system loans. Amends the Food Stamp Act of 1977 to permit a State to designate State areas where the food stamp program (program) employment and training requirements shall be voluntary. Includes self-employment within the scope of such requirements. Increases rural program accessibility for people engaged in certain employment and training programs. Exempts from household financial resources for purposes of program eligibility the value of a vehicle used in rural areas to haul fuel or water. Amends Federal law to increase the amount of annual funds available to the Reforestation Trust Fund. Authorizes Fund use for economic diversification assistance to communities that are economically dependent upon the Forest Service. Directs the Secretary to establish a program of loan restructuring for distressed rural hospitals and health care facilities. Title VIII: Effective Date and Implementation - Makes this Act effective as of October 1, 1989, unless otherwise provided for. Sets forth the effective dates for specified implementing regulations under such Act.
United States · United States Congress · 18 May 1989
Designates June 21, 1989, as Chaney, Goodman, and Schwerner Day. Expresses the sense of the Congress that the Voting Rights Act of 1965 has helped to fulfill the promise of democracy in this Nation. Reaffirms the goal of removing remaining barriers to full voter participation in this Nation.
United States · United States Congress · 16 May 1989
National Cooperative Research Act Extension of 1989 - Amends the National Cooperative Research Act of 1984 to include a joint manufacturing venture within the scope of such Act as an activity that shall not be deemed illegal per se under the antitrust laws.
![Official portrait of Sen. Specter, Arlen [R-PA]](https://www.congress.gov/img/member/s000709_200.jpg)