I.A.1. Subject Files, 1983-1992

I.A.2. Correspondence, 1984-1992

I.B.1. Banking, Finance and Urban Affairs, 1983-1992

Correspondence, memoranda, clippings, bills and amendments of legislation, reports, mark-ups, meeting notes, publications, testimonies, pamphlets, studies, drafts, reference materials, bound volumes of hearings. With liberal incorporation laws, Delaware is the on-paper home to half of the companies on the Fortune 500 list and over 200,000 other smaller corporations. As a representative from a state with such strong ties to financial institutions and economic development, Tom Carper had a vested interest in membership on the Banking, Finance and Urban Affairs Committee. He served on various Banking subcommittees, which changed from session to session of Congress. These subcommittees included Financial Institutions, Regulations and Insurance; Housing and Community Development; International Monetary Policy; and Economic Stabilization. Significant legislation documented in this series includes Financial Institutions Reform, Recovery, and Enforcement Act (FIRREA); Flood Insurance; the 1991 Banking Reform Bill; and Housing and Community Development bills. As a member of the Housing and Community Development Subcommittee, Carper sponsored several pieces of legislation relating to public housing. These bills included Lead Paint Abatement in Public Housing, Tenant Income Verification, Family Self-Sufficiency, Mixed Populations in Public Housing, and Prepayment and Preservation, as well as the large Housing Bills that came before the House in 1990 and 1992. Congressman Carper's concern for residents of public housing is apparent in both the Lead Paint Abatement and the Family Self-Sufficiency Act legislation. Lead-based paint was commonly found in public housing, especially in older units dating from the early 1940s. When children living in public housing began to get sick in the 1980s, tests revealed high lead blood levels, indicating lead-based paint as the cause. Carper's tenacity, with the help of Senator Joe Biden (D-Del.), led to Delaware becoming the first state in the nation to abate all lead paint in public housing. Documentation on the court case that illuminated the need for action on the lead paint is included in these files. The case concerned Stephen Jackson, a child who ingested lead-based paint over a period of time, while playing at home, and suffered irreversible brain damage. His mother, with the assistance of the Legal Aid Society in Wilmington, pursued a suit against the Wilmington Housing Authority (WHA), a part of the Housing and Urban Development (HUD) agency. Ms. Jackson cited WHA with negligence because of their slow response to her request and her son's doctor's order for abatement after Steven was hospitalized. In 1984, a Delaware judge ruled that WHA had to comply with the Lead Paint Poisoning Protection (LPPP) Act and abate all public housing known to contain lead-based paint. Delaware was the first state in the nation to do so, accomplishing the task by 1987. In Congress, both Carper and Biden were adamant that HUD pursue abatement as a preventative, rather than remedial, action. HUD preferred a "health" approach to abatement, requiring lead removal only after illness or high lead blood levels had already occurred, while Carper and Biden advocated a "housing" approach, which called for abatement in all public housing regardless of age of inhabitants or signs of illness. Carper and Biden launched a successful national initiative to block HUD's "health" approach. Several other issues involving public housing are included in the files. The Family Self-Sufficiency Act which was designed to enable families living in public housing to slowly begin to get off assistance and buy their own homes. Tenant Income Verification legislation sponsored by Carper provided for ensuring that those who applied for and received assistance from HUD for public housing were indeed needy. Fraudulent income reporting had allowed some individuals to receive federal assistance for housing when in reality these people's incomes exceeded the level required for the assistance. Carper's legislation provided for the use of social security or employer identification numbers to corroborate eligibility. Another Carper bill, Mixed Populations in Public Housing, dealt with federal mandates requiring mixed-age populations, comprising senior citizens and disabled young adults, to live in the same public housing. When crime began to rise in areas with mixed population housing, communities raised an outcry and Carper responded by drafting legislation that would allow these housing communities to keep their federal funding without the need to maintain the mixed populations. "Prepayment and Preservation" legislation was designed to preserve federally funded housing at current levels. Housing bills for 1990 and 1992 and supporting materials complete this section of the series. Reform of the National Flood Insurance Plan (NFIP) was a major piece of legislation during the 102nd Congress, spurred by the damage caused by recent national disasters such as Hurricane Hugo. At the time, communities not participating in the NFIP were still eligible for Federal subsidies and disaster assistance. Congress wanted to reform the NFIP to insure that communities would have to participate in the NFIP in order to receive Federal flood insurance. In 1989, Carper introduced The National Flood and Erosion Mitigation Act of 1989, H.R. 3456, and Congressman Doug Bereuter (R-Neb.) introduced The National Flood Insurance Compliance, Mitigation and Erosion Act of 1990, H.R. 4461. Carper's bill called for measures to encourage increased participation in the NFIP program, reduce repetitive flood insurance claims, and provide for an erosion management program. Bereuter's bill focused on the erosion problem and was based on the National Research Council's report to the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA). Carper's bill called for the establishment of ten-, thirty-, and sixty-year setback zones in coastal areas. A setback zone is an area along the waterfront that is threatened by erosion. These zones are created to lessen the probability that structures built behind them will fall into the water. Theoretically, a structure placed behind the 60-year setback zone would be safe from erosion damage for approximately sixty years. No structure seaward of the ten-year setback would qualify for federal flood insurance. This did not prohibit development, only federal insurance coverage. Carper's bill also repealed the Upton-Jones Amendment, which had allowed for destruction and demolition of homes in an undefined area of imminent collapse. It also specified that structures seaward of the thirty-year setback line could be relocated landward of the sixty-year setback line and qualify for NFIP. Demolition could occur if relocation costs exceeded the value of the structure, the structure could not be safely moved, and other circumstances made demolition necessary. In order to receive mortgages from federally insured or supervised lenders, Carper made participation mandatory for structures in flood hazard zones. He made it the responsibility of the lender to notify owners that their property was in a special flood hazard zone and set penalties for lenders who did not require flood insurance. Finally, Carper called for FEMA to establish a National Flood Mitigation Fund for loans and assistance for flood mitigation, administrative expenses, and assistance to states involved in the Flood Mitigation Plan. No action was taken on either H.R. 3456 or H.R. 4461 during the 101st Congress. However, in the 102nd Congress, Congressman Ben Erdreich (D-Ala.), Chairman of the Subcommittee of Policy Research and Insurance, introduced H.R. 1236, a modified version of Carper's bill. Carper was a co-sponsor of the bill. H.R. 1236 passed the House on May 1, 1991. It was introduced into the Senate by John Kerry (D-Mass.) as S. 1650. In the Senate, the bill came under attack by C.M. "Bud" Schauerte, Director of the Federal Insurance Agency and Senator Phil Gramm (R-Tex.). Schauerte and Gramm claimed that the NFIP did not need reforming and that the bill was an attempt to exert federal control over private development in coastal regions. At the end of 1992, when Carper left office, no action had been taken on this bill in the Senate. A significant amount of files in the series are devoted to the Financial Institutions Reform, Recovery, and Enforcement Act (FIRREA) of 1989. The files contain detailed information on the progress of this large and complicated piece of legislation. Arranged by title number and also by subpart of each title, FIRREA was a response to major problems in the financial industry during the 1980s. FIRREA was signed into law in August of 1989. Carper's work in the Financial Institutions Reform, Recovery, and Enforcement Act (FIRREA) legislation of 1989 is well-documented. Officially described as a bill to "reform, recapitalize, and consolidate the Federal deposit insurance system, to enhance the regulatory and enforcement powers of Federal financial institutions regulatory agencies, and for other purposes," the bill's intent was to provide much-needed regulation of financial institutions after the collapse of several saving and loans (S&Ls, also known as thrifts), in the early 1980s. The legislation would also ensure that S&Ls were made to adhere to the same capital standards as commercial banks. The Reagan administration's push for deregulation of S&Ls in the 1980s contributed to the crisis in the S&L industry. Inadequate bank examination and supervision procedures, and inadequate capital were other factors leading to the crisis. The recession of the early 1980s led to economic collapse in several parts of the country, especially in oil-producing regions. Subsequent fraud and mismanagement in the thrift industry was another problem compounding the S&L crisis. The purpose of FIRREA was to bail out failed institutions via mergers, sales, or liquidations; to set capital standards for thrifts; to restructure and enforce regulatory procedures in the S&L industry; and to increase insurance payments by thrifts and commercial banks to assist in the bailout. With deregulation had come increased opportunities for S&Ls to lend in areas other than residential real estate and this was an area which caused for so many failures. The risks taken by thrifts in non-residential real estate, mishandling of funds, and fraud also contributed to thrift failures. FIRREA files detail major components of the bill, known as titles. There is extensive documentation of amendments, including several by Carper. Carper's main concerns were with improving bank supervision and examination, and setting adequate capital standards. Amendments offered by Carper provided for setting standards for examiners and ensuring they were qualified via testing and education. Capital standards, which refers to the amount of real money with which a bank operates, was another area of contention. Many banks had taken on failed institutions and claimed the assets of the failed bank as capital when in reality, this was a nontangible asset. This "goodwill," as it was called, was created when the liabilities of an institution exceeded the market asset value. The "assets" of a failed thrift represented potential growth, but not existing capital. Capital standards provisions in FIRREA specified that an institution have real capital of 3 % of its assets. Another issue of concern to Carper involved directors' and officers' (D&Os) liabilities. Delaware was very protective of D&Os so Carper had an interest in maintaining this protection in the FIRREA legislation. Carper offered two amendments protecting exclusions in contracts for receivers' and conservators' rights to enforce contracts, and protecting state law on limited indemnification for directors and officers. Other issues in the FIRREA bill included reforms of the Federal Home Loan Bank (FHLB) system and Federal Savings and Loan Insurance Corporation (FSLIC). Prosecution of "S&L Crooks" was also an important issue for Carper at the conclusion of the S&L crisis. In 1991, Carper was elected chair of the Subcommittee on Economic Stabilization. Files of this committee, many of them witness lists and transcripts of hearings, give insight into Carper's leadership and his rapport with peers and colleagues in his capacity as chair. The subcommittee, now defunct, lacked strong legislative authority. Instead, the committee reviewed and processed ideas for new legislation via hearings. Hearings are used as tools both for writing new legislation as well as assessing formerly passed legislation to see if and how it was fulfilling its purposes. While Carper was chair, the subcommittee held a variety of hearings. Topics included Enterprise Zones, Economic Development issues, the Defense Production Act, and National Energy Policy. Files representing all of these issues are present in the papers. Enterprise zones (EZs) refer to those areas within cities or rural areas which are given special treatment, often in the form of tax reductions, to entice businesses to these areas. This not only creates jobs, but promotes favorable business conditions which can encourage further economic development in these areas. Closely related to the Enterprise Zones issue is Economic Development. An issue of national as well as local importance, hearings on Economic Development in the papers look at the impact of reduced federal funding on economic development in cities, notably Philadelphia, and innovative credit and assistance programs that traditional and non-traditional lenders had developed to meet the needs of distressed communities. Hearings on the Defense Production Act (DPA) discussed extension of the act focusing on lessons learned in the just-ended Persian Gulf War. Originally enacted in 1950 at the time of the Korean War, the DPA provided the president with authority to stockpile key goods and allowed the military access to key supplies during times of national emergency. The act also ensured adequate supplies of materials and components for production of defense products. It also provided for the ability to mobilize in times of national emergency. The reauthorization of the Act would allow the provisions of the original act to continue and also give preference to domestic producers of key goods. A component of this act was the Exxon-Florio provision which prohibited foreign mergers which may affect national security. Basically, the act was essential in preserving the country's industrial base for defense and national security. The National Energy Policy was also somewhat in response to the recent Persian Gulf crisis. Components of the bill included reducing U.S. dependence on foreign oil, setting national energy standards, most notably in fuel emissions by automobiles, searching for alternative fuel sources, including nuclear power; and examining domestic regions for drilling, including coastal drilling and the Alaska National Wildlife Refuge. The bill was complex in its many objectives and its need to balance between protecting the environment and the economy. (See also Series I.C.11. Issue Files -- Energy and the Environment, for more detail.) Other bills of note in this series include H.R. 28 Expedited Funds Availability Act of 1987, H.R. 3567 Bank Examination Improvement Act of 1985, and H.R. 4917 Depository Institution Examination Improvement Act of 1986. All three were legislation sponsored by Congressman Carper. A 43-volume set of hearings and reports from the Banking, Finance and Urban Affairs Committee from the 102nd Congress, 1991-1992, completes this series.

Arrangement

Reflecting the work of several legislative assistants, there is no consistent filing scheme throughout the series. Some files are arranged chronologically by congressional session, with subseries by subcommittee jurisdiction or topic. Some files in this series are arranged by subcommittee jurisdiction; a list of Carper's subcommittees is found at the end of this series description as well as in Appendix B. Many files are arranged in topical subseries, such as those pertaining to Flood Insurance, Housing Bills, and FIRREA, as originally maintained by staff. Late accessions of the papers came from legislative assistant Susan Frank, and remain in discrete groups as noted in the contents list.

I.B.2. Merchant Marine and Fisheries, 1983-1992

Correspondence, memoranda, meeting notes, floor statements, memos, drafts of bills and amendments, final versions of bills, published testimonies, published reports, and clippings.

The bulk of these committee files were maintained by Christophe Tulou, the legislative assistant who covered MMF committee work as well as other environmental issues for Carper from 1983-1991. Unlike the majority of the series in the Carper Papers, this is one of the few file series in the collection that is documented from the beginning of Carper's tenure in Congress until the end. Carper chaired the Subcommittee on Economic Stabilization of the Banking, Finance and Urban Affairs Committee in 1991-1992, and Tulou became his legislative staff member for that subcommittee. At that time, LA John Baker took over Tulou's MMF issue and committee responsibilities.

Significant topics in this series include Oil Spills and Pollution, Ocean Dumping and Ocean Incineration, and the Comprehensive Environmental Response Compensation and Liability Act (CERCLA), or Superfund, as it was more commonly known. Legislation to address ocean dumping, known formally as the Marine Protection, Research and Sanctuaries Act (MPRSA), was a major issue during Carper's first term in Congress in 1983. The Oceanography and Fisheries and Wildlife Conservation and the Environment Subcommittee, of which Carper was a member, worked on this legislation. Carper introduced two bills pertaining to MPRSA in November of 1983: H.R. 4491, a bill to impose a user fee to cover processing costs of ocean dumping permits, and H.R. 4492, a bill to prohibit dumping of sewage sludge into the ocean. Delaware, with its extensive ocean coastline, opposed ocean dumping of harmful wastes which could eventually wash up on the Delaware beaches -- major tourist attractions and sources of revenue for many Delawareans.

The crux of the Ocean Incineration predicament centered around the New York Bight dumping area and New York City's unwillingness to stop ocean dumping of waste altogether. Carper and other members of Congress advocated complete cessation of dumping, a position mandated with a 1981 deadline from the MPRSA amendment. New York City was successful in obtaining several extensions, arguing that it would be too costly for them to switch to land-based dumping or incineration methods. The Bight, a recreational and fishing area twelve miles off the shore of New York State in the Atlantic Ocean, had been used as a dumping site since 1924. An alternate site in use since the 1930s, 106 miles off the coast of New Jersey and Delaware, was proposed in lieu of dumping at the Bight area. Termination dates for dumping at the twelve-mile Bight site as far back as 1983 had been set, but during each successive Congress these dates were pushed back as New York City was continually granted extensions. The city argued that alternative means of getting rid of waste, including building waste water treatment plants or spreading land sludge would be expensive and put an unnecessary financial burden on the citizens of New York City. The 106-mile site was no better alternative to Carper. New Jersey had contended with waste washing up on its shores for several years, prompting beach closings in the 1980s, and Carper did not want this to become a reality for Delaware beaches. In addition, Carper cited Philadelphia's success at ending ocean dumping as further example of a large city's ability to find alternative disposal methods.

Oil incineration and ocean dumping are two closely related topics but the staff maintained very separate and extensive files on each of these topics. Oil spill files contain hearings, legislation, speeches, clippings, and research documents concerning oil spills in the Delaware River. They have been put in chronological order. This issue fell under the jurisdiction of both of Carper's subcommittees, Coast Guard and Navigation, and Fisheries and Wildlife Conservation and the Environment. The former committee addressed clean up and response to spills, and the latter environmental concerns and crises caused by spills.

Information on the Grand Eagle, Exxon-Valdez and Presidente Rivera 1989 spills is included in this series. These oil spills prompted passage of bills that specified which parties should be responsible for the clean up of oil spills and advocated double hulling of ships. Even though one of the subcommittees on which Carper served might have had jurisdiction over part of legislation concerning these larger issues, since the final reports came directly from the MMF Committee, they have been filed under the general files of the MMF series.

In the 99th Congress (1985), Carper was appointed to the Congressional Task Force on Toxic Emergencies, partially in response to oil pollution liability issues. This appointment and Carper's activities are documented in the files relating to Comprehensive Environmental Response Compensation and Liability Act of 1980 (CERCLA), or the more common name, Superfund, which are located in Series I.C.11. Issue Files -- Energy and the Environment.

The Waste Reduction Clearinghouse Act of 1987 was a bill sponsored by Congressman Carper and Senator Joseph P. Biden, Jr.. The bill's purpose was to facilitate exchange of information on technologies to reduce hazardous waste via the establishment of a Waste Reduction Clearinghouse. Other significant file groups include weakfish legislation, which Carper introduced in 1992. Providing for the conservation and management of weakfish, Carper's H.R. 288 was modeled after earlier bills on striped bass conservation and management along the Atlantic coastline. Other important issues for Delaware included wetlands, fisheries management, and Delaware estuaries and bays. More information on these issues can be found in Series I.D. Regional Issues Files.

As a member of the Coast Guard and Navigation Subcommittee, Carper worked on issues such as user fees for recreational boaters, oil spill response team clean-up responsibility, oil spill liability, and commercial fishing industry vessel safety. The Coast Guard was part of both the Department of Transportation and Department of Defense during wartime, and Carper believed that it should be funded to the fullest extent possible, but not at the expense of increasing the nation's deficit.

In 1995, the Merchant Marine and Fisheries Committee was absorbed into the Committee on Resources. The Coast Guard is now under the jurisdiction of the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure.

Arrangement

Arranged by general Merchant Marine and Fisheries (MMF) Committee topics, followed by issues dealt with in the two subcommittees: Coast Guard and Navigation, and Fisheries and Wildlife Conservation and the Environment. Arranged alphabetically by topic and chronologically within. Most files were arranged in reverse chronological order and this original filing order has been preserved. Issues that consist of extensive groups of files, such as Oil Spills and Pollution, Ocean Dumping, and Ocean Incineration have been maintained as separate groups within the series. Issues that fell under jurisdiction of both of Carper's subcommittees, such as Oil Spill and Ocean Dumping legislation, are listed under the general committee issues.

I.C.1. Agriculture

Legislation, news clippings, correspondence, memoranda, publications, reports, and research materials.

Although agriculture is a prominent industry in Delaware, the collection has very few files relating to this subject. Those included in this series cover topics such as migrant farm workers, use and manufacture of pesticides, crops, and other farm-related legislation. The files contain materials pertinent to Carper's agricultural constituents: farmers, agricultural product dealers, or scientists involved in research. Of note is the documentation on the Beneficial Insects Introduction Research Laboratory in Newark, Delaware. The lab, as part of the United States Department of Agriculture's (USDA) Agricultural Research Service, studied alternative methods to pesticides for use in preventing crop damage by insects. This research is known as biological control and integrated pest management. The laboratory researched and imported beneficial insects to feed off of the harmful bugs that destroyed crops. The Delaware lab was one of several in the United States. Both Carper and Senator Bill Roth, Jr., wrote to the Secretary of Agriculture in support of the laboratory and asked for federal funding. Unfortunately, funding for the lab was not included in the Department of Agriculture's FY 1993 budget that was passed by Congress.

Arrangement

Alphabetically by topic.

I.C.2. Amtrak, 1988-1992

Correspondence, memoranda, meeting notes, floor statements, testimonies, news clippings, and reports.

The majority of the Amtrak files deal with conflicts between upper management and railroad worker unions over the four year period of 1988-1992. Major matters in the disputes involved wages, health and welfare issues, and possible changes to work environment regulations. Due to Wilmington's position as a major repair yard and travel station along the "northeast corridor" for railroad travel and movement of goods, Congressman Carper maintained a strong interest in resolutions benefiting both Amtrak and labor. As a result, the files contain a significant body of literature pertaining to this topic, and deal with it on the local, state, and national levels.

Amtrak negotiated labor contracts with over twenty unions. For instance, management negotiated separately with the on-board service employees, the yardmasters, the station masters and the machinists. This method is well documented within the files, and provides insight into the complex nature of a system where twenty-plus different unions must be addressed.

Also included in the Amtrak files are letters and information regarding the possibility of 1992 layoffs of Amtrak workers in Wilmington, and Carper's efforts to save those jobs. The issue was unresolved in 1993 when Carper left his congressional office.

Arrangement

Alphabetically by topic and chronologically within. Most file contents were maintained in reverse chronological order and this placement has been retained.

I.C.3. Animal Welfare, 1989-1992

Correspondence, bulletins, reports, news clippings, testimonies.

The Animal Welfare files focus primarily on issues involving the use of animals in laboratory and biomedical research. Other phenomena touched upon include inhumane trapping of animals, canned hunts, and the contrasting philosophies of animal protection and animal control.

Documentation of the 1989 Silver Spring Monkey case, probably one of the more infamous cases involving use of animals in lab research, is contained in the files. In this case, monkeys at a lab in Silver Spring, Maryland, were used for spinal cord and stroke injury research by having nerves severed in their limbs. They were then observed to see if and how they would be able to regain use of the limbs. News of the experiment generated public outcry and the lab was closed. The monkeys were shipped to labs in Louisiana and Texas, where some of them ultimately died. People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) was actively involved in prosecution of the scientists in this case. There are conflicting reports about the role of the National Institutes of Health (NIH) in this case, and the care given by the labs where the monkeys were sent. Many articles and editorials illustrate the notoriety of the incident at the time.

Arrangement

Arranged alphabetically by subject.

I.C.4. Appropriations, 1990-1992

Correspondence, notes, floor statements, fact sheets, testimonies, news clippings, memoranda, and published reports.

Although limited in size and representing only the last term of Carper's years in the House, the Appropriations files provide a unique understanding of the work that goes into distribution of public funds. Many of the steps involved in this annual legislative exercise are represented in this series. The dissension that frequently occurs over how much money should go where is well documented through correspondence, op-ed articles, and research files. Topics include the following: Agricultural Domestic Food programs, Commerce, Justice and Judiciary, District of Columbia, Interior, Labor, Health and Human Services, Education, Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program, Treasury, and the Postal Service.

Arrangement

Alphabetically by topic and chronologically within.

I.C.5. Children, 1985-1992

News clippings, notes, correspondence, memoranda, publications, reports, and other printed materials.

This series details issues and legislation relating to children during Carper's tenure in Congress, with the bulk of the material from 1988-1992. Issues represented include infant mortality, international family planning, adoption, and, to a lesser extent, pornography, child labor, and international efforts on behalf of children. Major child care legislation includes the Child Care Act of 1987; the Child Care Services Improvement Act of 1988, a component of which would provide dependent tax care credits for working parents; and Early Childhood Education and Development (H.R. 3). Although Carper did not write any legislation in this series, he took an interest in the welfare of children and was an advocate of early childhood education.

Arrangement

Arranged alphabetically by subject. A subseries of Child Care Bills details components of various child care legislation.

Series I.C.6. Civil Rights, 1985-1992

Legislation, correspondence, news clippings, research materials, reports and publications.

Major legislation in this series includes the Civil Rights Acts of 1990 and 1991. The Civil Rights Acts were intended to strengthen and restore Civil Rights laws established by the 1964 Civil Rights Act. Largely in response to job bias and discrimination practices toward minorities and women, the Civil Rights Acts provided legal remedies for individuals affected by discrimination and made clear what kinds of acts constituted these violations. Also included in this series and related to the Civil Rights Act are files dealing with sexual orientation discrimination and rights, and voting rights. Files relating to the issue of religious freedom are also included in this series. A file on Clarence Thomas's nomination to the Supreme Court and the ensuing hearings regarding his alleged sexual misconduct toward former employee Anita Hill is notable in that it contains the transcript of President George Bush's speech on the public's perception of government after the conclusion of the hearing. (See Appendix E for a list of Supreme Court members.)

Arrangement

Alphabetically by issue

I.C.7. Civil Service, 1984-1991

Correspondence, reports, legislation. Civil Service Issue Files contain information on age discrimination, pensions, payment of pensions, and the rights of spouses of pensioned employees. Also included is information on railroad employees and their pensions. One employee concern relates to source taxes on retirement and pension plans. Source taxes are levied by the state in which a retiree earned his income, even after the retiree has moved to another state, often to a state with no income tax. Opponents of source taxes argued that retirees no longer receive services or benefits of the state's taxing the pensions, and this scenario would constitute a case of taxation without representation.

Another civil service issue dealing with the aged (also found in Series I.C.13. Health and Human Services) relates to the Older Workers Benefit Protection Act of 1990, H.R. 3200, which prohibited discrimination against older workers regarding employee benefits. The Act was passed in response to the Supreme Court decision in Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio vs. Betts (1989). This case concerned a social worker, Mrs. June Betts, who had to leave her job because she was suffering from Alzheimer's disease. She was denied disability pay because her employers said she was over sixty and therefore not entitled to these benefits. Her family sued to get Mrs. Betts disability benefits but the court ruled that, under the Age Discrimination in Employment Act of 1967, Mrs. Betts was not the victim of discrimination and therefore not entitled to disability benefits. H.R. 3200 reversed the Betts decision and restored the policy that older employees be provided with the same benefits unless the employer could prove that equal benefits would cost more for older workers.

Other issues in these files concern post-retirement marriages and the rights of the new spouses to pension benefits, retirement benefits for National Guard and military personnel, limits on pension contributions, and other taxation issues.

Arrangement

Arranged alphabetically by subject.