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Official portrait of Sen. Wirth, Timothy [D-CO]

Sen. Wirth, Timothy [D-CO]

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2,830 records where Sen. Wirth, Timothy [D-CO] is listed as a sponsor, author, or other actor. Search with topics and years

Bill· SS. 366 (101st)referred

Rural Health Manpower Assistance Act of 1989

United States · United States Congress · 7 February 1989

Rural Health Manpower Assistance Act of 1989 - Amends part B (Supplementary Medical Insurance) of title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act to increase incentive payments by five percent for physicians who provide primary care services in rural areas. Directs the Secretary of Health and Human Services to enter into agreements with from five to ten hospitals for the conduct of three-year demonstration projects providing instruction and consultation to rural physicians. Sets forth reporting requirements. Authorizes appropriations for such projects. Requires the Secretary to conduct a study and submit a report to the Senate Committee on Finance by October 1, 1989, assessing the supply of rural health workers.

Bill· SS. 324 (101st)open

National Energy Policy Act of 1990

United States · United States Congress · 2 February 1989

National Energy Policy Act of 1989 - Establishes as national goals: (1) that the amount of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere be reduced from 1988 levels by at least 20 percent by the year 2000 through a mix of Federal and State energy policies; and (2) the establishment of an international global agreement on the atmosphere by 1992. Title I: National Energy Plan - Requires the Secretary of Energy (the Secretary) to transmit to the Congress a "least cost national energy plan" with forecasts, priorities, inventories, and targets for meeting such national goals. Sets forth the plan's contents. Mandates revision and resubmission of the Plan to the Congress every two years. Title II: Office of Climate Protection - Establishes the Office of Climate Protection which shall be responsible for: (1) participation by the Department of Energy in various domestic and international agencies involved in global climate change analysis; and (2) the monitoring of U.S. energy policies for atmospheric and global warming effects, with annual reports on such effects. Title III: Energy Efficiency - Subtitle A - Directs the Secretary to: (1) assign a high priority to energy efficiency in departmental programs, buildings, and equipment; and (2) submit to the Congress evaluation reports regarding the policy options necessary to produce a two to four percent annual decrease in the energy use per unit of gross national product through the year 2005. Mandates that the President's budget requests for FY 1991 through 1993 include the Secretary's recommendations of amounts to be set aside for innovative energy efficiency research and development. Authorizes appropriations for energy efficiency research and development programs for FY 1991 through 1993. Requires the Secretary to issue a general request for proposals dealing with energy efficiency technologies. Sets forth guidelines for Federal financial assistance for such proposals. Authorizes appropriations. Directs the Secretary to establish and provide financial assistance to joint research and development ventures with specialized private firms and investors in order to establish at least five regional centers for energy-intensive industries. Requires such industries to conduct research and development on common industrial processes to improve energy efficiency and reduce production and emission of carbon dioxide and trace gases into the atmosphere. Authorizes appropriations for such centers and requires the industries for which the centers are established to contribute matching funds starting in 1992. Directs the Secretary to establish a Federal Energy Analysis Team to analyze and make recommendations regarding energy efficiency and the use of renewable energy in Federal buildings. Sets guidelines for the Federal building energy conservation program to be implemented by the Secretary and Federal agencies. Amends the National Energy Conservation Policy Act to repeal the prohibition against the supply or installation by a public utility of a residential energy conservation measure for residential customers. Requires the Secretary to promulgate guidelines for regulations to be formulated and implemented by State governments requiring the assignment of an energy efficiency rating to residential buildings. Directs the Secretary to establish a technical and managerial support program for State and local governments adopting energy efficiency rating systems or building codes. Adds incandescent and fluorescent lamps to the list of covered consumer products to which energy efficiency standards apply. Requires the Secretary to: (1) prescribe energy conservation standards and test procedures for such projects by January 1, 1990; and (2) establish energy efficiency labels for windows. Subtitle B - Amends the Public Utility Regulatory Policies Act of 1978 to direct the State regulatory authorities, nonregulated electric utilities, and nonregulated gas utilities to hold public hearings regarding the implementation of Federal standards concerning utility rates based upon least cost investment. Directs the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) to prescribe rules encouraging the achievement of qualifying conservation. Mandates that such rules: (1) require that electric utilities offer to purchase qualifying conservation from qualifying cogeneration or small power production facilities; and (2) provide for the verification of conservation achievement. Prescribes rate guidelines for such electric utilities purchases. Title IV: Energy Research and Development Priorities - Directs the Secretary to establish priorities for energy research and development programs using prescribed criteria. Title V: State Energy Conservation Program - Amends the Energy Policy and Conservation Act to mandate that State energy conservation programs which receive Federal assistance include as a goal reduction of ten percent or more in the total amount of energy consumed in such State in the year 2000 from the projected energy consumption for such State in that year. Adds to Federal assistance eligibility prerequisites for proposed State energy conservation plans, including an emergency planning program for energy supply disruption. Repeals the National Energy Extension Service Act. Cites optional State energy conservation programs. Repeals the mandate for supplemental State energy conservation plans. Authorizes appropriations for energy conservation programs for FY 1991 through 1993. Establishes a State Energy Advisory Board to: (1) recommend and advise on the programs under this Act; (2) serve as liaison between the States and the Department of Energy on energy efficiency; and (3) report annually to the Secretary and the Congress on the status of State energy conservation programs. Authorizes the use of loan programs and performance contracting for the non-Federal share of energy conservation project costs under the grant program. Amends the Energy Conservation and Production Act regarding limitations upon Federal weatherization assistance for low-income persons. Lists conditions under which the Secretary is authorized to approve a State application for a waiver of: (1) the requirement that at least 40 percent of Federal weatherization assistance be used for weatherization materials; and (2) the limitations placed upon expenditures per dwelling unit for weatherization measures. Title VI: Renewable Energy - Subtitle A - Solar Development Initiative Act of 1989 - Directs the Secretary of Energy to develop a complementary solar and renewable energy research program which: (1) has near-term commercial applications; and (2) enhances the international competitiveness of the solar and renewable energy industries. Requires the Secretary to include funding for such program in the FY 1991 budget. Directs the Secretary of Energy to establish an information dissemination program for Federal procurement and loan officers regarding the application of solar heating and cooling technology in Federal buildings. Declares that it is the sense of the Congress that the renewable energy technologies programs established by the Secretary of Commerce should be funded in FY 1991 through 1993 through the Department of Energy at a specified minimum level. Amends the Caribbean Basin Economic Recovery Act to direct the President to take into account, when determining whether to designate a beneficiary country, the degree to which it undertakes self-help measures to promote energy self-sufficiency using locally available renewable energy resources. Mandates that the design for new Federal facilities for specified agencies include consideration of energy systems using solar energy or other renewable energy forms. Amends the Export-Import Bank Act of 1945 to mandate that a specified minimum percentage of loan authority be available only for solar and renewable energy loans. Amends the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 to authorize the Overseas Private Investment Corporation to include among its special projects incentives, grants, and studies for renewable energy and other small business activities. Prohibits the use of administrative funds for such projects. Amends the Small Business Act to: (1) repeal provisions regarding loans to small business concerns for solar energy and energy conservation measures; (2) mandate that a certain percentage of loan authority be used only for small business energy measures; and (3) direct the Administrator of the Small Business Administration to give due consideration to the export potential of solar and renewable energy loan guarantees in an annual report to the Congress. Subtitle B - Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency Technology Competitiveness Act of 1989 - Sets forth specified national goals for the current wind, photovoltaics, and solar thermal energy programs. Requires the President's budget requests for FY 1991 to contain the recommendations of the Secretary of Energy for specified Department of Energy research and development programs for 1995, including biofuels energy systems, solar buildings energy systems, ocean energy systems, and geothermal energy. Authorizes appropriations for FY 1991 through 1993 for: (1) the wind energy research program; (2) the photovoltaic energy systems program; (3) the solar thermal energy systems program; (4) the biofuels energy systems program; (5) the solar buildings energy systems program; (6) the ocean energy systems program; and (7) the geothermal program. Requires the Secretary to submit an options analysis to the Congress regarding the accelerated commercialization of specified renewable energy technologies. Directs the Secretary to establish joint research and development ventures in specified energy technologies, and to report to the Congress on the implementation of such plans. Directs the Secretary to establish the following advisory bodies: (1) Advisory Committee on Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency Technology; (2) Advisory Subcommittee on Photovoltaic Energy Technology; (3) Advisory Subcommittee on Wind Energy Technology; (4) Advisory Subcommittee on Solar Thermal Energy Technology; (5) Advisory Subcommittee on Energy Performance in Factory-Made Housing; (6) Advisory Subcommittee on Advanced District Cooling Technology; and (7) Advisory Subcommittee on Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency Technology Exports. Authorizes appropriations for FY 1991 through 1993 for such joint ventures. Requires the Committee on Renewable Energy, Commerce and Trade to promote renewable energy technology exports. Authorizes appropriations for such Committee activities for FY 1991 through 1993. Requires the Secretary to make annual reports to the Congress regarding the research programs and ventures under this Act. Requires each annual submission of the National Energy Policy Plan to be accompanied by a three-year strategic plan for energy technology research, development, and demonstration, including energy conservation and renewable energy technologies. Subtitle C - Directs the Secretary of Energy to implement a research program regarding: (1) fuel cell use of methane gas generated from biomass forms; (2) technologies using renewable energy sources (such as wind and solar energy) to produce hydrogen for fuel cell use; and (3) fuel cell technology for electric power production as backup spinning reserve components to renewable power systems in rural and isolated areas. Authorizes the Secretary to make grants to, and enter into contracts with, private research laboratories. Requires the Secretary to report to the Congress regarding the fuel cell research program. Authorizes appropriations for FY 1991. Amends the Energy Policy and Conservation Act to include industries using fuel cell technology under the Renewable Energy Industry Development Act. Directs the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency to prepare Federal guidelines, within 180 days after enactment of this Act, for cities and municipalities specifying environmental and safety standards for use of fuel cell technology. Directs the Secretary of Commerce, within the same period of time, to report to the Congress an assessment of the export market potential for integrated systems of fuel cells with renewable power technologies. Subtitle D - Hydrogen Research and Development Act - Directs the Secretary of Energy to prepare and submit to specified congressional committees a comprehensive five-year program management plan for a research and development program designed to permit the development of a domestic hydrogen fuel production capability within the shortest practicable time. Requires the Secretary to send the Congress annual plan descriptions, including any necessary plan modifications. Directs the Secretary to establish such program within the Department of Energy. Requires that the areas to be addressed in such program include production, liquefaction, transmission, distribution, storage, and utilization. Requires priority to be given to production techniques that use renewable energy sources as their primary energy sources. Directs the Secretary to conduct demonstrations to evaluate technical and nontechnical parameters to determine commercial applicability of hydrogen technology and to prepare a comprehensive large-scale hydrogen demonstration technology plan. Requires the Secretary to prepare a comprehensive technology application plan which shall include: (1) the potential applications for the use of hydrogen; (2) technical market and economic readiness assessments for such potential applications; (3) an assessment of Government actions needed to develop such application; and (4) an analysis of the impact of such applications on domestic energy supplies. Requires the Secretary to consult with other Federal agencies and departments in carrying out this program. Requires the establishment of a Hydrogen Technical Advisory Panel of the Energy Research Advisory Board to advise the Secretary on the conduct of the hydrogen program. Requires the Panel to submit an annual report on the program to the Energy Research Advisory Board, which shall subsequently report to the Secretary. Authorizes appropriations to carry out this title for FY 1991 through 1996. Directs the Administrator of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) to prepare and submit to specified congressional committees a comprehensive five-year program management plan for a research and development program for the development of a domestic hydrogen-fueled aircraft capability within the shortest practicable time. Requires the Administrator to transmit to the Congress an annual plan description, including any necessary modifications with respect to the plan. Requires the Administrator to establish such program within NASA and to prepare and transmit to the Congress a comprehensive flight demonstration plan which shall confirm the technical feasibility, economic viability, and safety of liquid hydrogen as a fuel for commercial transport aircraft. Provides that the research and development program under this title shall include, at a minimum, the development of the systems associated with the production, transportation, storage, and handling of liquid hydrogen for commercial aircraft application. Provides that the Administrator shall consult with other Federal agencies and departments in carrying out the program. Establishes a Hydrogen-Fueled Aircraft Advisory Committee to advise the Administrator on the programs established by this title. Requires the Committee to report annually to the Administrator on its activities and on the status of such programs. Authorizes appropriations to carry out this title for FY 1992 through 1996. Title VII: Advanced Civilian Reactor Programs - Directs the Secretary to implement, according to certain guidelines, a research, development, and demonstration program for the generation of commercial electric power from nuclear fission. Authorizes appropriations for FY 1992 through 1994. Requires the Secretary to submit an annual comprehensive report to the Congress regarding the progress of reactor designs which meet the guidelines set out for such demonstration program. Title VIII: Fusion - Requires the Secretary to report to the Congress regarding international collaboration in research, development, and demonstration in technology for the production of electricity from magnetic and inertial confinement fusion. Title IX: Coal - Requires the Secretary, within nine months after the date of enactment of this Act, to provide the Congress with a comprehensive review of clean coal technologies to be developed in federally funded projects under the Department of Energy's Clean Coal Technology Program. Directs the Secretary to establish and implement: (1) research and development programs demonstrating techniques for carbon dioxide recovery and disposal from motor vehicles, electric utility power operations, and industrial manufacturing processes; and (2) a comprehensive program in the fundamental physics and chemistry of coal combustion. Directs the Secretary to support research to improve the efficiency of coal-generated electricity and industrial processes, giving priority to those projects with the greatest potential for reducing the generation of carbon dioxide. Authorizes appropriations for FY 1991 through 1993. Title X: Natural Gas - Directs the Secretary to enter into cooperative agreements with and to provide financial assistance to municipal governments to demonstrate the feasibility of using natural gas as a fuel for urban area mass transit. Sets as a prerequisite to such agreements that the participating municipal government provide at least 25 percent of the demonstration costs. Authorizes appropriations for FY 1991 through 1993. Requires the Secretary to submit a feasibility report to the Congress within nine months after the date of enactment of this Act pertaining to the use of natural gas in diesel-powered vehicles to facilitate compliance with emissions requirements. Directs the Secretary to implement a program promoting the development and commercialization of natural gas use in motor vehicle fleets by providing for the purchase and construction of alternative fuel vehicles and associated refueling equipment. Authorizes appropriations for FY 1991 through 1993. Directs the Secretary to implement a technician training program to convert conventional fuel vehicles to natural gas. Authorizes appropriations for FY 1991 through 1993. Directs the Secretary to enter into cooperative financial assistance agreements with the Gas Research Institute to perform research and development to improve natural gas vehicle technology. Directs the Secretary to implement a research, development, and demonstration program (including joint research and development ventures) on nonconventional natural gas recovery techniques, as well as improved techniques for recovering gas from discovered reservoirs. Directs the Secretary to enter into cooperative agreements with, and provide financial assistance to, certain parties to construct and demonstrate high efficiency heat engines. Authorizes appropriations. Requires the Secretary to transmit a biennially updated research and priorities list to certain congressional committees. Title XI: Natural Resource Policy - Subtitle A: General - Directs the Secretary of the Interior to conduct a study of the ecological and environmental resources that would be affected by a global climate change. Directs such Secretary and the Secretary of Agriculture to consider the relative impact on global warming of all Federal forest land management programs, including timber sales and reforestation. Directs the Secretary of Agriculture, in cooperation with the Secretary of the Interior, to report to the President and the Congress on the feasibility of a national forestation initiative. Requires the Secretary of Energy to submit to the Congress a study regarding the potential for reducing carbon dioxide emissions through targeted urban tree plantings designed to reduce air conditioning needs in buildings. Subtitle B: Tongass Timber Reform Act - Amends the Alaska National Interest Lands Conservation Act to repeal the ongoing appropriations for timber utilization in the Tongass National Forest, Alaska. Repeals the requirement for identifying lands unsuitable for timber production in such Forest. Repeals the reporting requirement on the adequacy of the timber supply from Forest lands. Requires the biennial report on such Forest to include the impact of timber management on subsistence resources, wildlife, fisheries habitats, biological diversity, the old growth rain forest ecosystem, and other specified items. Requires the southeast Alaska commercial fishing industry to be included, for cooperation and consultation, in a study of the Forest timber supply and demand. Directs the Secretary of Agriculture to terminate specified long-term timber sale contracts, and to revise the Tongass National Forest Land Management Plan of 1979 in a manner that fully protects long-term environmental and recreational concerns. Requires the Secretary to report to certain congressional committees regarding the status of such Forest Plan revision schedule. Imposes a moratorium on timber sales and harvest until the Forest Plan is completely revised and ready for implementation. Title XII: Basic Science Initiatives - Authorizes appropriations for FY 1991 through 1993 to specified Federal agencies to conduct certain climatological and ecological research. Title XIII: Development Assistance - Directs the Secretary of State, in conjunction with the Administrator of the Agency for International Development and other specified officials, to report to the Congress on the status of forest resources in tropical countries, including a forest plan with goals for each tropical country. Requires the Administrator to: (1) ensure that all financial support activities supported by U.S. bilateral foreign assistance are consistent with such plan; and (2) take into account each country's measure of success in meeting plan goals when allocating development assistance monies. Prescribes guidelines under which the Secretaries of State and of the Treasury are directed to promote multilateral tropical forestry programs and to report to the Congress regarding the progress made by each of the multilateral development banks, the United Nations Food and Agriculture Program, the United Nations Development Program, and the International Tropical Timber Organization. Directs the Secretary of Commerce to promulgate regulations within one year after the date of enactment of this Act requiring wood and products containing imported wood to bear a label disclosing the names of such wood and the countries of origin. Requires such Secretary to promulgate regulations prohibiting the importation of wood and wood products containing wood from: (1) tropical forest countries that have not achieved the forest plan goals; (2) countries that import wood or products containing wood harvested in tropical countries that have not achieved forest plan goals; and (3) countries that permit transit of wood or products containing wood harvested in tropical countries that have not achieved forest plan goals. Requires the Secretary to report annually to the Congress on the status of import controls with respect to tropical forest countries that have not achieved the forest plan goals. Amends the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 to authorize the President to assist developing countries with research and development programs aimed at energy efficiency and energy transmission facilities in rural areas. Prohibits assistance for large-scale production of energy from fossil fuels. Prescribes guidelines under which the President is directed to provide support to aid-receiving countries with emphasis upon end use energy efficiency, least-cost energy planning, and energy conservation. Requires the President to report annually to the Congress regarding the bilateral energy program, including the progress made in reducing greenhouse gas emission. Directs the Secretary of the Treasury to instruct the U.S. Executive Director of each multilateral development bank to: (1) vigorously promote the adoption by each bank of an energy conservation and efficiency program containing specified components; and (2) oppose, except in certain instances, financial or technical assistance to any borrowing country if a least-cost energy plan prioritizing energy conservation, end use energy efficiency, and renewable energy sources is not in place. Directs the Secretary of State to instruct the Ambassador to the United Nations to: (1) vigorously encourage the United Nations Development Program implementing energy conservation and efficiency programs for recipient countries; and (2) oppose the adoption of country programs for any country for which a least-cost energy planning program giving priority to energy conservation, end use energy efficiency, and renewable energy sources is not in place. Requires the Secretary of the Treasury and the Secretary of State to report annually to the Congress regarding the progress of the multilateral development banks and the United Nations Development Program in implementing energy conservation measures. Authorizes the Secretary of the Treasury to modify the loan terms on up to one-half of the sovereign debt owed the United States by developing countries as a condition of adopting forest and energy conservation programs. Directs the Secretary to promulgate regulations implementing such environmental conservation and debt reduction program within one year after the enactment of this Act. Directs the Secretary to encourage the adoption of joint initiatives of debt reduction and conversion by the public and private sectors in member countries of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development. Directs the Administrator of the Agency for International Development to report biennially to the Congress regarding the status of energy conservation and efficiency for each country receiving Federal development assistance monies. Directs the Secretary of the Treasury to: (1) instruct the U.S. Executive Director to notify the staff of each multilateral development bank that future Federal contributions will be conditioned upon the successful implementation of a specified energy efficiency program; and (2) report annually to the Congress on the progress made by each multilateral development bank in implementing the energy efficiency program. Requires the Administrator of the Agency for International Development to report to the Congress regarding the options and strategies for the use of bilateral and multilateral development assistance programs sponsored by the United States to control emissions of certain greenhouse gases into the atmosphere. Title XIV: International Activities - Declares that it is the policy of the United States that the Secretary of State shall convene an international meeting in the United States by the end of 1992 to adopt a global climate protection convention with measures at least as stringent as those in this Act. Sets forth a percentage reduction schedule for emissions of specified gases. Directs the Secretary of State to: (1) initiate negotiations for the adoption of a binding multilateral agreement requiring specified reductions of nitrogen oxide emissions by 1998; (2) request and, if necessary, convene the parties to the Montreal protocol on substances that deplete the ozone layer for possible control measures reassessment; and (3) convene an international meeting to exchange information regarding nuclear safety issues, including nuclear waste disposal. Directs the Secretary of the Treasury to instruct the U.S. Executive Directors of multilateral development banks to promote lending policies which emphasize specified aspects of energy conservation, renewable energy sources, including measures for international energy cooperation, and world population reduction. Directs the Administrator of the Agency for International Development to take specified measures concerning: (1) biological diversity conservation; (2) renewable energy resources and conservation; (3) assistance to developing countries in the use of agricultural and industrial chemicals; and (4) a report to the Congress on Agency practices regarding the overseas use of renewable energy technologies. Declares U.S. policy with respect to domestic and international efforts to deal with the greenhouse effect. Requests the President to take steps to establish a long-term study of the greenhouse effect, beginning with a one-year cooperative international research program started during or before 1991. Names the year of such program the International Year of the Greenhouse Effect. Title XV: Moderating World Population Growth - Authorizes appropriations for FY 1991 through 1993 for international population and family planning assistance. Prohibits the use of such funds for: (1) involuntary sterilization; (2) abortion; or (3) the coercion of any person to accept family planning services.

Bill· SS. 341 (101st)open

Air Travel Rights for Blind Individuals Act

United States · United States Congress · 2 February 1989

Air Travel Rights for Blind Individuals Act - Amends the Federal Aviation Act of 1958 to preclude an air carrier from establishing aircraft seating restrictions based upon a passenger's visual acuity or use of a white cane or dog guide or other such means of assistance.

Bill· SS. 346 (101st)open

Tongass Timber Reform Act

United States · United States Congress · 2 February 1989

Tongass Timber Reform Act - Title I: Alaska National Interest Lands Conservation Act Amendments - Repeals specified provisions of the Alaska National Interest Lands Conservation Act (the Act) relating to: (1) the authorization of appropriations for the maintenance of the timber supply from the Tongass National Forest in Alaska to dependent industry; (2) the identification of Forest lands unsuitable for timber production; and (3) a specified report to the Congress by the Secretary of Agriculture on the timber supply and demand in southeastern Alaska. Amends the Act to include in a specified report to the Congress on the Forest: (1) the impact of timber harvest on wildlife and fisheries resources and recreation resources and tourism, biological diversity, and the old growth rain forest ecosystem; (2) timber supply and demand in southeastern Alaska; and (3) costs and revenues of the timber sale program. Requires the Secretary to terminate, not later than 90 days after enactment of this Act, specified timber sale contracts between the United States and the Alaska Pulp Corporation and the Ketchikan Pulp Company. Title II: Management of the Tongass National Forest - Directs the Secretary to revise the Tongass National Forest Land Management Plan of 1979, in conformance with this Act and other applicable laws, to increase protection of the Forest's resources critical to the interests of the commercial fishing, recreation, and tourism industries, and the subsistence users in southeast Alaska. Requires specified reports to certain congressional committees. Title III: Moratorium on Timber Sales and Harvest - Prohibits the sale or harvest of timber (including timber sale preparation or road construction) upon forest lands during the revision of the management plan.

Bill· SS. 345 (101st)open

Family and Medical Leave Act of 1989

United States · United States Congress · 2 February 1989

Family and Medical Leave Act of 1989 - Title I: General Requirements for Family Leave and Medical Leave - Entitles employees to family leave for specified periods in cases involving the birth, adoption, foster care, or serious health condition of a child or the serious health condition of a parent. Entitles employees to temporary medical leave for specified periods in cases involving inability to work because of a serious health condition. Sets forth conditions for certification for such types of leave. Provides that such leave may be without pay. Allows employees to substitute other types of paid leave to cover part of such leave period. Sets forth employment and benefits protections relating to such leave. Provides for administrative enforcement of this title by the Secretary of Labor, as well as enforcement by civil action. Requires employers to post notice of the pertinent provisions of this title. Title II: Family Leave and Temporary Medical Leave for Civil Service Employees - Amends specified Federal law to entitle civil service employees to family and temporary medical leave for specified periods. Provides that such leave will be without pay. Allows employees to substitute other types of paid leave for part of such leave. Provides for protection for job position and health insurance benefits of employees using such leave. Directs the Office of Personnel Management to prescribe regulations for administration of this title which are consistent with the regulations prescribed by the Secretary of Labor under title I of this Act. Title III: Commission on Family and Medical Leave - Establishes the Commission on Family and Medical Leave. Requires the Commission to report on its study of family and medical leave (which may include legislative recommendations concerning coverage of small businesses) to the Congress within two years after the Commission first meets. Terminates the Commission within 30 days after its final report. Title IV: Miscellaneous Provisions - Sets forth the effect of this Act on existing laws and existing employment benefits. Provides that nothing in this Act shall be construed to discourage employers from adopting more generous leave policies. Directs the Secretary of Labor to prescribe regulations to carry out title I of this Act within 60 days.

Bill· SJRESS.J.Res. 48 (101st)open

A joint resolution proposing an amendment to the Constitution of the United States relative to contributions and expenditures intended to affect Congressional and Presidential elections.

United States · United States Congress · 2 February 1989

Constitutional Amendment - Declares that the Congress has the power to set reasonable limits on campaign expenditures by, in support of, or in opposition to any candidate in any primary or other election for Federal office. Declares that the States have such power with respect to State or local elections.

Bill· SS. 306 (101st)open

Equity for Rural Hospitals Act of 1989

United States · United States Congress · 31 January 1989

Equity for Rural Hospitals Act of 1989 - Directs the Secretary of Health and Human Services to design a legislative proposal for eliminating the differences in average standardized Medicare payments (under title XVIII of the Social Security Act) to large urban, other urban, and rural hospitals by FY 1995, while recognizing appropriate cost differences among hospitals. Amends the Medicare program to provide additional payments to Medicare-dependent, small rural hospitals up to FY 1992 (when the transition to a single average standardized Medicare payment rate is required to begin), ensuring the coverage of such hospitals' reasonable operating costs for Medicare inpatient hospital services. Requires the recomputation of Medicare sole community hospital payment rates using the most recent information on hospital-specific costs per case and, if greater, national rather than regional prospective payment rates. Includes, in the Secretary's determination as to whether a hospital is a sole community hospital, consideration of the travel time to the nearest alternative source of inpatient care and the number of patients who seek health services which are unavailable in the hospital's area. Establishes the Medicare Geographical Classification Review Board to decide on a rural hospital's application for classification as an urban hospital for Medicare payment purposes. Amends the Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1987 to alter the Rural Health Care Transition Grant Program to extend and increase authorized appropriations for such program through FY 1992, and permit the Secretary to waive the hospital grant limit. Expands, from four to ten hospitals, a Medicare demonstration program covering additional costs incurred by teaching hospitals in sending their residents to rural hospitals for training. Requires the Secretary to establish five-year Medicare demonstration programs covering costs incurred by five hospitals in providing clinical training to undergraduate nurses.

Bill· SS. 305 (101st)referred

Proxmire Financial Modernization Act of 1989

United States · United States Congress · 31 January 1989

Proxmire Financial Modernization Act of 1989 - Title I: Securities Affiliates of Bank Holding Companies - Amends the Banking Act of 1933 (Glass-Steagall Act) to repeal specified provisions which: (1) prohibit a bank that is a member of the Federal Reserve System (member bank) from affiliating with a securities firm; and (2) prohibit member banks from employing officers, directors, or employees who are also employed by a firm primarily engaged in securities activities. Amends the Bank Holding Company Act of 1956 to allow bank holding companies to own shares of securities affiliates which engage in: (1) underwriting, distributing, or dealing in securities of any type; (2) securities brokerage, investment advisory, or other accepted securities activities; and (3) other activities permitted by the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System. Establishes criteria for Board approval of such acquisitions. Prohibits mergers between certain large banks or bank holding companies (those having assets of more than $30,000,000,000) and large securities firms (those having assets of more than $15,000,000,000). Establishes criteria (including a notice requirement) for bank holding company investment in securities affiliates. Establishes capital standards to be used by the Board in determining whether a bank holding company meets the acquisition guidelines. Restricts transactions between banks or insured institutions and securities affiliates, including: (1) extensions of credit directly or indirectly benefiting such affiliates; and (2) interlocking directorates. Requires each securities affiliate to prominently disclose to its customers that: (1) the securities affiliate is not a bank or a federally-insured institution and is separate from any affiliated bank or insured institution; and (2) the securities offered or sold are not deposits and are not insured by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) or the Federal Savings and Loan Corporation (FSLIC) and are not guaranteed by an affiliated bank or insured institution. Prohibits a bank, insured institution, or subsidiary from giving investment advice on securities dealt in by a securities affiliate without disclosing that the securities affiliate is underwriting, distributing, or dealing in the securities. Prohibits the disclosure of any nonpublic customer information between a securities affiliate and a bank, insured institution, or subsidiary without the customer's consent. Prohibits a securities affiliate from dealing in asset-related securities originated by an affiliated bank, insured institution, or subsidiary unless such securities are rated by a nationally recognized rating organization and are issued or guaranteed by the Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corporation, the Federal National Mortgage Association, or the Government National Mortgage Association. Requires each appropriate Federal banking agency and the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) to establish a program for: (1) enforcing such restrictions; and (2) responding to consumer complaints about violations. Specifies that any securities affiliate of a bank holding company previously approved by the Federal Reserve Board must meet the requirements of this Act, unless the affiliate's activities are specifically authorized by statute for a national bank. Limits securities underwriting, distribution, and dealing by banks affiliated with a securities affiliate. Prohibits a securities affiliate from underwriting, distributing, or dealing in certain types of unsecured corporate debt securities or equity securities unless each of its affiliated banks is in compliance with any applicable risk-based capital standards issued by the appropriate Federal banking agency. Prohibits a securities affiliate from: (1) engaging in the underwriting, distributing, or dealing of securities issued by a registered investment company until 180 days after the enactment of this Act; or (2) engaging in the underwriting, distributing, or dealing of equity securities (other than those issued by a registered investment company) except pursuant to a joint resolution to be considered by the 102d Congress. Requires that a vote on such joint resolution be taken by April 1, 1991. States that acquisition applications which are not acted upon by the Board within 91 days shall be deemed to be granted. Repeals this requirement four years after enactment of this Act. Preempts State laws which are inconsistent with this Act. Amends the Federal Reserve Act to extend the prohibition against the purchasing of any security by a member bank during the existence of any underwriting or selling syndicate if any affiliate of the bank is a principal underwriter of that security from the day such syndicate terminates until 30 days after such termination. Amends the Federal Deposit Insurance Act to impose additional restrictions on securities affiliates of insured banks and on the distribution or underwriting of municipal revenue bonds by insured banks or affiliates thereof. Authorizes a national bank to: (1) underwrite certain types of State and local government bonds; and (2) sponsor unit investment trusts and distribute investment company securities, if such bank has no securities affiliate. Amends the International Banking Act of 1978 to prohibit: (1) U.S. banking activities by large foreign banks that become affiliated with large investment banking organizations with U.S. offices; and (2) U.S. investment banking activities by large foreign investment banking organizations that become affiliated with large bank holding companies or banks. Amends the Bank Holding Company Act to allow the establishment of diversified financial holding companies. Defines a "diversified financial holding company" as a company that directly or indirectly controls a bank and which: (1) engages only in financial activities; (2) devotes 80 percent of more of its consolidated assets to certain activities permissible under the Bank Holding Company Act; (3) has not more than 20 percent of its consolidated assets consisting of insured banks or thrift institutions; (4) has not more than 40 percent of its consolidated assets consisting of all types of banks or thrift institutions (insured, uninsured, domestic, or foreign); and (5) gives written notice to the Federal Reserve Board of its intent to be treated as a diversified financial holding company. Specifies that a diversified financial holding company shall not be considered as a bank holding company, but shall be subject to applicable Federal statutes relating to bank holding companies. Provides exemptions for diversified financial holding companies with respect to: (1) grandfathered rights to continue to engage in nonconforming financial activities; and (2) normal bank holding company examination and capital requirements. Subjects such diversified companies and subsidiary banks to restrictions applicable to bank holding companies with respect to joint marketing of affiliate services and lending to affiliates engaged in nonconforming activities. Permits the Federal Reserve Board to order a diversified company to divest any subsidiary bank not meeting capital standards. Requires the Federal Reserve Board, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC), the Comptroller of the Currency, and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) to review and coordinate their respective rules applicable to capital adequacy, reporting requirements, and transactions with affiliates on an ongoing basis. Requires such agencies to conduct a study and jointly submit a report to the Congress concerning: (1) the advisability of consolidated regulation of companies controlling banks or securities firms; (2) the appropriate techniques for supervising affiliate transactions within such firms; (3) the efforts to achieve international harmonization of the regulation of such firms; (4) the effect of financial activities outside the United States on securities activities and their regulation within the United States; (5) the advisability of establishing a permanent international framework to harmonize financial market regulation; (6) the nature and techniques used in supervising banking and securities organizations; and (7) the impact of financial services competition from firms that are neither banks nor securities firms. Directs the agencies to develop proposed revisions to harmonize the capital adequacy of banking and securities organizations using the recent international agreement among bank regulators as a model. Requires the agencies to submit an annual report to the Congress regarding their progress towards, and recommendations for, achieving harmony of financial institution regulations. Directs the Federal Reserve Board to conduct a study and submit a report to the Congress concerning the steps necessary to ensure the integrity and reliability of the large-dollar payments system in the United States. Sets forth expedited procedures for the consideration and vote by the 102d Congress on whether or not to permit securities affiliates to underwrite, distribute, and deal in equity securities. Title II: Expedited Procedures - Amends the Bank Holding Company Act of 1956 to establish (under limited circumstances, where a company acquires control of a bank in a reorganization) expedited procedures for forming a bank holding company. Exempts such formations from specified registration requirements under the Securities Act of 1933. Requires any bank holding company seeking to engage in certain nonbanking activities (as determined by the Board) to notify the Board of such intentions. Allows the Board 60 days to: (1) disapprove the proposal; or (2) extend the time period for Board consideration. Provides limited exceptions from such notice requirements. Requires the Board, in determining whether to disapprove an application under this Act, to consider whether the activity described would produce benefits to the public that outweigh possible adverse effects. Allows the Board to reduce the post-approval waiting period for: (1) bank holding company acquisitions; and (2) bank mergers. Provides that a national bank may own the stock of a bankers' bank or a bankers' bank holding company if such bankers' bank or holding company is owned exclusively by either banks or holding companies. Allows a bankers' bank chartered by the Comptroller of the Currency to be organized within a holding company provided that the holding company for the bankers' bank is owned by depository institutions and their holding companies. Permits the Federal Reserve Board to increase the limit for member banks on loans secured by stock or bond collateral to any one person to 15 percent of a bank's unimpaired capital and surplus. Title III: Brokers and Dealers - Amends the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 to revise the definition of "broker" to include a bank which publicly solicits brokerage business or receives compensation for such business in excess of the bank's transaction costs ("incentive compensation"). Provides that a bank shall not be considered to be a "broker" under such Act because it engages in certain exempted activities, including: (1) networking arrangements; (2) trust activities; (3) transactions in municipal and certain other securities; (4) transactions in employee benefit accounts, money market sweep accounts, or affiliate accounts; (5) private placement activities; and (6) less than 1,000 other securities transactions per year, provided the bank does not have a subsidiary or affiliate registered as a broker or dealer. Revises the definition of "dealer" to exclude banks which engage in certain exempted activities, including: (1) transactions in commercial paper, bankers' acceptances, commercial bills, or exempted securities; (2) transactions in municipal securities, provided the bank does not have a securities affiliate; (3) trust or fiduciary activities; and (4) securitization activities. Authorizes the SEC to exempt any person or class of persons from the definition of "broker" or "dealer" upon a finding that such an exemption is consistent with the public interest, the protection of investors, or the purposes of the Securities Exchange Act. Prohibits a bank from acting as a broker or dealer, except on an exclusively intrastate basis. Title IV: Bank Investment Company Activities - Amends the Investment Company Act of 1940 to require a registered investment company which places its assets with a bank that is an affiliated person, promoter, sponsor, organizer, or principal underwriter for such a company to do so only in accordance with regulations the SEC may adopt after written consultation with the appropriate Federal banking agency. Requires a unit investment trust which designates an affiliated bank as a trustee to do so only in accordance with regulations that the SEC may adopt after written consultation with the appropriate Federal banking agency. Prohibits an investment company from knowingly acquiring securities during an underwriting where the proceeds will be used to retire indebtedness owed to an affiliated bank. Prohibits a mutual fund from borrowing from an affiliated bank except pursuant to regulations adopted by the SEC. Revises the definition of "interested person" for purposes of the Investment Company Act to include any person (including a bank) that acts as custodian, or transfer agent, or engages in specific types of transactions with an investment company within the preceding six-month period. Extends the prohibition against officers, directors, and employees of any one bank constituting the majority of the board of directors of a registered investment company to the officers and directors of any one bank and its subsidiaries, or any one bank holding company and its affiliates and subsidiaries. Prohibits a registered investment company or persons who sell securities issued by a registered investment company from representing or implying that the company or security is insured by the FDIC or FSLIC or is guaranteed by, or is otherwise an obligation of, any insured institution. Authorizes the SEC to issue regulations to require such a company or person to disclose that such securities are not so insured or guaranteed. Revises the definition of "broker" and dealer" for purposes of the Investment Company Act and the Investment Advisers Act to conform to the revised definition of such terms in the Securities Exchange Act. Amends the Investment Advisers Act of 1940 to remove the exclusion from the definition of "investment adviser" for banks that advise investment companies. Requires the SEC to notify the appropriate Federal banking agency before initiating any examination, investigation, or enforcement action against any bank holding company, bank, or department or division of a bank registered or required to be registered under the Investment Advisers Act. Authorizes the SEC to share information with Federal, State, foreign, and self-regulatory organizations, officials, or agencies for law enforcement and regulatory purposes. Title V: Strengthened Enforcement Authority - Enforcement Powers Improvement Act of 1989 - Part A: Regulation of Banks - Amends the Federal Deposit Insurance Act to list the types of remedial relief that an appropriate Federal banking agency may require in a cease and desist order. Allows a Federal banking agency to issue a temporary cease and desist order where an insured bank's books and records are so incomplete or inaccurate that the agency is unable to determine the financial condition of the bank or the details or purposes of any transactions. Makes technical amendments with respect to a Federal agency's authority to remove or suspend any "institution-related party." States that the resignation or termination of an individual shall not affect the jurisdiction or authority of a Federal banking agency to take enforcement actions. Expands a Federal banking agency's authority to assess penalties to include violations of conditions imposed in writing by such agency in connection with the granting of any application or other request. Permits any individual who is the subject of a suspension, removal, or prohibition order under such Act, with agency approval, to reenter the industry. States that the authority granted to Federal banking agencies under such Act shall be in addition to, and not restricted by, any other authority provided by law. Increases the civil penalty for permitting certain convicted individuals to work at an insured bank. Subjects the individual, as well as the bank, to such penalty. Deletes the provision requiring that those assessed a civil money penalty under the Change in Bank Control Act of 1978 be afforded the right to a de novo trial in U.S. district court. States that such persons are entitled to an agency hearing and administrative review. Amends the Bank Protection Act of 1968 to eliminate a specified reporting requirement regarding the installation, maintenance, and operation of security devices and procedures. Modifies the civil money penalty assessment powers of Federal agencies with respect to inaccurate call reports and bank holding company reports. Part B: Regulation of Savings and Loan Associations - Amends the National Housing Act and the Home Owners' Loan Act of 1933 to allow the Federal Savings and Loan Insurance Corporation (FSLIC) and the Federal Home Loan Bank Board to: (1) order restitution or reimbursement from their institution-related parties to recover losses resulting from violations of law or other improper conduct; and (2) use a cease and desist order to limit the activities and functions of an institution-related individual or insured institution. States that temporary cease and desist orders may place limits on the activities and functions of institution-related parties, insured institutions, association-related parties, and Federal associations. Provides for the removal or suspension of institution and association-related parties based upon unsafe or unsound conduct causing financial loss or other damage to an insured institution or Federal association. States that a removal or suspension under such Act shall be deemed to be a removal or suspension from all federally insured institutions, bank holding companies, and Federal associations. Amends the National Housing Act and the Home Owners' Loan Act of 1933 to provide that the jurisdiction and authority granted to the FSLIC and the Bank Board under such Acts shall not be affected by the resignation or termination of any institution or association-related party. Makes procedural changes with respect to the civil money penalty authority of the FSLIC and the Bank Board. Amends the National Housing Act to require insured institutions, Federal savings banks, and savings and loan holding companies to make reports of condition to the FSLIC. Establishes civil penalties for failing to submit such reports within the period of time specified by the FSLIC and for making false or misleading reports. Part C: Credit Unions - Amends the Federal Credit Union Act to set forth the types of relief which the National Credit Union Administration Board (NCUAB) can require as part of a cease and desist order. Allows the NCUAB to issue a cease and desist order in cases in which a credit union's books and records are so incomplete or inaccurate that the NCUAB is unable to determine the financial condition of that credit union. Makes technical amendments with respect to the NCUAB's authority to remove or suspend any "institution-related party." Grants such removal authority to other Federal regulatory agencies. States that the resignation or termination of an individual shall not affect the jurisdiction or authority of the NCUAB to take enforcement actions. Expands the NCUAB's authority to assess penalties to include violations of conditions imposed in writing by such agency in connection with the granting of any application or other request. Permits any individual who is the subject of a suspension, removal, or prohibition order under such Act, with agency approval, to reenter the industry. Increases the civil penalty for permitting certain convicted individuals to work at an insured institution without NCUAB permission. Subjects the individual, as well as the institution, to such penalty. Eliminates certain reporting requirements regarding the installation, maintenance, and operation of security devices and procedures. Title VI: Truth in Savings and Investments - Truth in Savings and Investments Act - Requires each advertisement, announcement, or solicitation by a depository institution which refers to a specific interest rate, yield, or rate of earnings on amounts held in any account to state the following information clearly and conspicuously: (1) the annual percentage yield and the period such yield is in effect; (2) all minimum initial deposit, minimum balance, and time requirements for earning such yield; (3) fees or other conditions that could reduce the yield; and (4) any penalty for early withdrawal. Authorizes the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System to exempt advertisements, announcements, or solicitations made by any broadcast or electronic medium or outdoor advertising displays not on the premises of a depository institution from the disclosure requirements relating to initial deposit requirements or fees, if such disclosure would be unnecessarily burdensome. Prohibits any depository institution from advertising an account as a free or no-cost account if: (1) there are minimum balance or limited transaction requirements to avoid fees; or (2) there is any service fee or transaction fee imposed for such account. Prohibits any institution from making any advertisement, announcement, or solicitation that is inaccurate or misleading or that misrepresents its deposit contracts. Requires each depository institution to maintain a schedule, written in clear and plain language, of fees, charges, yields, and terms and conditions such as minimum balance and time requirements applicable to each class of accounts offered. Requires that such schedule be disclosed to potential customers and requesting individuals and mailed to account holders. Requires that account holders receive 30 days' advance notice of any change to be made in any term or condition required to be disclosed in the schedule if the change might reduce the yield or adversely affect any account holder. Directs the Board to require modified disclosure requirements concerning the annual yield on variable rate accounts, multiple rate accounts, guaranteed-rate accounts that mature in less than one year, and accounts for which the interest rate is not guaranteed. Requires a depository institution to calculate the amount of interest on an interest-bearing account using the average daily balance method (with certain exceptions) based on the full amount of principal in the account for each day of the stated calculation period at the rates of interest disclosed pursuant to the requirements of this Act. Specifies that such requirement shall not be construed as prohibiting or requiring the use of any particular method of compounding or crediting of interest. Directs the Board to provide for public notice and comment on, and to publish, model forms and clauses for common disclosures required by this Act. Provides for the enforcement of this Act and the civil liability of a depository institution that fails to comply with requirements of this Act. Sets forth limitations on such liability and factors to be considered by the court in determining class action awards. Provides that an institution may not be held liable for a violation if the institution demonstrates that the violation was not intentional and resulted from a bona fide error, or if the institution makes a notification of and an adjustment for errors within a specified time. Establishes U.S. district court jurisdiction and a one-year statute of limitations for actions brought under this Act. Directs the National Credit Union Administration to provide for the similar regulation of credit unions. Amends the Investment Company Act of 1940 to require the SEC to: (1) consult with the Federal Reserve Board in order to review regulations prescribed under specific Acts to determine if such regulations are providing consumers with the ability to compare savings and investment options; and (2) modify its regulations if necessary. Specifies that this Act supersedes any State laws relating to the disclosure of yields payable or terms for accounts or the determination of the balance on which interest is calculated. Title VII: Insurance Activities - Bank Holding Company and National Bank Improvements Act of 1989 - Amends the Bank Holding Company Act of 1956 to prohibit a bank holding company from engaging in any insurance activities in the United States, either directly or through any of its bank or nonbank subsidiaries, unless such activities qualify under specified exemptions. Accords grandfather rights with respect to specified insurance activities conducted by certain bank holding companies through State banks or subsidiaries. Amends the National Bank Act to provide that, with specified exceptions, a national bank or subsidiary thereof may engage in only those insurance activities which are limited to assuring the repayment of the outstanding balance due on a specific extension of credit by the national bank in the event of the death, disability, or involuntary unemployment of the debtor. Provides that a national bank located in an area with a population not exceeding 5,000 may engage in other insurance activities only so long as: (1) the insurance activities are confined to such an area; and (2) the insurance is sold only to residents of the State in which the bank is located or to natural persons employed in that State. Allows certain companies to continue to engage in insurance activities otherwise not permitted under this Act. Title VIII: Miscellaneous - Directs the Federal Reserve Board to conduct a study and submit a report to the Congress concerning the effects that hostile acquisitions in the banking industry could have on the safety, soundness, and stability of banking in the United States and on financial markets. Prohibits a grandfathered nonbank bank owned by a bank holding company on August 10, 1987, from making commercial loans or accepting demand deposits or transaction accounts unless authorized by the Federal Reserve Board as of August 10, 1987. Revises rules concerning joint marketing restrictions between an affiliated company and a grandfathered nonbank bank. Allows an industrial bank owned by a bank holding company to continue to engage in activities it was authorized to engage in on March 5, 1987. Specifies that a certain investment company shall be deemed to have been registered under the Investment Company Act of 1940 as of the date of its incorporation. Amends the Federal Power Act to allow a person to hold the position of officer or director of a public utility and officer or director of a bank, trust company, or banking association without authorization of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) as long as such bank, trust company, or banking association does not underwrite or participate in the marketing of securities (including commercial paper) of the public utility. Amends the Expedited Funds Availability Act to revise provisions concerning reasonable exceptions to the requirements of such Act and to set forth fund availability disclosure requirements with respect to cashier's, certified, and similar checks exceeding $5,000. Amends the Bank Holding Company Act of 1956 to exclude payroll tax filing service organizations from the definition of "bank" for purposes of such Act. Amends the International Banking Act of 1978 to authorize the appropriate Federal banking agencies to deny the application of a foreign bank or other company subject to the Bank Holding Company Act of 1956 to engage in U.S. banking activities if the President determines that the country in which such entity has its principal place of business, is chartered, or is incorporated does not accord to U.S. banks and bank holding companies the same competitive opportunities as it accords to domestic banks and bank holding companies. Amends the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 to provide similar authorization to the SEC to deny the application of brokers or dealers from countries which are determined not to accord to U.S. brokers and dealers the same competitive opportunities as accorded to domestic brokers and dealers. Requires the Federal Reserve Board to conduct a study and submit a report to the Congress concerning the need to continue the separation of full-service banking and commerce in the United States. Increases the criminal and civil penalties for willful violations of provisions of the Bank Holding Company Act of 1956. Requires national banks, savings and loan associations, and credit unions to include in their deposit account statement mailings to consumers information concerning financial consumers associations in States where such associations have been established and where such a requirement applies to State institutions.

Bill· SS. 302 (101st)referred

Postal Service Budgetary Treatment Act of 1989

United States · United States Congress · 31 January 1989

Postal Service Budgetary Treatment Act of 1989 - Declares that the receipts and disbursements of the Postal Service Fund: (1) shall not be included in the totals of the Federal budget or the congressional budget; (2) shall be exempt from Federal budget limitations on expenditures and net lending; and (3) shall not be counted for purposes of calculating the Federal deficit. Makes the U.S. Postal Service an off-budget Federal entity.

Law· SS. 247 (101st)enacted

State Energy Efficiency Programs Improvement Act of 1990

United States · United States Congress · 25 January 1989

State Energy Conservation Programs Improvement Act of 1989 - Amends the Energy Policy and Conservation Act to mandate that each State energy conservation plan which receives Federal assistance under the Act contain a specified reduction in energy consumption as one of its goals. Adds to Federal assistance eligibility prerequisites for proposed State energy conservation plans, including an emergency planning program for energy supply disruption and programs implementing all the functions currently performed by the Energy Extension Service. Repeals the National Energy Extension Service Act. Cites optional State energy conservation programs. Repeals the mandate for supplemental State energy conservation plans. Authorizes appropriations for energy conservation programs for FY 1990 through 1992. Establishes within the Department of Energy a State Energy Advisory Board to report annually to the Congress regarding recommended energy efficiency objectives, the technology transfer aspect of Federal research and development with respect to energy efficiency and renewable resources, and recommended changes with respect to State and Federal energy policies. Authorizes the use of loan programs and performance contracting for the non-Federal share of energy conservation project costs under the grant program. Cites conditions under which the Secretary is authorized to approve a State application for a waiver of: (1) the requirement that at least 40 percent of Federal weatherization assistance for low-income persons be used for weatherization materials; and (2) the limitations placed upon expenditures per dwelling unit for weatherization measures. Terminates the Performance Fund used for State weatherization assistance.

Bill· SS. 253 (101st)referred

National Nutrition Monitoring and Related Research Act of 1989

United States · United States Congress · 25 January 1989

National Nutrition Monitoring and Related Research Act of 1989 - Title I: Nutrition Monitoring and Related Research - Establishes a ten-year coordinated program, to be known as the National Nutrition Monitoring and Related Research Program, which will be implemented by the Secretaries of Health and Human Services (HHS) and Agriculture. Establishes an Interagency Board for Nutrition Monitoring and Related Research to facilitate program implementation. Authorizes the Secretaries to appoint an Administrator of Nutrition Monitoring and Related Research. Sets forth the program functions of the Secretaries, including: (1) establishing matching grants programs for specified nutritional and dietary purposes; and (2) submitting a biennial report to the President for transmittal to the Congress. Requires the Secretaries to implement a comprehensive national nutrition monitoring and related research plan which shall: (1) assess and report on U.S. nutritional and dietary trends; (2) sample representative subsets of identifiable low income populations and assess and report on food and household expenditures; (3) sponsor and conduct research; (4) develop and update a national dietary and nutritional status data bank; (5) assist State and local agencies in developing procedures and networks for nutrition monitoring and surveillance; and (6) focus the activities of Federal agencies. Requires the plan to allocate the project functions and activities among the various Federal agencies and offices involved. Provides that the comprehensive plan shall be carried out during the period ending with the close of the ninth fiscal year following the fiscal year in which the final comprehensive plan is submitted. Requires the Secretaries to coordinate and enter into contracts for such scientific research and development as may be necessary to support the coordinated program and comprehensive plan. Requires the President, at the time of the submission of the annual budget to the Congress, to submit a report to specified congressional committees on expenditures required for carrying out the coordinated program and implementing the comprehensive plan. Title II: National Nutrition Monitoring Advisory Council - Establishes a nine-member National Nutrition Monitoring Advisory Council to: (1) provide scientific and technical advice on the development and implementation of all components of the coordinated program and the comprehensive plan; (2) evaluate such program and plan; and (3) submit an annual report to the Secretaries. Title III: Dietary Guidance - Directs the Secretaries, by the start of 1990 and every five years thereafter, to publish and review dietary guidelines for the general public. Requires the Secretary of HHS to submit a report describing the appropriate Federal role in assuring that medical students and physicians practicing in the United States have adequate training in the field of nutrition and its relationship to health.

Bill· SS. 201 (101st)open

World Environment Policy Act of 1989

United States · United States Congress · 25 January 1989

World Environment Policy Act of 1989 - Title I: Establishment of the Council on World Environmental Policy - Requires the President to establish a Council on World Environmental Policy to replace the existing Council on Environmental Quality and to be chaired by the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). Outlines the duties of the Council, including: (1) the submission to the Congress of a Strategic Plan for coordinating policy responses to world environmental problems; (2) the advisement of the President and the Congress on the effects of U.S. policy on such problems; (3) the publication of an annual report detailing the Nation's progress toward meeting the goals of the Plan; and (4) the implementation by all Federal agencies of criteria to minimize the impact of Federal policies on the world environment. Authorizes the President to appoint an Ambassador to represent the United States in negotiations relevant to global environmental issues. Title II: Research, Development of Policy Responses, and Promotion of Public Awareness - Expresses the sense of the Congress that: (1) the United States should participate in and support the International Geosphere-Biosphere Program (IGBP); and (2) the President should periodically, but not less than biennially, transmit to the Congress a plan for U.S. participation in such program. Declares that: (1) the Antarctic region is a critical area in the study of global change; and (2) the United States should support the development of an Antarctic research component to IGBP to include specific recommendations of the ad hoc Scientific Committee on Antarctic Research of the International Council of Scientific Unions. States that the National Aeronautics and Space Administration's Mission to Planet Earth initiative should enjoy public and congressional support. Requests the President to establish a cooperative international research program concerning the greenhouse effect of increased concentration of carbon dioxide and greenhouse gases in the Earth's atmosphere. Requires any such program established by the President to be started before 1990, which shall be known as the International Year of the Greenhouse Effect. Provides that such program should be coordinated on behalf of the United States by the Secretary of State, the National Research Council, and the Federal Coordinating Council for Science, Engineering, and Technology. Title III: Regulation and Phase-Out of Anthropogenic Emissions That Degrade The Environment - Part A: Phase-Out of Substances that Deplete the Stratospheric Ozone Layer - States that this Act's objectives are to restore and maintain the chemical and physical integrity of the Earth's atmosphere and to protect human health and the global environment from all known and potential dangers due to atmospheric or climatic modification. Directs the Administrator to: (1) publish a priority list of manufactured substances which are known, or may reasonably be anticipated, to cause or contribute to atmospheric or climatic modification, including chlorofluorocarbon-11, chlorofluorocarbon-12, chlorofluorocarbon-13, halon-1211, halon-1301, and carbon tetrachloride; (2) create and annually update a list of other manufactured substances which meet such criteria; and (3) assign to each listed substance a numerical value representing the ozone depletion potential of such substance. Imposes reporting requirements on producers or importers of listed substances. Phases out, by January 1, 1996, the production or release of priority-listed substances for any use other than medical purposes. Prohibits the use or introduction into interstate commerce of a priority-listed substance after 1994 or a listed substance after 1999, except for medical purposes or, for ten more years, to maintain and service household appliances. Directs the Administrator to require a producer of a listed substance to reduce its production of such substance more rapidly if new information indicates that expedition is necessary for the protection of human health or the environment or the availability of substitutes makes expedited reductions attainable. Authorizes the President to issue orders exempting from this Act's requirements the production and use of halon-1211 and halon-1301 at any specified site or facility if the President finds that adequate substitutes are not available and the production and use of such substances is necessary to protect national security interests. Directs the Secretary of Defense to: (1) seek to eliminate all emissions of halon-1211 and halon-1301 that occur during the testing of fire-extinguishing equipment; and (2) investigate the feasibility of alternative testing methods that do not result in the release of such substances. Prohibits the importation of a priority-listed substance, any product containing such substance, or any product manufactured with a process that used such substance unless the Administrator has certified that the nations in which such substance or product was manufactured and from which such substance or product was imported have programs that require reduced production of such substance and limit the production of other substances covered by this Act pursuant to a schedule and limitations at least as stringent as those applicable under this Act. Deems a person who imports a listed substance or a product containing such substance to have produced such substance for purposes of this Act's requirements. Requires that containers in which listed substances are stored or transported, products containing such substances, and products manufactured with a process using such substances be labeled as harmful to public health and the environment by reason of the effect such substances have on the ozone and climate. Deems listed substances to be hazardous wastes to be disposed of by a means which assure 99.999 percent destruction of such substances. Requires that goods which contain a listed substance in bulk be disposed of by persons licensed to accept such goods and only after the listed substance has been removed from confinement and destroyed. Provides that when such substance is an inherent element of a product, such product must be disposed of by a means assuring 99.999 percent destruction. Prohibits the release of listed substances in other than de minimis quantities. Prohibits the use of listed substances in goods if more than five percent of such substance will be released during the ordinary use of the goods or the goods cannot be serviced with no more than a de minimis release of such substances. Part B: Control of Methane Emission From Landfills and Sewage Treatment Facilities - Directs the Administrator to report to the Congress by January 1, 1991, on (1) the contribution of methane gas to global climate change; (2) the sources and sinks of methane; (3) the methods of controlling methane emissions; and (4) the relationship between methane emissions and concentrations of other trace gases. Requires that State solid waste management plans provide for the minimization of emissions of methane and other gases during the operation and after the closure of sanitary landfills. Provides that sewage treatment facilities constructed after January 1, 1990, shall be designed and operated to minimize emissions of methane. Requires existing facilities to be modified for such purposes prior to 1993. Prohibits, after 1993, mass releases and flaring of methane. Part C: Control of Other Pollutant Emissions - Directs the Administrator to set oxides of nitrogen emission controls for stationary and vehicular sources of such emissions. Sets the oxides of nitrogen emission limit at .4 gram per mile for light duty vehicles manufactured in model year 1990 and thereafter. Requires the Administrator to set hydrocarbon emission controls for stationary and vehicular sources of such emissions. Requires that existing stationary sources: (1) meet the hydrocarbon emission control achievable through the adoption of reasonably available control technologies; and (2) comply, upon the 35th anniversary of their construction, with hydrocarbon emission standards applicable to new major stationary sources. Directs the Administrator to set a hydrocarbon emission limit of .25 gram per vehicle mile for light duty vehicles manufactured in model year 1992 and thereafter. Requires vehicles manufactured during and after model year 1991 to have on-board hydrocarbon control technology to recover fueling emissions. Requires the promulgation of standards concerning certain other vehicular emissions. Prohibits, beginning with model year 1991, the manufacture, sale, or introduction into commerce of any engine that requires leaded gasoline. Sets the useful life of a light duty vehicle, during which emission standards remain applicable, at ten years or one hundred thousand miles, whichever first occurs. Adds an idle test mode to the Federal Test Procedure for light duty vehicles. Requires the Administrator to establish at least one high altitude site for testing vehicles for conformity with emission and fuel standards. Imposes civil monetary penalties against individuals who remove or render inoperative any emission control device, except as necessary in the course of routine proper maintenance. Directs each State which is required to implement a vehicle inspection and maintenance program to adopt quality control audits to assure that such inspections detect and report to the Administrator any patterns of defects in any manufacturer's emission control systems. Requires the Administrator to annually report to the Congress, with respect to each manufacturer, any significant finding of repeated or common emission system defects and the actions taken to remedy such nonconformity. Requires vehicle manufacturers to affix on vehicles manufactured during and after model year 1990, a label indicating the full cost of applying the warranty assuring compliance with emission and fuel standards for the useful life of the vehicle. Authorizes manufacturers to sell extended warranties, but permits purchasers to buy an extended warranty from any other vendor of such warranties. Makes purchasers responsible for replacing and maintaining, at their expense and at any service facility of their choosing, devices related to, but not designed for, emission control, unless such device is covered by an extended warranty. Sets limits on the sulfur content of diesel fuel and the Reid vapor pressure of gasoline and ethanol/gasoline blends, and a floor on the oxygen content of fuel in carbon monoxide nonattainment areas. Sets forth reporting requirements. Imposes civil monetary penalties on violators of fuel regulations. Requires each State to implement a vehicle emission control inspection and maintenance program to reduce in-use emissions of hydrocarbons, carbon monoxide, oxides of nitrogen, and diesel particulates from motor vehicles. Part D: Miscellaneous Provisions - Authorizes the Administrator to respond to violations of this title's requirements by assessing a civil penalty against violators and/or requiring their immediate compliance, or commencing a civil action in the U.S. district court in the district in which the violation occurred for appropriate relief. Imposes civil and criminal penalties for violations of this title's requirements. Provides for judicial review of the Administrator's final actions. Authorizes citizen suits to enforce any permit, regulation, condition, requirement, prohibition, or order which has become effective pursuant to this title. Title IV: Vehicle Fuel Efficiency Improvements - Vehicle Energy Efficiency Performance Standards Act of 1989 - Amends the Motor Vehicle Information and Cost Savings Act to increase the average fuel economy standards for passenger automobiles and light duty trucks for model year 1993 and thereafter according to prescribed guidelines. Exempts manufacturers of fewer than 10,000 light trucks and emergency vehicles from such prescribed standards. Establishes an incentives schedule for manufacturers of passenger automobiles and light trucks. Authorizes the Secretary of Transportation to assess a tax against any manufacturer who fails to comply with the prescribed average fuel economy standards. Sets forth procedural guidelines for the imposition of such tax. States that the current civil penalty shall not apply to any model year for a passenger automobile or light truck after model year 1990. Prescribes a fleet average fuel economy schedule for all Federal passenger automobiles and light trucks for model years 1993 and thereafter. Requires the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency to consult with the Secretary of Energy before establishing testing and calculation procedures for measuring automobile fuel economy. Authorizes (current law directs) the Administrator to require fuel economy tests in conjunction with emissions tests conducted under the Clean Air Act. Directs the Administrator to measure a sampling of production passenger automobiles for each model type and year during the first month of manufacture for sale. Requires the adjustment of average fuel economy standards when necessary. Requires manufacturers to reflect any changes in such standards on automobile labels affixed more than 90 days after such changes are available. Requires that Federal testing and calculation procedures be repeated over a period of years to monitor automobile performance in use to determine the extent of decline in fuel economy. Directs the Administrator to periodically review procedures for testing fuel economy. Directs the Administrator to update the booklet containing fuel economy data at least twice a year. Directs the Secretary of Energy to distribute at least 100 booklets each year to each dealer and additional numbers if requested. Cites conditions under which manufacturers of light vehicles with certain increased fuel economies shall be considered to have offered the Government a specified discounted bid. Directs the Secretary, within two years of enactment of this Act, to submit suggestions to the Congress for additional legislation to carry out its purposes and the purposes of the Motor Vehicle Information and Cost Savings Act. Directs the National Academy of Sciences to report to the Congress on the results of its review of the research and development status of the fuel efficiency and energy consumption reduction of light vehicles, trucks, and passenger vehicles. Directs the Secretary of Energy to make changes in the Department of Energy's transportation research and development program based upon such report. Outlines criteria and procedures for amended vehicle fuel economy standards. Amends the Internal Revenue Code to prescribe a gas guzzler tax schedule applicable to 1990 and later model year automobiles. Sets forth a tax credit schedule for the purchase of certain fuel efficient passenger vehicles. Title V: Waste Minimization and Recycling - Directs the Secretary of Commerce to study and report to the Congress concerning: (1) means to increase the use of degradable materials in manufactured goods; (2) technologies for recycling nondurable consumer products; and (3) ways to expand the marketing of recycled products. Directs the Secretary of Health and Human Services to study and report to the Congress concerning the feasibility of recycling nondegradable medical supplies and of substituting degradable for nondegradable materials in medical equipment and supplies. Directs the Secretary of Defense to study and report to the Congress on the national defense and security implications of requiring the use of degradable materials in defense items. Instructs the Secretary of Agriculture to initiate a pilot project to develop and demonstrate viable technology for composting municipal waste and sewage sludge. Prescribes required features of the project. Requires the Secretary to report project results to the Congress. Directs the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency to establish an Office of Recycling and Waste Minimization to: (1) make grants to support research into innovative recycling technology; and (2) gather and disseminate information on waste disposal and recycling technology. Describes possible research grant activities. Requires the Administrator and the Secretary of Education to conduct a five-year outreach program to provide information regarding the importance of proper waste disposal and the benefits of, and methods to encourage, voluntary recycling. Sets forth a potential format for such program. Authorizes appropriations. Prohibits, effective two years after this Act's enactment, the production, manufacture, distribution, sale, or delivery of nonrecycled consumer goods, fast food in nondegradable containers, and packaging for specified purposes that contains any material that is not naturally degradable. Establishes both civil and criminal penalties for violations. Directs the Administrator to issue regulations to govern the designation of goods and materials for noncompliance purposes. Prescribes criteria with respect to these regulations, including exemptions. Directs the Administrator to publish and periodically update lists of items and materials affected by the prohibition on activities involving nonrecyclable items. Directs the Administrator to promulgate guidelines to assist States in the development of recycling and waste minimization plans. Requires each State to submit such plans to the Administrator for approval. Sets forth requirements for such plans. Directs the Administrator to establish a Federal program in any State that is not enforcing such a plan. Provides that failure by a State to implement such a plan may result in the loss of assistance. Title VI: The World Bank and Sustainable Economic Development - Directs the Secretary of the Treasury to enter into discussions with the president of the World Bank and with officials of the governments of other major contributors to the Bank to work out guidelines for advance disclosure of prospective bank loans prior to their approval within the Bank. Requires the President to instruct U.S. representatives to the Bank to request that all future energy-sector lending for new energy supplies be contingent on a finding that the quantity of services specified in the loan proposal could not be delivered at the same or lower cost by improving the efficiency of energy use. Title VII: Assistance to International Family Planning Organizations - Expresses the sense of the Congress that the United States should provide funds for family planning to organizations operating in foreign countries, provided that such organizations can guarantee that no U.S. funds will be used to pay for performing abortions. Provides that the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 shall be understood to permit U.S. funds to support family planning in foreign countries. Title VIII: Conservation of World Biodiversity - Declares that conservation of biological diversity is a national goal of the United States and that efforts toward conservation are a national priority. Amends the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 to require that environmental impact statements on proposed Federal actions include any impacts on biological diversity. Requires the President's Council on World Environmental Policy to: (1) establish guidelines for consideration of biological diversity in the preparation of environmental impact statements; and (2) identify biotic communities, species, and populations that appear to be in decline or that are of special concern and to include such information in its annual report. Establishes a National Center for Biological Diversity and Environmental Research to set national priorities and provide leadership and coordination for the promotion of knowledge of the Nation's biota and the effects on such biota of the activities of people. Outlines the functions of the Center. Authorizes any Federal agency to detail its personnel to the Center to assist in carrying out the Center's duties under this Act. Allows the Center to accept gifts or donations of services or property. Requires the Director of the Center to report annually to the President and the Congress on the activities of the Center during the preceding year. Establishes an Interagency Working Committee on Biological Diversity to be composed of representatives from specified Federal agencies and to coordinate and implement Federal and international activities and strategies for the conservation of biological diversity. Directs the Committee to report biennially to the Congress on the progress of such strategy. Authorizes agencies on the Committee to engage in partnership grants, provided that the Federal funds are matched by the grantee, except in the case where the grantee is a State. Requires each Committee agency, other than the Council on World Environmental Policy, to give high priority to research and personnel training and to assess the adequacy of such research and training. Establishes a National Scientific Advisory Committee on Biological Diversity to include as members nominees recommended by the National Academy of Sciences and appointed by the President. Outlines the functions of the Committee, including: (1) providing scientific and technical advice to the Interagency Committee in the preparation of Federal strategy; and (2) assisting in the evaluation of the impacts of proposed Federal actions on biological diversity. Authorizes appropriations. Limits expenditures for biological diversity grants. Title IX: Replanting and Conserving the World's Forests - Sets forth congressional findings on tropical wood. Directs the Secretary of State to enter into negotiations with Japan and the European Communities to: (1) reach agreement on a Phased Tropical Hardwoods Agreement to restrain consumption of tropical hardwoods; and (2) establish an international agreement in support of a special Tropical Forest Conservation Lending Facility to be vested within the World Bank and to finance regimes of sustained yield management for tropical woods. Sets forth congressional findings on global deforestation. Requires the Director of AID to: (1) prepare an assessment of the potential for, and the costs of, raising the productivity of small-holders of land on a country specific basis; (2) frame proposals for the expansion of regional microenterprise lending focused on small-holding agriculture in environmentally stressed regions, to be supported by the World Bank; and (3) prepare an estimate of the full global potential for reforestation, its impact on regional ecological and economic problems, its effect on the global carbon balance, its estimated costs, and a proposal for sharing such costs with the international community. Sets forth congressional findings on the preservation of the Amazon Basin. Encourages the Brazilian Government to begin a process of international consultation toward a program for resource conservation in such Basin. Expresses the sense of the Congress that: (1) the Secretary of State should declare that the United States is ready to participate in such consultations; and (2) members of the international community should reassess their investment policies to assure that they do not contribute to the accelerated destruction of such Basin's rain forest. Directs U.S. directors of multilateral development banks and other development assistance institutions to urge restraint pending the development of an approach which blends Brazil's requirements for national development with global environmental imperatives. Title X: International Cooperation - Directs the President to request the United Nations to establish a temporary new agency, to be headed by the director of the United Nations Environmental Program, to: (1) coordinate international efforts to minimize and mitigate the effects of unavoidable environmental alterations; and (2) provide financial, technical, and other assistance to developing nations to facilitate improvements in their standard of living while minimizing or eliminating their contributions to global, continental, and subcontinental scale environmental damages. Directs the President to request the United Nations to establish a temporary program of forestation to: (1) assist and encourage nations in halting activities that are destroying forests; and (2) undertake a global reforestation program. Requires the President to instruct U.S. representatives to other bilateral and multilateral organizations to assure that the activities of such organizations are consistent with this Act's goals and objectives.

Bill· SS. 197 (101st)referred

Homeownership Assistance Act of 1989

United States · United States Congress · 25 January 1989

Homeownership Assistance Act of 1989 - Amends the National Housing Act to create a special mortgage insurance program for first-time homebuyers, including homebuyers of manufactured homes. Authorizes the Secretary of Housing and Urban Development to insure a mortgage loan of up to 97 percent of appraised value for the first $50,000 (currently $25,000) of a home's value. Repeals the current dollar cap on FHA insured mortgages in high cost areas. Authorizes the Federal Housing Administration (FHA) to insure adjustable rate mortgages with annual interest rate increases of up to two percent (currently one percent). Repeals the aggregate annual limit on such insured loans. Defines "first-time homebuyer" as an individual who or whose spouse has not owned a principal residence during the 18 months prior to an FHA insured home purchase. Authorizes an FHA demonstration program to insure mortgages for first-time homebuyer downpayments where the purchase is primarily financed or assisted by tax-exempt or other government assistance. Amends the Federal National Mortgage Association Charter Act to authorize the Government National Mortgage Association to create a secondary market for first-time homebuyer downpayment loans. Authorizes an FHA demonstration program to insure 100 percent of a home's value for a first-time homebuyer provided that the downpayment will be paid within three years by an additional monthly payment. Requires participants to receive financial counseling. Amends the Deficit Reduction Act of 1984 to empower the Internal Revenue Service to confiscate defaulting taxpayers' tax refunds. Requires the Secretary to submit annual program reports to the Congress.

Law· SS. 169 (101st)enacted

Global Change Research Act of 1990

United States · United States Congress · 25 January 1989

National Global Change Research Act of 1989 - Amends the National Science and Technology Policy, Organization, and Priorities Act of 1976 to provide for assignment to the Federal Coordinating Council for Science, Engineering, and Technology of responsibilities to make long-range plans for cooperative scientific and technical research among Federal agencies. Directs the President, through the Council, to develop a National Global Change Research Plan for a ten-year national research effort concerning both human-induced and natural processes of global change. Requires submission of the Plan to the Congress within one year and revision at least triennially thereafter. Directs each participating Federal agency to include global change research funding requirements in its annual budget request. Directs the Chairman of the Council to submit to the President and to the Congress an annual report on global change research efforts.

Bill· SS. 110 (101st)open

Family Planning Amendments of 1989

United States · United States Congress · 25 January 1989

Family Planning Amendments of 1989 - Amends the Public Health Service Act to remove, from provisions relating to project grants and contracts for family planning services, provisions allowing the Secretary of Health and Human Services (Secretary), at the request of a grant recipient, to reduce the amount of the grant by the value of supplies or equipment furnished by the Secretary. Authorizes appropriations for such grants and contracts for FY 1990 through 1992. Repeals existing formula grant provisions. Authorizes appropriations for FY 1990 through 1992 for technical assistance and personnel training, including clinical training for obstetric-gynecologic nurse practitioners and training for educators and counselors. States that research grants and contracts may be made for evaluation as well as for development of contraceptives, and to improve clinical management and direct delivery of family planning services. Authorizes the Secretary to conduct, make grants, and enter into contracts for applied research into the development, evaluation, and bringing to the marketplace of contraceptive devices, drugs, and methods. Authorizes appropriations for FY 1990 through 1992. Authorizes the Secretary to make grants or enter into contracts for community-based information and education programs regarding sexuality, pregnancy, parenthood, and sexually transmitted diseases. Directs the Secretary to make grants and enter into contracts for the development, evaluation, and dissemination of educational and informational materials consistent with the objectives of such programs. Authorizes appropriations for FY 1990 through 1992. Directs the Secretary to collect data annually on: (1) the number of low-income and marginal-income individuals and adolescents at risk of unintended pregnancies; (2) the sources of funding available for family planning services in the United States; (3) the numbers and age, gender, race, and family income of persons who receive family planning services; and (4) the types of services chosen by individuals receiving services.

Bill· SS. 11 (101st)open

California Desert Protection Act of 1989

United States · United States Congress · 25 January 1989

California Desert Protection Act of 1989 - Title I: Wilderness Additions - Designates as additions to the National Wilderness Preservation System 81 wilderness areas within the California Desert Conservation Area (CDCA), the Yuma District, and the Bakersfield District of the Bureau of Land Management. States that non-designated areas within the CDCA have been adequately studied for inclusion in the System and are therefore released from otherwise applicable restrictions. Designates certain lands within the CDCA as the White Mountains Wilderness Study Area. Title II: Death Valley National Park - Establishes the Death Valley National Park which subsumes the Death Valley National Monument. Withdraws the additional lands from further exploitation under the mining laws. Requires the Secretary of the Interior (the Secretary) to determine the validity of any unpatented mining claims within such additional lands and whether the United States should acquire any mineral rights in such lands. Title III: Joshua Tree National Park - Establishes the Joshua Tree National Park which subsumes the Joshua Tree National Monument. Withdraws the additional lands from further exploitation under the mining laws. Requires the Secretary to determine the validity of any unpatented mining claims within such additional lands and whether the United States should acquire any mineral rights in such lands. Title IV: Mojave National Park - Establishes the Mojave National Park which subsumes the East Mojave National Scenic Area. Withdraws Federal lands within the Park from further exploitation under the mining laws. Requires the Secretary to determine the validity of any unpatented mining claims within the Park and whether the United States should acquire any mineral rights in such lands. Authorizes the Secretary to regulate mining in such Park. Allows grazing only to the extent allowed in current permits. Continues the validity of existing rights-of-way for specified activities. Directs the Secretary to prepare and report to the appropriate congressional committees, within three years, on a management plan for the Park. Designates the Granite Mountains Natural Reserve within the Park. Authorizes the Secretary to construct a visitors' center and acquire lands. Authorizes appropriations. Title V: National Park Wilderness - Designates as wilderness the Death Valley National Park Wilderness, the Joshua Tree National Park Wilderness Additions, and the Mojave National Park Wilderness. Title VI: Miscellaneous Provisions - Directs the Secretary to transfer Red Rock Canyon State Park Additions in the CDCA to California. Establishes the Desert Lily Sanctuary within the CDCA. Establishes the Indian Canyons National Historic Site. Authorizes the Secretary to exchange Federal mineral interests in lands in California for private mineral interests in wilderness areas and national parks designated by this Act. Directs the Secretary to insure nonexclusive access to such wilderness areas and parks by Indian people for traditional cultural and religious purposes. Title VII: Military Activities - Provides that nothing in this Act shall preclude, limit, or otherwise affect low level overflights of military aircraft in the California desert in the same location and degree as existed prior to enactment of this Act. Withdraws from appropriation under the public land laws and reserves for military use by the Secretary of the Navy specified lands in California known as the China Lake Naval Weapons Center in Inyo, Kern, and San Bernardino Counties and Chocolate Mountain in Imperial County. Requires the Secretary of the Interior to manage such lands' nonmilitary uses, subject to closure by the Secretary of the Navy for security or safety purposes. Requires the Secretary of the Interior to develop, within three years, a management plan for such lands. Requires the Secretary of the Navy to prevent and suppress brush and range fires with reimbursable assistance from the Bureau of Land Management. Requires the Secretaries to enter into a memorandum of understanding concerning the management plan which includes the provision of fire control assistance upon request. Requires the Secretary of Defense to notify the Secretary of the Interior whenever withdrawn lands are being used for defense-related purposes other than those specified, including the effect of such different use. Authorizes the Secretary of the Interior to delegate management responsibilities for China Lake to the Secretary of the Navy. Requires the Secretary of the Navy to report annually to the Secretary of the Interior, who shall then report to the appropriate congressional committees on the status of natural and cultural resources on such withdrawn lands. Terminates land withdrawals under this Act 15 years after this Act's enactment. Requires the Secretary of the Navy to publish a draft environmental impact statement on the continued or renewed withdrawal of lands under this Act. Requires such Secretary to hold a public hearing in California before the withdrawal's termination. Requires the Secretary of the Navy to maintain a decontamination program for such lands during their withdrawal. Requires the Secretary to report annually to the appropriate congressional committees on such decontamination efforts. Requires the Secretary of the Navy to notify the Secretary of the Interior, at least three years before the termination of the withdrawal, whether an extension is going to be requested and, if not, to what extent such lands are contaminated with hazardous materials. Requires the Secretary of the Navy to decontaminate relinquished lands, but if such decontamination is not practicable or economically feasible, authorizes the Secretary of the Interior to refuse to accept such lands. Requires the Secretary of the Navy to then: (1) warn the public of risks of entry; (2) conduct only decontamination activities on such lands after the expiration of the withdrawal; and (3) report to the Secretary of the Interior and the Congress on the status of such lands. Directs the Secretary of the Interior to publish the acceptance of withdrawn lands, indicating when such lands will be open and under what conditions. Exempts the United States from liability for injuries or damages resulting from nonmilitary activity on withdrawn lands. Authorizes an extension of the Navy's use of the El Centro Ranges in Imperial County, California, through January 1, 1990, subject to resource protection requirements.

Bill· SS. 137 (101st)passed

Senate Election Campaign Ethics Act of 1990

United States · United States Congress · 25 January 1989

Senatorial Election Campaign Act of 1989 - Amends the Federal Election Campaign Act of 1971 to provide for spending limits and benefits for Senate general elections. Sets forth eligibility requirements for such benefits, including: (1) that a candidate has raised contributions totaling a specified minimum amount based on the State voting age population; (2) that such contributions have come from individuals, and that no individual has contributed more than $250; (3) that a candidate will abide by spending and other limitations of this Act; (4) that a specified percentage of contributions have come from constituents; (5) that at least one other candidate has qualified for the same general election; and (6) that a candidate apply for benefits under this Act. Provides that a contribution may not be counted unless: (1) it is made on a written instrument identifying the person making the contribution; (2) it is not made through an intermediary or conduit; (3) it is made by an individual and does not exceed the aggregate of $250; and (4) it was received after January 1 of the year preceding the election. Provides for increasing threshold amounts under this Act in accordance with increases in the price index. Limits personal expenditures during an election cycle to $20,000 and aggregate spending to $400,000 plus: (1) 30 cents multiplied by the voting age population of States having a voting age population of 4,000,000 or less; or (2) 30 cents multiplied by 4,000,000 plus 25 cents multiplied by the voting age population over 4,000,000 in States having a voting age population over 4,000,000. Limits overall spending to not less than $950,000 nor more than $5,500,000. Prohibits benefits to an eligible candidate who spends for the primary election more than 67 percent of the limitation on expenditures for the general election or more than $2,750,000, whichever amount is less. Prohibits payments to a candidate who spends for a runoff election more than 20 percent of the maximum amount of the limitation applicable to such candidate. Establishes spending limitations for a candidate in a State with no more than one transmitter for a commercial VHF television station. Allows a candidate to establish a fund with private contributions of up to ten percent of the general election spending limit to defray the costs of legal and accounting services provided solely to insure compliance with this Act. Permits the candidate to petition the Federal Election Commission for a waiver of such limitation if such costs exceed the limitation. Requires, upon the termination or dissolution of such fund, that remaining amounts be contributed to the Treasury to reduce the budget deficit or transferred to a subsequent compliance fund. Increases the primary and runoff election spending limits by the amount of independent expenditures against a candidate or for his opponent during the two-year election cycle. Allows a candidate to accept private contributions in the event of a prorated payment from the Senate Fund. Establishes formulae for determining entitlements of candidates of a major party and for those not of a major party. Entitles candidates to certain broadcast media rates and mailing rates. Provides for additional payments and suspension of spending limits in cases where non-participating candidates and their committees exceed spending limitations. Permits candidates who receive such additional benefits to use funds to defray expenditures in the general election. Prohibits the use of such benefits to: (1) make any payments directly or indirectly to the candidate or the candidate's immediate family; (2) make expenditures other than to further the general election; (3) make expenditures in violation of State or Federal law; or (4) repay any loan except to the extent the proceeds of such loan were used to further the general election. Requires the Federal Election Commission to certify the eligibility of candidates to the Secretary of the Treasury in order for such candidates to receive benefits. Requires the Secretary to maintain in the Presidential Election Campaign Fund the Senate Fund for the deposit of funds for payments to eligible candidates. Makes candidates liable for repayment to the Fund for any excess amounts they receive. Provides for prorating payments when monies in such Fund are insufficient. Directs the Commission, after each general election, to audit the campaign expenses of publicly financed candidates. Establishes criminal penalties for knowing or willful violations of this Act. Subjects Commission actions under this Act to judicial review by the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit. Directs the Commission, after each election, to report to the Senate on actions taken under this Act. Authorizes appropriations to the Commission as necessary. Amends the Internal Revenue Code to increase the amount an individual may designate to the Presidential Election Campaign Fund from $1 to $2 (and in the case of joint returns, from $2 to $4). Sets forth reporting requirements for Senate candidates relating to spending limitations, candidacy eligibility, and independent expenditures. Requires each political committee active in non-Federal elections and maintaining separate accounts for such purpose to file with the Commission reports of funds received into, and disbursements made from, such accounts for activities which may influence elections to Federal office. Requires, when two or more persons make expenditures in concert to promote the election or defeat of a candidate, each such person to report to the Commission on such expenditures. Requires political committees to report the name and address of secondary payees who provide goods and services to the candidate. Requires a Senate candidate, within 15 days of qualifying for a primary ballot, to file a declaration with the Commission stating whether he or she intends to expend from personal funds, and the funds of the candidate's immediate family, and incur personal loans in connection with the campaign in the aggregate of $250,000 or more for the election cycle. Requires a candidate who makes such expenditures to report to the Commission within 24 hours after such expenditures have been made, and thereafter, each time an expenditure exceeds $10,000. Requires the Commission to notify eligible candidates of such reports. Limits the amount that political committees may contribute to House elections to $100,000 for a general or special election and $25,000 for a runoff election. Limits contributions to Senate elections to 30 percent of spending limits established by this Act for Senate candidates. Limits contributions to State committees of a political party to: (1) $25,000; or (2) two cents multiplied by the voting age population of the State, whichever is greater. Declares such contributions to State committees applicable to each two-year election cycle. Prohibits a congressional campaign committee from accepting, during a two-year election cycle, contributions from multicandidate political committees and separate segregated funds which exceed 30 percent of the total expenditures which may be made during such cycle by that committee on behalf of congressional candidates. Prohibits a national committee of a political party from accepting contributions from multicandidate political committees and separate segregated funds during the election cycle which equal an amount in excess of two cents multiplied by the voting age population of the United States. Provides that such prohibition does not apply to direct mail communications designed for fundraising purposes which make only incidental reference to Federal candidates. Provides for the accountability of contributions made by intermediaries or conduits. Describes when an expenditure shall not constitute an independent expenditure for purposes of this Act. Requires, when independent expenditures are made for television broadcast communications, that a statement appear continuously during such broadcast showing the name of the person or committee making such expenditure. Requires any type of general public communication to include such statement. Prohibits the use of campaign contributions to repay loans by a candidate to the candidate or the candidate's authorized committees. Makes referral to the Justice Department by the Commission mandatory in the case of criminal matters. Includes as a contribution to a Senate candidate an extension of credit for more than 60 days in an amount of more than $1,000. Amends provisions of law regarding the Postal Service to provide for reduced rates for eligible Senate candidates. Amends the Federal Election Campaign Act of 1971 to require a non-eligible Senate candidate to disclose in advertisements or announcements that such candidate has not agreed to spending limits set forth under this Act. Repeals the exception which permits a Member of Congress who was such a Member on January 8, 1980, to convert excess campaign contributions to personal use. Requires presidential candidates to certify to the Commission that during the presidential primary and general election period, the candidate and his authorized committees and agents have not and will not solicit, receive, or spend, directly or indirectly, any funds in connection with a Federal, State, or local election unless such funds are subject to Federal fundraising and expenditure limitations. Prohibits a State committee of a political party from making any expenditure in connection with the general election campaign of any presidential candidate affiliated with such party which exceeds an amount equal to four cents multiplied by the voting age population of that State. Subjects to Federal fundraising and expenditure limitations any amount solicited, received, or spent by a national, State, or local committee of a political party, if such amount is solicited, received, or spent in connection with a Federal election. Amends the Federal Election Campaign Act of 1971 to revise membership requirements of the Federal Election Commission.

Bill· SS. 195 (101st)open

Chemical and Biological Weapons Control Act of 1989

United States · United States Congress · 25 January 1989

Chemical and Biological Weapons Control Act of 1989 - Requires the imposition of certain sanctions against any foreign country which uses chemical or biological weapons in violation of international law or against its own citizens. Specifies such sanctions as: (1) a prohibition against the sale or export to any such country of any item on the U.S. Munitions List; (2) a prohibition against the exportation to any such country of any goods or technology listed on the control list established pursuant to the Export Administration Act of 1979; (3) U.S. opposition to any loan or financial or technical assistance to any such country by international financial institutions; (4) a prohibition against U.S. military or economic assistance to the sanctioned country; (5) a prohibition against the importation of any goods or services from any such country; (6) a prohibition against credit or credit guarantees through the Export-Import Bank of the United States; (7) a prohibition against U.S. banks making any loan or providing any credit to any such country; and (8) a denial of landing rights in the United States to any airline owned by the government of any such country. Authorizes the President to waive some or all of such sanctions for a period not to exceed nine months upon a determination that such a waiver would be in the national interest. Requires the President to notify the Congress of the imposition of such sanctions not later than five days after such sanctions become effective. Provides for the removal of such sanctions after specified conditions are met. Provides for the sanctity of contracts entered into prior to the date on which Congress is notified of the imposition of sanctions. Requires the President to report to the Congress every 180 days on: (1) efforts by Iran, Iraq, Libya, Syria, and other developing nations to acquire materials and technology to produce and deliver chemical and biological weapons; and (2) an assessment of such countries' present and future capability to produce and deliver such weapons. Urges the President to cooperate in multilateral efforts to control chemical and biological weapons and to give full support to United Nations involvement in such efforts.

Bill· SS. 135 (101st)open

Hatch Act Reform Amendments of 1989

United States · United States Congress · 25 January 1989

Hatch Act Reform Amendments of 1989 - Declares that a Federal employee may take an active part in political management or in political campaigns, except that an employee may not: (1) use official authority or influence for the purpose of interfering with or affecting the result of an election; (2) knowingly solicit, accept, or receive a political contribution from any person, unless such person is a member of the same Federal employee organization and the solicitation is for a contribution to the multicandidate political committee of such organization; or (3) run for the nomination or as a candidate for election to a partisan political office. Prohibits an employee from engaging in political activity: (1) while on duty; (2) in any room or building occupied in the discharge of official duties by a Federal employee or official; (3) while wearing a uniform or official insignia identifying the office or position of the employee; or (4) while using any vehicle owned or leased by the Government. Exempts certain high level political appointees from such prohibitions if the costs associated with the political activity are not paid for by money derived from the Treasury. Includes U.S. Postal Service, Postal Rate Commission, and District of Columbia employees within the coverage of this Act.

Bill· SS. 5 (101st)open

Act for Better Child Care Services of 1989

United States · United States Congress · 25 January 1989

Act for Better Child Care Services of 1989 - Makes eligible for services under this Act children: (1) who are less than 16 years of age; (2) whose family income does not exceed the State median income for a family of the same size; and (3) who either reside with a parent or parents who are working, seeking employment, or enrolled in a job training or educational program, or reside with a parent or parents not thus described and receive or need to receive protective services. Authorizes appropriations for FY 1990 through 1994. Directs the Secretary of Health and Human Services (the Secretary) to make grants to applicant Indian tribes or tribal organizations for programs and activities under this Act for the benefit of Indian children. Requires the designation of a lead agency in each State which participates in the program under this Act. Requires States to submit, in order to qualify for assistance under this Act, an application and five-year plan to the Secretary. Requires the plan to specify that at least 75 percent of the State allotment will be used to provide qualified child care services to eligible children, on a sliding fee scale basis (according to specified funding methods) with priority given to services to children of families with very low incomes for their size. Requires that child care services provided out of a State allotment be provided by: (1) contracts directly with or direct grants to eligible child care providers; (2) grants to local governments to contract with such providers to provide such services directly; or (3) child care certificates distributed to parents of eligible children to enable them to purchase such services from such providers. Requires that a specified portion of State allotment funds be used to enable providers to extend the hours of operation of part-day programs to provide full-working-day child care services throughout the year. Prohibits financial assistance under this Act from being expended for the construction of a new facility, and sets forth limitations on such assistance for renovation or repair of existing facilities. Authorizes the Secretary to make planning grants, in the first year of their program participation, to States which desire to participate under this Act but cannot fully satisfy the requirements of a State plan without financial assistance. Provides for a review of the operation of a State plan during the five-year period to determine the State's continued eligibility for funds. Directs the Governors of each participating State to establish, and appoint members of, a State advisory committee on child care to assist the lead agency, review and evaluate services, make recommendations on standards and practices, and perform other functions to improve the quantity and quality of child care services. Requires the committee to have a subcommittee on licensing to review the laws applicable to, and the licensing requirements and policies of, each licensing agency regulating child care services and programs in the State (unless the State has done such a review during the four years before the establishment of the committee). Requires the subcommittee to report to the Governor on specified matters, and the Governor to report to the Secretary with comments and a plan for correcting or improving licensing, regulating, and monitoring of child care services and programs. Requires States receiving funds under this Act to designate private nonprofit community-based organizations or public organizations, including local governments, as resource and referral agencies for particular areas, and to provide assistance to such agencies. Requires each participating State to require that all employed or self-employed persons providing licensed or regulated child care complete at least 15 hours per year of specified training. Directs the State to make grants, and enter into contracts with, specified entities to provide such training to eligible providers, including family child care providers. Requires participating States to provide scholarship assistance to: (1) individuals who seek a nationally recognized child development associate credential for center-based or family child care and whose income is not more than 50 percent above the poverty line; and (2) caregivers who seek to obtain the 15-hour minimum annual training and whose income is not above the poverty line. Requires States to establish in the lead agency a clearinghouse to collect and disseminate training materials to resource and referral agencies and child care providers. Provides for child care public-private partnership. Requires participating States to carry out activities designed to encourage businesses to support or provide child care services to a reasonable mix of children of employees and nonemployees, including those from different socioeconomic backgrounds. Establishes the President's Award for Responsive Management Policy to honor public and private sector employers who have: (1) successfully implemented personnel programs and policies responsive to child care needs of working parents; or (2) made significant contributions to child care projects. Directs the Secretary of Labor to promulgate regulations for annual awards by the President. Establishes in the Department of Health and Human Services the position of Administrator of Child Care who shall: (1) coordinate all activities of the Department and of other Federal agencies relating to child care; (2) annually collect and publish State child care standards, including periodic modifications; (3) evaluate activities funded under this Act; (4) act as a clearinghouse for specified matters, including studies on salaries of child care workers; and (5) provide technical assistance to States to carry out this Act. Establishes enforcement provisions for review of State plans and monitoring of State compliance. Sets the Federal share for funding activities under a State plan at 80 percent, but raises it to 85 percent when the State demonstrates that all child care providers are appropriately licensed and regulated and that those receiving assistance meet certain requirements and minimum standards. Requires the Secretary to establish a National Advisory Committee on Minimum Child Care Standards to: (1) review Federal policies on child care services and such other data as appropriate; (2) submit to the Secretary proposed minimum standards for child care programs; and (3) develop and make available to lead agencies model regulations for resource and referral agencies. Terminates the Committee after the Secretary establishes such standards. Prohibits financial assistance under this Act from being used for: (1) any sectarian purpose or activity, including sectarian worship and instruction; and (2) with regard to services to students in grades one through 12, any services during the regular school day, or for which academic credit is given toward graduation, or which supplant or duplicate a public or private school academic program. States that financial assistance under this Act constitutes Federal financial assistance for purposes of various civil rights and nondiscrimination laws. Prohibits a child care provider from discriminating against any child on the basis of religion in providing child care services in return for a fee paid, reimbursement received, or certificate redeemed, in whole or in part with financial assistance provided under this Act. Provides that nothing in this Act shall be construed or applied in any manner to infringe upon or usurp the the moral and legal rights and responsibilities of parents or legal guardians. Authorizes any State to assist in the establishment and operation of a child care liability risk retention group (i.e., a corporation or other limited liability association whose members are child care providers licensed or accredited pursuant to State and local law and standards, and which otherwise satisfies specified criteria for risk retention groups). Directs the Secretary to make allotments to each State for such child care liability risk retention groups, on the basis of a specified formula.

Bill· SS. 29 (101st)open

Biennial Budget Act

United States · United States Congress · 25 January 1989

Biennial Budget Act - Amends the Congressional Budget 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 102d 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. Changes relevant deadlines as follows to conform 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. 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 (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 public debt limit. Revises the extent of projections to be included in CBO analyses of reported bills. Amends Federal law to require the President's budget for a biennium 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 1991. 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). Directs the heads of Federal executive agencies, the Comptroller General, and the Directors of the Congressional Budget Office, the Office of Technology Assessment, and the Congressional Research Service 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.

Bill· SS. 120 (101st)open

Adolescent Pregnancy Prevention, Care, and Research Grants Act of 1989

United States · United States Congress · 25 January 1989

Adolescent Pregnancy Prevention, Care, and Research Grants Act of 1989 - Replaces the current title XX (Adolescent Family Life Demonstration Projects) of the Public Health Service Act with a new title on adolescent pregnancy prevention, care, and research grants. Authorizes the Secretary of Health and Human Services to make grants to provide care services to pregnant adolescents and adolescent parents and prevention services to nonpregnant adolescents. Lists permissible uses for the grants. Requires that grantees charge fees for services only according to a fee schedule approved by the Secretary that bases fees on income. Prohibits a grantee from discriminating on the basis of an individual's inability to pay for services. Sets forth priorities in making the grants. Provides for the amount of a grant. Prohibits the Federal portion of the grant from exceeding 75 percent of annual program costs. Allows non-Federal contributions to be in cash or in kind. Allows the Secretary to waive the 75 percent limitation in accordance with criteria established by regulation. Sets forth descriptions and assurances which must be included in grant applications. Requires grant recipients to spend between three and ten percent to conduct, through an independent entity, an evaluation of the services supported. Sets forth reporting requirements. Directs the Secretary to coordinate Federal policies and programs providing services relating to the prevention of initial and recurrent adolescent pregnancies and providing care for pregnant adolescents and adolescent parents. Requires grant recipients to coordinate activities with other grant recipients in the same locality. Authorizes the Secretary to make grants to support: (1) research concerning the societal causes and consequences of pregnancy, childbearing, and child rearing for adolescent females and males; (2) evaluative research to identify services that reduce adolescent pregnancy rates and that improve the outcome of adolescent childbearing; and (3) the dissemination of information from programs and research relating to adolescent pregnancy and parenthood. Allows research and dissemination grants to be made for one year, with renewals for four additional one-year periods. Limits the amount of a grant for direct costs, but allows: (1) additional amounts for indirect costs as the Secretary deems appropriate; and (2) the Secretary to waive the limitation. Sets forth allowed and prohibited uses of the funds. Directs the Secretary to coordinate research and dissemination activities carried out under these provisions with such activities carried out by the National Institutes of Health (NIH). Directs the Secretary to establish a system for the review of applications that is substantially similar to the system for scientific peer review of the NIH. Requires the creation of a panel to review applications. Prohibits application approval unless the panel has determined the program to be of scientific merit. Sets forth reporting requirements. Directs the Secretary to reserve certain amounts appropriated under this title for evaluation of activities. Requires the Secretary to report the results of each evaluation to the appropriate committees of the Congress. Authorizes appropriations for carrying out the title added by this Act for FY 1990 through 1992. Prohibits use of funds for grants under this Act for payment for the performance of an abortion.

Bill· SS. 30 (101st)open

Oil Shale Claims Act of 1990

United States · United States Congress · 25 January 1989

Oil Shale Mining Claims Conversion Act - Prohibits the issuance of an oil shale mining claims patent after January 25, 1989, for any claim located prior to enactment of the Mineral Leasing Act of 1920. (Exempts patent applications which had been filed and fully complied with by such date.) Requires the owners of valid oil shale mining claims located pursuant to the General Mining Law of 1872 prior to enactment of the Mineral Leasing Act of 1920 to make specified elections within 180 days after enactment of this Act or be conclusively deemed to have abandoned the oil shale claim. States that claim holders who are required to make an election may elect to either: (1) convert such claim to a lease; or (2) maintain the claim by compliance with Federal mining laws and this Act. Precludes the Secretary of the Interior from issuing any lease (or approving its assignment) to an entity controlled by another entity which already holds an oil shale mining claim located under the General Mining Law of 1872. Requires lease or claim holders to reclaim such sites and to post bond to guarantee such reclamation before the site is distributed.

Bill· SS. 176 (101st)open

A bill to amend the Foreign Agents Registration Act of 1938 to strengthen the registration and enforcement requirements of that Act.

United States · United States Congress · 25 January 1989

Amends the Foreign Agents Registration Act of 1938 to declare that a foreign principal shall be considered to control a person in major part if: (1) such principal holds more than 50 percent of equitable ownership in such person; or (2) such principal, subject to rebuttal evidence, holds at least 20 percent but not more than 50 percent of equitable ownership in such person. Requires agents of foreign principals who have filed registration statements to file supplements to such statements with the Attorney General on January 31 and July 31 of each year. Repeals a provision exempting agents of foreign principals who are qualified to practice law from filing registration statements. Imposes civil penalties upon persons who have: (1) failed to file such registration statements; or (2) omitted a material fact or made false statements on such registration statements.

Bill· SS. 123 (101st)open

Smart Start: The Community Collaborative for Early Childhood Development Act of 1989

United States · United States Congress · 25 January 1989

Smart Start: The Community Collaborative for Early Childhood Development Act of 1989 - Directs the Secretary of Education (the Secretary) to make grants to States and localities with approved plans and applications to assist them to expand or establish full-day early childhood development services for prekindergarten children. Authorizes appropriations for FY 1990 through 1994. Sets forth requirements relating to State and local eligibility for Federal assistance under this Act, including establishment or designation of a State Advisory Task Force and a Local Policy Group. Provides for Federal assistance to localities in States which elect not to participate. Prohibits any locality funded under specified provisions from receiving less than $25,000 in total Federal and State funds provided under this Act. Allows any locality to apply for a six-month planning grant to the State or, if the State does not participate, to the Secretary. Provides for State Advisory Task Forces. Requires each Task Force to report annually to the Governor and the Secretary on the status of early childhood development programs and child care programs operating within the States. Allows a State to use an existing comparable task force for such purposes. Directs the Governor to designate a Lead State Agency to administer the early childhood development programs assisted under this Act. Requires any locality desiring to receive a grant under this Act to form a Local Policy Group. Requires each Group to report annually to the State Advisory Task Force on the status of early childhood development programs and child care within the locality. Requires selection of a local administering agency by specified local officials from among specified types of local agencies. Makes a child eligible to participate in programs assisted under this Act in the school year two years prior to the school year in which the child would be eligible under State law to enter first grade. Permits any State or locality which has served all children of the eligible age group requesting services to use funds to serve children in the school year three years prior to the school year in which they would be eligible under State law to enter first grade. Sets forth family contribution requirements. Provides services under this Act without charge to eligible children in families with incomes under 115 percent of the poverty line. Requires, for eligible children from families with incomes at or above 115 percent of the poverty line, payment of fees on a sliding scale up to the full cost of such services. Sets forth minimum standards for service providers, including maximum group size and child to adult ratios, staff training and credentials, parental involvement, and health, safety, and nutrition requirements. Requires Local Policy Groups to: (1) arrange for periodic on-site evaluation of local programs; and (2) report annually to the Task Force. Requires the Task Force to: (1) arrange for periodic on-site monitoring, inspection, and evaluation of programs; and (2) report annually to the Governor and the Secretary. Directs the Secretary, either directly or by grant or contract, to provide for continuing evaluation of programs, especially on the use of nonparticipant control groups. Authorizes the Secretary to require States or localities to provide for independent evaluations. Directs the Secretary to: (1) publish results of evaluations within 90 days of their completion; and (2) submit copies to the appropriate congressional committees. Directs the Secretary to report annually to the appropriate congressional committees.

Law· SS. 20 (101st)enacted

Whistleblower Protection Act of 1989

United States · United States Congress · 25 January 1989

Whistleblower Protection Act of 1989 - Separates the Office of Special Counsel from the Merit Systems Protection Board. Empowers the Special Counsel to represent and act as legal counsel on behalf of employees alleging prohibited personnel practices, especially whistleblowers. Revises current law with respect to the Special Counsel to reflect its advocate status. Authorizes the Board to grant protective orders to protect a witness or other individual from harassment either during a proceeding before the Board or during a Special Counsel investigation. Requires the Board, when it considers alternative places for conducting hearings or proceedings, to select the place closest to the location of the individual involved, unless the total administrative costs to the Government in conducting such hearings or proceedings would be less elsewhere. Authorizes the Special Counsel to file a petition to the Board against an official for: (1) engaging in prohibited personnel practices; (2) violating a law within the jurisdiction of the Special Counsel; or (3) failing to comply with an order of the Board. Sets forth procedures for disciplining such officials. Prohibits the Special Counsel from intervening in cases without the employee's consent, except: (1) where the employee is charged with a prohibited personnel practice; or (2) where the Special Counsel allows an agency to take disciplinary action against an employee under Special Counsel investigation. Prohibits the Special Counsel from providing information concerning any person making an allegation of a prohibited personnel practice, except in accordance with applicable law, without the consent of such person. Prescribes procedures for the Special Counsel when disclosures are made by persons other than an employee, former employee, applicant for employment, or employee who obtained information in connection with official duties. Requires the Special Counsel to report annually to the Congress on its activities. Establishes requirements for the Special Counsel to make public certain information, including noncriminal matters. Authorizes employees who have been adversely affected by a prohibited personnel practice to bring an action before the Board (instead of or in addition to taking such action to the Special Counsel). Prohibits reprisals against an employee for disclosing information to the Inspector General of an agency or to the Special Counsel, or for failing to follow orders to disobey a law. Authorizes Federal agencies to give preference in granting transfers to whistleblowers. Provides interim relief for certain appellants to the Board. Authorizes appropriations for the Merit Systems Protection Board for FY 1989 through 1993 and for the Office of Special Counsel for FY 1989 through 1991. Provides that the relevant agency shall be named respondent in employee appeals of Board decisions where the appeal involves the underlying personnel action or a request for attorney fees.

Bill· SS. 16 (101st)open

Pay Equity Technical Assistance Act

United States · United States Congress · 25 January 1989

Pay Equity Technical Assistance Act - Directs the Secretary of Labor to develop and implement a continuing program of information dissemination, research, and technical assistance to public and private entities with respect to correction of wage-setting practices, and a reduction or elimination of wage disparities, to the extent that they are based on the sex, race, or national origin of the employee, rather than on the work performed and other appropriate factors.

Bill· SS. 160 (101st)referred

A bill to require the construction of a memorial on Federal land in the District of Columbia or its environs to honor members of the Armed Forces who served in World War II and to commemorate United States participation in that conflict.

United States · United States Congress · 25 January 1989

Directs the American Battle Monuments Commission to construct a memorial on Federal land in the District of Columbia or its environs to honor World War II veterans and commemorate U.S. participation in that conflict. Requires the Commission to plan, design, and oversee such construction. Establishes the World War II Memorial Advisory Board to: (1) promote and encourage donation of private funds for the construction of such memorial; and (2) recommend the site and assist the Commission in selecting the design for such memorial. Authorizes the Commission to solicit private contributions for the construction of such memorial. Authorizes assistance from specified Federal departments and agencies. Authorizes Federal property to be transferred to the Commission and authorizes the Commission to purchase suitable property within the District of Columbia for the establishment of such memorial. Absolves the United States from any liability for any expense incurred in the construction of such memorial. Provides that the maintenance of such memorial and the surrounding grounds shall be the responsibility of the Secretary of the Interior. Provides that all requirements and authority established in this Act shall lapse unless: (1) the construction of the memorial is commenced within five years after enactment of this Act; and (2) funds are certified to be available, prior to such construction, to insure completion of the memorial.