United States · United States Congress · 6 February 1981
District of Columbia Bond Authorization Act of 1981 - Authorizes the District of Columbia to issue general obligation bonds to pay specified eligible liabilities and costs incidental to such bond issuance. Limits the aggregate principal amount of such bonds to a specified sum. Authorizes the District of Columbia City Council to authorize the issuance of such bonds without first submitting the issue to the President and Congress. Requires that such Council action shall include a payment financing plan for such bonds. Directs the Mayor to publish notice of any bond issuance authorized by the Council. Establishes a 20-day period of limitation beginning on such publication date. Sets forth procedures for the issuance, maturity, and execution of such bonds. Requires that bond proceeds be segregated from other District funds and expended solely for authorized purposes. Requires that the District report annually to Congress on its use of such proceeds and its payment of bond interest and principal. Specifies that such bonds shall be secured by the full faith and credit of the District. Authorizes the Council to pledge District revenues as additional security for such bonds. Authorizes the Mayor to sell such secured bonds within a specified period at either public or private sale. Exempts the obligation of bond proceeds, payments, or securities from the Congressional appropriation process. Declares that such bonds are: (1) exempt from Federal and District taxes; and (2) legal investments.
United States · United States Congress · 6 February 1981
Commercial Use of Sound Recordings Amendment- Amends the copyright law to give the owner of a sound recording copyright the exclusive right to perform or authorize the performance of the copyrighted work publicly. Exempts specified educational, religious, literary, and governmental performances of sound recordings from copyright infringement liability. Limits further the exclusive right of the owner of copyrights in sound recordings of specified kinds of works to the right to perform publicly all or any part of the actual sounds fixed in such recordings. Stipulates that the exclusive right to perform publicly, by means of a phonorecord, a copyrighted literary, musical, or dramatic work, and to perform publicly a copyrighted sound recording are separate and independent rights under this Act. Subjects the exclusive performance right in a sound recording to compulsory licensing if phonorecords of such recording have been distributed to the public under the authority of the copyright owner. Sets forth the requirements for obtaining such license. Establishes the royalty rates or payments for broadcast stations based on gross receipts of advertising sponsors, and gives the compulsory licensee the option of computing such royalty fees on either a prorated or blanket basis. Directs that royalty fees shall be deposited by the Register of Copyrights in the United States Treasury and invested by the Secretary of the Treasury in interest-bearing United States securities. Establishes the procedure for the distribution of royalties to persons claiming entitlement to compulsory license fees. Exempts certain broadcast stations and transmitters which publicly perform a copyrighted sound recording from liability for infringement and compulsory licensing requirements if the gross receipts of such stations are less than specified amounts. Provides that if an owner of a copyright authorizes the public distribution of material objects that reproduce such copyrighted sounds but do not include any accompanying motion picture, a compulsory licensee shall be freed from further liability for infringement for the public performance of such sounds. Directs the Copyright Royalty Tribunal to retain the services of one or more private, nongovernmental entities to monitor and value sound recording performances, distribute royalty funds to recipients, and perform other functions deemed necessary.
United States · United States Congress · 6 February 1981
Declares that the President should not reestablish an official U.S. presence in Bolivia nor furnish any military or economic assistance to Bolivia until: (1) civil rights and the democratic process are restored; (2) a commitment has been made by the regime not to harass U.S. citizens; and (3) Bolivian drug involvement is assessed.
United States · United States Congress · 5 February 1981
Amends title XIX (Medicaid) of the Social Security Act to require that States include standards for determining need for continued skilled nursing facilities or intermediate care facilities in their plan for medical assistance. Directs the Secretary of Health and Human Services to conduct investigative and oversight activities designed to determine whether there exists any basis to support a finding that the plan no longer complies with minimum requirements. States that an individual shall be deemed to be in need of skilled nursing facility services if determined to need care in such a facility on a daily basis.
United States · United States Congress · 5 February 1981
Requests the President to designate the week of May 10 to May 16, 1981, as "CARE Week" in observance of the thirty-fifth anniversary of CARE (the Cooperative for American Relief Everywhere, Inc.).
United States · United States Congress · 4 February 1981
Establishes within the National Institutes of Health the Office of Drugs of Limited Commercial Value under the direction of the Director of the National Institutes of Health. Establishes within the Office an advisory council to advise the Director and make recommendations to the Secretary of Health and Human Services respecting the time required for drug approval under the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act. Authorizes the Director to provide financial assistance to entities for the development of drugs of limited commercial value, defined as a drug for a condition or disease of low incidence, to undertake the development of such drugs, undertake studies to determine the potential and need for specific drugs, and coordinate the efforts of public and private entities engaged in the development of such drugs. Requires the submission and approval of an application containing the scientific basis for the development and the proposed therapeutic use of the drug and other specified information before financial assistance is provided. Requires each entity receiving funds to keep specified records. Requires the Director to report to Congress within two years on the effectiveness of this Act.
United States · United States Congress · 4 February 1981
Educational Testing Act of 1981 - Requires each postsecondary education admissions testing agency to provide to a test subject information concerning: (1) the purposes of the test; (2) the subject matters and the areas of skill or knowledge being tested; (3) interpretation of test results; (4) various effects upon, and uses of, test scores; (5) the form in which the scores will be reported; (6) any promises made by a testing agency with regard to accuracy, forwarding, and privacy of information of such scores; (7) the property interest of a test subject in such scores, and their storage, disposal, or future use; (8) the time period for mailing such scores to a test subject and designated recipients; (9) special services to accommodate handicapped test subjects; and (10) notice of the information rights and review procedure available to a test subject. Requires a testing agency to notify a test subject and designated recipients if the scores will be delayed ten days or more. Requires a testing agency to provide the Secretary of Education with information concerning any study or statistical report pertaining to a test which it prepares or for which it provides data. Declares that such information shall be considered records for public information purposes. Directs the Secretary to report to the Congress regarding such information within one year of enactment of this Act. Requires a testing agency (with regard to any tests administered to 5,000 or more subjects nationally over a testing year) to file with the Secretary: (1) a copy of all test questions used in determining such test's raw score; (2) the corresponding correct answers; and (3) all rules for transferring raw scores into the scores as reported to a test subject and designated recipients. Declares that such information shall be considered records for public information purposes. Requires a testing agency, upon request, to send to a test subject: (1) a copy of the test questions used to determine the raw score; (2) such test subject's answer sheet, along with the corresponding correct answers; and (3) a statement of the raw score, if such request is made within 90 days of the release of the test score to the subject. Authorizes a fee to be charged to cover the costs of providing a test subject with such information. Prohibits test scores from being disclosed by a testing agency to any person, institution, or governmental agency unless specifically designated as a recipient by a test subject. Authorizes previous scores to be released to any currently designated recipient. Requires a testing agency to report specified cost-related information to the Secretary to ensure that such tests are being offered at a reasonable cost. Requires additional cost-related information to be submitted if a separate fee is charged for admissions data assembly or score reporting services (as defined by this Act). Provides a civil penalty of up to $2,000 for each violation of this Act by a test agency. Defines "standardized test" to mean a test affecting, or distributed through, interstate commerce (exclusive of one used by an individual institution for its own purposes or one used for non-admission or credit-examination purposes) and used for: (1) postsecondary admissions; or (2) preliminary separation for such postsecondary admissions tests.
United States · United States Congress · 4 February 1981
Youth Employment Act - Amends the Comprehensive Employment and Training Act(CETA) to revise the statement of purpose and definitions of title IV (Youth Programs). Changes the heading of title IV, Part A to "Youth Employment and Training" (formerly, 'Youth Employment Demonstration Programs"). Revises the purpose of such part to include the provision of employment experience, skill training, and remedial programs designed to improve the long-term employability of disadvantaged and hard-to-employ youth, emphasizing collaborative agreements, where feasible, among local institutions capable of providing needed services. Requires that each CETA Youth Employment and Training fund: (1) develop achievement standards, based on recommendations of various groups, to serve as performance indicators, accepted in the community, of youth achievements needed to obtain and retain unsubsidized jobs in the private sector; (2) establish and maintain an individual achievement record for each participating youth; and (3) formulate a personalized employability plan and periodically assess, with educational officials, the appropriateness for each youth of employment, training, and services assisted under Youth Employment and Training. Defines an eligible youth, for Youth Employment and Training purposes, as one who is economically disadvantaged and aged 16 to 19, inclusive, or aged 20 or 21 if enrolled in high school or in a program leading to a certificate of high school equivalency. Extends eligibility, only for purposes of counseling and related services, to economically disadvantaged youth aged 14 or 15. Permits 20 percent of the funds available for Basic Grants for Youth Employment and Training Programs to be used for youths: (1) who are not economically disadvantaged but have encountered special barriers to employment; or (2) who are participants in a program under the Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention Act of 1974; or (3) who are of migrant or seasonal farmworker families. Provides that any participant in specified programs for students from disadvantaged backgrounds under the Higher Education Act of 1965 shall be eligible for purposes of CETA Title IV Part A Youth Employment and Training programs. Defines eligible applicants, for Part A purposes, as prime sponsors and (under special regulations to be prescribed by the Secretary of Labor) sponsors of Native American or migrant and seasonal farmworker programs. Establishes a new CETA program of Basic Grants for Youth Employment and Training Programs, designed to make a significant long-term impact on structural youth unemployment problems and to enhance job and career prospects through interrelated employment, training, and education. Authorizes the Secretary of Labor (the Secretary) to provide assistance to eligible applicants to provide to eligible youth a range of employability development opportunities and supportive and follow-up services to promote the transition to unsubsidized employment. Sets forth formulas for the allocation of program funds and conditions for receipt of financial assistance. Establishes a new CETA program of Youth Incentive and Supplemental Work Projects. Authorizes the Secretary to establish a program providing economically disadvantaged youth in selected poverty areas with part-time employment, full-time employment, or other appropriate compensated activity by allowing eligible applicants to pay one-half of the program cost with funds provided under the Basic Grants program and the other half with funds provided under the Youth Incentive program. Directs the Secretary to enter into arrangements with prime sponsors to provide: (1) part-time entitlement activities (full-time during the summer months) during the school year for eligible youth from selected poverty areas who resume or maintain secondary school attendance to acquire a high school diploma or equivalency certificate; and (2) otherwise unavailable full-time employment for economically disadvantaged youth aged 16 to 21, inclusive, from selected poverty areas who have a high school diploma or certificate. Directs the Secretary to make tentative advance allocations to eligible applicants for such purposes. Sets forth the extent of entitlement activities. Sets forth procedures for applications and Secretarial review. Prohibits the use of funds for employment under the Youth Incentive program to provide public services previously provided by a political subdivision or local education agency in the area served by the project. Sets forth formulas for the allocation of program funds. Authorizes the Secretary to use discretionary funds to provide: (1) supplemental funds for Basic Grants and Youth Incentive applicants to promote specially worthy programs and programs for youths with special employment barriers or from specified categories and to provide additional allocations to areas experiencing significant increases in unemployment; (2) innovative and experimental programs; (3) outreach and public information programs for juvenile offenders; and (4) projects which will employ eligible youth, particularly economically disadvantaged youth aged 16 to 21, in solar energy and other forms of energy conservation and development. Amends the Wagner-Peyser Act to establish new employment services for youth program. Requires that each State desiring to receive funds under such program submit to the Secretary of Labor a supplement to required plans. Authorizes the Secretary to operate such programs in States which do not submit such a supplement. Requires that such supplements provide for specified general employment services for youth and for specified in school services to assist youth in making a successful transition from school to working life. Requires that such services include the provision of information concerning military and civilian volunteer services opportunities. Limits the Federal share to 80 percent of the cost of such programs. Sets forth formulas for the allocation of funds for such programs. Authorizes appropriations for such program for fiscal year 1981 and fiscal years thereafter. Directs the Secretary of Labor to include in the annual CETA report a statement of findings on the progress made in the implementation of CETA provisions relating to the elimination of artificial barriers to employment. Authorizes appropriations for fiscal years 1981 through 1985 to carry out CETA Youth Employment and Training. Authorizes such appropriations to be included in the appropriation Act for the fiscal year preceding the fiscal year for which such appropriations are available for obligation. Sets forth transition provisions.
United States · United States Congress · 3 February 1981
Elementary School Guidance and Counseling Incentive Act - Amends the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 to authorize appropriations: (1) in fiscal years 1983 through 1987 for comprehensive elementary school guidance and counseling programs, supplemental grants to States for such programs and research and demonstration programs; (2) through fiscal year 1988 for employment of one new and/or additional elementary guidance counselor per school district, evaluation of programs, and in-service counselor training; and (3) for teacher and counselor centers. Provides formulas, based on the population of elementary school children, for determining allotments to States for such programs. Directs the Assistant Secretary of Elementary/Secondary Education to administer State allotments and State plans through the Office of Guidance and Counseling of the Department of Education. Requires that each State, to be eligible for such allotments, submit to the Assistant Secretary a State plan for providing comprehensive elementary school guidance and counseling programs for a five-year period, with necessary annual revisions, which meets such criteria as the Assistant Secretary may by regulation prescribe. Sets forth required provisions of such plans and programs. Provides for appeal by a State of a final action of the Assistant Secretary to a circuit court of appeals. Authorizes the Assistant Secretary, through the Office of Guidance and Counseling, to make supplemental grants to States with approved plans for distribution to local educational agencies and for support of States with approved plans for distribution to local educational agencies and for support of State agency leadership activities on the basis of statewide needs and priorities in elementary school guidance and counseling. Sets forth approved uses of such grants. Directs the Assistant Secretary to carry out a research and demonstration program relating to elementary and secondary school guidance and counseling. Directs the Assistant Secretary to make an annual evaluation report to the appropriate Congressional committees. Amends the Higher Education Act of 1965 to include training for counselors under the teacher centers program. Provides for a program of in-service training for elementary school guidance counselors. Requires the designation of professionally trained counselors: (1) at the Federal level, to provide information on, and to administer, such programs; and (2) at the State, local school district and intermediate administrative unit levels, to supervise such programs.
United States · United States Congress · 3 February 1981
Social Security Refinancing Amendments of 1981 - Title I: Financing of Old Age, Survivors and Disability Insurance Program - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to reduce the tax rates applicable to employers, employees, and self-employment income for old age, survivors and disability insurance. Amends title II (Old Age, Survivors and Disability Insurance) of the Social Security Act to adjust the level of allocations from employment tax revenues to the Federal Disability Insurance Trust Fund. Title II: Financing of Medicare Program - Eliminates taxation of employers, employees, and self-employed individuals for purposes of hospital insurance beginning in the 1981 calendar year. Amends title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act to provide financing for the Medicare program with appropriations from general revenues earmarked by the Secretary of the Treasury in consultation with the Secretary of Health and Human Services. Bases such appropriations on the expected needs of the Federal Hospital Insurance Trust Fund in each fiscal year allocated among individual tax receipts according to a specified formula. Requires an equal amount to be allocated from corporate tax returns. Directs each Advisory Council on Social Security after 1981 to submit a separate report on the Medicare program and its financing. Title III: Miscellaneous Provisions - Directs the Secretary of the Treasury to print on each individual tax form notice of the amount of the individual's Federal income tax which will be allocated to the Medicare program.
United States · United States Congress · 3 February 1981
Amends titles XVIII (Medicare) and XIX (Medicaid) of the Social Security Act to require automatic sprinkler systems in all skilled nursing facilities and intermediate care facilities certified for participation in the Medicare or Medicaid programs unless a waiver is granted. Establishes a program of low-interest Federal loans to assist such facilities in constructing or purchasing and installing automatic sprinkler systems.
United States · United States Congress · 3 February 1981
Amends the Flammable Fabrics Act to direct the Consumer Product Safety Commission to require any article of interior furnishing to be made fire-resistant to the extent necessary to adequately protect the public against unreasonable risk of fire leading to death, injury, or significant property damage. Makes the manufacture, sale, or delivery into commerce of any article of interior furnishing which has not been processed in accordance with such requirements and which may reasonably be expected to be used in places of assembly other than homes a prohibited transaction.
United States · United States Congress · 3 February 1981
Expresses the sense of Congress that, in accordance with specified international agreements, the Soviet Union should provide proper medical care for Viktor Brailovsky and permit him to emigrate to Israel with his family. Urges the President to: (1) continue to express U.S. opposition to the imprisonment and treatment of Brailovsky; and (2) inform the Soviet Union that the United States, in evaluating its relations with other countries, will consider the extent to which those countries honor their commitments to human rights under international law.
United States · United States Congress · 29 January 1981
Amends the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 to prohibit the furnishing of certain military aid under such Act to El Salvador. Prohibits extending credits, guaranteeing loans, making sales, and issuing export licenses to El Salvador under the Arms Export Control Act.
United States · United States Congress · 29 January 1981
Urges the United States Postal Service to issue a commemorative postage stamp to honor the sixty-six Americans who were taken hostage in Iran, the six Americans who escaped with the assistance of the Canadian Government, and the eight American servicemen who died in the attempt to rescue the hostages.
United States · United States Congress · 28 January 1981
Civil Rights Amendments Act of 1981 - Amends the Civil Rights Act of 1964 to prohibit discrimination on the basis of affectional or sexual orientation. Stipulates that this Act shall not be construed to permit a finding of discrimination based on statistical differences or the fashioning of any remedy requiring a quota.
United States · United States Congress · 27 January 1981
Authorizes appropriations for fiscal years 1981 through 1985 to the Secretary of Agriculture to carry out a program of grants to assist "1890 land-grant colleges," including Tuskegee Institute, in acquiring and improving agricultural and food research facilities and equipment.
United States · United States Congress · 27 January 1981
National Tourism Policy Act - Title I: National Tourism Policy - Declares that the purpose of this Act is to establish a cooperative effort between the Federal Government, State and local governments, and other concerned public and private organizations to implement a national tourism policy. Title II: United States Travel and Tourism Administration - Establishes as an independent agency the United States Travel and Tourism Administration. Authorizes the Administration to assist Congress and the Federal agencies having policy and programmatic responsibilities affecting tourism. Directs the Administrator, by April 15, 1982, to submit a detailed tourism development plan to specified Congressional committees. Requires each Federal agency upon the request of the Administrator to: (1) make its services, personnel, and facilities available to assist the Administration; and (2) furnish the Administration necessary information, suggestions, estimates, and statistics. Prohibits the Administration from providing transportation or accommodations in competition with businesses engaged in providing such transportation or accommodations. Directs the Administration to submit budget information, legislative recommendations, prepared testimony for Congressional hearings, and reports to the President or to the Office of Management and Budget and, concurrently, to Congress. Directs the Administration to submit an annual report to the President for transmittal to Congress. Authorizes the Administrator to provide financial assistance to regions of not less than two States or portions of two States for the implementation of regional tourism promotional and marketing programs which shall serve as demonstration projects. Authorizes appropriations for fiscal year 1982. Establishes the Travel and Tourism Advisory Board. Directs the Secretary of Commerce to complete the transfer of the assets, rights, privileges, powers, duties, and liabilities of the United States Travel Service to the Administration by October 1, 1981. Abolishes the United States Travel Service upon completion of such transfer. Title III: Amendments to the International Travel Act - Amends the International Travel Act of 1961 to extend until September 30, 1981, the time limit for the reduction in the number of employees of the United States Travel Service. Prohibits the Secretary of Commerce from reducing: (1) the number of United States Travel Service employees in offices in foreign countries to a level below that authorized for fiscal year 1979; and (2) the amount of funds appropriated pursuant to this Act for financing the activities of such foreign offices to a level below that authorized for fiscal year 1979.
United States · United States Congress · 23 January 1981
Amends the District of Columbia Self-Government and Governmental Reorganization Act to provide a seven-day period of Congressional review for all Acts passed by the Council which do not involve a Federal interest. Requires the Committee on the District of Columbia of the House of Representatives and the Committee on Governmental Affairs of the Senate to promptly hold hearings to determine such involvement for any such Act at the request of any Member of Congress. Provides a 30-day period of Congressional review for any Acts passed by the Council which are determined to involve a Federal interest. Declares that any temporary emergency legislation passed by the Council shall take effect immediately upon a determination by either Congressional committee that such Act does not involve a Federal interest. Provides that when neither House of Congress is in session because of an adjournment or recess of more than three days, such Acts shall become effective subject to either review procedure when Congress reconvenes. Makes the Congressional review periods applicable to all Acts transmitted to Congress on or after the date of enactment of this Act.
United States · United States Congress · 23 January 1981
Amends the District of Columbia Self-Government and Government Reorganization Act to repeal the provision that prohibits the Council of the District of Columbia from imposing a tax upon individuals who are not residents of the District.
United States · United States Congress · 23 January 1981
District of Columbia Federal Payment Act - Amends the District of Columbia Self-Government and Governmental Reorganization Act to direct the Secretary of the Treasury, for fiscal year 1983 and for each fiscal year thereafter, to pay to the District of Columbia as the annual Federal payment to the District a specified amount certified by the Comptroller General. Requires the Mayor, not later than February 1 of each year, to submit to the President, the Comptroller General, and the City Council a statement of the forgone tax revenues and the value of certain unreimbursed services provided by the District. Directs the Comptroller General, by April 1 of each year, to certify to the Secretary the total amount of such tax revenues and unreimbursed services. Makes such amount the amount of the Federal payment to the District for the subsequent fiscal year. Directs the Comptroller General to submit a copy of such certification to the Mayor, the Council, the President, and the Congressional committees on appropriations. Authorizes the appropriation of a sum for such Federal payment for fiscal years 1981 and 1982. Directs the Senate Governmental Affairs Committee and the House Committee on the District of Columbia, in consultation with the Mayor, to study, during the first session of the One-hundredth Congress, the operation of this Act.
United States · United States Congress · 23 January 1981
District of Columbia Criminal Justice Reform Act - Title I: Short Title, Purpose, and Definitions - Declares that it is the purpose of this Act to establish an autonomous judicial system in the government of the District of Columbia. Title II: Office of the Attorney General - Establishes within the District of Columbia government an Office of the Attorney General for the District of Columbia, headed by an Attorney General who shall be appointed by the Mayor of the District of Columbia with the advice and consent of the Council of the District of Columbia. Specifies that the Attorney General shall serve for a term of four years coterminous with the term of the office of the Mayor. Sets forth the qualifications for the Office of Attorney General. Declares that the Attorney General for the District of Columbia shall be the chief legal officer for the District. Requires the Attorney General to appoint a Deputy Attorney General, a Solicitor General, a District Attorney for Criminal Prosecutions, a District Attorney for Civil Proceedings, and a Marshal for the District of Columbia. Enumerates the duties of each office. Specifies that Assistant District Attorneys appointed pursuant to this Act shall serve at the pleasure of the Attorney General. Directs the Attorney General to establish programs for the professional training and continuing legal education of the staff of the Office of the Attorney General. Authorizes the Attorney General to appoint an Executive Assistant for Training to coordinate such programs. Declares that, except as set forth in this Act, prosecutions for violations of District laws shall be conducted in the name of the District by the Attorney General for the District of Columbia. States that if the United States Attorney General finds that a particular matter or case involves a legitimate and compelling Federal interest, which justifies the exercise of exclusive Federal jurisdiction, and such exercise of Federal jurisdiction is in the public interest, the United States Attorney General may file with the Clerk of the Superior Court of the District of Columbia a certification to that effect. Divests the District of Columbia of jurisdiction over a matter or case as to which a certification has been filed. Directs the United States Attorney General to provide assistance and guidance in the training of Assistant District Attorneys, the development of ethical and professional standards for the conduct of criminal prosecutions, and the development of cooperative law enforcement activities. Directs the United States Attorney General and the Attorney General for the District of Columbia to enter into a Memorandum of Understanding specifying points of cooperation. Provides for the continuation of services to the District of Columbia by the United States Marshal. Authorizes appropriations to carry out this Act. Sets forth a formula for minimum budget requests by the District government for the Office of the Attorney General. Authorizes the Attorney General to provide for the expenditures of funds as necessary for appropriate purposes related to the responsibilities of the Office of the Attorney General. Title III: Transition Provisions - Abolishes the Office of the Corporation Counsel of the District of Columbia and transfers its functions and positions to the Office of the Attorney General. Transfers officers and employees of the Office of the Corporation Counsel to the Office of the Attorney General. Authorizes the transfer of positions, property, records, and unexpended balances of appropriations, allocations, or other funds, assets, and liabilities which relate primarily to the functions so transferred. States that any statute, regulation, or action with respect to any officer or agency from which any function is transferred by this Act shall, except to the extent modified or made inapplicable by or under authority of law, continue in effect as if such transfer had not been made. Prohibits any prosecution, suit, action, or other judicial proceeding lawfully commenced by or against any officer or agency in any official capacity or in relation to the exercise of official functions from abating by reason of the taking effect of any provision of this Act. Permits the Mayor to appoint, and the Council to confirm, an Attorney General Designate who shall provide for the planning preliminary to the establishment of the Office of the Attorney General. States that the expenses of the Office of the Attorney General during transition years shall be paid from funds deposited to the credit of the District or the United States according to a specified schedule. Title IV: Amendments to Other Laws - Amends the District of Columbia Self-Government and Governmental Reorganization Act to reduce to five the membership of the District of Columbia Commission on Judicial Disabilities and Tenure and the District of Columbia Judicial Nomination Commission. Provides for the nomination and appointment of judges of the District of Columbia courts by the Mayor with advice and consent of the District of Columbia Council. Amends specified Acts to provide for the establishment of the Office of the Attorney General for the District of Columbia and to transfer prosecutorial authority for local offenses to the District of Columbia government. Title V: Effective Dates - Makes this Act and the amendments made by this Act effective October 1, 1981, with specified exceptions.
United States · United States Congress · 23 January 1981
District of Columbia Budget Autonomy Act - Amends the District of Columbia Self-Government and Governmental Reorganization Act to grant autonomy for the District of Columbia government over expenditures of funds derived from revenues of the District government. Authorizes the Council of the District of Columbia to establish the maximum amount of funds to be allocated to the District of Columbia court system. Prohibits the Council from specifying the purposes for which such funds may be expended. Sets forth procedures by which the Council shall exercise control over its budget processes. Extends the loan authority of the District to borrow from the U.S. Treasury. Directs the Council to pass, within 120 days after the enactment of this Act, a budget and accounting act for the District.
United States · United States Congress · 22 January 1981
Permits the owners of certain real property in McIntosh County, Georgia, (presently comprising the Harris Neck National Wildlife Refuge) which was acquired by the United States by condemnation in 1943, to bring a claim against the Government, notwithstanding any existing statutes of limitation.
United States · United States Congress · 22 January 1981
Amends the Internal Revenue Code to allow income tax deductions related to the rental of a residence to a family member of the taxpayer if such family member pays a fair rental and uses such residence as the principal place of residence.
United States · United States Congress · 22 January 1981
Authorizes the President to present on behalf of the Congress specially struck gold medals to fifty-three individuals held hostage in the United States Embassy in Iran. Directs the Secretary of the Treasury to: (1) strike fifty-three gold medals with suitable emblems, devices and inscriptions; and (2) coin and sell bronze duplicates of such medals. Authorizes appropriations.
United States · United States Congress · 19 January 1981
Consumer Food Labeling Act - Title I: Truth in Food Labeling Act - Truth in Food Labeling Act - Amends the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act to require that the labels on all foods disclose each of their ingredients in order of predominance and the percentage of each ingredient in the food. Title II: Nutritional Labeling Act - Nutritional Labeling Act - Requires the processor to label any packaged consumer food product with specified information, including an analysis of nutritional contents, net weight and drained weight, where appropriate. Requires such label to state the nutritional value of the commodity, and to appear in conspicuous and easily legible type in distinct contrast with other matters on the package. Requires the conspicuous statement of any difference in weight or volume which may have occurred in the repackaging of a consumer product from a container of any given net content to a container of a different net content. Empowers the appropriate agencies to prescribe regulations and to petition for injunctive relief to carry out and enforce the provisions of this Act. Prescribes a civil penalty of up to $1,000 for willful violation of any provision of this Act. Title III: Open Dating of Perishable Food Act - Open Dating of Perishable Food Act - Amends the Fair Packaging and Labeling Act to require the manufacturer or packager of a perishable or semiperishable food to state on its label the pull date for such food and the optimum temperature and humidity conditions for its storage by the ultimate consumer. Requires pull dates also on shipping containers or wrappings. Prohibits, with specified exceptions, the display, offer for sale, or sale of any such food whose pull date has expired. Prohibits the change, alteration, defacement, or removal of any pull date before sale of such food to the ultimate consumer. Prescribes criminal penalties for the violation of this Act. Requires the Secretary of Health and Human Services to report annually to Congress on the enforcement of this Act. Title IV: Marketing Practices Disclosure Act - Marketing Practices Disclosure Act - Amends the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act to require that labels on packaged foods contain the names and places of business of the manufacturer, the packer, and the distributor, (currently the name and place of business of only one of them is required). Title V: Consumer Food Grading Act - Consumer Food Grading Act - Directs the Secretary of Agriculture to develop and promulgate a system of retail quality grade designations for consumer food products expressed in a uniform nomenclature, giving consideration to nutritional quality and wholesomeness of food products, as well as acceptability. Title VI: Unit and Item Pricing Act - Unit and Item Pricing Act - Amends the Fair Packaging and Labeling Act to require retailers to mark plainly the total selling price of any packaged consumer commodity on its package, and the retail unit price on either the package or a point of display, like a shelf, in close proximity thereto. Exempts from the requirements of this Act certain small retail outlets, and any retail outlet in any State or political subdivision which has enacted mandatory unit pricing laws which are, in the judgment of the Federal promulgating authority, superior to the requirements of this Act. Title VII: New Ingredient Notification Act - New Ingredient Notification Act - Amends the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act to require any food product to carry a label setting forth in a conspicuous manner any change in its ingredients for six months after such change. Title VIII: Misleading Brand Names Act - Misleading Brand Names Act - Amends the Federal Trade Commission Act to make it an unfair or deceptive act or practice to advertise a brand name of a product which inherently misleads the public as to the product's value, quantity, quality of contents, or performance.
United States · United States Congress · 19 January 1981
Declares it to be the policy of the United States: (1) to renounce the first use of all nuclear weapons; and (2) to conclude treaties with all nations renouncing the first use of such weapons.
United States · United States Congress · 9 January 1981
Amends the Immigration and Nationality Act to allow preference visas to be given to an alien who: (1) requests such treatment; (2) was born after 1950 in Korea, Vietnam, Laos, or Thailand; (3) was fathered by an American serviceman; and (4) provides a guarantee of financial support. Stipulates that such guarantee must: (1) be signed by a citizen or lawful permanent resident who is at least 21 years old; and (2) provide that such signing sponsor will provide necessary financial support for five years. Allows the Attorney General to enforce such guarantee against the sponsor in a civil suit unless such sponsor dies or is adjudicated bankrupt.
United States · United States Congress · 9 January 1981
Amends title II (Old Age, Survivors and Disability Insurance) of the Social Security Act to eliminate the five-month period which is presently a prerequisite of eligibility for disability insurance benefits.
United States · United States Congress · 6 January 1981
Veterans' Administration Adjudication Procedure and Judicial Review Act - Title I: Adjudication Procedures - Codifies, for Veterans' Administration (VA) adjudication purposes, the burden of proof and reasonable doubt standard currently provided for by VA regulation. States that a claimant has the burden of submitting sufficient evidence to justify his or her claim, and that if an approximate balance of positive and negative evidence exists regarding the merits of a claim, the VA is to resolve such doubt in favor of the claimant. Stipulates that VA subpoenas may be served either by personal delivery or by registered or certified mail. Increases the size of the Board of Veterans' Appeals from 50 to 65 members. Requires the chairman of such Board to submit an annual report to the appropriate congressional committees concerning the Board's current handling of cases and projections for the subsequent fiscal year. Requires the Board to: (1) provide notice to a claimant and an opportunity for a hearing before a decision may be based on "additional official information" received after a Board decision has previously been made; (2) provide the claimant with an opportunity for a hearing; and (3) make its decision exclusively on evidence and material of record in the proceeding. Removes the requirement that new material sufficient to allow the Board to reopen a previously disallowed claim be in the form of official reports. Provides that the Board's discretionary authority to reopen a claim will not be diminished by a judicial decision following an appeal as provided for by this Act. Requires the Board to mail to the claimant notice of its decision and the reasons for such decision. Provides that, upon the request of a claimant, the Board shall provide an independent advisory medical opinion when there exists substantial medical disagreements with respect to a material issue in a veterans' appeal. Sets forth new procedural rules for adjudication hearings regarding: (1) oaths, affirmations, and witness examination; (2) admissibility of evidence; (3) procedural rights of claimants; (4) disqualification of a hearing officer; (5) the record of the proceedings and the claimants' right to examine and obtain a copy of such record; and (6) the exclusiveness of veterans' adjudication procedures and rights prescribed by the Administrator. Requires the Administrator to provide at each stage of the appeal proceedings written notice to a claimant of procedural rights and procedures. Directs the Administrator to conduct a study of two alternate claims resolution methods, one a new intermediate-level adjudication process, the other an enhanced schedule of formal Appeals Board hearings. Title II: Veterans' Administration Rule Making - Includes the VA's rulemaking procedures under the relevant provisions of the Administrative Procedure Act. Title III: Judicial Review - Provides for judicial review of VA decisions in the Federal court system. States, with regard to jurisdiction: (1) that judicial review of a final decision in a claim for benefits may be obtained in a civil action brought within 180 days of the Board's mailing of notice of its decision, and that such action shall be brought in Federal district court; (2) that in cases not directly involving a claim for benefits a civil action otherwise authorized by law shall not be precluded; (3) the definition of final decision; (4) that the judicial review procedures established under this Act shall not apply to insurance and home loans; (5) that the VA shall file the various materials constituting the record in a case together with its answer to the claimant's complaint; and (6) that the court render a decision on the pleadings. States, with regard to the reviewing court's scope of review, that such court: (1) decide questions of law and interpret constitutional, statutory, and regulatory provisions, but that questions of fact (unless unsupported by substantial evidence) will not be subject to a trial de novo; and (2) in reviewing a final decision of the VA which is adverse to a party solely because such party failed to comply with VA procedures, such court may only review questions concerning such procedures. Sets out provisions regarding remand, survival of actions, and appellate review. Title IV: Attorneys' Fees - Authorizes the Administrator to allow attorneys' fees above the present $10 maximum if the appealing party's claim is allowed by the VA after an initial denial. States that such fee shall be the lesser of: (1) the fee agreed upon by the party and attorney; (2) $500, unless the Administrator approves a greater amount; or (3) if the party and attorney have entered into a contingent-fee agreement, not more than 25 percent of the total of any past-due benefits' awarded on the basis of such party's claim. Provides for the approval of attorneys' fees, in successful veterans' claims brought before a court, as provided for under this Act. Stipulates that such fees shall be determined by such court, and in contingent-fee agreements such fees shall not exceed 25 percent of the total of any past-due benefits awarded on the basis of such claim. Authorizes attorneys' fees of up to $750 in certain unsuccessful veterans' claims. Prohibits the VA from authorizing payment to a claimant's attorney based on past-due benefits unless such benefits are owed as of the date of the VA's or a court's award. Establishes procedures for the review of the VA's or a court's approval of attorneys' fees. States that in the case of a benefits claim resolved before the VA, either the claimant or the attorney may challenge the award in the Federal district court in which the claimant resides or has his principal place of business within 30 days after notice of the attorneys' award. Provides that all parties be given notice. Stipulates that such provisions regarding attorneys' fees shall only apply to claims for benefits under the laws administered by the VA and shall not apply in cases in which the VA is the plaintiff or in which other attorneys' fees statutes are otherwise controlling. Title V: Effective Dates - States that this Act shall become effective 180 days after enactment. Permits review of Board of Veterans' Appeals decisions rendered on or after January 1, 1977, and prior to the effective date of this Act.
United States · United States Congress · 6 January 1981
Prevention, Identification, and Treatment of Elder Abuse Act of 1981 - Directs the Secretary of Health and Human Services to establish an office known as the National Center on Elder Abuse to: (1) compile an annual summary of recently conducted research on elder abuse; (2) develop and maintain an information clearinghouse on all programs for the prevention and treatment of such abuse; (3) compile training materials for personnel engaged in elder abuse prevention; (4) provide technical assistance for the planning and implementing of programs relating to the problems of elder abuse; and (5) investigate the causes and national incidence of elder abuse. Authorizes the Secretary to make grants to or enter into contracts with public agencies or nonprofit organizations for demonstration projects designed to prevent and treat elder abuse. Sets forth the terms and conditions for such grants. Authorizes the Secretary to make grants to States for the development and implementation of elder abuse prevention and treatment programs. Requires such States to have in effect a State elder abuse law with mandatory reporting provisions. Sets forth other requirements for eligibility. Prohibits the use of assistance for construction of facilities. Directs the Secretary to establish criteria to achieve equitable distribution of assistance among the States. Authorizes appropriations.
United States · United States Congress · 6 January 1981
Amends title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act to authorize the Secretary of Health and Human Services to make grants to hospitals meeting specified requirements for their provision of health services during a one year period to individuals who are not eligible for Medicaid (title XIX of the Act), are not covered by insurance, and are otherwise unable to pay for such services.
United States · United States Congress · 5 January 1981
Campuses for the Elderly Act - Directs the Secretary of Housing and Urban Development to: (1) solicit and review plans for the development of campus-style residential and health care projects for the elderly; and (2) make interest subsidy payments to developers of such projects. Authorizes appropriations necessary to make such interest subsidy payments. Amends the National Housing Act to authorize the Secretary to insure and to make commitments to insure mortgages on properties being developed under this Act. Requires a report to the Congress evaluating projects developed under this Act by a committee of Congressional members, representatives of the medical profession, and administrators of health-care facilities. Authorizes appropriations for such committee.
United States · United States Congress · 5 January 1981
Declares it the public policy of the United States to prohibit the manufacture, sale, and use of leg-hold and steel-jaw traps in the United States and abroad. Prohibits the shipment in interstate or foreign commerce of fur or leather products from animals trapped in a State or foreign country which has not banned such traps. Requires the Secretary of Commerce to publish a list of States and foreign countries which have not banned such traps. Sets forth penalties for violations of this Act.
United States · United States Congress · 5 January 1981
Postal Service Employees' Political Activities Act of 1981 - Declares it to be the policy of Congress to encourage employees of the United States Postal Service to exercise their rights to participate or refrain from participating in political processes. Prohibits such employees from: (1) using their official authority to influence the result of any election or the political action of any person; (2) using any information obtained through employment and not publicly available for any political purposes; (3) giving or offering to give a political contribution to any individual either to vote or refrain from voting; (4) soliciting or receiving a political contribution to vote or refrain from voting; (5) knowingly giving a political contribution to a superior; (6) knowingly soliciting or receiving a political contribution from another employee with respect to whom such employee is a superior; or (7) knowingly soliciting or receiving a political contribution in specified facilities or from any person who has or is seeking business relations with the employee's agency. Directs the Postal Service and the Postal Rate Commission to prescribe certain exemptions to such prohibitions. Prohibits employees from engaging in political activities while on duty, while wearing a uniform or official insignia identifying their position, or in designated areas. Requires a postal employee to notify his agency (U.S. Postal Service or the Postal Rate Commission, as applicable) upon becoming a candidate for elective office. Permits such employee to take annual leave or leave without pay to engage in activities related to his candidacy. Sets forth the penalties to be imposed against any employee who is found by the Merit Systems Protection Board to have violated provisions of this Act. Requires the Postal Service to study and report to Congress on the effects of this Act on the political activities of employees, the merit system, and matters generally contributing to the improper use of official authorities or information by employees.
![Official portrait of Del. Fauntroy, Walter E. [D-DC-At Large]](https://www.congress.gov/img/member/f000046_200.jpg)