legislation: 101-hr-3150
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| 101-hr-3150 | 101 | hr | 3150 | To amend the Social Security Act and the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to provide for budget reconciliation for fiscal years 1990 and 1991 in accordance with reconciliation instructions to the Committee on Ways and Means. | Social Welfare | 1989-08-04 | 1989-11-22 | See H.R.3299. | House | Rep. Rostenkowski, Dan [D-IL-8] | IL | D | R000458 | 0 | Title X (sic): Non-Revenue Provisions of the Committee on Ways and Means - Subtitle A: Social Security Administration, Old-Age, Survivors and Disability Insurance, and Railroad Retirement - Social Security Administrative Reform Act of 1989 - Chapter 1: Administrative Changes - Subchapter A: Establishment of the Social Security Administration as an Independent Agency - Part 1: General Provisions - Amends title VII (Administration) of the Social Security Act to establish as an independent executive agency a Social Security Administration, headed by a Social Security Board. Provides that it shall be the duty of the Administration to administer the programs established by titles II (Old Age, Survivors and Disability Insurance) (OASDI) and XVI (Supplemental Security Income) (SSI) of the Social Security Act. Requires the Board to study and make recommendations as to the most effective methods of providing economic security through social insurance and supplemental security income, and as to legislation and matters of administrative policy. Establishes in the Administration: (1) an Executive Director; (2) a Deputy Director of Social Security; (3) a General Counsel; (4) an Inspector General; (5) an Office of the Beneficiary Ombudsman, to be headed by a Beneficiary Ombudsman who shall represent the interests of beneficiaries under the OASDI and SSI programs within the Administration; and (6) an Office of the Chief Administrative Law Judge. Requires the annual report of the Board to include a description of the activities of the Beneficiary Ombudsman. Requires the Board to make annual budgetary recommendations relating to the Administration. Requires that appropriations requests by the Administration for staffing and personnel be based upon a comprehensive workforce plan as established by the Board. Provides for the apportionment of administrative costs. Requires the annual report of the Board to include a section reflecting the use of budget authority provided to the Administration. Requires that authority for automated data processing procurement and facilities construction be provided in the form of contract authority covering the total cost of such acquisitions. Makes amounts needed for the liquidation of contract authority so provided available from the Federal Old-Age and Survivors Insurance Trust Fund and the Federal Disability Insurance Trust Fund to the extent that such amounts are not needed to meet current obligations for benefit payments. Requires the Board to cause a seal of office to be made and judicial notice taken thereof. Requires the establishment of demonstration projects involving the delegation of authority from the Office of Personnel Management and the General Services Administration to the Board. Provides for the transfer to the Administration of all functions carried out by the Secretary of Health and Human Services with respect to the programs and activities to be carried out by the Administration under this Act. Abolishes the position of Commissioner of Social Security in the Department of Health and Human Services. Part 2: Conforming Amendments and Rules of Construction - Requires the Secretary and the Board to report to the Congress within 120 days after the beginning of each regular session on their administration under this Act. Requires the Secretary to study and make recommendations on the most effective methods of providing economic security and on the administrative policy for the programs. Subchapter B: Improvements in Social Security Services - Amends the OASDI program to require that the Federal Government collect OASDI overpayments on a schedule which does not cause financial hardship for the beneficiary. Limits the amount of OASDI overpayments which may be collected in a month from beneficiaries under title XVI (Supplemental Security Income) (SSI) of the Act. Directs the Secretary of Health and Human Services to establish one- to three-year demonstration projects implementing accountability procedures for at least three telephone service centers operated by the Social Security Administration (SSA). Requires that the Secretary promptly provide callers who provide certain identifying information with a written receipt which sets forth: (1) the name of the SSA representative with whom the caller spoke; (2) the date of the call; (3) a description of the nature of the call; (4) any action which the representative indicates will be taken in response to the call; and (5) the information or advice offered by the SSA representative. Requires that: (1) callers be notified that they will be provided with such receipt; and (2) the SSA retain a copy of such receipt. Authorizes the exclusion from such projects of routine calls unrelated to eligibility or benefits. Sets forth reporting requirements. Requires the Secretary to take into account a beneficiary's physical, mental, educational, or linguistic limitations in specified situations when deciding whether his or her action or omission should result in the discontinuance of benefits or forfeiture of overpayments. Directs the Secretary to establish a program, within 180 days of this Act's enactment, under which homeless individuals who may be eligible for OASDI benefits will be identified and assisted in applying for such benefits. Requires that notices issued to individuals pursuant to the OASDI program: (1) be written in simple and clear language; and (2) contain the name, address, and telephone number of a responsible person to contact regarding the notice. Directs the Secretary to report to the Congress by July 1, 1990, regarding SSA procedures for issuing notices in foreign languages and reasonable options for expanding the use of notices in foreign languages. Provides that individuals who are applying for or receiving OASDI benefits on the basis of blindness may elect to receive notice of decisions made and actions taken with respect to their rights under the program: (1) by certified mail and by telephone five days after such mailing; or (2) by some alternative procedure established by the Secretary. Requires the Secretary to: (1) maintain the names of representatives of OASDI claimants in the SSA's electronic information retrieval system; and (2) provide written notice to such claimants of the options for obtaining attorneys to represent them in presenting their cases before the Secretary. Allows OASDI claimants to reapply for payments which have been denied if such claimants' failure to request a review of such denials within 60 days of receiving notice of such determinations resulted from good faith reliance upon incorrect, incomplete, or misleading information provided by the SSA or State agencies making disability determinations. Requires the the Secretary, in notifying claimants of adverse payment determinations, to describe in clear and specific language the consequences of choosing to reapply for payments instead of requesting a review of such determinations. Deems an individual who failed to apply for OASDI benefits due to misinformation presented by an officer or employee of the SSA to have applied for such benefits on the later of the date such information was provided to such individual or the date such individual met all eligibility requirements for such benefits. Guarantees that individuals whose visit to an SSA Office is occasioned by their receipt of a notice requiring a timely response or their loss or nonreceipt of OASDI benefits will be seen for an interview that same day. Restricts the Secretary's authority to amend wage records after the expiration of the time limit for such amendments. Subchapter C: Representative Payee Reforms - Directs the Secretary to promptly rebuke the certification of a representative payee determined to have misused an individual's OASDI or SSI benefits. Prohibits a person's certification as a representative payee until an investigation has been conducted to verify such person's identification and determine whether such person has been guilty of fraud or the misuse of benefits under the OASDI or SSI program. Directs the Secretary to establish and disseminate a list of payees whose certification has been rebuked due to their misuse of benefits. Excludes payees guilty of fraud or benefit misuse from certification, except, in the latter case, where the best interests of a beneficiary would be served by exempting such payee from exclusion. Requires the Secretary to conduct a study and report to the Congress, by July 1, 1990, on the feasibility of establishing and maintaining a current list, which would be available to local SSA offices of individuals who have been convicted of fraud. Directs the Secretary to prescribe maximum fees which may be charged for representative payee services by community-based nonprofit social service agencies that regularly provide such services simultaneously to five or more beneficiaries. Subjects those who overcharge to penalties and certification revocation. Requires the Secretary to implement a demonstration project in at least two States under which SSA servicing offices: (1) determine the suitability of individuals as representative payees on the basis of criminal records obtained and criteria established by the Secretary; and (2) have access to a centralized file of representative payees. Directs the Secretary to report to the Congress regarding such projects by July 1, 1990. Requires the Secretary to maintain a centralized, current file, accessible to local SSA offices, identifying all representative payees and beneficiaries utilizing the services of representative payees. Directs SSA servicing offices to maintain a list of public agencies and community-based nonprofit social service agencies in their areas which are qualified representative payees. Directs the Secretary to conduct a study and report to the Congress by July 1, 1990, on the need for a more stringent accounting system for high-risk representative payees. Requires the Secretary to implement a demonstration project in at least two States under which the State provides the State agency responsible for regulating care facilities or providing for child and adult protective services with a list of addresses at which OASDI and/or SSI benefits are being received by five or more individuals. Directs the Secretary to report to the Congress regarding such projects by July 1, 1991. Requires that the Secretary's annual report to the Congress include specified information concerning representative payees. Subchapter D: Other Amendments - Requires that the annual report of the Board of Trustees on the status of the OASDI Trust Funds include an analysis of the actuarial present value of the expected future income to, and the expected disbursements from, each Trust Fund and the combined Trust Funds over the ensuing 25, 50, and 75 calendar years. Chapter 2: Provisions Affecting Coverage - Makes individuals who attained age 18 prior to being adopted by parents who were already entitled to old-age or disability insurance benefits eligible for child's insurance benefits if they lived with or were dependent upon such parents for the year preceding their adoption. Amends the Internal Revenue Code to exempt certain church employees from the self-employment tax if their services are exempt from the employment tax on wages. Clarifies the inclusion of partnerships among employers eligible for religious exemption from employment taxes. Makes agreements to provide OASDI coverage of U.S. citizens and residents employed abroad by a foreign affiliate of an American employer effective until the foreign entity ceases to be a foreign affiliate. Chapter 3: Provisions Affecting Entitlement to Benefits - Subchapter A: Work Incentives for Certain Adult Disabled Children - Amends the OASDI program to continue an individual's entitlement to child's insurance benefits on the basis of a disability, other than blindness, through the third month following the month in which such individual's disabling physical or mental impairment ceased. Reduces such individual's child's insurance benefits by 50 percent of his or her monthly earnings which are in excess of $85 and which are taken into account in determining whether he or she is engaged in substantial gainful activity. Applies the preceding benefit continuance and reduction rules to disability insurance benefits when an individual is entitled to such benefits and disability-based child's insurance benefits, but applies the benefit reduction against the total of such benefits. Subchapter B: Other Provisions - Extends permanently the provision of disability-based OASDI or Medicare (title XVIII of the Act) benefits pending an individual's appeal of a disability determination. Eliminates carryover reductions in retirement or disability benefits due to the receipt of widow's or widower's benefits before age 62. Requires the Secretary to review at least 50 percent of a State's disability determinations on applications for OASDI benefits and at least 25 percent of a State's disability determinations in continuing eligibility reviews; choosing, to the extent feasible, those determinations most likely to be incorrect. Amends the OASDI program and the Internal Revenue Code to provide for the recovery of OASDI overpayments by means of reductions in tax refunds. Exempts certain aliens receiving amnesty under the Immigration and Nationality Act from prosecution for misreporting earnings or misusing social security numbers or cards. Increases the amount of outside income which beneficiaries who have attained retirement age may earn without incurring a reduction in benefits. Directs the Congressional Budget Office to conduct a study and report to the Congress, by April 1, 1990, on the consequences of increasing the exempt earnings amount to various levels and the consequences of eliminating it altogether. Increases the dollar amount factored into the formula for determining a minimum primary insurance amount. Reduces the amount of wages or self-employment income an individual needs to earn a year of coverage applicable in determining his or her minimum primary insurance amount. Amends the SSI program to preserve the Medicaid eligibility of individuals who lose their SSI benefits due to an increase in OASDI benefits occasioned by this Act's amendments. Amends the OASDI program to make certain individuals ineligible for retroactive old-age, wife's, husband's, widow's, or widower's insurance benefits if the effect of such benefits would be to reduce the amount of benefits to which such individuals would otherwise be entitled. Includes deferred compensation in wages for OASDI purposes. Chapter 4: Railroad Retirement - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to subject to railroad retirement taxes: (1) payments for group-term life insurance which is includable in the employee's gross income as compensation; and (2) certain deferred compensation. Excludes the value of meals or lodging from railroad retirement taxes if at the time of such furnishing it was reasonable to believe that the employee could exclude such items from income. Transfers increases in FY 1990 railroad retirement tax liabilities to the Railroad Retirement Account. Subtitle B: Medicare - Medicare Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1989 - Part A: Provisions Relating to Part A of Medicare - Subpart 1: Payments for Inpatient Hospital Services - Amends title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act to reduce payments for the capital-related costs of inpatient hospital services for FY 1990 by 15 percent. Directs the Comptroller General to conduct a study and report to the Congress, by October 1, 1990, on the effects low hospital inpatient occupancy rates have on Medicare inpatient hospital service costs. Increases Medicare payments for the operating costs of inpatient hospital services in FY 1990 by the market basket percentage increase in such costs: (1) plus two percent for rural hospitals; (2) minus 1.25 percent for hospitals in large urban areas; and (3) minus 1.75 percent for hospitals located in other urban areas. Requires the Secretary to annually recalibrate diagnosis-related group (DRG) weighing factors on a budget-neutral basis. Increases payments made to hospitals and rural referral centers serving a disproportionate share of low-income patients. Amends the Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1986 to continue the classification of certain hospitals as rural referral centers through FY 1992. Amends the Medicare program to alter the formula for determining the amount of payments to be made to sole community hospitals. Provides a payment adjustment to sole community hospitals which experience a decrease of more than five percent of their inpatient cases due to circumstances beyond their control so as to cover fixed costs. Redefines a sole community hospital as a hospital located more than 35 road miles from another hospital. Maintains the existing payment rules for current sole community hospitals which do not satisfy the new definition of such hospitals. Directs the Secretary to establish a procedure under which a hospital may apply: (1) for the reclassification of a county from a rural to an urban area or from one urban area to another urban area; or (2) if it is in an urban area, to change the area wage index applicable to the county. Requires that such applications be decided upon within one year of their receipt. Sets the floor for area wage indices at the wage index for rural areas in the State. Amends part A (Hospital Insurance) of the Medicare program to establish a demonstration program under which the Secretary makes grants to no more than ten States for use in: (1) planning and implementing a rural health care plan and rural health networks; (2) designating hospitals or facilities as essential access community hospitals or rural primary care hospitals; and (3) developing and supporting communication and emergency transportation systems. Authorizes a hospital or a facility in a grant State to apply, subject to the State's approval, to the Secretary for a grant to finance the costs it incurs in converting itself to a primary care hospital or in becoming part of a rural health network in the State in which it is located. Requires that hospitals designated as essential access community hospitals be isolated rural hospitals that have at least 75 inpatient beds and provide emergency and medical backup services to rural primary care hospitals in their rural health network and throughout their service area. Requires that rural primary care hospitals provide 24-hour emergency care and no more than 72 hours of inpatient care for no more than six inpatients. Requires States, in designating facilities as rural primary care hospitals, to give preference to facilities participating in the rural health network. Defines a "rural health network" as an organization consisting of at least one essential access community hospital, rural referral center, or urban regional referral center and at least one rural primary care hospital which cooperate in the deliverance of health care. Authorizes appropriations for FY 1990 through 1992 for such demonstration program. Amends the Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1987 to extend the Rural Health Care Transition Grant Program through FY 1992, and permit hospitals to use grants received under such Program to develop a plan for converting to rural primary care hospitals or to develop a rural health network, if located in a State participating in the preceding demonstration program. Amends the Medicare program to treat essential access community hospitals as sole community hospitals. Covers cost increases they incur as a result of their becoming rural health network members. Covers inpatient rural primary care hospital services. Directs the Secretary to make recommendations to the Congress and the Prospective Payment Assessment Commission by October 1, 1990, regarding the establishment of a single national rate, rather than using large urban, other urban, and rural rates, in calculating payments for inpatient hospital services, with adjustments in such rate reflecting cost variations within a DRG. Requires the Prospective Payment Assessment Commission to submit an evaluation of the Secretary's report to the Congress by April 1, 1991. Imposes uniform reporting requirements on disproportionate share hospitals, sole community hospitals, rural referral centers, and essential access community hospitals. Exempts hospitals involved extensively in cancer treatment or cancer research from the prospective payment system (PPS). Sets forth a formula for establishing the target amount to be used in determining the amount of payments to be made to such hospitals. Directs the Secretary to publish instructions specifying the process PPS-exempt hospitals may use to apply for exemptions from or adjustments to the method of determining the amount of payments to such hospitals to account for uncontrollable or extraordinary circumstances. Subpart 2: Other Provisions - Sets payment rates for hospice care furnished in FY 1990 at 120 percent of such rates in effect on September 30, 1989. Directs the Secretary to conduct a study and report to the Congress, by October 1, 1990, on methods of compensating hospices for high-cost care. Permits individuals under age 65 who become ineligible for title II disability benefits solely by reason of their earnings to enroll in part A (Hospital Insurance) of the Medicare program. Sets forth miscellaneous and technical provisions relating to the Medicare Hospital Insurance program. Part B: Provisions Relating to Part B of Medicare - Subpart 1: Payment for Physicians' Services - Amends part B (Supplementary Medical Insurance) of the Medicare program to reduce Medicare payments for a specified list of physicians' services furnished during 1990 after April 1. Reduces payments for radiology services. Directs the Secretary to conduct a study and report to the Congress, within one year after this Act's enactment, on whether payments for portable x-ray services should be made in the same manner as they are made for radiologists' services or on the basis of a separate fee schedule. Requires the Secretary to establish a relative value guide for use in all carrier localities in making payment for physician anesthesia services. Delays the Medicare economic index adjustment to payments for physicians' services from January 1, 1990, to April 1, 1990. Extends Medicare physician and supplier participation agreements for which a termination is not requested before December 31, 1989, through March 31, 1990. Limits increases in the Medicare economic index for the first three months of 1990 to: (1) zero percent for radiology services, anesthesia services and other physicians' services on a specified list; and (2) two percent for other physicians' services, excepting primary care services. Determines the amount of payments due for physicians' services, beginning on October 1, 1991, pursuant to a fee schedule which takes into account the relative value of the work, overhead, and malpractice risks associated with each physician service. Prohibits payments for the same physician service from varying on the basis of whether or not the physician is a specialist. Provides for adjustments to such fee schedule to take into account: (1) geographical variations in costs; and (2) an excessive growth of volume or intensity in, or inadequate access to, a physician service. Sets limitations on increases and reductions in payment amounts for physician services. Limits bonus payments for physicians' services furnished in manpower shortage areas to primary care services. Sets forth reporting requirements. Increases the customary charge for a new physician's services, prior to implementation of the fee schedule, to 95 percent of the prevailing charge for such service. Limits payment amounts for services furnished by more than one specialty. Subpart 2: Payment for Other Services - Reduces payments for the capital-related costs of outpatient hospital services for FY 1990 by 15 percent, except when the hospital is a sole community hospital. Considers the average of the reasonable charge, rather than the average of the purchase prices, on claims paid on an assignment-related basis for durable medical equipment in computing payment amounts for such equipment. Reduces the monthly recognized rental amounts for certain miscellaneous items of durable medical equipment for months following the third month of a medical need period. Limits monthly Medicare payments for items which require frequent and substantial servicing to a period of continuous use not exceeding 15 months. Delays, until April 1990, and reduces, to two percent, the 1990 cost-of-living increase in payments for durable medical equipment. Reduces the payment rate for oxygen and oxygen equipment for the final nine months of 1990. Sets a cap on payment amounts for durable medical equipment for the final nine months of 1990. Establishes special rules for determining payment amounts for parenteral and enteral infusion pumps and IV poles. Authorizes the Secretary to adjust charges for durable medical equipment that are not inherently reasonable. Requires the Secretary to: (1) reduce payment amounts for a seat-lift chair, motorized scooter, or transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulator furnished on or after April 1, 1990, by 15 percent; and (2) publish a list of other overpriced durable medical equipment and reduce payments for such items by 15 percent. Prohibits suppliers of durable medical equipment from distributing completed or partially completed forms required for showing that a covered item is medically reasonable or necessary. Requires suppliers to provide the Secretary with full and complete information as to the identity of each person having an ownership or control interest in the supplier or in any subcontractor in which the supplier has at least a five percent interest. Subjects the claims of suppliers in which a physician has an ownership or control interest to a higher level of review than claims of other suppliers. Requires payment and billing for durable medical equipment on an assignment-related basis. Directs the Secretary to establish a reasonable lifetime for items of durable medical equipment and provide payments for the replacement of items which reach their limit during a continuous period of medical need. Requires the Comptroller General to conduct a study and report to the Congress by April 1, 1990, on standards for the use of, and payments for, durable medical equipment. Replaces cost-of-living adjustments in payments for clinical diagnostic laboratory tests with annual two percent increases in such payments beginning in 1990. Reduces the cap on payments for such tests, pending the establishment of national fee schedules for such tests, from 100 to 95 percent of the median of all fee schedules established for such tests. Delays, from January 1, 1990, to January 1, 1992, the date by which the Secretary must establish national fee schedules for clinical diagnostic laboratory tests. Covers a laboratory's second trip to a location in a day to collect samples for a test which an individual's physician has ordered and for which results are required on an as-soon-as-possible basis. Eliminates the restriction of covered psychologist services to services furnished at community mental health centers. Reimburses psychologists on a reasonable charge basis. Directs the Secretary to develop criteria requiring covered psychologists to consult with their patients' physicians within a reasonable time after initiating treatment so as to consider physical conditions that may be contributing to their patients' symptoms. Eliminates the dollar limitation on part B coverage of mental health services. Sets a higher national conversion factor for the fee schedule payment rates of certified registered nurse anesthetists which are not under the medical direction of a physician than for those which are medically directed. Prohibits payment for the medical direction of certified registered nurse anesthetists by physicians. Covers outpatient services provided by health centers which: (1) are eligible for Public Health Service Act grants to migrant health centers, community health centers or for health care services to the homeless; or (2) which were comprehensive federally funded health centers as of January 1, 1989. Makes deductibles inapplicable to services provided by such health centers. Covers outpatient rural primary care hospital services. Directs the Secretary to develop and implement a prospective payment system for determining payments for such services by January 1, 1993. Sets forth miscellaneous and technical provisions relating to the Medicare Supplementary Medical Insurance program. Part C: Provisions Relating to Parts A and B of Medicare - Extends the periods of days within which claims must be paid under parts A and B of the Medicare program in FY 1990. Amends the Internal Revenue Code to provide for the disclosure of taxpayer identification information regarding a Medicare beneficiary for the determination of the extent to which such beneficiary is covered under a group health plan. Amends the Medicare program to require employers to disclose information concerning the status and nature of a beneficiary's coverage under a group health plan of the employer. Prohibits group health plans of employers of 20 or more employees from discriminating in the provision of benefits against individuals who are entitled to Medicare benefits by reason of their eligibility for old-age insurance benefits under the OASDI program. Prohibits large group health plans from discriminating against individuals who are entitled to Medicare benefits by reason of their eligibility for disability or disability-based insurance benefits under the OASDI program. Prohibits group health plans, for 12 months, from discriminating in the provision of benefits against individuals who are entitled to Medicare benefits by reason of their affliction with end stage renal disease. Makes such group health plans primary payers against whom the Federal government may bring action to recover Medicare payments. Establishes a private cause of action against primary payers who fail to pay. Amends the Internal Revenue Code to impose a penalty excise tax against nonconforming group health plans. Repeals the denial of a tax deduction to nonconforming group health plans. Amends the Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1986 to maintain the current base rate for routine dialysis treatment through FY 1990. Amends the Medicare program to prohibit payments for dialysis services which are determined under any method other than a method based on a single composite weighted formula from exceeding payments that would have been made under such formula. Requires suppliers of home dialysis supplies and equipment to a patient whose self-care home dialysis is not under the direct supervision of an approved provider to work under a written agreement under which it: (1) is the sole supplier to the patient; (2) agrees to receive payment only on an assignment-related basis; and (3) certifies that it has entered into a written agreement with an approved renal dialysis provider or facility under which such provider or facility agrees to furnish such patient with all self-care home dialysis support services and all other necessary dialysis services and supplies. End Stage Renal Disease Patient Protection and Quality Assurance Act of 1989 - Requires providers of end stage renal disease services to protect and promote listed patient rights regarding the quality of patient care and the provision of information about the renal disease facility. Requires providers to have a registered professional nurse experienced in dialytic therapy available during dialysis treatment to direct any technicians providing such treatment. Makes States responsible for certifying the compliance of end stage renal disease facilities with Medicare requirements on the basis of surveys conducted by a multidisciplinary team of professionals. Requires that an unannounced standard survey be conducted with respect to each facility at at least 15 month intervals (though the Statewide average interval may not exceed one year) and within two months of any change of ownership, administration, or management of the facility. Subjects facilities which perform poorly on such surveys to an extended survey, though any other facility may, at the Secretary's or the State's discretion, be subject to an extended survey. Authorizes the Secretary to perform a special survey when there is reason to question a facility's compliance with Medicare requirements. Requires the disclosure of survey results. Requires a renal disease network administrative organization with which a patient files a grievance against a facility to disclose the findings and consequences of its investigation into such grievance to the facility administrator and the complainant. Authorizes States to award annual "excellence in quality" designations to facilities that have achieved outstanding quality in various categories of care. Directs the Secretary to establish a board of experts and at least one patient to advise the Secretary in establishing end stage renal disease service quality standards, survey protocols, minimum surveyor qualifications, and uniform instructional guidelines for surveyors and providers outlining the methodology by which facilities will be judged under surveys. Sets forth reporting requirements. Subjects end stage renal disease facilities to the same enforcement process as skilled nursing facilities are subject to when found out of compliance with Medicare requirements. Adjusts the duties of renal disease network administrative organizations so that while such organizations are no longer responsible for conducting on-site reviews of facilities and providers they are assigned new duties which include: (1) giving special attention to the correction of minority underrepresentation in transplantation and self-care options; (2) verifying each facility's implementation of a grievance mechanism as required by this Act and informing all patients of its own patient grievance mechanism; (3) developing and implementing specified informational services for patients and facilities; and (4) participating in special studies designed by the United States Renal Data System to help develop and evaluate indices of quality care or for other purposes relevant to the maintenance of such system. Sets forth study and reporting requirements concerning payments for the treatment of end stage renal disease patients. Amends part A (General Provisions) of title XI of the Social Security Act to require the Secretary to provide for research into the outcome, effectiveness, and appropriateness of specific treatments and medical conditions selected by a research coordinating group composed of specified officials of the Health Care Financing Administration. Directs the Secretary to: (1) report to the Congress, within one year of this Act's enactment, on the feasibility of linking the Department of Health and Human Services' treatment outcome research information with such information collected by other Federal departments; (2) disseminate research findings and educate providers and others in the application of such research; (3) develop on the basis of such research, treatment-specific or condition-specific practice guidelines and forms for their use; (4) initiate, by 1991, a project to apply such guidelines to at least three clinical treatments or conditions that account for a significant portion of Medicare (title XVIII of the Act) expenditures and have a significant variation in the frequency or type of treatment provided; and (5) appoint an advisory council to provide the Secretary with assistance in research-related activities. Authorizes appropriations for such research-related activities through FY 1994. Amends the Medicare Program to require that a hospital give an individual who comes to its emergency department a requested medical screening examination to determine whether or not an emergency medical condition exists if such examination is within the hospital's capability. (Currently, the examination must be within the emergency department's capability for such requirement to be applicable.) Requires hospitals to ensure that an individual's refusal of treatment for, or transfer for the treatment of, an emergency medical condition is an informed decision. Prohibits hospitals from transferring a patient who has an emergency medical condition that has not been stabilized, unless the patient gives written informed consent to the transfer. Revises the provisions of current law with respect to the process and standards for effecting such a transfer. Requires that hospitals which transfer a patient who has an emergency medical condition send all the medical records available at the time of the transfer to the receiving facility. Makes a hospital liable for the acts and omissions of its agents and the physicians through whom it carries out its duties in providing examinations and treatment for emergency medical conditions, except when it relies in good faith on the medical judgment of such a physician with respect to a patient's condition. Imposes penalties against physicians who engage in specified acts related to the examination, treatment, or transfer of individuals who have emergency medical conditions. Prohibits hospitals that have specialized capabilities or facilities from refusing to accept an appropriate transfer of an individual who requires such specialized capabilities or facilities. Prohibits hospitals from delaying the required examination and treatment for emergency medical conditions in order to inquire about an individual's method of payment or insurance status. Prohibits a health maintenance organization (HMO) from using potentially high-risk physician compensation arrangements, unless the HMO provides information to the Secretary describing its physician compensation arrangements and the mechanisms it uses to limit risk to individual physicians and assure the quality of services. Directs the Secretary to publish descriptions of physician compensation arrangements which place physicians at excessive risk or liability and which may lead to the withholding or limiting of medically necessary services. Excludes prisoners and individuals for whom a State or local government purchases health benefits as part of a general welfare assistance program from an HMO's enrollment in applying the rule that at least one-half of its enrollment must consist of individuals who are not Medicare or Medicaid beneficiaries. Directs the Secretary to disclose the methodology and assumptions used in arriving at a per capita rate of payment for each class of HMO enrollee at least 45 days before announcing such rates. Amends the Deficit Reduction Act of 1984 to make the authority for HMO benefit stabilization funds permanent. Prohibits a physician from referring a patient to an entity for Medicare-covered services or an entity from presenting a claim pursuant to such referral if the physician has a financial interest in, or receives compensation from, such entity. Makes exceptions to such prohibition. Sets forth entity investment and ownership disclosure requirements. Imposes sanctions against persons who present claims for services prohibited by this Act and against physicians or entities that enter into arrangements for the purpose of prohibited referrals or violate disclosure requirements. Directs the Comptroller General to conduct a study and report to the Congress by May 15, 1990, on the ownership of hospitals by referring physicians and joint ventures between hospitals and referring physicians. Amends part B (Peer Review) of title XI of the Social Security Act to require peer review organizations to give providers whose services are denied coverage under title XVIII (Medicare) of the Act an opportunity for reconsideration of the determination before patients and organizations responsible for paying claims are notified of such determination. Sets forth miscellaneous and technical provisions relating to parts A and B of the Medicare program. Part D: Medicare Part B Basic Premium - Amends part B (Supplementary Medical Insurance) of the Medicare program to extend the basic part B premium through 1990. Part E: Extension of COBRA Continuation Coverage for Disabled Employees - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to extend group health plan coverage of the spouse or dependent of an employee from 18 to 29 months after the employee's job is terminated, if such spouse or dependent was disabled at such time. Subtitle C: Human Resource Amendments - Human Resource Amendments of 1989 - Part 1: Children's Initiative - Subpart A: Social Services - Amends title XX (Block Grants to States for Social Services) of the Social Security Act to increase the amount authorized for such program in FY 1991 and thereafter. Subpart B: Foster Care and Child Welfare Amendments - Amends part E (Foster Care and Adoption Assistance) of title IV of the Social Security Act to extend through FY 1992: (1) the ceiling on Federal payments to States for foster care expenditures; and (2) the authority for States to use such payments to cover expenditures under part B (Child Welfare Services) of title IV of the Act. (Currently, such ceiling and authorization runs through FY 1989.) Increases the appropriations level which triggers the foster care ceiling. Amends part B (Child Welfare Services) of title IV of the Act to require each State to annually prepare and distribute a report to the Secretary and State agencies and courts on programs in the State providing children and families with preplacement preventive services or services designed to reunify children with the families from which they have been removed. Directs the Secretary to prepare an annual summary of such reports. Amends the Foster Care and Adoption Assistance program to cover the short-term training of current or prospective foster or adoptive parents and the staff of licensed child care institutions. Requires that the written case plan developed for each foster care child include specified health and education records which are to be reviewed and updated when the child is placed in foster care and to be supplied to the foster care parent or provider. Extends, through FY 1992, Federal funding for State programs to assist children who have attained age 16 in making the transition from foster care to independent living. Redesignates such program as the Foster Care Adolescent Services Block Grant program. (Currently, such program is known as the Independent Living Initiatives program.) Increases the amount to which States are entitled under such program. Authorizes the expenditure of unobligated funds through FY 1992. Permits States to expand program coverage to include children from age 10 to 16, though 70 percent of Federal funds are required to be expended for foster children age 16 or older. Expands the list of adolescent services which State programs may support or furnish, including alcohol and drug abuse prevention. Sets forth additional procedures to be followed and information to be considered prior to full implementation of an adoption and foster care data collection system by October 1, 1991. Includes within such system specified data pertaining to the Foster Care and Adoption Assistance program and Child Welfare program of each State. Directs the Secretary to submit to the Congress: (1) an annual report on information collected under the adoption and foster care data collection system; and (2) a biennial report on child abuse and neglect. Amends part B (Child Welfare Services) of title IV of the Social Security Act to triennially review each State's compliance with foster care protection requirements and annually review the compliance of States whose foster care program did not comply with such requirements on the preceding review. Penalizes States which are not in substantial compliance with such requirements, but suspends the application of such penalty against States which implement corrective action plans. Subpart C: SSI Disabled Children Amendments - Amends title XVI (Supplemental Security Income) (SSI) of the Social Security Act to require the Secretary to conduct an ongoing outreach program for children who are potentially eligible for SSI benefits by reason of disability or blindness and report to the Congress annually concerning the effectiveness of such outreach program. Directs the Secretary to conduct an individualized assessment of a child's mental and physical impairments in determining his or her eligibility for SSI benefits by reason of disability or blindness. Establishes a presumption that a child under age four with a genetic or congenital impairment is disabled or blind for SSI purposes if it is probable that when the child is older the application of clinical and laboratory techniques will prove such to be the case. Directs the Secretary to publish, within 60 days of this Act's enactment, a revision of specified listings of mental and emotional disorders which justifies each deviation from recommendations contained in the Revised Childhood Listings of Mental Impairments submitted by the Mental Impairment Listings Workgroup to the Associate Commissioner for Disability on April 1, 1986. Requires the Secretary to: (1) consider age-appropriate medical and functional criteria developed by experts in childhood disability in reviewing and revising medical criteria for the evaluation of impairments of children; and (2) publish a revised listing of impairments of children and explain deviations from the recommendations of experts within 18 months of this Act's enactment. Provides that when weekly or biweekly income renders individuals ineligible for SSI benefits they shall continue to be considered SSI recipients for Medicaid eligibility purposes if they would not be ineligible for SSI benefits were their income treated as being received on a regular monthly basis at the same annual rate. Makes children who are U.S. citizens and reside abroad with a parent eligible for SSI benefits, provided other eligibility criteria are met. Excludes parental income and resources from the determination of a disabled child's SSI eligibility if such child was receiving SSI benefits and Medicaid home care plan benefits while in a hospital, extended care, nursing, or intermediate care facility. Specifies the SSI benefit rate to which such children are entitled. Directs the Secretary to make grants to up to ten communities to determine the extent to which the use of volunteer senior aides to provide basic medical assistance and support to families with moderately or severely disabled or chronically ill children contributes to reducing the costs of care for such children. Authorizes appropriations for such grants through FY 1994. Excludes all work-related equipment from resources in SSI eligibility determinations. Subpart D: Child Support Enforcement Amendments - Amends part D (Child Support and Establishment of Paternity) of title IV of the Social Security Act to extend the authority of a State to request the withholding of Federal tax refunds from persons owing past due child support from January 1, 1991, to January 10, 1996. Makes the collection of past-due support from Federal tax refunds applicable to past-due support owed to anyone who was determined to be disabled under the OASDI or SSI programs when he or she was a minor. Amends the Child Support Enforcement Amendments of 1984 to permanently extend the provisions continuing a family's Medicaid eligibility if such family loses eligibility under part A (Aid to Families with Dependent Children) (AFDC) of title IV of the Social Security Act due to the collection or increased collection of child support under part D. Extends the duration of continued Medicaid eligibility from four months to 12 months. Part 2: SSI Service Improvements - Subpart A: Initiative for the Poor Elderly - Amends the SSI program to increase SSI benefit payments. Directs the Secretary to annually notify all elderly individuals and disabled individuals who are OASDI recipients and may be or could become eligible for SSI benefits of the availability of SSI benefits and provide such notice to individuals when they attain age 65, apply for OASDI disability benefits before attaining age 65, and are notified of their eligibility for part B (Supplementary Medical Insurance) of the Medicare program. Requires the Secretary to annually report to the Congress on the effectiveness of such outreach program. Directs the Secretary to promptly terminate payments to a representative payee determined to have misused an individual's SSI or OASDI benefits. Prohibits the making of payments to a representative payee until an investigation has been conducted to verify such person's identification and determine whether such person has been guilty of fraud or the misuse of benefits under the SSI or OASDI program. Directs the Secretary to establish and disseminate a list of payees whose payments have been terminated due to their misuse of benefits. Excludes payees guilty of fraud or benefit misuse from payment, except, in the latter case, where the best interests of a beneficiary would be served by exempting such payee from exclusion. Directs the Secretary to prescribe maximum fees which may be charged for representative payee services by community-based nonprofit social service agencies that regularly provide such services simultaneously to five or more beneficiaries. Subjects those who overcharge to penalties and payment termination. Requires the Secretary to maintain a centralized, current file, accessible to local SSA offices, identifying all representative payees and beneficiaries utilizing the services of representative payees. Directs SSA servicing offices to maintain a list of public agencies and community-based nonprofit social service agencies in their areas which are qualified representative payees. Requires that the Secretary's annual report to the Congress include specified information concerning representative payees. Reduces the SSI benefits of a person who is living in another person's household and receiving support and maintenance in kind from such person by the lesser of 33 1/3 percent or the amount of such in-kind income. Requires the Secretary to report to the Congress, within two years after this Act's enactment, on the effects of such benefit reduction formula. Excludes the value of domestic commercial transportation tickets received as gifts and not converted to cash from income for SSI purposes. Reduces, from six months to one month, the amount of time during which a separated couple must be apart for their income and resources to be considered separately. Waives such period altogether if such separation induces a financial emergency. Excludes interest accrued on the value of the purchase of a burial space from the buyer's income for SSI purposes. Deems OASDI disability beneficiaries who lose disability benefits after their trial work period to have been eligible for SSI benefits and thus qualified to participate in the SSI work incentive program if yet disabled. Excludes amounts received from a State fund to aid victims of crime from an individual's income and resources for SSI purposes. Prohibits the denial of SSI benefits to individuals by reason of their rejection of amounts offered as compensation for a crime. Subpart B: Other Service Improvements Directs the Secretary to consider an individual's physical, mental, educational, and linguistic limitations in determining, with respect to his or her SSI eligibility, whether he or she acted in good faith or was at fault, and in determining fraud, deception, or intent. Directs the Secretary to establish a program, within 180 days of this Act's enactment, under which homeless individuals who may be eligible for SSI benefits will be identified and assisted in applying for such benefits. Requires that notices issued to individuals pursuant to the SSI program: (1) be written in simple and clear language; and (2) contain the name, address, and telephone number of a responsible person to contact regarding the notice. Directs the Secretary to report to the Congress by July 1, 1990, regarding SSA procedures for issuing notices in foreign languages and reasonable options for expanding the use of notices in foreign languages. Requires the Secretary to: (1) maintain the names of representatives of SSI claimants in the SSA's electronic information retrieval system; and (2) provide written notice to such claimants of the options for obtaining an attorney to represent them in presenting their cases before the Secretary. Allows SSI claimants to reapply for payments which have been denied if such claimants' failure to request a review of such denials within 60 days of receiving notice of such determinations resulted from good faith reliance upon incorrect, incomplete, or misleading information provided by the SSA or State agencies making disability determinations. Requires the Secretary, in notifying claimants of adverse payment determinations, to describe in clear and specific language the consequences of choosing to reapply for payments instead of requesting a review of such determinations. Deems an individual who failed to apply for SSI benefits due to misinformation presented by an officer or employee of the SSA to have applied for such benefits on the later of the date such information was provided to such individual or the date such individual met all eligibility requirements for such benefits. Guarantees that individuals whose visit to an SSA Office is occasioned by their receipt of a notice requiring a timely response or their loss or nonreceipt of SSI benefits will be seen for an interview that same day. Part 3: Miscellaneous Amendments - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to institute discretionary denial of unemployment benefits between academic terms to employees serving educational institutions in nonprofessional positions. (Under current law denial is mandatory.) Prohibits a finding of fact or law, judgment, conclusion, or final order made with respect to a claim for unemployment compensation benefits pursuant to a State unemployment compensation law from being conclusive, binding, or used as evidence in proceedings that do not arise under such law. Amends the Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1987 to extend the moratorium on the Secretary's implementation of a proposed regulation affecting assistance to homeless AFDC families from September 30, 1989, to October 1, 1990. Authorizes appropriations to cover State administrative expenses in operating demonstration projects under such Act which provide certain eligible individuals with self-employment allowances rather than unemployment compensation. Authorizes Minnesota to conduct a demonstration project to determine whether the State family investment plan helps families to become self-supporting and enhances the ability of families to care for their children more effectively than does the AFDC program. Sets forth project requirements, including the requirement that family assistance under such project be no less than the family would have received under the AFDC and Food Stamp programs. Pays Minnesota the amount it would have been paid under the AFDC program in the absence of such project plus 50 percent of its expenses in evaluating the project. Sets forth reporting requirements. Makes miscellaneous technical corrections to the Family Support Act of 1988 and the Tax Reform Act of 1986. Part 4: AFDC Quality Control Amendment - Subpart A: Resolution of Disallowance Backlog Through Fiscal Year 1990 - Amends the AFDC program to establish a formula for determining a State's excess erroneous payment rates for FY 1981 through 1991 which takes into account national average error rates. Gives States determined to have excess rates the option of utilizing a specified appeals process or waiving their right to appeal in exchange for a 25 percent reduction in their penalty for such rates. Subpart B: Permanent Modification of Quality Control System After Fiscal Year 1990 - Establishes a formula for determining the amount to be collected from States with combined excess AFDC overpayment and underpayment rates after FY 1990. Gives States determined to have excess rates for a fiscal year the option of utilizing a specified appeals process or waiving their right to appeal in exchange for a 25 percent reduction in the penalty for such rates. Makes incentive payments to States whose combined erroneous overpayment and underpayment rates don't exceed an incentives threshold rate. Requires States to collect data and report to the Secretary on AFDC underpayments and negative case actions. Directs the Secretary to conduct a study and report to the Congress by October 1, 1992, on incorporating improper negative case actions into State AFDC error rates. Subtitle D: Trade Agency Authorizations, Customs User Fees, and Other Customs Provisions - Part 1: Trade Agency Authorizations for Fiscal Year 1990 - Amends the Tariff Act of 1930 to authorize appropriations for FY 1990 for the United States International Trade Commission. Amends the Customs Procedural Reform and Simplification Act of 1978 to authorize appropriations for FY 1990 for the United States Customs Service for: (1) noncommercial and commercial operations; and (2) the air interdiction program. Amends the Trade Act of 1974 to authorize appropriations for the Office of the United States Trade Representative for FY 1990. Part 2: Customs User Fees - Amends the Consolidated Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1985 to require the Secretary of the Treasury to collect a customs user fee not exceeding $575 for the processing of merchandise that is entered, or withdrawn from warehouse for consumption, during FY 1990. Requires fees charged for Canadian goods to be in accordance with the U.S.-Canada Free-Trade Agreement. Declares that expenses incurred in conducting commercial operations do not include costs incurred in: (1) air passenger processing; (2) export control; and (3) international affairs. Makes user fees enforceable as customs duties. Exempts Israeli products from user fees as of the date on which the United States Trade Representative publishes in the Federal Register a determination that Israel has provided reciprocal concessions. Requires the Comptroller General to report to specified congressional committees on U.S. Customs Service costs and appropriate user fees. Extends the customs user fee program through September 30, 1991. Authorizes the Service to collect user fees for the operation of foreign trade zones at certain small airports that are not ports-of-entry. Part 3: Miscellaneous Customs Provisions - Declares that the Commissioner of Customs shall be appointed by the President, by and with the advice and consent of the Senate. Amends the Tariff Act of 1930 to require the Commissioner to report to the Congress on: (1) the value of the on-hand inventory of seized property as of the last day of the previous fiscal year; and (2) the sources of gross receipts of, and gross disbursements from, the Customs Forfeiture Fund during the previous fiscal year. Authorizes appropriations. Requires the appropriate customs officer to publish for at least three successive weeks a notice of the seizure of monetary instruments and the intention to forfeit and sell them. Requires the Commissioner to report to the Congress on the total dollar value of uncontested seizures of monetary instruments valued over $100,000 which have not been deposited into the Fund within 120 days of seizure. Authorizes the Secretary of the Treasury to transfer forfeited property, including non-jet aircraft, to the Civil Air Patrol. Part 4: Consistency of the Superfund Petroleum Tax With the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade - Amends the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to increase the Hazardous Substance Superfund financing rate (part of the tax imposed on imported oil). Subtitle E: Caribbean Basin Economic Recovery - Part 1: Short Title and Findings - Caribbean Basin Economic Recovery Expansion Act of 1989 - Part 2: Amendments to the Caribbean Basin Economic Recovery Act and Related Provisions - Amends the Caribbean Basin Economic Recovery Act (the Act) to repeal the termination of duty-free treatment of beneficiary countries. Requires the United States Trade Representative (USTR) to establish with each beneficiary country guaranteed access levels for textile products assembled in the country from qualifying fabrics (fabrics formed and cut in the United States and certain fabrics of foreign manufacture which are cut in the United States). Authorizes the USTR to negotiate a bilateral agreement with each beneficiary establishing such guaranteed access levels. Makes such products eligible for duty-free treatment. Expresses the sense of the Congress that the USTR should obtain assurances from beneficiary countries which have been granted guaranteed access levels that they will administer export certificates or export visas in a manner ensuring fairness and nondiscriminatory treatment to any U.S. firms that seek allocations under specific limits rather than guaranteed access levels. Sets forth a formula for the duty rate for quota articles. Sets forth the rate of duty on certain non-leather footwear, handbag, luggage, flat good, work glove, or leather wearing apparel from a beneficiary country. Provides that duty-free treatment shall not apply to: (1) textile and apparel articles subject to textile agreements; (2) certain articles to which reduced duties apply; (3) certain leather footwear; (4) canned tuna; (5) petroleum; and (6) watches and watch parts. Prohibits the President from designating any country as a beneficiary country if it has not taken steps to afford internationally recognized worker rights to its workers. Amends the Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States with respect to the allocation of quotas on sugars imported from beneficiary countries. Prohibits the USTR from adjusting certain restrictions on sugar imported from the Philippines and South Africa. Authorizes the President to enter into trade agreements with foreign governments for the purpose of granting compensation if the United States takes specified action inconsistent with its international obligations (including the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade). Grants duty-free treatment of articles (not over $600 in value) acquired in a beneficiary country. Prohibits any article (except a textile or apparel article) from being treated as a foreign article, or subject to duty, if certain U.S. components and exclusive sale requirements are met. Authorizes the President to proclaim new rules for determining whether articles originate in beneficiary countries. Amends the Tariff Act of 1930 to require the International Trade Commission, when determining material injury in antidumping and countervailing duty cases, to assess imports from a beneficiary country with respect to imports of like products from other beneficiary countries. Amends the Tax Reform Act of 1986 to treat certain ethyl alcohols produced in an insular possession or beneficiary country as indigenous products of that possession or country if certain requirements are met. Amends the Trade Act of 1974 to require the Secretary of the Treasury to prescribe regulations providing for the duty-free treatment of articles that are wholly the growth, product, or manufacture of beneficiary countries. Part 3: Scholarship Assistance and Tourism Promotion - Directs the Administrator of the Agency for International Development to establish an assistance program to provide scholarships enabling students from eligible countries in the Caribbean and Central America to study in the United States. Expresses the sense of the Congress that increased tourism should be developed in the Caribbean Basin region as a central part of the Caribbean Basin Initiative program. Directs the Commissioner of Customs to implement a pilot preclearance program during FY 1990 and 1991 to assess the extent to which the availability of preclearance operations can assist in the development of tourism in the Caribbean Basin. Subtitle F: Tariff Provisions - Declares that amendments to this subtitle shall be considered to be made to the Harmonized Tariff Schedules of the United States. Part 1: Temporary Suspensions and Reductions in Duties - Amends the Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States to provide a duty, through a certain date on jams, pastes, and purees, and peach, apricot, and cherry jellies. Reduces the duty, through December 31, 1992, on: (1) 1,6-Hexamethylene diisocyanate; (2) gripping narrow fabrics; (3) certain drinking glasses with special effects; (4) articles of semiprecious stones; (5) zinc printing type; and (6) timing apparatus with opto-electronic display only. Suspends the duty, through December 31, 1992, on: (1) teicoplanin; (2) certain garments designed for handicapped persons who are not ambulatory; and (3) operatic scenery and properties, including sets. Grants duty-free treatment to certain motor vehicle parts on the effective date of a Presidential proclamation extending such treatment to such parts. Part 2: Existing Duty Suspensions - Extends, through December 31, 1992, the existing suspension of duty on mixtures of hot red peppers and salt. Terminates the existing suspension of duty on c-amines. Includes accessories in the existing duty suspension on electrostatic copying machines. Part 3: Tariff Classification, Miscellaneous, and Effective Date Provisions - Deletes imports of cane and beet sugar which are subject to quotas from the additional U.S. notes of the Harmonized Tariff Schedules of the United States. Declares that for purposes of the tariff treatment of certain leather handbags, that in determining the classification of such articles which are wholly or in part of a fabric coated with nontransparent rubber or plastics, the fabric shall not be regarded as a textile material but as rubber or plastic. Grants duty-free treatment of chipper knife steel. Changes wheel size specifications with respect to 26-inch bicycles. Excludes from import restrictions provided under the Schedule blended syrups, if imported by a foreign trade zone user, to the extent that the annual quantity imported into the customs territory does not contain an amount of sugar of nondomestic origin greater than that authorized by the Foreign Trade Zones Board for processing by such user during FY 1985. Provides for the reliquidation (refund of duty) on 1-(3-Sulfopropyl pyridinium hydroxide) that entered the United States during a specified period. Title XI: Revenue Measures - Revenue Reconciliation Act of 1989 - Subtitle A: Extension of Expiring Tax Provisions - Part I: Temporary Extensions - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to extend the tax exclusion for educational assistance programs for three years. Provides a tax exclusion for otherwise taxable employer-provided educational assistance that qualifies as a working condition fringe. Provides two year extensions for the following: (1) targeted jobs credit; (2) mortgage revenue bonds exemption; (3) qualified small issue bond exemption; and (4) energy investment credit for geothermal property. Part II: Permanent Extensions - Makes the low-income housing credit permanent. Modifies such credit with respect to the following: (1) one-year carryover of unused credit authority; (2) election of 15-year credit period; (3) agreements not to evict low-income tenants and the impact of tenant's right of first refusal to acquire property; (4) rehabilitation expenditures; (5) rent restrictions; (6) acquisitions of existing buildings; (7) increased credit for buildings in high cost areas; (8) rules for buildings for which credit may be allowed; (9) buildings financed with tax-exempt bonds; (10) community development block grant funding; (11) eligibility; (12) multi-building projects; (13) increased responsibilities for housing credit agencies; (14) credit percentage determinations; (15) certification; and (16) transitional housing for the homeless and denial of credit for substandard housing. Exempts the low-income housing credit and rehabilitation credit from the income phaseout of the exemption from passive loss rules. Makes permanent the credit for increasing research activities and makes changes in the computation of the incremental credit. Provides that the trade or business requirement shall be disregarded in the case of in-house research expenses of certain start-up ventures. Disallows a deduction for qualified research expenses which is equal to the credit for increasing research activities. Requires the deduction for research and experimental expenditures to be reasonable amounts. Requires the Secretary of the Treasury to report to specified congressional committees every five years on an evaluation of the credit for increasing research activities. Provides for the allocation of research and experimental expenditures with respect to sources of income within and without the United States. Subtitle B: Corporate Provisions - Requires the earnings and profits of affiliated groups to be computed on a consolidated basis. Provides for the treatment of: (1) certain original issue discount obligations as preferred stock; and (2) certain transfers to controlled corporations. Increases the percentage of the required distribution of ordinary income of regulated investment companies in the computation of the excise tax on the undistributed income of such companies. Provides for the treatment of certain mutual fund sales charges and dividends with respect to taxation of such companies and their shareholders. Provides a limitation on the threshold requirement for certain built-in gains and losses. Requires distributions on disqualified preferred stock to be treated as extraordinary dividends. Prohibits any reduction in gross income by reason of an excess loss account if such reduction is on account of a reduction in the basis of indebtedness. Sets forth provisions relating to the treatment of stock and debt concerning: (1) regulatory authority over the treatment of stock or indebtedness; and (2) reporting of certain acquisitions or recapitalizations. Directs the Secretary to report to specified congressional committees on: (1) whether the present law distinctions between debt and equity are meaningful and whether it is appropriate to limit interest deductions in certain cases; (2) the policy and revenue implications of proposals to integrate the corporate and individual income tax systems; and (3) the policy and revenue implications of the tax treatment of corporate distributions with respect to debt and equity held by tax-exempt entities and foreign persons. Requires S corporations to make estimated tax payments for certain taxes. Limits the deduction for certain interest paid by a corporation to a related person. Subtitle C: Employee Benefit Provisions - Part I: Repeal of Section 89 Nondiscrimination Rules - Repeals provisions relating to benefits provided under certain discriminatory employee benefit plans and restores prior antidiscrimination rules with exceptions. Revises the antidiscrimination rules for health benefits provided to highly compensated employees. Part II: Employee Stock Ownership Plans - Provides limitations on partial exclusion of interest on loans used to acquire employer securities. Requires that employer security loans be held only by qualified lenders. Requires employee stock ownership plans to file certain information reports. Places limitations on deductions for dividends paid on employer securities. Requires a three-year holding period before nonrecognition of gain is applicable on the sale of stock to employee stock ownership plans or certain cooperatives. Repeals: (1) the estate tax deduction relating to the sale of employer securities to employee stock ownership plans or worker-owned corporations; and (2) the current allocation of liability for payment of estate tax in the case of transfer of employer securities. Revises limitations on employee stock ownership plans as they affect allocations to highly compensated employees. Repeals special rules relating to net operating losses as they affect employee stock ownership plans. Part III: Tax Treatment of Retiree Health Accounts - Allows a one-time transfer of excess pension assets to retiree health accounts. Limits the amount of contributions which may be made to such accounts. Subtitle D: Foreign Provisions - Provides for determining the taxable year of a controlled foreign corporation or a foreign personal holding company. Limits the use of deconsolidation to avoid foreign tax credit limitations. Makes reporting requirements for foreign-owned corporations applicable to corporations that are 25-percent foreign-owned. Sets forth U.S. recordkeeping requirements for such corporations and establishes penalties for failure to furnish information or maintain records. Provides for the taxation of the stock disposition by nonresident aliens or foreign corporations who are 10-percent shareholders in any domestic corporation. Requires a withholding agent to deduct and withhold a tax of ten percent of the amount realized on such stock disposition. Amends the Tax Reform Act of 1986 regarding the foreign tax credit to repeal the transitional rule for the special treatment of high withholding tax interest on certain foreign loans. Requires foreign research and experimental expenditures to be treated as deferred expenses and to be deducted ratably over a five-year period. Subtitle E: Excise Tax Provisions - Revises the excise tax on gasoline, including: (1) imposing a tax on the receipt of gasoline at any terminal; (2) imposing a tax on gasoline not transferred in bulk to a registered terminal; (3) allowing a tax credit on certain prior taxes; and (4) reducing the rate of tax for gasohol. Revises registration and bond requirements. Provides for refunds through sellers in cases of gasoline used to produce gasohol. Imposes a floor stocks tax on certain gasoline that was not taxed prior to October 1, 1989. Provides a one-year suspension of certain automatic reductions in aviation-related taxes. Provides for the Oil Spill Liability Trust Fund tax to take effect on October 1, 1989. Specifies the schedule for the deposit of taxes on communications services and airline tickets. Provides for one-time filing of telephone excise tax exemption certificates. Subtitle F: Miscellaneous Provisions - Part I: Limitation on Nonrecognition for Certain Exchanges - Sets forth limitations on the nonrecognition of gain or loss on the exchange of property with respect to: (1) the similar use of such property for the one-year period prior to transfer; (2) special rules for exchanges between related persons, where there is substantial diminution of risk, and for foreign real property; and (3) the repeal of special treatment for involuntary conversions of real property. Part II: Minimum Tax Provisions - Removes the book limitations applicable to depreciation of property placed in service after 1989 when determining alternative minimum taxable income. Makes modifications to: (1) the corporate minimum tax credit; (2) certain home construction contracts; (3) certain research and experimental expenditures; and (4) the 90-percent limitation on foreign tax credit. Directs the Secretary of the Treasury to study the proper method of determining depreciation allowances tax in the case of high-mileage cars and light-duty trucks. Part III: Accounting Provisions - Requires that the percentage of completion method be used in determining the taxable income under any long-term contract. Limits the deductibility of contingent payments in transfers of franchises, trademarks, and trade names. Modifies provisions requiring interest on installment sales of time-shares and residential lots. Part IV: Employment Tax Provisions - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to require income tax withholding for certain agricultural employees. Part V: Other Provisions - Limits the tax exclusion for compensation for personal injuries or sickness to cases involving physical injury or physical sickness. Requires the recognition of gain or loss by any partner that contributes property to a partnership if the property is distributed by the partnership to other than the contributing partner. Allows a depreciation deduction for the business use of cellular telephones or other similar telecommunications equipment. Eliminates the retroactive certification of employees for the work incentive jobs credit. Disallows a depreciation deduction for any term interest in property for any period during which the remainder interest in such property is held by a related person. Requires a trade or business to report the amount of points received on mortgage loans and whether such points were paid directly by the borrower. Provides that a building shall not be treated as being ineligible for the rehabilitation credit by reason of being relocated if the rehabilitation began before the publication of a certain proposed Treasury Regulation. Designates the Overseas Private Investment Corporation as a tax-exempt government corporation. Provides a tax exclusion for certain overseas allowances received by Department of Defense personnel. Authorizes the disclosure of tax information to the Department of Veterans Affairs for the verification of income for purposes of needs-based benefits and services. Requires the Secretary to provide notice of underreporting in information returns. Subtitle G: Revision of Civil Penalties - Improved Penalty Administration and Compliance Tax Act - Part I: Document and Information Return Penalties - Revises penalty provisions in connection with tax return administration. Imposes a uniform penalty of $50 per offense to a maximum of $250,000 per year on any person who fails to: (1) file timely and correct information returns; (2) furnish correct payee statements; or (3) comply with other information reporting requirements. Reduces penalties if corrections are made within a specified time period. Allows exceptions for de minimis failures. Lowers the penalty maximums for persons with gross receipts of less than $5,000,000. Increases penalties and removes the annual penalty ceiling in cases of intentional disregard of filing requirements. Revises requirements governing regulations prescribed by the Secretary of the Treasury in connection with returns that must be filed on magnetic media or in other machine-readable form. Directs the Comptroller General to study and report to specified congressional committees concerning: (1) ways to resolve discrepancies between taxpayer identity information shown on information returns and that in Internal Revenue Service (IRS) records; and (2) whether persons in the business of transmitting information returns and other documents to the IRS on behalf of others should be subject to registration. Part II: Revision of Accuracy-Related Penalties - Replaces current law governing additions to tax and other additional amounts with respect to tax administration violations with provisions that impose a 20 percent penalty in the form of additional tax in connection with underpayments attributable to at least one of the following: (1) negligence or disregard of relevant rules; (2) any substantial understatement of income tax; (3) any substantial valuation overstatement in connection with income tax; (4) any substantial overstatement of pension liabilities; or (5) any substantial estate or gift tax valuation understatement. Increases the penalty to 40 percent in cases of gross valuation misstatements. Imposes: (1) a 75 percent penalty in the form of additional tax with respect to any underpayment attributable to fraud; and (2) a 50 percent penalty in connection with underpayments of or failure to pay any stamp tax. Part III: Preparer, Promoter, and Protester Penalties - Revises provisions governing damages assessable for offenses related to Tax Court litigation to: (1) grant the Tax Court discretion in requiring a taxpayer to pay the United States a penalty (current law requires the penalty); (2) increase the amount of the permissible penalty from a $5,000 to a $25,000 maximum; (3) authorize the Tax Court to impose a penalty upon any attorney who unreasonably multiplies the proceedings in question. Authorizes similar sanctions in cases brought before other courts. Modifies penalty provisions associated with understatements of taxpayer liability by income tax return preparers to: (1) increase penalty amounts; and (2) institute penalties for understatements due to unrealistic positions or reckless or intentional disregard of tax laws. Increases from $25 to $50 (to an annual maximum of $25,000) the penalty imposed on income tax return preparers who fail to furnish copies to taxpayers, sign returns, or furnish identifying numbers. Modifies penalties imposed on tax preparers who fail to file correct information returns. Increases the possible penalty imposed on persons who promote abusive tax shelters. Broadens the scope of persons subject to penalties for aiding and abetting understatements of tax liability. Increases from $500 to $1,000 the penalty for filing a frivolous income tax return. Repeals a provision prohibiting injunctions against any income tax return preparer who files a surety bond. Requires that regulations governing disclosure or use of information by tax return preparers permit disclosures for quality or peer reviews. Part IV: Failures to File or Pay - Increases penalties imposed on persons whose failure to file any return is fraudulent or intentional. Revises penalty provisions in connection with failures to make deposits of taxes, varying the penalty rate as a function of the time involved in the deposit delay. Declares that a taxpayer who belatedly pays a tax that should have been deducted and withheld is still liable for interest or applicable penalties or additions. Subtitle H: Technical Corrections - Part I: Amendments Related to Technical and Miscellaneous Revenue Act of 1988 - Makes technical corrections with respect to: (1) corporate tax; (2) minimum tax; (3) accounting methods; (4) foreign tax; (5) estate and gift tax; (6) generation-skipping transfer tax; (7) estimated taxes of trusts and estates; (8) insurance; (9) pensions; (10) excise tax on undenatured distilled spirits; (11) tax-exempt bonds; (12) research tax credit; and (13) low-income housing tax credit. Part II: Amendments Related to Revenue Act of 1987 - Revises: (1) accounting provisions concerning installment sales, the election of taxable years other than required taxable year, corporate earnings and profit adjustments, and treatment of foreign insurance; (2) provisions relating to excise taxes on diesel fuel and aviation fuel; and (3) enforcement authority in the case of flagrant political expenditures. Part III: Amendments Related to Tax Reform Act of 1986 - Revises provisions with respect to: (1) modification of the accelerated cost recovery system; (2) low-income housing credit; (3) capitalization and inclusion in inventory costs of certain expenses; and (4) transitional rules on the application of future legislation to transitioned bonds. Part IV: Miscellaneous Changes - Makes technical amendments to provisions related to transfers incident to divorce or separation and to the special rules for simplified employee pensions. Part V: Amendments Related to Pension Provisions - Subpart A: Amendments to Tax Reform Act of 1986 - Makes technical amendments to pension-related provisions of the Internal Revenue Code (IRC) and the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA) concerning: (1) excise tax on reversion of qualified plan assets to employer; and (2) minimum vesting standards. Makes various changes to technical corrections made under the Tax Reform Act of 1986. Subpart B: Amendments Related to Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1986 - Makes technical amendments to the IRC and ERISA with respect to the normal retirement age of pension plan participants. Subpart C: Amendments Related to Pension Protection Act - Makes technical amendments to the IRC, ERISA, and the Pension Protection Act dealing with: (1) limitations for multiemployer pension plans; (2) modification of the minimum funding standard for pension plans, including a special transition rule with respect to steel employees; (3) the time for making plan contributions; (4) funding waivers; (5) the interest rate to be used in connection with various plan funding rules; (6) plan terminations; and (7) reporting requirements. Subtitle I: Child Care Provisions - Amends title XX of the Social Security Act to authorize appropriations for FY 1991 and 1992 and thereafter for grants to States for services, including additional grants for child care services. Sets forth entitlement, eligibility, and administrative requirements for child care grants to States Directs the Secretary of HHS to establish, on October 1, 1989, a program of two-year grants to eligible States to assist in improving their child care standards. Terminates the program after eight years. Authorizes the Secretary of HHS to make demonstration grants to up to ten eligible public agencies and private entities, in urban and rural areas, to administer child development models. Authorizes appropriations for FY 1990 through 1997 for the child care standards improvement incentive grant program, with a portion of such funds set aside for the demonstration grant program. Amends the Internal Revenue Code to increase the amount of the earned income credit and to adjust it according to the number of children in a family. Allows a supplemental tax credit for individuals with children under the age of six. Authorizes advance tax credit payments by employers based on the number of qualifying children. | 2024-02-07T16:32:33Z |