United States · United States Congress · 10 October 1974
Food Research and Development Act - Authorizes the Secretary of Agriculture to make grants to public and nonprofit entities and to individuals for research into, and development and demonstration of, new methods of protein production, fertilizer production, irrigation, processing of non-animal proteins, and marketing of the products produced by new methods. Authorizes to be appropriated such sums as may be necessary to carry out the provisions of this Act through fiscal year 1978. Provides that the products developed under this Act shall be available for school lunch programs. Directs the Secretary of Health, Education, and Welfare to develop an educational program relating to the preparation and use of the food products produced pursuant to this Act.
United States · United States Congress · 8 October 1974
National Condominium and Tenants Rights Act - Expresses the findings of Congress and declares the purposes of the Act, including to establish minimum national standards governing the sale, ownership, conversion to, and extension of credit for condominiums. States that no condominium housing loan shall be made: (1) to any developer unless the creditor received a written property statement containing specified names, address, legal descriptions, costs and assurances; or (2) to any prospective purchaser unless the same written property statement has been submitted to such purchaser 21 days prior to to any legally obligating document's execution. Provides similar protection for tenants in cases of condominium conversions. Prohibits discrimination against condominium-unit purchasers in the extension of credit on the basis of age, sex, marital status, religion, race, or national origin. Provides for the designation of an Assistant Secretary for Condominiums in the Department of Housing and Urban Development and enumerates the duties to be performed. Requires each creditor subject to the provisions of this Act to file an annual report with the Secretary of Housing and Urban Development showing the extent of compliance with the provisions of this Act. Creates a civil remedy against creditors by persons discriminated against in violation of this Act. States that any developer or creditor who violates the provisions of this Act shall be fined not more than $15,000 for each violation. Empowers the Secretary to encourage and make grants to State and local governments to help establish offices to administer and enforce State and local requirements with respect to condominiums. Enumerates the requirements to be met by any plan for the protection of purchasers of condominium units and those displaced by conversion to such units prior to the making of any grant. Authorizes to be appropriated such sums as necessary to carry out such grants. Defines the terms used in this Act. Authorizes to be appropriated such sums as necessary to carry out this Act.
United States · United States Congress · 3 October 1974
Allows an income tax exclusion under the Internal Revenue Code for interest on deposits in banks, savings institutions, and credit unions. Limits such tax exclusion to $500 ($1000 if a joint return is filed).
United States · United States Congress · 30 September 1974
Requires the monthly publication of a Consumer Price Index for the Elderly and provides for studies and legislative recommendations to be made with regard to utilizing such index in determining cost-of-living adjustments authorized in Federal programs for individuals who are at least sixty-two years of age.
United States · United States Congress · 19 September 1974
Directs the Office of the Watergate Special Prosecution Force to transmit to the Speaker of the House of Representatives and to the President pro tempore of the Senate, to be available for inspection by all Members of Congress, all materials, documents, and reports obtained, prepared, and compiled by that Office, following a determination by the Attorney General that the rights of parties named therein or parties to related litigation will not be compromised.
United States · United States Congress · 16 September 1974
Requires the Watergate Special Prosecution Force to make available to the public a report on all information it has concerning Richard M. Nixon on offenses against the United States.
United States · United States Congress · 16 September 1974
Requests the President of the United States to furnish the House, within 10 days, with information concerning his specific knowledge of any formal criminal charges pending against Richard M. Nixon prior to issuance of the pardon. Lists other congressional questions relating to the Presidential pardon of former President Richard M. Nixon.
United States · United States Congress · 12 September 1974
Requests the President of the United States to furnish to the House of Representatives information concerning what are the specific offenses against the United States for which a pardon was granted to Richard M. Nixon on September 8, 1974 and what are the certain acts or omissions occurring before his resignation from the office of President for which Richard Nixon has become liable to possible indictment and trial for offenses against the United States, as stated in the Proclamation of Pardon. Lists other congressional questions concerning the President's general pardon of former President Richard M. Nixon.
United States · United States Congress · 11 September 1974
Authorizes the Architect of the Capitol to acquire the Willard Hotel in the District of Columbia for the purpose of providing living quarters for congressional interns and pages of the Senate and the House of Representatives. Provides for use of space in such building for office purposes by the Congress.
United States · United States Congress · 11 September 1974
Expresses the sense of the House of Representatives that: (1) all military, economic, or other assistance, all sales of defense articles and services, all sales of agricultural commodities and services, and all licenses with respect to the transportation of arms, ammunitions, and implements of war (including technical data relating thereto) to the Government of Turkey should be suspended on the date of adoption of this resolution; and (2) the provisions of this resolution should cease to apply when the President reports to the Congress that the Government of Turkey has withdrawn all of its armed forces from Cyprus.
United States · United States Congress · 22 August 1974
Nuclear Energy Reappraisal Act - Terminates the granting of construction licenses of nuclear fission powerplants in the United States pending action by the Congress following a comprehensive five-year study of the nuclear fuel cycle, with particular reference to its safety and environmental hazards, to be conducted by the Office of Technology Assessment. Empowers the Office to compel delivery of any information in the possession of the National Laboratories which the Office deems necessary for conducting its study. Specifies that all Government agencies shall cooperate to the fullest extent with the Office. States that the recommendations of the study shall employ a cost benefit analysis of the safety and environmental hazards associated with the entire fuel cycle, the long-term economic effect of a commitment to nuclear fission powerplants, and the central question of proliferation of nuclear fission powerplants in relation to the possible alternatives. Specifies topics to be included in the comprehensive study of the office of Technology Assessment, in addition to those previously stated. Authorizes to be appropriated $100,000 for each of five fiscal years to carry out the study authorized by this Act.
United States · United States Congress · 22 August 1974
Local Fiscal Assistance Act - Eliminates provisions relating to assistance payments to State governments from the State and Local Fiscal Assistance Act. Requires such payments to local governments on a quarterly basis. Changes the name of the fund in such Act to the Local Government Fiscal Assistance Trust Fund. Authorizes appropriations to such fund for fiscal years 1975 through December 31, 1978; and such sums as are necessary for advance payments to local governments for critical needs. Changes the definition of "entitlement period" to include the time from January 1, 1975, through December 31, 1978.
United States · United States Congress · 22 August 1974
Expresses the sense of Congress that: (1) the designation of 1975 as International Women's Year is welcomed and full support is expressed for the goals for the Year as proclaimed by the Secretary General of the United Nations and the President of the United States; (2) cooperation in observance of the Year is urged on the part of all concerned people, official and private, men and women, to insure that constructive measures are taken to advance the rights and responsibilities of women during 1975; (3) a concerted effort should be made to insure that 1975 is a year not only of stock-taking but also a time for the launching of new programs and the forming of new attitudes toward the role of women; and (4) women in more than token numbers should be included on all United States delegations to international conferences or other meetings, and on national commissions and other bodies where positions are filled by Federal appointment.
United States · United States Congress · 21 August 1974
Railroad Revenue Act - Imposes, under provisions of the Internal Revenue Code relating to transportation by air, a tax equal to one percent of the amount paid for the transportation of property within the United States by rail, motor vehicle, or water. States that in the case of property transported: (1) from a point outside the United States to a point within the United States, or (2) from a point within the United States to a point outside the United States, the tax imposed shall apply to the amount paid for that part of the transportation which takes place within the United States. Provides that, with specified exceptions, the tax imposed by this Act shall be paid by the person making the payment subject to the tax.
United States · United States Congress · 21 August 1974
Federal Aid Railroad Act - Title I: Fundings, Purposes, and Definitions - Enumerates the purposes of this Act, including that it is necessary to designate an Interstate Railroad System and to organize a nonprofit corporation to modernize the rail lines. Defines the terms used in this Act. Title II: Interstate Railroad System - Requires every rail carrier to submit an inventory of rail lines to the Secretary of Transportation, the Rail Services Planning Office and the Interstate Railroad Corporation. States that the initial Interstate Railroad System shall consist of all rail lines operated by domestic railroad companies which are subject to traffic usage of at least 10 million gross ton-miles per year per mile of rail line. Prescribes the procedures for final designation of the System and for the establishment, maintenance and modification of the System. Provides for the designation of high density passenger corridors in the System and for satisfaction of long-term capital improvement needs. Authorizes to be appropriated, for purposes of this title, $1,000,000 each for the Rail Services Planning Office and for the Corps of Engineers. Title III: Interstate Railroad Corporation - Authorizes to be created an Interstate Railroad Corporation to rehabilitate, maintain, and modernize the rail lines of the System. Prescribes the processes for organization, bylaws, officers and general powers of the Corporation. Requires annual auditing of the accounts of the Corporation and the making of quarterly and annual reports. Title IV: Acquisition, Rehabilitation, and Maintenance of Rail Lines by Corporation and States - Provides, upon consideration of specified criteria, for the conveyance by any railroad to the corporation of its right, title, and interest in all its rail lines included within the System. Authorizes appropriations of sums for Federal payments of property tax equivalents. Sets forth the operational responsibilities of the corporation and the States and the procedures for: (1) the operations of rail freight carriers; and (2) the operations of rail passenger carriers. Authorizes to be appropriated for the next six fiscal years specified sums for financial assistance for rehabilitation. Establishes a State maintenance assistance fund. Title V: Maintenance of and Access to Rail Lines of Railroad Companies - Provides that rail lines included within the System which are owned or processed by a railroad company shall be maintained in accordance with the provisions of this Act. Requires railroad companies to file schedules of maintenance to be performed on a regular basis. Prohibits the deferral of any scheduled maintenance activity. Provides for access to rail lines. Title VI: Protection of Employees - States that rail lines shall not contract out for work required by this Act of a value over $450 per month which is performed by employees in any bargaining unit covered by a labor agreement. Provides for a guarantee of the prevailing wage and requires protective arrangements in specified transactions. Title VII: Oversight and Enforcement - Directs eight organizations, including the National Governors Conference and the Congress of Railway Unions, to appoint a representative to form an advisory committee to monitor activities carried on under this Act and to submit a one-year report. Requires a report to be filed annually by the Secretary. Authorizes the Secretary to perform specific investigative and inspection functions. Imposes penalties for violations of this Act. Authorizes appropriations of $10,000,000 per fiscal year for the Secretary's administration and enforcement of this Act. Title VIII: Miscellaneous Provisions - Provides an antitrust exemption for persons contracting for the joint use of railroad tracts and facilities.
United States · United States Congress · 21 August 1974
Expresses the sense of the Congress that the United States should: (1) act to relieve immediate threats of famine where it exists and assist food-short nations in increasing food production; (2) attempt to achieve an international agreement on a food reserve to be used in emergencies; (3) assist in social and economic growth and in population control (as requested) in underdeveloped nations; and (4) support the efficient use and equitable distribution of food worldwide.
United States · United States Congress · 19 August 1974
Equal Opportunity and Full Employment Act - Directs the President, with the assistance of the Council of Economic Advisors, to transmit annually a full employment and production program to the Congress. Sets forth a summary of the content to be contained in such annual report. Provides for annual Labor Reports of the President. Requires the Labor Reports to provide detailed attention on a continuing and progressively analytical basis to the changing volume and composition of the American labor supply. Renames the United States Employment Service as the United States Full Employment Service. Creates a Job Guarantee Office in the United States Full Employment Office headed by a Job Guarantee Officer whose responsibility is to provide useful and rewarding employment for any American, able and willing to work but not yet working, unable otherwise to obtain work, and applying to such office for assistance. Directs the Job Guarantee Office to carry out responsibilities under this Act upon the recommendation and approval of the local planning councils. Requires that each Job Guarantee Office in carrying out its responsibilities shall insure that among projects planned that adequate consideration be given to such individuals and groups as may face special obstacles in finding and holding useful and rewarding employment and shall provide or have provided through the coordination of existing programs special assistance including but not limited to counseling, training, and, where necessary, transportation and migration assistance. Provides that such individuals and groups shall include (1) those suffering from past or present discrimination or bias on the basis of sex, age, race, color, religion, or national origin; (2) older workers and retirees; (3) the physically or mentally handicapped; (4) youths to age 21; (5) potentially employable recipients of public assistance; (6) the inhabitants of depressed areas, urban and rural; (7) veterans of the Armed Forces; (8) people unemployed because of the relocation, closing, or reduced operations in industrial or military facilities; and (9) such other groups as the President or the Congress may designate from time to time. Directs that each Job Guarantee Office may, subject to the limitations specified in this Act, enter into agreements with public agencies and private organizations operating on a profit, nonprofit, or limited-profit basis. Requires such agreements to contain assurances that the agency or organization will: (1) provide an annual independent audit to the Job Guarantee Office; and (2) not discriminate on the grounds of sex, age, race, color, religion, or national origin in the administration of any program encompassed within the agreement. Directs the Job Guarantee Office to: (1) refer jobseekers to the private sector and general public sector employment placement facilities of the Full Employment Service (other than as supplemented by this Act); and (2) directly refer jobseekers for placement in positions on projects drawn from the reservoir of public service and private employment projects. Provides that any who presents himself or herself in person at the full Employment Office shall be considered prima facie "willing and able" to work. Provides that this stipulation specifically shall include persons with impairments of sight, hearing, movement, coordination, mental retardation, or other handicaps. Directs that this stipulation be implemented by the Job Guarantee Officer, prusuant to regulations issued by the Secretary. Establishes a Standby Job Corps which shall consist of jobseekers registered pursuant to this Act. Provides that such Corps shall be available for public service work upon projects and activities that are approved as a part of community public service work reservoirs established by community boards pursuant to this Act. Directs the Secretary, by regulation, to provide for: (1) a requirement that jobseekers registered in the Standby Job Corps maintain a status of good standing, which status shall include attendance and performance standards; and (2) a system of compensation for Corps members. Provides that no Standby Job Corps members shall be paid less than the minimum wage in effect in the area. Directs the Joint Economic Committee to: (1) annually review the activities of the executive branch under all sections of this Act; (2) regularly conduct on its own behalf, or in cooperation with or through the facilities of the appropriate legislative committees or subcommittees of the Senate and the House, public hearings in as many labor market areas as feasible; and (3) annually report upon, with its own conclusions and recommendations, the development and administration of the policies and programs mandated by this Act. Establishes a National Institute for Full Employment within the Department of Labor, under a director to be appointed by the Secretary of Labor, and to operate in continuing consultation with a National Commission for Full Employment Policy Studies. Authorizes and directs the Institute to make, or have made through grants to or contracts with individual researchers and private or public research organizations, universities, and other Government agencies, studies that shall include, but need not be limited to, such subjects as: (1) the policies and programs needed to reduce whatever inflationary pressures may result from full employment to manage any such inflationary pressures through appropriate fiscal policies and indirect and direct controls, and to protect the weaker groups in society from whatever inflationary trends cannot be avoided or controlled; (2) the identification of human potentialities that are hidden, undeveloped, or underdeveloped because of the lack of suitable job opportunities, encouragement, education, or training and of various ways of releasing such potentialities; (3) the forms of education and training needed to help provide people with the skills, knowledge, and values required by existing employment opportunities and technologies and needed to assist in developing such new types of goods, services, technologies, and employment opportunities as may better meet human needs; and (4) the policies and programs needed to substantially eliminate substandard employment, wages, and working conditions and the techniques for establishing standards for employment, wages, and working conditions in accordance with changing levels of national output and resources, and regional variations in output. Authorizes the appropriation for the fiscal year ending on June 30, 1977, and for each succeeding fiscal year of such sums as may be needed to carry out this Act.
United States · United States Congress · 14 August 1974
Expresses the findings of Congress and declares that it is the purpose of this Act to promote the efficient use of energy by directing the Secretary of Commerce, acting through the Director of the National Bureau of Standards, to prepare building insulation standards to be used by those interested in establishing energy conservation requirements for new construction. Specifies the types of standards to be set. Provides for the dissemination of such building insulation standards.
United States · United States Congress · 12 August 1974
Privacy Act - States that the purpose of this Act is to provide safeguards for an individual against an invasion of personal privacy by requiring each Federal agency to: (1) permit an individual to determine what records pertaining to him are collected, maintained, used, and disseminated by each such agency; (2) permit an individual to prevent records pertaining to him obtained by each such agency for a particular purpose from being used or made available for another purpose without his consent; (3) permit an individual to gain access to certain Federal agency records pertaining to him, to have a copy made of all or any portion thereof, and to correct or amend such records; (4) collect, maintain, use, or disseminate any record of identifiable personal information in a manner that assures that such action is for a necessary and lawful purpose, that the information is current and accurate for its intended use, and that adequate safeguards are provided to prevent misuse of such information;(5) permit deviations from the requirements with respect to records provided in this Act only in those cases where there is an important public policy need for such deviation which has been determined by specific statutory authority; and (6) be subject to civil suit for any damages which occur as a result of willful or negligent action which violates any individual's rights under this Act. Stipulates that no agency shall disclose any record to any person, or to another agency, except pursuant to a written request by, or with the prior written consent of, the individual to whom the record pertains, unless disclosure would be: (1) to those officers and employees of that agency who have a need for such record in the performance of their duties; (2) required pursuant to Federal statute; (3) for a routine use described in any rule promulgated pursuant to the provisions of this Act; (4) to the Bureau of the Census for purposes of planning or carrying out a census or survey; (5) transferred to the National Archives of the United States as a record which has sufficient historical or other value to warrant its continued preservation by the United States Government, or for evaluation by the Administrator of General Services or his designee to determine whether the record has such value; (6) to another agency or to an instrumentality of any governmental jurisdiction within or under the control of the United States for a law enforcement activity if such activity is authorized by statue and if the head of such agency or instrumentality has made a written request to the agency which maintains the record specifying the particular portion desired and the law enforcement activity for which the record is sought; or (7) pursuant to a showing of compelling circumstances affecting the health, safety, or identification of an individual, if upon such disclosure notification is transmitted to the last known address of such individual. Sets forth procedures regulating the disclosure by each agency of records under its control. Requires each agency to promulgate rules to carry out the provisions of this Act. Sets forth civil and criminal penalties for violations of the provisions of this Act. Stipulates that no Federal agency shall maintain any record concerning the political or religious belief or activity of any individual, unless expressly authorized by statute or by the individual about whom the record is maintained.
United States · United States Congress · 8 August 1974
Provides for the printing of 60,000 copies of the Constitution of the United States in Spanish, for use by members of the Senate, the House of Representatives, and the House Judiciary Committee.
United States · United States Congress · 6 August 1974
Directs the Clerk of the House of Representatives, the Sergeant at Arms of the House of Representatives, the Architect of the Capitol, and the Librarian of Congress (with respect to the employees of the United States Botanic Garden) to enter into agreements with Maryland, Virginia, and the District of Columbia for the withholding of State or District of Columbia income tax in the case of each Member and employee who is subject to such income tax and who voluntarily agrees to such withholding. States that such agreement shall be subject to review by the Committee on House Administration of the House of Representatives.
United States · United States Congress · 5 August 1974
Provides, under title XVIII of the Social Security Act, for payment under the hospital insurance program for care and treatment furnished at a central radiation therapy treatment facility. Provides full payment under the supplementary medical insurance program for radiation therapy services furnished by physicians to inpatients or outpatients of any hospital or any such facility. Defines the terms used in this Act.
United States · United States Congress · 2 August 1974
Declares that all foreign troops currently involved in Cyprus be withdrawn immediately so that the United Nations may be permitted to restore peace to the island and the Cypriot people guaranteed the right to determine their own destiny.
United States · United States Congress · 1 August 1974
Permits employees in an executive agency and individuals employed by the government of the District of Columbia to take an active part in political management or in political campaigns in their role as private citizens under conditions set forth in this Act. Defines the term "an active part in political management or in political campaigns" as including: (1) candidacy for or service as delegate, alternate, or proxy in any political convention or service as an officer or employee thereof; (2) participation in the deliberations of any primary meeting, mass convention, or caucus, addressing the meeting, making motions, preparing or assisting in preparing resolutions before the meeting, or taking a prominent part in such meeting; (3) preparing for, or organizing or conducting a political meeting or rally, addressing such a meeting on any partisan political matter, or taking any part in any such meeting or rally; (4) membership in political clubs and organizing of such a club; (5) distributing campaign literature and distributing or wearing campaign badges and buttons; (6) publishing or having editorial or managerial connection with any newspaper; (7) organizing or participating in any political parade; (8) initiating or signing nominating petitions on behalf of a partisan candidate, including canvassing for signatures of others; and (9) candidacy for nomination or election to any National, State, county, or municipal office.
United States · United States Congress · 31 July 1974
Housing Enforcement Assistance Act - Authorizes the Secretary of Housing and Urban Development to establish within his department a housing enforcement assistance program under which he will make grants as provided in this act to cities and other municipalities to assist them in the more effective enforcement of local housing codes, including: (1) the training, employment, and compensation of housing inspectors and related or supporting personnel; (2) the establishment and operation of housing courts to provide a forum for the resolution of controversies involving building violations, rent strikes, evictions, and other matters relating to landlord-tenant relations and housing code enforcement; (3) the development and improvement of housing codes; (4) emergency repairs to eliminate conditions which endanger the health and safety of tenants; and (5) such other actions to deal with aspects of housing code enforcement as in the judgment of the Secretary will significantly help in carrying out the purpose of this Act. Stipulates that the Secretary shall allocate the funds appropriated to the various cities and municipities in the United States in accordance with a formula appropriately refelecting their need for assistance in the enforcement of housing codes. States that such formula, which shall be published in the Federal Register in advance of such allocation, shall take into account with respect to each of such cities and municipalities its size, the amount and average age of its housing which is threatened with loss from blight or deterioration but could be preserved by more effective enforcement of housing codes, its financial need, and such other factors as the Secretary may determine to be appropriate and in furtherance of the objectives of this Act. Authorizes appropriations of $40,000,000 to carry out the purposes of this Act. Provides that grants for and on behalf of a city or municipality may be made to an agency of State government in any case where cities or municipalities within the State involved are prevented by State law from receiving such grants or from expending them for their intended purpose.
United States · United States Congress · 31 July 1974
Excludes from gross income, under the Internal Revenue Code, the interest on deposits in qualified savings institutions and credit unions. Limits such tax exclusion to $400 for an individual during a calendar year.
United States · United States Congress · 29 July 1974
Public Service Employment Act - Declares that one of the purposes of the Comprehensive Employment and Training Act of 1973 is to provide employment opportunities to assure that no area in the United States has an unemployment rate in excess of seven percent. Defines "area of severe unemployment". Establishes in the Treasury the Public Service Employment Fund. Sets forth the amounts in such fund during each fiscal year and authorizes appropriations to carry out the purposes of this Act. Provides that eligible applicants shall be entitled to allotments from the fund in accordance with the excess number of unemployed persons residing in areas of severe unemployment. Makes technical and conforming amendments to specified Federal Acts.
United States · United States Congress · 29 July 1974
Requires the Joint Committee on Atomic Energy to make continuing studies of the development, use, and control of Atomic Energy. Require the Atomic Energy Commission and the Department of Defense to keep the Committee fully informed of their activities with respect to the development and application of atomic energy. States that through members of the Joint Committee who are members of each respective House of Congress, the Joint Committee, twice in each session of Congress, shall cause to be made to the House and Senate a report on the development, use, and control of atomic energy for the common defense and security and for peaceful purposes.
United States · United States Congress · 25 July 1974
Extends the protection of the Executive Protective Service to all foreign diplomatic missions located in the District of Columbia metropolitan area and in such other metropolitan areas in the United States, its territories and possessions, where there are located 20 or more such missions headed by full-time career officers (presently limited to missions located in Washington, D.C.). (Amends 3 U.S.C. 202) Authorizes reimbursement to State and local governments for such services. (Adds 3 U.S.C. 208)
United States · United States Congress · 25 July 1974
Provides that each Member of the House of Representatives, the Resident Commissioner from Puerto Rico, and the Delegates from the District of Columbia, Guam, and the Virgin Islands may hire not more than two additional employees who shall be known as John W. McCormack Senior Interns in honor of the former Speaker of the House of Representatives. States that such interns may be hired for not more than two weeks during the period May 1 through May 31 of each year and shall serve within the District of Columbia. Stipulates that for this purpose each such Member, Resident Commissioner, or Delegate shall have available annually for payment of compensation to such interns a total allowance of $500, to be payable to such interns at a rate not to exceed $125 per week, out of the contingent fund of the House. Requires that no person shall be paid compensation as a John W. McCormack Senior Intern who does not have on file with the Clerk of the House of Representatives, at all times during the period of employment as such intern, an appropriate certificate that such intern is sixty years of age or older and a resident of the district which the employing Member, Commissioner, or Delegate represents.
United States · United States Congress · 18 July 1974
Prohibits, under the Federal Power Act, public utilities from increasing any rate or charge for electric energy, by means of any fuel adjustment clause in a wholesale rate schedule, in order to reflect any increased fuel cost.
United States · United States Congress · 18 July 1974
States that any mailing of matter, as penalty mail, in excess of five thousand identical pieces, may not be carried in the mails as penalty mail until the officer, executive department, or independent establishment of the Government which intends to transmit such matter has submitted to the Comptroller General of the United States a request for certification that the carriage of such matter in the mails as penalty mail is in compliance with law and has received such certification from the Comptroller General.
United States · United States Congress · 18 July 1974
Office of Congressional Polling Act - Establishes in the House of Representatives an Office of Congressional Polling. States that the Office shall conduct research into the drafting of public opinion questionnaires and methods of tabulating and analyzing the responses to such questionnaires; and provide technical assistance to any Member of the House of Representatives to assist in the planning and conducting of public opinion polls within his district. Directs the Office to make available to the public, upon request and at cost of reproduction and mailing, all information developed from such research and the results of the public opinion polls conducted by Members of the House of Representatives with the assistance of the Office.
United States · United States Congress · 18 July 1974
Provides for the establishment in the District of Columbia of the Sewall-Belmont House National Historic Site. Authorizes appropriations to carry out the purposes of this Act.
United States · United States Congress · 17 July 1974
Revises the Employment Act of 1946 to make the promotion of price stability a recognized factor in the formulation of national economic policy, along with the promotion of employment, production, and purchasing power.
United States · United States Congress · 17 July 1974
Provides for daylight savings time from the first Sunday in March to the last Sunday in October. Repeals the Emergency Daylight Savings Time Energy Conservation Act of 1973.
United States · United States Congress · 17 July 1974
Declares it to be the sense of the House that: (1) the contribution by the United States to the growing economic and human crisis in the developing world should be primarily in the form of food and the means and technology to produce it; (2) the President, the Secretary of State and the Secretary of Agriculture and their advisors should give the highest priority to the immediate expansion of American food assistance and (b) take such additional steps as might be necessary to expedite the transfer of American food commodities on concessional and donation terms to those nations most severely affected; (3) the United States should increase its matching pledge to the World Food Program for 1975-1976 and encourage other nations to do so; (4) the President and the Secretary of State should (a) negotiate with other major food exporting nations to seek to obtain their participation in this emergency effort proportionate to their share of world food exports and, (b) strongly encourage oil exporting nations to contribute a fair share to these efforts to assist the most severely affected nations; (5) the United States should announce its desire to work with the oil exporting and other nations in a major effort to increase world fertilizer production with the possibility of including the offer of American technology and capital; and (6) the President should encouarge the American people to reduce the non-critical, non-food-producing uses of fertilizer which now total nearly three million tons of nutrient a year, to make available increased fertilizer supplies for raising food production at home and in the developing world. Declares the sense of the House that the President of the United States and the Secretaries of State and Agriculture should, and are hereby urged and requested to: (1) maintain regular and full consultation with the appropriate committees of the Congress; and (2) report to the Congress and the Nation at regular intervals on the progress toward formulating an American response in a cooperative framework to the world food crisis and the needs of the most severly affected developing countries.
United States · United States Congress · 16 July 1974
State Lottery Exemption Act - Exempts State-conducted lotteries, sweepstakes, and wagering pools, as well as vending machines maintained by State agencies for such purposes, from the wagering tax imposed by the Internal Revenue Code of 1954.
United States · United States Congress · 16 July 1974
Expresses the sense of Congress that any plan to provide nuclear energy capability to either Egypt or Israel, or any foreign government, shall not be agreed to without the expressed consent of a majority of both Houses of Congress.
United States · United States Congress · 11 July 1974
Food Research and Development Act - Directs the Secretary of Agriculture to conduct research and development relating to the following: (1) new methods of protein production, including the treatment of waste materials with microorganisms; (2) new methods of improving the protein content of cereals and grains, including combining different types of these products to create the amino acid balance required for "complete" protein; (3) new methods of fertilizer production, including microbiological techniques; (4) new methods of processing vegetable protein into low-cost substitutes for meat and dairy products; and (5) the effect of existing public policy, including Federal and State regulation of food products, on the utilization of new methods of protein production, fertilizer production, and processing vegetable protein. Authorizes the Secretary to make grants to public or nonprofit entities and individuals for research, development, and demonstration projects, and provide for the conduct of research, development, and demonstration projects by contract with public or private entities or persons. Requires the Secretary of Health, Education, and Welfare to develop and make available to educational and other nonprofit institutions an educational program relating to the preparation and use of the food products produced by the methods developed under this Act. Authorizes appropriations of such sums as are necessary to carry out the provisions of this Act through fiscal year 1978.
United States · United States Congress · 11 July 1974
Eastern Wilderness Areas Act - Designates specified lands in Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Tennessee, Kentucky, Michigan, Missouri, New Hampshire, North Carolina, South Carolina, Vermont, Virginia, West Virginia and Wisconsin for inclusion in the National Wilderness Preservation System. Provides for a study of specified additional lands in eighteen states and Puerto Rico for such inclusion. Authorizes appropriations of such sums as may be necessary to carry out the purposes of this Act.
United States · United States Congress · 11 July 1974
Strip Mining Abolition Act - Requires public participation in the development and enforcement of regulations and standards promulgated and permits issued under this Act pertaining to strip mining. Empowers the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency to: (1) investigate and inspect to insure compliance with this Act; (2) hold public hearings; (3) issue cease-and-desist orders; and (4) order the revocation, suspension or modification of permits. Title I: Environmental Protection Coal Mining Limitations - Prohibits development of any new or previously mined and abandoned site for coal surface mining and, within 6 months, contour surface coal mining. Allows continuation of non-contour coal mining if a permit is obtained containing provisions for a reduction of mining production in three years to 50 percent of the 1973 level. Prohibits surface coal mining after 6 months unless a permit is obtained containing provisions for land stabilization and postmining land use. Prohibits the issuance of permits for mining within 300 feet of dwellings of public buildings or that will interrupt watercourses. Sets forth requirements for permit applications, including submission of ownership statements, mining maps, a hydrologic effect statement, and results of test borings and core samplings. Sets forth requirements for mining and stabilization plans (required or permit applicants), including identification of the entire mining area over the time of the operations, a statement of land uses prior to mining, a detailed description of mining and land stabilization methods, and a time schedule of operations. Requires public liability insurance on such operations for resulting personal and property damage. Requires surface coal mining operators to: (1) restore land to a condition capable of supporting prior uses; (2) carry on stabilization along with mining operations; (3) preserve topsoil; (4) restore the original contour of the land; (5) revegetate the land; (6) maintain hydrologic balance in the area; and (7) meet certain requirements in the use of explosives. Requires underground mine operators to: (1) backfill mine wastes in mine voids for mines opened after enactment of this Act where possible; (2) provide for adequate ground support; (3) seal all portals; and (4) refrain from use of water impoundments. Allows local, State, and Federal agencies to file objections to surface mining and stabilization plans and request and receive hearings at which the permit applicant must establish that his plans comply with applicable law. Requires the Administrator to make a decision within 30 days of such hearings of issuing a permit. Requires permit applicants whose permits have been approved to file a performance bond sufficient to assure stabilization in the event of forfeiture. Allows release of such bond upon satisfactory completion of mining and stablization work. Prohibits suspension or revocation of a permit without notice of violations to the permittee and 10 days to take corrective action, and after a public hearing (if requested), unless a significant threat to public health, private or public property, land or air exists. Provides for a written statement of reasons of any such action to a permittee and the right to appeal to United States district courts. Requires mine operators to keep specified records and use monitoring equipment. Requires inspection of surface mining sites once a month without notice and public disclosure of reports on such inspections. Provides that the Attorney General, at the Administrators request, may institute civil action to enforce this Act. Requires civil penalties for violations of permits or of this Act. Allows citizen suits against any alleged violators of the Act. Authorizes necessary appropriations to carry out this title. Prohibits Government procurement from mines in violation of this Act. States that where the surface owner is not the owner of the mineral estate proposed to be surface mined, the permit application shall include the written consent of the owner of such surface land, including lessees. Title II: Abandoned Mine Stabilization - Creates the Abandoned Coal Mine Stabilization Fund and authorizes appropriations to it of $100,000,000 and such other sums thereafter as Congress may appropriate. Directs the fund to be used for acquisition and stabilization of mined lands, acquistion and filling of voids and sealing of tunnels and shafts, and for use by the Secretary of Agriculture to combat erosion caused by mining effects. Limits the use of the fund to lands affected by mining prior to enactment of this Act. Provides for the condemation of land when the Chief of the Corps of Engineers cannot otherwise acquire land for stabilization purposes. Authorizes bidding for stabilization work contracts, with preference to be given to former employees. Authorizes matching grants to States which require and transfer land to the Chief of the Corps for such purposes, of surface coal mines. Provides for resale of such stabilized land.