United States · United States Congress · 8 July 1981
Campaign Finance Reform Amendments of 1981 -- Amends the Federal Election Campaign Act of 1971 to increase the limitations on contributions to campaigns for the House of Representatives and the Senate. Raises the ceiling from $1,000 to $2,500 for an individual's total contribution to any candidate for the House of Representatives and his or her authorized political committees. Imposes a limit on the total amount such a candidate and his or her committees may accept from multicandidate political committees of $75,000 for a general or special election (with an extra $25,000 in the case of a run-off). Imposes a ceiling on the total amount a candidate for the Senate and his or her committees may accept from multicandidate political committees. Sets such ceiling at: (1) the greater of $25,000, or the product of $12,500 times the number of State Representatives, in the case of a run-off election; or (2) the greater of $75,000, or the product of $37,500 times the number of State Representatives (not to exceed $500,000), for a general or special election (including conventions and primaries). Amends the Internal Revenue Code to increase the tax credit for political contributions from $50 to $100 ($100 to $200 for joint returns). Allows two separate tax credits, up to such amounts, for contributions: (1) to individual candidates and political committees; and (2) to national, State, and local committees of a national political party.
United States · United States Congress · 26 June 1981
Prohibits a State, or any of its political subdivisions, from imposing a tax with respect to natural gas which discriminates against any out-of-State producers, transporters, consumers, distributors, or users of natural gas or which applies only to gas produced outside the territory of such State. Deems any tax as discriminatory if it results in a greater tax burden on interstate natural gas than on intrastate gas.
United States · United States Congress · 25 June 1981
Amends the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act to state that a food intended for human consumption shall be deemed misbranded unless it is labeled to show the amount of sodium and potassium it contains when in excess of a certain amount of milligrams. Permits the Secretary of Health and Human Services to exempt a food from such requirement by requiring the information to be prominently displayed in close proximity to the place of display or sale of such food. Exempts from such labeling requirements any manufacturer of such foods whose total annual sale are less than a specified amount.
United States · United States Congress · 25 June 1981
Food Safety Amendments of 1981 - Title I - Amends the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act to revise the procedures and criteria for consideration of food and color additive petitions and new animal drug applications. Excludes from the definition of "food additive": (1) a food contact substance; and (2) a basic or traditional food. Defines "food contact substance" to mean a substance used to package food upon which such substance is not intended to, and does not have, any physical effect. Revises the general definition of "safe" to include in its meaning the absence of significant risk under the intended conditions of use of a substance. Authorizes the Secretary of Health and Human Services to prescribe regulations to gradually eliminate a substance from the food supply upon a finding that such elimination will serve the public interest and not present a danger to public health. Requires that a determination of whether food is adulterated be based on an assessment of the risks from the probable consumption of such substance, taking into account all pertinent safety factors. Revises the procedures under which the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) establishes tolerance levels for required or unavoidable substances in foods. Replaces the current formal hearing requirements for setting tolerances with the notice and comment rulemaking procedure. Adds to the criteria for establishing tolerances: (1) an assessment of the nature and extent of the risks from probable consumption of the substance, considering all safety factors and after consultation with the food safety committee (established by this Act); and (2) the effects of limits on the cost and availability of food. Requires the Secretary to specify the analytical procedure for determining tolerance compliance. Permits any party in an injunction, seizure, or criminal action by the FDA alleging food adulteration, to request the court to set a tolerance for any food for which there is no existing tolerance. Revises the procedures and criteria for consideration of food additive petitions. Directs the Secretary to establish procedures to facilitate early discussion of an additive prior to submission of a petition. Requires the FDA to file food additive petitions within 30 days after receipt. Requires the FDA to specify in detail its reasons expanded for denying a petition. Directs the Secretary to permit interim use of an already approved additive if it appears from initial review that such expanded use is safe. Directs the Secretary to base a determination of the safety of a food additive on all relevant factors, including risk assessment. Provides an exception to the "Delaney clause" (which deems as unsafe any additive which induces cancer when ingested by man or animal) upon a finding that use of the additive does not present a significant risk to health. Requires the Secretary, whenver an additive is limited on the basis that it induces cancer in man or animal, to refer such matter to the food safety committee and permit interested persons to provide information. Enumerates additional criteria for considering a food additive which has been identified as presenting a significant risk, but has a substantial history of use and no reasonably practicable substitute. Includes among such factors the nature and extent of the consequences of use and the feasibility and effect of providing information to consumers regarding the additive's risk. Provides for expedited judicial review of any failure by the FDA to meet the time limits for food additive determinations or to provide detailed reasons for denial of a petition. Authorizes the Secretary to issue an interim food additive regulation with respect to a substance the safety of which has been questioned by new, but inconclusive, information, upon a determination that there is a reasonable certainty that such substance is not harmful. Applies the new procedures for amending or repealing a food additive regulation to any action to limit a substance which is generally recognized as safe. Establishes a new simplified premarket notification system for food contact substances. Provides that a food contact substance shall be deemed unsafe unless: (1) it is not reasonably expected to become a component of food under its intended use; (2) it conforms to a regulation; or (3) a premarket notification has been registered with the FDA and the FDA fails to make a finding of significant risk to public health within 90 days. Subjects any such finding to judicial review. Permits a person to petition the Secretary for promulgation of a regulation in lieu of premarket notification. Directs the Secretary, for the purpose of receiving referrals respecting the safety of food substances, to request the National Academy of Sciences, the Federation of American Societies for Experimental Biology, or other independent entity having such scientific expertise, to establish a committee to study and report on the safety of food substances. Provides a procedure and the criteria for the Secretary to establish an advisory food safety committee in the event such entities decline to establish such committee. Authorizes any person who may be adversely affected by a Secretarial decision to request the Secretary to consult such a committee before he makes a final decision on the use of any food substance, food additive, new animal drug, or color additive. Establishes for new animal drugs and color additives a regulatory scheme similar to that set forth for food additives. Includes as a factor to be considered with respect to animal drugs the present commercial availability of approved alternatives. Eliminates the current requirement for individual product licenses for animal drug manufacturers. Establishes a one-time location registration of establishments at which a new animal drug is to be first mixed into animal feed. Repeals the animal drug provision requiring batch certification of five specific antibiotics. Title II - Amends the Poultry Products Inspection Act, the Meat Inspection Act, and the Egg Products Inspection Act to conform to provisions of this Act. Title III - Requires persons who have filed food or color additive petitions or new animal drug applications which were filed prior to enactment to elect consideration in accordance with existing law or law as amended by this Act. Provides that enforcement proceedings based on acts occurring prior to enactment shall proceed under prior law.
United States · United States Congress · 25 June 1981
Amends the Internal Revenue Code to treat as long-term capital gain amounts actually paid to a taxpayer with respect to a small business participating debenture (SBPD) which constitute the distribution of a share of the earnings of the issuer. Defines "small business participating debenture" (SBPD) as a written debt instrument issued by a qualified small business which: (1) is a general obligation of such business; (2) bears interest at not less than specified by the Secretary of the Treasury; (3) has a fixed maturity; (4) grants no voting or conversion rights in the business to the purchaser; and (5) provides for the payment of a share of the issuer's total earnings. Defines "qualified small business" as one: (1) whose equity capital does not exceed $10,000,000; (2) the face value of all of whose outstanding SBPD's does not exceed $1,000,000; and (3) which has no outstanding securities subject to regulation by the Securities and Exchange Commission. Treats members of a controlled group of corporations as a single taxpayer. Denies capital gains treatment where the taxpayer is a "related party" to the SBPD issuer. Treats losses on small business participating debentures as ordinary losses. Allows an interest expense deduction for interest and share-of-earnings payments made on such debentures.
United States · United States Congress · 24 June 1981
Amends the Internal Revenue Code to extend the nonconventional source fuel production income tax credit to any solid fuel in pellet form produced from biomass (other than wood or wood products) which has a Btu content per unit of volume or weight, determined without regard to any nonbiomass elements, which is at least 40 percent greater per unit of volume or weight than the Btu content of the biomass from which it is produced. Requires the taxpayer to elect whether to determine Btu content by volume or by weight. Limits application of such credit to pellets: (1) produced in a facility placed in service between January 1, 1980, and September 30, 1983, or for the construction of which the taxpayer was obligated under a binding contract on September 30, 1983; and (2) sold before January 1, 1990. Extends the time for start up of wood fuel facilities until October 1, 1983, for purposes of the nonconventional source fuel tax credit.
United States · United States Congress · 24 June 1981
Expresses the sense of the House of Representatives that the Department of Justice should continue to provide the sums required to insure the operation and success of the seven regional criminal intelligence projects assisted through the Law Enforcement Assistance Administration.
United States · United States Congress · 23 June 1981
Directs the Joint Committee on the Library to procure a bust or statue of Dr. Martin Luther King, Junior, for placement in a suitable location in the Capitol.
United States · United States Congress · 22 June 1981
Expresses the sense of the Congress that: (1) Canada and the United States should create the North American Air Quality Commission (NAAQC); (2) the NAAQC should be the primary means for coordinating U.S. and Canadian enforcement efforts to reduce acid precipitation pollution; (3) the NAAQC should recommend to Canada and the United States policies and legislation to reduce acid precipitation pollution; and (4) the NAAQC should report twice annually to the Canadian Parliament and the U. S. Congress on both countries' progress toward reduction of such pollution.
United States · United States Congress · 18 June 1981
Postal Service Amendments of 1981 - Authorizes the United States Postal Service to issue written demands requiring access to books, records, documents, or other objects believed to relate to any postal offense or civil matter under investigation by the Postal Service. Provides for the enforcement of such a demand by the appropriate district court. Authorizes the Postal Service to issue an order requiring any person to cease and desist from conducting a lottery or scheme for obtaining money or property by false representations through the mail. Declares that the resumption of such an activity through the use of any instrumentality of interstate commerce shall be considered to be a failure to comply with such order. Permits the Postal Service, in investigating whether a person is conducting such an activity, to tender the price of any article or service that such person has offered for sale. Declares that failure by such person to provide such article or service, or failure to comply with a written demand of the Postal Service for access to materials, shall constitute probable cause to believe such person is engaged in such activities, warranting the detention of such person's incoming mail. Establishes a civil penalty to be assessed by the Postal Service, after an opportunity for an agency hearing, against any person who: (1) attempts to evade an order directing the postmaster to return mail addressed to such person; (2) fails to comply with a cease and desist; or (3) assists another person in evading such an order.
United States · United States Congress · 18 June 1981
Directs the Comptroller General to assign employees of the General Accounting Office to serve as ombudsmen for patients in Veterans' Administration facilities. Requires the Comptroller General to report at least annually to Congress on the activities and investigations carried out by such ombudsmen.
United States · United States Congress · 18 June 1981
Expresses the sense of the Congress that nuclear war represents a great hazard and should be prevented. Urges the President to propose: (1) that the United States and the Soviet Union begin negotiations to reduce substantially their nuclear arsenals; and (2) that conferences should be held among all nuclear nations to propose annual reductions and gradual elimination of all nuclear weapons.
United States · United States Congress · 17 June 1981
Amends the copyright law to eliminate the pre- July 1, 1982, restriction on the application of the manufacturing requirements to nondramatic literary material.
United States · United States Congress · 11 June 1981
Former Presidents Facilities and Services Reform Act of 1981 - Title I: Presidential Libraries - Prohibits the Administrator of General Services from establishing any Presidential archival depository after January 20, 1983. Directs the Administrator to submit to Congress a prospectus for establishing a central Presidential library for the deposit and preservation of the records and papers of former Presidents, and historical materials related to the former Presidents. Requires the prospectus to provide: (1) for the establishment of the library in a phased manner allowing for expansion; (2) that the first phase of the library shall provide for the deposit and preservation of the records, papers, and materials concerning two former Presidents; (3) that the archival and research space for each former President in the library shall equal the average space provided per President in all Presidential archival depositories; and (4) that a specified area be established for museum displays concerning each former President. Authorizes the Administrator to lend any item stored in the library for display in a private Presidential museum or library. Directs the Administrator to duplicate and make available upon request the more historically significant documents. Requires the President, while holding office, to dispose of his or her Presidential records which have no administrative, historical, informational, or evidentiary value after obtaining the views of the Archivist of the United States concerning such disposal, unless the Archivist notifies the President that the Archivist intends to request advice from certain congressional committees. Declares that the provisions of this title apply only to: (1) the records of those Presidents taking office after January 20, 1969, for whom a Presidential archival depository is not established before January 20, 1983; and (2) all Presidential records to which the Government has title. Title II: Former Presidents - Changes the amount of the annual allowance to which the spouse of a deceased former President is entitled from $20,000 to two-thirds of the allowance to which a former President is entitled. Repeals the requirement that the spouse must waive the right to any other Government annuity or pension to qualify for such allowance. Authorizes the Administrator to provide to each former President, upon request: (1) one office; (2) compensation, without an aggregate ceiling, for members of an office staff who shall be subject to certain provisions of civil service laws; (3) payment for the travel and subsistence allowances for specified office employees; (4) communications services; and (5) printing and binding expenses. Allows any Federal employee to be detailed to the office staff of a former President with the consent of the employee's agency head. Authorizes the Administrator to provide a former Vice President with necessary services and facilities for winding up his or her office affairs which are similar to the services and facilities provided to a former President under this title. Prohibits the use of funds provided for necessary services and facilities of a former President or Vice President for partisan political activities or income generating activities. Permits a former President to use such funds to prepare his or her memoirs if the former President signs an agreement providing that the Public Printer will print and distribute such memoirs. Prohibits the expenditure of such funds for a former President any time beyond 90 days after the former President dies. Requires each former President to submit to Congress an annual report concerning activities carried out with the assistance of such funds. Authorizes appropriations to carry out the provisions of this title concerning the services and facilities to be provided for former Presidents and Vice Presidents. Repeals specified provisions of the Presidential Transition Act of 1963. Title III: Protection of Former Presidents, Former Vice Presidents, and Their Families - Prohibits the United States Secret Service from protecting a former President, former Vice President, or the spouse, widow, widower, or minor child of a former President except as authorized under this title. Authorizes the Secret Service to protect: (1) a former President for eight years after the individual becomes a former President; and (2) the spouse of a former President to the extent that such protection is incidental to the protection of the former President. Permits the Secretary of the Treasury to reinstate for six months the Secret Service protection of a former President or the spouse, widow, widower, or minor child of a former President after the original protection has been terminated upon finding that a serious threat warranting such protection exists. Allows the Secretary to extend for six-month periods the Secret Service protection provided to such an individual upon the individual's written request and upon the approval of an existing advisory committee established to determine whether protection should be furnished to certain Presidential or Vice Presidential candidates. Establishes the Advisory Panel on Secret Service Protection to review requests for extended protection and to make recommendations on such requests to such advisory committee. Permits the Secretary, upon a former Vice President's written request and upon finding that a threat exists which warrants protection, to authorize Secret Service protection for a former Vice President for a period beginning on the last day of the individual's Vice Presidential term and ending on the last day of the fiscal year in which the term expires. Declares that this title shall take effect on October 1, 1981.
United States · United States Congress · 11 June 1981
Amends the Internal Revenue Code to qualify for the investment tax credit any specially defined energy property installed in connection with any building which is depreciable residential real property. Revises the definition of "specially defined energy property," for purposes of such credit, to: (1) include specified additional equipment and devices; and (2) include among uses qualifying such property for the credit any building or facility at least 50 percent of which was constructed before or any process or activity carried on as of January 1, 1981. Increase the energy percentage, for purposes of the credit, in the case of specially defined energy property and provides a further increase in the case of property installed in connection with residential buildings which is qualified for the credit under this Act.
United States · United States Congress · 11 June 1981
Calls upon the Postmaster General of the United States to give priority consideration to means other than closing local post offices as a method of reducing expenditures of the United States Postal Service.
United States · United States Congress · 10 June 1981
Amends the Internal Revenue Code to allow an income tax credit for charitable contributions of any agricultural product to tax-exempt organizations. Limits the credit to ten percent of the wholesale market price or the most recent sales price. Requires that the donated agricultural product be unsalable at a price which would enable the taxpayer to recover his costs and that it be fit for human consumption.
United States · United States Congress · 8 June 1981
House Committee on Agriculture Reconciliation Measures - Subtitle A: Reductions in Authorizations for Appropriations - Amends the Food Stamp Act of 1977 to extend the food stamp program, at reduced funding levels, through fiscal year 1985. Makes reduced authorizations and limits outlays for each of fiscal years 1982 through 1984 for: (1) dairy indemnity payments by the Agricultural Stabilization and Conservation Service; (2) marketing activities payments to States and possessions by the Agricultural Marketing Service; (3) specified rural development assistance grants by the Farmers Home Administration; (4) Soil Conservation Service and other agricultural conservation program expenses; (5) international programs under the Agricultural Trade Development and Assistance Act of 1954 (Public Law 480); (6) specified expenses of the Forest Service (but not for the Bald Mountain road and timber sale in the Siskiyou National Forest); and (7) salaries and expenses of certain agencies, offices, and functions of the Department of Agriculture. Subtitle B: Reduction in Direct Spending - Amends the Agricultural Act of 1949 to set a new formula for the determination of the price support for milk during fiscal years 1982 through 1985. Limits the range of support from 75 percent to 90 percent of parity, keyed to net Government price support purchases of nonfat dry milk and the milk equivalent of butter and cheese. Requires an increase of the support price whenever dairy product imports are increased due to an expansion of imports or a termination of import restraints. Requires semiannual adjustments of such support price. Directs the Secretary to notify the congressional agriculture committees thirty days before the effective date of a new support level. Amends the United States Grain Standards Act, for fiscal years 1982 through 1984, to authorize the Administrator of the Federal Grain Inspection Service to collect inspection fees to defray administrative and supervisory costs. Limits such costs, for fiscal years 1982 through 1985, to 35 percent of the total costs of the Service. Authorizes appropriations for such years. Directs the Secretary of Agriculture to establish an advisory committee to advise the Administrator on the implementation of the United States Grain Standards Act of 1976. Amends the United States Cotton Standards Act, the Cotton Statistics and Estimates Act, and the United States Cotton Futures Act to direct the Secretary to collect directly from participating producers cotton classing and loose cotton sale fees in an amount sufficient to cover the costs of such services, including administrative and supervisory costs. Limits the net cost estimate used to calculate such fees to specified amounts for fiscal years 1982 through 1984. Directs the Secretary to impose charges for establishing cotton standards. Credits all such fees and charges to the current appropriation incurring such costs and leaves them available until expended. Exempts from the Federal Property and Administrative Services Act of 1949 any cotton samples submitted in compliance with the requirements of such Acts and thereby becoming United States property. Requires the Secretary to hold annual meetings with cotton industry representatives to review such activities. Amends the Tobacco Inspection Act to direct the Secretary to fix and collect fees for inspection and certification, the establishment of standards, sampling and weighing, and other services at designated auction markets. Requires such fees to cover the costs of such services, including administrative and supervisory costs. Credits such fees to the current appropriation incurring such costs and leaves them available until expended. Requires assessment of such fees against warehouse operators, who shall collect them from tobacco sellers. Directs the Secretary to set up a national advisory committee of tobacco producers, with advisory subcommittees for each major kind of tobacco, to advise him about such services and fees. Amends the United States Warehouse Act to direct the Secretary to collect warehouse examination, inspection, and licensing fees sufficient to cover the costs of such services and licenses, including administrative and supervisory costs. Limits the amounts of such fees for fiscal years 1982 through 1984. Authorizes appropriations for other services under such Act. Repeals the Naval Stores Act relating to standards and prohibitions regarding commerce in spirits of turpentine and rosin. Amends the Consolidated Farm and Rural Development Act to allow interest rates equal to the current market yield for municipal bonds for direct or insured loans to public bodies or nonprofit associations for water and waste disposal facilities and essential community facilities. Limits to five percent per annum the interest rate on such loans for facility upgrading or new facility construction in poverty areas. Sets the range for interest rates on direct or insured low-income farm ownership loans at between five percent per annum and one-half the current market yield on United States bonds. Requires a two percent per annum additional interest rate on any direct or insured loan to a State or local government for construction of certain facilities on prime farmland where non-prime farmland is available. Marks for such treatment certain facilities for: (1) recreational uses; (2) rural small business enterprises; (3) electrical transmission systems; (4) pollution abatement and control; and (5) subterminal uses. Limits to 90 percent of actual production loss the amount of farming, ranching, or aquaculture production loss for which an applicant may receive an emergency loan. Reduces the total amount of certain insurable rural development loans for fiscal year 1982: (1) from $1,000,000,000 to $300,000,000 for water and waste facilities; and (2) from $500,000,000 to $130,000,000 for community facilities. Amends the Agricultural Act of 1949 to eliminate certain waiver of interest provisions so the Secretary may collect interest on loans made on the 1980 and 1981 crops of wheat and feed grains placed in the farmer-held reserve. Reduces to $52,000,000 the ceiling on administrative expenses of the Commodity Credit Corporation for fiscal year 1982.
United States · United States Congress · 3 June 1981
Missing Children Act - Directs the Attorney General to collect and preserve information which would assist in: (1) the identification of any deceased individual who has not been identified within 30 days of his or her death; and (2) the location of any missing child who is under the age of 17, does not have a history of running away, and has been missing for at least 48 hours.
United States · United States Congress · 28 May 1981
Amends title II (Old Age, Survivors and Disability Insurance) of the Social Security Act to set the contribution and benefit base at not less than $60,000 for years beginning with 1982.
United States · United States Congress · 28 May 1981
Amends the Internal Revenue Code to allow an estate tax deduction for any interest in property which passes from a decedent with no surviving spouse to a disabled child of the decedent who is left parentless. Limits the amount of such deduction to $250,000.
United States · United States Congress · 21 May 1981
Constitutional Amendment - Provides for staggered four-year terms for Members of the House of Representatives. Prohibits persons from being elected to the House more than four times or more than three times to four-year terms. Prohibits persons from being elected to the Senate more than twice.
United States · United States Congress · 20 May 1981
Prohibits the delivery of water from any Federal reclamation project within ten years of its completion to irrigate any basic agricultural commodity in excess supply, if such project is less than ten percent complete as of September 30, 1981. States that such prohibition shall not apply if the Secretary of Agriculture calls for increased production of such a commodity in the interest of national security.
United States · United States Congress · 20 May 1981
Requires Federal Reserve notes of certain denominations to be trimmed in a specified manner which will enable an individual who is blind to determine the denomination of each such note.
United States · United States Congress · 19 May 1981
Amends the Internal Revenue Code to allow certain individuals to compute the amount of the income tax deduction for retirement savings on the basis of the earned income of their spouses, without regard to any community property laws.
United States · United States Congress · 19 May 1981
Amends the Internal Revenue Code to revise requirements for the exclusion of interest on mortgage subsidy bonds. Repeals provisions which allow tax-exempt status for such bonds if 95 percent of the mortgages financed by such issues are in compliance with stated requirements. Provides that a showing that the issuing authority has tried in good faith to satisfy all requirements will cure a failure to meet any particular requirement if such failure is corrected within a reasonable time after its discovery. Allows bondholders to rely upon an issuer's good faith covenant as to a compliance. Revises the new homeowner requirements to allow eligibility for bond-financed mortgages for persons who are residing in substandard housing or who have lost their homes because of natural disasters or governmental action. Changes the method of determining the average area purchase price for purposes of the purchase price requirements for bond-financed mortgages. Specifies that the average area purchase price shall not include residences which are not typically financed through normal real estate mortgage loans and that such price may be determined separately for new and previously occupied homes. Revises the arbitrage requirements to increase the amount by which interest rates on tax-exempt mortgage subsidy bonds may exceed the interest rates on mortgages financed with such bonds. Changes the method of determining the yield on an issue. Specifies that issuers are not required to dispose of any investment and realize a loss in order to satisfy arbitrage restrictions. Allows two or more qualified mortgage bond issues of a single issuer to be combined for purposes of determining compliance with arbitrage requirements. Permits issuers to maintain a reasonable reserve against investment losses and to allocate credits or payments between eligible mortgagors. Exempts mortgages insured by the Federal Housing Administration or guaranteed by the Veterans Administration from certain mortgage assumption requirements. Includes energy impacted areas within the definition of targeted areas for purposes of the special treatment of targeted area residences. Repeals the requirement that the designation of areas of chronic economic distress be approved by the Secretary of Housing and Urban Development. Limits the designation of areas of chronic economic distress to 25 percent of the geographic area within a State. Redefines statistical areas to include two or more statistical areas combined. Repeals the registration requirements for bond issues.
United States · United States Congress · 19 May 1981
Declares it the sense of the Congress that no legislation that would change the operations of the Guaranteed Student Loan Program before October 1, 1981, should or will be enacted. Prohibits the Secretary of Education from promulgating any rule which changes the operations of the Guaranteed Student Loan Program before October 1, 1981.
United States · United States Congress · 19 May 1981
Expresses the sense of the House of Representatives that the United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) should cease efforts to regulate news content and to formulate rules and regulations for the operation of the world press. Expresses the opposition of the House to efforts by some countries to control access to and dissemination of news.
United States · United States Congress · 18 May 1981
Food and Agriculture Act of 1981 - Title I: Dairy Production Act of 1981 - Amends the Agricultural Act of 1949 to establish milk price supports from October 1, 1981 through September 30, 1985, at between 75 and 90 percent of parity, based on projected purchases, surpluses and price increases. Extends dairy base plan authority. Extends through 1985: (1) the program of price-supported dairy products for the military and veterans' hospitals; and (2) the dairy indemnity program. Encourages wider consumption of dairy products through export promotion and domestic distribution. Directs the Secretary of Agriculture to explore domestic casein production possibilities and report to the House and Senate Agriculture Committees within 90 days after this Act becomes effective. Title II: Wool and Mohair - Amends the National Wool Act of 1954 to extend the wool and mohair price support program through 1985. Title III: Wheat - Provides for loans and purchases of the: (1) 1982 wheat crop at not less than $3.55 per bushel; and (2) 1983-1985 crops at levels adjusted proportionally to the target price of wheat. Stipulates that the Secretary may adjust levels downward by up to ten percent (but not less than $3.00 per bushel) whenever the yearly price for the previous year is not more than 105 percent of the current loan and purchase level. Requires the Secretary to provide producers with the same return they would have received if such loan reductions occur. Authorizes a target price program for the 1982-1985 crops. Makes such payments mandatory if domestic carryover levels exceed one billion bushels. Sets such price for the: (1) 1982 crop at $4.20 per bushel; and (2) 1983-1985 crops at a level based on production costs over a specified time. Authorizes prevented planting and low yield disaster programs for the 1982-1985 crops only if Federal crop insurance was not generally available prior to planting. Requires set-aside and program acreages for such crops to be announced by August 1 of each year. Suspends marketing quotas and producer certificate provisions for such crops. Title IV: Feed Grains - Provides for loans and purchases of: (1) the 1982 corn crop at not less than $2.65 per bushel; and (2) the 1983-1985 crops based on target price adjustments. Stipulates that such levels may be adjusted downward by up to ten percent (but not less than $2.00 per bushel) if the yearly price for the previous year is not more than 105 percent of the current loan and purchase level. Provides for loans and purchases of the 1982-1985 grain sorghum, barley, and rye crops at a level based on the loan level for corn. Bases 1982-1985 oats levels on a weight comparison with other grains. Authorizes target prices for grain sorghum and corn. Makes such prices mandatory if domestic carryover exceeds 1.3 billion bushels. Sets the target price for: (1) the 1982 corn crop at $2.90 per bushel; (2) the 1983-1985 corn crops at a level based on production cost changes; and (3) grain sorghum, oats, and barley at a level based on corn payments. Authorizes disaster payments for the 1982 feed grain crops only if Federal crop insurance was not generally available prior to planting. Requires set-aside and program acreages for the 1982-1985 feed grain crops to be announced by November 1 of each year. Title V: Upland Cotton - Suspends marketing quotas, base acreage allotments, and related provisions for the 1982-1985 upland cotton crops. Provides with regard to such crops that: (1) the minimum loan level shall be $.55 per pound (currently $.48 per pound); (2) the base for the Northern European price quotation used to determine the loan rate shall be middling 1 3/32 inch cotton (currently strict middling 1 1/16 inch); (3) the target price shall be 120 percent of the loan level; (4) disaster payments shall be available in counties without generally available Federal crop insurance; (5) cotton acreage reductions could be required as a condition for program benefits instead of current set-aside authority; and (6) the Secretary shall establish a seed cotton recourse loan program. Extends skiprow provisions through 1985. Bases the preliminary allotment for the 1986 crop on the permanent (as adjusted) 1977 acreage allotment. Title VI: Rice - Repeals acreage allotment and marketing quota provisions effective with the 1982 rice crop. Provides for loans and purchases of the 1982-1985 rice crops at not less than $8.00 per hundredweight. Bases target prices on production costs. Makes disaster payments available only in counties where Federal crop insurance was not generally available prior to planting. Extends: (1) set-asides but authorizes the Secretary to limit acreage as a condition of benefits eligibility; and (2) land diversion programs. Requires the Secretary to report by July 31, 1983, to the Congress on rice futures trading, including the feasibility of using the average seasonal price received by farmers as a basis for computing loan and target prices. Title VII: Peanuts - Suspends annual marketing quotas and acreage allotments for the 1982-1985 peanut crops. Provides that the 1982-1985 New Mexico peanut allotments shall not be reduced below the adjusted 1977 level. Extends acreage allotments and national and farm poundage quotas for the 1982-1985 peanut crops. Modifies such provisions to: (1) set a minimum acreage allotment of 1,614,000 acres; (2) set a minimum national poundage quota of 1,300,000 tons, increased as necessary by the Secretary; and (3) require and set forth formulae for determining individual farm yields, base production poundage, and poundage quotas. States that if the total of all increases in individual farm poundage quotas exceeds ten percent of the national quota the Secretary shall adjust such increases in order not to exceed such percentage. Extends provisions relating to sale, lease, and transfer of acreage allotments. Permits acreage allotments and marketing quotas to be transferred without regard to county boundaries in a State having a peanut acreage of less than 11,000 acres. Eliminates the 50 acre limitation on individual allotment transfers. Extends and modifies marketing penalty and disposition of additional peanut provisions to: (1) direct the Secretary to authorize specified county committees to reduce or waive penalties for unintentional violations; (2) provide that weight errors not exceeding one-tenth of one percent in a marketing document shall not be considered violations; (3) give the area marketing associations primary responsibility for selling additional peanuts under loan when such peanuts are sold at prices not less than the Commodity Credit Corporation's minimum price; (4) change the contract deadline for additional peanuts from June 15 to March 15; and (5) penalize handlers for marketing peanuts in excess of the quantity, grade, or quality of quota levels. Extends through 1985: (1) specified reporting and recordkeeping requirements; and (2) preservation of unused allotments provisions. Provides for loans and purchases of the: (1) 1982 crop at not less than $600 per ton; and (2) 1983-1985 crops at the level of the preceding year, adjusted for production costs. Prohibits marketing associations other than the three area associations selected by the Secretary from receiving storage loans or performing administrative or supervisory activities. Title VIII: Soybeans - Establishes the soybean price support program under the category of "basic agricultural commodity" for the 1982-1985 crop years. Provides for loans and purchases of the 1982-1985 soybean crops at not less than $5.02 per bushel. Authorizes the Secretary to lower such level ten percent each year (but not below $4.50 per bushel) if the previous year's average market price was not in excess of 105 percent of the loan rate for that year. States that soybeans are ineligible for the producer storage reserve program and the production adjustment control program. Title IX: Other Commodities - Establishes the sugar beet and sugar cane, and sunflower seed support programs under the category of "basic agricultural commodity" for the 1982-1985 crop years. Establishes a loan rate for sugar: (1) of 19.6 cents per pound; and (2) for the 1983-1985 crops based on production costs for the two preceding years. Provides for loans and purchases of oil sunflower seeds at not less than $9.00 per hundredweight. Title X: General and Miscellaneous Commodity Provisions - Continues current disaster and nondisaster payment limitations for wheat, feed grains, rice, and upland cotton through 1985. Continues and modifies the producer storage program for wheat and feed grains as follows: (1) provides an entry loan rate for grains at the higher of 110 percent of the loan rate or $3.85 per bushel for wheat and $2.80 per bushel for corn; (2) provides a minimum resale price for Commodity Credit Corporation stocks at 105 percent of the price levels at which the market rate interest rates are invoked; (3) authorizes the Secretary to waive storage charges and interest on support loans, to vary the size of the reserve, and to cancel early-release penalties, halt storage payments, and impose market rate interest under specified circumstances. Extends the special grazing and hay program through 1985. Authorizes the Secretary to: (1) provide for set-asides for the 1982-1985 wheat and feed grain crops as a result of executive export restrictions; (2) reduce accumulated interest charges on Commodity Credit Corporation loans in order to discourage loan defaults; and (3) transfer Department funds in plant or animal disease emergencies. Continues normally planted acreage requirements for the 1982-1985 wheat and feed grain crops (but not for rice and upland cotton) but bases such acreage on the preceding two years. Title XI: National Agricultural Cost of Production Standards Review Board - Establishes the National Agricultural Cost of Production Standards Review Board. Requires the Board to report annually to the House and Senate Agriculture Committees. Authorizes necessary appropriations. Makes the authority provided in this title applicable for the 1982-1985 crop years. Title XII: Export Provisions - Amends the Agricultural Trade Development and Assistance Act of 1954 (Public Law 480) to: (1) extend the program through December 31, 1985; (2) increase the annual ceiling; and (3) include other alcoholic beverages in addition to wine and beer within the authorization for overseas market development. Amends the Food and Agriculture Act of 1977 to require the loan rate to be set at 90 percent of parity for any executive embargo not based on national security, and at a level not less than the average market price during the 15 days preceding the embargo if based solely on national security. Exempts commodities if an embargo would reduce annual export tonnage by less than two percent. Waives interest charges on loans adjusted during an embargo and provides for payment of storage charges to producers. Directs the Secretary to report within six months to the Congress on the potential for increased food use of protein byproducts derived from alcohol fuel production. Expresses the sense of Congress that any agreement by the United States for foreign sales of wheat, corn, soybeans, or feed grains provide for a price of not less than the cost of production. Title XIII: Food Stamp and Commodity Distribution Amendments of 1981 - Food Stamp and Commodity Distribution Amendments of 1981 - Amends the Food Stamp Act of 1977 and the Agriculture and Consumer Protection Act of 1973 to extend such programs through fiscal year 1985. Modifies the food stamp plan to: (1) repeal the October 1-December 31 update of the Thrifty Food Plan based on projected food costs that was scheduled to take place as of January 1 of each year starting in 1982; (2) reduce the gross income eligibility ceiling to 130 percent of the poverty level; (3) repeal increases in dependent care deductions for working adults and medical deductions for the elderly, blind, and disabled scheduled to take effect on October 1, 1981; (4) require retrospective accounting for determining ongoing program eligibility and allotments for all but migrant farm worker households on a nationwide basis by October 1, 1983; (5) require monthly reporting to accompany implementation of retrospective accounting for all households with earned income (except migrant farmworker households) or receiving unemployment compensation or required to register for work or required to file monthly reports for AFDC, but not households in which all members are elderly, blind, or disabled or who reside in States with the lowest error rates; (6) impose an authorization ceiling for fiscal years 1982, 1983, 1984, and 1985 fixed at $10,010,000,000, $10,345,000,000, $10,290,000,000, and $10,480,000,000, respectively; (7) raise the authorization ceiling for fiscal year 1981 to $11,480,000,000 to accommodate program needs; (8) require the Secretary to permit any political subdivision that wishes to do so in return for a 50 percent share of workfare administrative costs and that agrees to comply with the Secretary's guidelines, to administer a workfare program in which non-exempt food stamp recipients must work for the subdivision at the Federal minimum hourly wage rate (or State rate, if higher), payable in the form of food stamps; (9) require parents and children who are living together to be treated as one household unless one parent is 60 years of age or older; (10) eliminate all boarders from participation in the program; (11) eliminate establishments that do only a marginal staple food business, such as bars, gas stations, party stores, and carryout shops, from the program unless they are the only food store in the immediate area; (12) permit Alaska to have a distinct Thrifty Food Plan for its rural areas; (13) reduce the adjustment of the standard deduction and the dependent care/excess shelter deduction cap by deleting reliance upon the homeownership component in the housing costs of the Consumer Price Index; (14) deny deductions for any expenses paid on a household's behalf by a third party and require the income and resources (over a floor) of sponsors of certain aliens to be deemed available to those aliens in order to determine the aliens' eligibility and benefits; (15) give the Secretary flexibility to alter the complex accounting standards for ascertaining the value of licensed vehicles; (16) extend disqualification from the program after hearing (a) from fraud to the making of false or misleading statements or misrepresentations or concealing or withholding facts, (b) expand the use of allotment reduction to recover non-fraud overissuance arising from agency error, and (c) permit States to retain 50 percent of all misrepresentation claims collected; (17) (a) extend program disqualification for voluntarily quitting a job to current program participants, (b) extend sanctions for noncompliance with the food stamp work registration requirement to food stamp participants who fail to satisfy an AFDC-WIN or unemployment compensation work requirement, and (c) make work registration an annual requirement; (18) disqualify strikers and the households to which they belong from participating in the food stamp program (unless they were eligible to participate prior to the strike); (19) make States strictly liable for issuance losses and provide liability for negligent failures in certain other areas of State agency administrative responsibility; (20) prevent households that apply to participate in the program and are declared to be eligible from receiving any stamps for that part of the month prior to the date on which they filed their application; (21) end the 60-day transfer provision permitting benefits to follow a household moving from one political subdivision to another in an uninterrupted fashion; (22) terminate the basic mandate to perform outreach; (23) allow States flexibility to provide households with a notice of expiration of their certification periods up to 30 days before the start of the last month of a six month or longer certification period; (24) limit provision for expedited food stamp benefits within three working days of application to applicant households with $150 or less in gross income a month and liquid assets of $100 or less and to applicant households whose only income for ten days after filing an application is $25 or less from a new source of income and who also meet the $100 liquid assets test; (25) end the Department's liability to restore food stamps to households that have wrongfully been denied them or terminated from the program if the benefits were lost more than one year prior to a household's request for restoration; (26) require the State agency to request and utilize for certification purposes household members' wage and benefit information available from the Social Security Administration and State unemployment compensation agencies; (27) require the Secretary to allow political subdivisions to use certified mail in issuing food stamps to reduce mail theft and loss; (28) clarify the Secretary's authority to determine the amount of and settle or adjust any claim, including claims filed against State agencies for issuance losses; (29) end the imposition of staffing standards upon the States; (30) require States to meet the Secretary's standard for improper denials and terminations in order to receive 55 percent Federal funding of administrative costs and further require all States with error rates over five percent to develop corrective action plans; (31) mandate obtaining a household's Social Security number as a prerequisite to participation; (32) extend pilot cash-out projects for four years at State option and expand possible cash-outs to include AFDC families; (33) provide contract and grant authority to develop means for continuous nutritional monitoring of high-risk populations; (34) require certain studies of various accounting and reporting methods; (35) provide penalties for the fraudulent misuse of commodities; (36) provide authority for pilot projects using the commodity supplemental feeding program for low-income elderly persons; and (37) prevent current Supplemental Security Income cash-out States from reverting to food stamps. Title XIV: National Agricultural Research, Extension, and Teaching Policy Act Amendments of 1981 - National Agricultural Research, Extension, and Teaching Policy Act Amendments of 1981 - Amends the National Agricultural Research, Extension, and Teaching Policy Act of 1977 to revise the Congressional findings and purposes of such Act to give greater emphasis to the role of State agricultural extension services in research and teaching in the food and agricultural sciences. Extends from five to eight years the term of the Joint Council on Food and Agricultural Sciences. Increases membership to at least 25 persons. Establishes three-year, staggered terms for such members. Extends from five to eight years the term of the National Agricultural Research and Extension Users Advisory Board. Increases membership from 21 to 25 persons. Establishes staggered terms for such members. Changes the due dates of the Board's: (1) annual recommendations to the Secretary from October 31 to July 1; and (2) appraisal of the President's budget from March 1 to February 20. Specifies as part of the staff of six full-time professionals assisting the Joint Council and the Users Advisory Board: (1) an executive secretary for each entity; and (2) an executive director to serve both. Authorizes the Secretary to establish cooperative human nutrition centers to focus on high-priority nutrition problems. Changes the due date of the Secretary's annual agricultural research report from February 1 to January 1. States that the Department of Agriculture should establish working relationships with foreign information and data systems as part of the policy of Congress. Provides for the appointment of an Assistant Secretary of Agriculture to carry out agricultural research, extension, and teaching. Authorizes specified appropriations through fiscal year 1985 for competitive agricultural research grants. Makes land grant college research foundations and veterinary colleges eligible for special grants. Changes the emphasis of facilities grants from purchasing equipment, land, and supplies to renovating existing buildings and limited new construction. Makes forestry schools and 1890 land grant colleges eligible for such grants. Authorizes specified appropriations for research facilities grants for fiscal years 1982-1985. Revises guidelines for higher education food and agricultural sciences grants. Transfers functions of the Secretary of Education under the Bankhead-Jones Act and the Morrill Act to the Secretary. Authorizes specified appropriations for fiscal years 1982-1985. Extends the research grant program in alcohol fuels and industrial hydrocarbons through fiscal year 1985. Limits the total amount institutions in any one State may receive to $5,000,000. Changes the due date of the assessment of the value and costs of food and human nutrition research centers. Requires the Secretaries of Health and Human Services and of Agriculture to jointly formulate such report. Extends limited authorizations of appropriations ($25,000,000 annually) through fiscal year 1985 for animal health and disease research. Increases and extends through fiscal year 1985 the annual limit on authorizations of appropriations for national and regional animal health and disease research. Limits the duration of such grants to five years. Directs the Secretary to establish priority lists annually for such grants. Sets forth guidelines for such determinations. Extends and increases funding for 1890 land grant colleges (including Tuskegee Institute) through fiscal year 1982. Permits administrative funds to be used for transportation to research meetings of scientists who are not Federal employees. Establishes a dairy goat research program. Authorizes appropriations for fiscal years 1982-1985. Authorizes the Secretary to provide technical assistance (on a reimbursable basis) to U.S. institutions involved in international agricultural research and extension. Authorizes specified appropriations for fiscal years 1982-1985 for: (1) existing agricultural programs; (2) State agricultural experiment stations; and (3) extension education. Requires at least 25 percent of research and grant funds to be appropriated for Hatch Act State experiment stations beginning with fiscal year 1984. Provides that funds made available by the Secretary under specified Acts shall not be subject to reduction for indirect costs incurred by the recipient. Authorizes the Secretary to: (1) establish an aquaculture research and extension program; (2) make grants to colleges and universities, Federal laboratories, and experiment stations; and (3) assist States (up to $50,000) in formulating aquaculture development plans. Directs the Secretary to: (1) report annually to the President and to the House and Senate Committees on Agriculture and Appropriations; and (2) establish an Aquaculture Advisory Board. Authorizes specified appropriations through fiscal year 1985. Authorizes the Secretary to: (1) establish a rangeland research program on a matching grant basis; and (2) make grants to colleges and universities, Federal laboratories, and experiment stations. Directs the Secretary to: (1) report annually to the President and to the House and Senate Committees on Agriculture and Appropriations; and (2) establish a Rangeland Advisory Board. Authorizes appropriations not to exceed $10,000,000 annually for fiscal years 1982-1985. Amends the McIntire-Stennis Act of 1962 to direct the Secretary to appoint an advisory forestry council. Amends the Federal Property and Administrative Services Act of 1949 to permit the Secretary to furnish excess Federal property to State or county extension services, 1890 land grant colleges, and State experiment stations. Makes the provisions of this title effective as of October 1, 1981. Title XV: Credit, Rural Development, and Family Farms - Amends the Consolidated Farm and Rural Development Act to permit cooperatives to receive Farmers Home Administration (FHA) loans if unable to otherwise get credit. Removes the five percent interest ceiling on FHA water and waste disposal and essential community facility loans. Directs the Secretary to set such rates, but not in excess of current market yields of comparable municipal obligations. Limits such rates to a maximum of five percent in low income areas. Provides: (1) for a two percent interest penalty on specified loans for nonfarm construction on prime farmland if optional sites are available; and (2) that interest rates on operating and ownership loans to limited resource borrowers shall be determined by the Secretary, but not at less than five percent nor more than one-half the average market value of comparable municipal obligations (currently a five percent ceiling). States that the above loan provisions shall apply as of fiscal year 1982. Amends the Emergency Agricultural Credit Adjustment Act of 1978 to extend the FHA economic emergency loan program through fiscal year 1982. Amends the Commodity Credit Corporation Charter Act regarding farm storage facility loans to: (1) extend such program through fiscal year 1985; (2) make the duration of such loans between eight and ten years; (3) base facility size on the space required to store two years' production; (4) make such loans in amounts not less than 80 percent of total construction costs, not to exceed $100,000; (5) set interest rates equal to the interest charged to the Commodity Credit Corporation by the Treasury plus up to one percent; and (6) provide that the loans shall be deducted from the proceeds of price support loans on purchase agreements. Amends the Rural Electrification Act of 1936 to: (1) extend for ten years and increase the annual authorization of appropriations for U.S. class A stock purchases of the Rural Telephone Bank; (2) change the date for retiring stock previously purchased by the United States from September 30, 1985 until September 30, 1995; (3) require that loans guaranteed by the Rural Electrification Administration (REA) be made by the Federal Financing Bank upon borrower request; and (4) remove the special two percent insured loan interest rate to electric and telephone borrowers, but permit interest rates on such loans of between two and five percent in situations of financial hardship or inability to provide service without utility rate increases. Amends the Food and Agriculture Act of 1977 to require the Secretary to include in his annual report to Congress an assessment of how Federal tax, credit, and other laws affect the growth of nonfamily farm operations. Title XVI: Conservation - Directs the Secretary to establish a program to provide increased financial and technical assistance to landowners and operators in the most seriously eroding areas of the country, as designated by the Secretary. Requires a participant to furnish a plan which: (1) incorporates erosion conservation measures; (2) includes a schedule for carrying out such measures; (3) considers local conditions; (4) allows for varying levels of application as appropriate; (5) may include wildlife and recreation enhancement; and (6) is to be developed in cooperation with, and approved by, the local soil and water conservation district. Requires: (1) a participant to forfeit further payments and reimburse the United States for payments received upon violation of the agreement; and (2) the Secretary to share the cost of such conservation measures. Authorizes the Secretary to enter into contracts to maintain already established conservation measures. Sets forth guidelines for special area determinations. Authorizes such designations for ten-year periods. Limits to a term of ten years any contract entered into during the ten years following such a designation. Requires approval by the House and Senate Agriculture Committees of all project areas designated by the Secretary. Authorizes the Secretary to provide grants to any State having lands within a designated special area to evaluate the impact of State and local tax structures on conservation measures. Authorizes necessary appropriations. Requires the Secretary to submit an evaluation to Congress by January 1, 1986, and at five-year intervals thereafter. Directs the Secretary to establish a matching grant program with local governmental units through State soil conservation agencies. Requires local participants to: (1) have a long-range program in effect; (2) have an annual work plan consistent with such program in effect; and (3) have matching fund sources available. Authorizes necessary appropriations through fiscal year 1991. Requires the Secretary to report to the House and Senate Agriculture Committees by January 1, 1986, and again by January 1, 1991. States that such grants shall be made to augment rather than replace other Department of Agriculture technical and financial assistance programs. Amends the Commodity Credit Corporation Charter Act to direct the Corporation, beginning with fiscal year 1982, to make loans for natural resource conservation and environmental specified county and State conservation committees as part of an overall local plan. Provides with regard to such loans that: (1) loan duration shall not exceed ten years, with interest rates based upon interest charged to the Corporation by the Treasury; (2) annual loans to an individual shall not exceed $25,000; and (3) loans over $10,000 must be secured. Directs the Secretary to establish a volunteer program for conservation work without regard to Civil Service requirements. Deems such volunteers to be Federal employees for purposes of injury and tort compensation. Authorizes necessary appropriations. Authorizes the Secretary to establish a program to test the feasibility of reducing excessive reservoir sedimentation in areas having watershed soil erosion problems. Requires approval by the House and Senate Agriculture Committees before implementing any program. Authorizes necessary appropriations for fiscal years 1983-1987. Requires the Secretary to report to Congress by January 1, 1987. Authorizes the Secretary to empower soil and water district boards to disapprove producers' designation of land under any set-aside or diversion program if such lands will make a less than average contribution to soil conservation compared with other lands that could have been so designated. Authorizes the Secretary to provide financial assistance to owners and operators in certain cold climates who remove land from production for up to one year in order to install conservation measures involving excavation. Requires approval of local soil and water conservation boards. Prohibits such assistance in any one year of more than one-half of one percent of a county's cropland. Authorizes necessary appropriations. Reaffirms the importance of agriculture and encourages the Secretary to cooperate with other Federal agencies in developing policies that recognize the importance of limiting agricultural conversions. Directs the Secretary and the Director of the Office of Management and Budget to report to Congress within one year of enactment of this Act concerning the retention of productive agricultural lands. Encourages the Secretary to provide related information to State, local and nonprofit entities. Directs the Secretary to develop agricultural land resource information. Declares that rural areas are facing resource utilization, economic, and social problems. Directs the Secretary to establish a resource conservation and development program of technical and financial assistance to States, local governmental units, and nonprofit organizations for rural planning. Sets forth the terms of such agreements. Authorizes necessary appropriations. Requires the Secretary to report to Congress by December 31, 1986. Directs the Secretary to establish a Resource Conservation and Development Policy Board. Makes the provisions of this title effective as of October 1, 1981.
United States · United States Congress · 14 May 1981
Amends the Voting Rights Act of 1965 to require all presidential polling places to close no later than eleven o'clock p.m. eastern standard time on election day. Establishes penalties for early release of such election results by any election official or other person having election-related responsibilities.
United States · United States Congress · 13 May 1981
Amends the Shipping Act, 1916, to prohibit any person or organization from entering, or coercing another to enter, into an agreement that requires a common carrier by water or other person subject to such Act not to do business with persons who load, unload, or prepare containers for shipment at locations away from shipping piers or docks.
United States · United States Congress · 7 May 1981
Amends the Federal Aviation Act of 1958 to authorize the Secretary of Transportation to: (1) temporarily suspend the airman certificate of anyone indicted for a violation of the Controlled Substances Import and Export Act if operation of an aircraft is an element of the offense charged; and (2) revoke the airman certificate of anyone convicted of a violation of such Act if operation of an aircraft is an element of the offense for which the holder was convicted. Sets forth criminal penalties for the use or sale of fraudulent certificates with the intent or knowledge that such certificates will be used in connection with a violation of the Controlled Substances Import and Export Act. Provides criminal penalties for any person who: (1) while navigating an aircraft, knowingly and willfully violates such Act; and (2) is the owner of an aircraft and knowingly allows any person to use such aircraft in violation of such Act. Requires that such penalties shall be in addition to, and not in lieu of, any other penalty imposed under such Act.
United States · United States Congress · 6 May 1981
Amends the Investment Company Act of 1940 to permit a bank, a bank holding company or a subsidiary thereof, or a savings and loan association to: (1) organize, sponsor, operate, or render investment advice to an investment company; or (2) underwrite, distribute, sell, or issue securities of any such investment company which is organized, sponsored, operated, controlled, or so advised by a bank, a bank holding company or a subsidiary thereof, or a savings and loan association. Requires officers and employees of banks or savings and loan associations who sell such securities to meet such standards with respect to training, experience, and sales practices as the Comptroller of the Currency and the Federal Home Loan Bank Board shall prescribe.
United States · United States Congress · 5 May 1981
Amends the Internal Revenue Code to provide that if an estate has met the ownership and material participation requirements for the special estate tax valuation for farms and other real property based on use and the property is involuntarily converted within five years before decedent's death, such requirements shall be treated as fulfilled as to any qualified replacement property.
United States · United States Congress · 5 May 1981
Congressional Campaign Financing Act of 1981 - Amends the Federal Election Campaign Act of 1971 to place limits and reporting requirements on Congressional primary and general election expenditures for candidates receiving public financing. Sets forth penalty provisions for knowing violations of such requirements. Amends the Internal Revenue Code to add a new chapter, the Congressional Election Campaign Fund Act. Entitles to campaign payments Congressional candidates who agree to certain reporting and recordkeeping procedures and certify that: (1) they and their authorized committees will not incur campaign expenses in excess of certain limitations; and (2) they have received contributions in excess of a specified sum. Sets the amount of payments to an eligible candidate at the amount of contributions received up to a specified maximum. Stipulates that sums given by any one contributor totalling over $100 shall be disregarded for purposes of matching grants. Restricts use of funds forwarded under this Act to defraying campaign expenses either directly or through repayment of campaign loans. Directs the Secretary of the Treasury to establish a separate Congressional Election Payment Account in the Presidential Election Campaign Fund and to deposit certain sums in such account in accordance with specified guidelines. Requires repayment by a candidate of excess payments and unexpended payments. Establishes criminal penalties for use of funds for other than campaign purposes. Authorizes the Federal Election Commission to institute repayment actions in district courts. Specifies the administrative authority of the Commission in carrying out this Act. Directs the Commission to: (1) conduct an audit of the qualified campaign expenses of every candidate who receives matching payments; and (2) report to Congress with respect to such expenses and payments, such report to be made readily available to the public.
United States · United States Congress · 1 May 1981
National Automotive Research Act of 1981 - Amends the National Aeronautics and Space Act of 1958 to require the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) to plan, direct, and conduct automotive research and technology development activities, utilizing to the extent possible the capabilities of other Government laboratories, private industry, and institutions of higher learning. Gives contract or grant priorities to American industrial concerns with production activities in the United States. Requires NASA to establish and implement a program to solicit and evaluate ideas from inventors and to stimulate the further development of specified ideas. Transfers to NASA within two years of enactment all automotive research and technology development activities currently being conducted by other Federal departments and agencies and as many of the positions, personnel, property, and funds of such departments and agencies as the Administrator of NASA shall recommend. Authorizes and directs the Administrator to prepare a comprehensive management program for the conduct of research and technology development activities under this Act, including a progress report on the transfer to NASA of the automotive research and development activities of other departments and agencies. Requires the Administrator to transmit such program to the appropriate committees of Congress. Requires the Administrator to detail modifications in such program in the annual budget submission. Authorizes specified amounts through fiscal year 1982 and amounts to be set in annual authorization Acts for subsequent fiscal years to carry out this Act.
United States · United States Congress · 30 April 1981
Amends the Internal Revenue Code to exclude from gross income unemployment compensation payments (otherwise includible under the Revenue Act of 1978) which were made in 1979 after legal challenges to a 1973 work stoppage failed.
United States · United States Congress · 30 April 1981
Noninstitutional Long-Term Care Services for the Elderly and Disabled Act - Amends the Social Security Act by adding a new title, title XXI (Noninstitutional Acute and Long-Term Care Services for the Elderly and the Disabled), to provide a comprehensive system of noninstitutional health, developmental, and social services for individuals with chronic disabilities. Entitles an eligible individual to the following benefits: (1) home health services; (2) homemaker-home health aide services; (3) adult day services; (4) respite care services for up to 14 days, or 336 hours, in any year; (5) service coordination; (6) home help services; and (7) other services, provided on a demonstration basis, which the Secretary of Health and Human Services determines may be of value. Sets forth definitions of such benefits. Provides benefits to every individual who: (1) has attained age 65; (2) is disabled and eligible for benefits under titles II (Old-Age, Survivors and Disability Insurance), XVI (Supplemental Security Income), XVIII (Medicare), and XIX (Medicaid) of the Act; (3) was eligible for such benefits and ceased to be so eligible, but only if loss of benefits would seriously jeopardize such individual's ability to continue to live in a noninstitutional community residence and such individual's income is not sufficient to allow such individual to provide a reasonable equivalent of the services available under this Act; or (4) has been certified as eligible by the Secretary of Health and Human Services. States that no eligible individual shall be eligible to receive any benefits under title XXI or any long-term care benefits under titles XVIII, XIX, or XX (Grants to States for Services) of the Act unless such individual has a plan of care, as specified in this Act, and has been screened and assessed by a preadmission assessment and screening team (PAT) in order to determine the types and frequency of services required by such individual and in order to assure the maximum level of independence for such individual. Requires the Governor of each State to designate the State agency or agencies which shall administer or supervise the administration of the States' PAT program. Directs such agency or agencies to designate the PAT. Directs the Secretary to reimburse any PAT, and any State, for the reasonable costs incurred under this Act. Requires beneficiaries under title XXI to make copayments. Sets limits based on income for such copayments. Exempts those below the poverty line from copayments. Directs the Secretary to pay amounts for benefits incurred by an eligible individual in accordance with specified guidelines. Creates the Federal Long-Term Care Trust Fund into which specified funds will be deposited in order to make the payments required by this Act. Coordinates the provisions of this Act with titles XVIII, XIX, and XX of the Act by providing that no payment shall be made under such titles to or on behalf of an individual who is eligible under title XXI for services available under title XXI, unless the individual seeking coverage first undergoes a preadmission screening and assessment as provided in title XXI. States that this Act shall be effective between January 1, 1982, and December 31, 1987. Directs the Secretary to monitor the effects of this Act and report to Congress. Directs the Comptroller General to conduct an ongoing evaluation of the effects of this Act and to report to Congress.
United States · United States Congress · 28 April 1981
Amends title II (Old Age, Survivors and Disability Insurance) of the Social Security Act to prohibit the payment of title II benefits to an incarcerated felon during any month of confinement. Treats the benefits withheld as having been paid to the felon for purposes of the payment of benefits to other persons so entitled on the basis of the wages and self-employment income of the felon.
United States · United States Congress · 27 April 1981
Coastal Barrier Resources Act - Declares the findings and intentions of Congress in regard to the fish, wildlife, and other natural resources associated with the coastal barriers along the Atlantic and gulf coasts of the United States. Establishes the Coastal Barrier Resources System (System) which shall consist of specified undeveloped coastal barriers on the Atlantic and gulf coasts. Requires that certain coastal barrier maps shall be available for public inspection through the United States Fish and Wildlife Service. Directs the Secretary of the Interior to provide copies of such maps to the chief executive officer of: (1) each State and political subdivision in which a System unit is located; and (2) each affected Federal agency. Directs the Secretary to make necessary modifications to such maps and to notify specified Congressional committees of same. Limits, to specified projects, Federal expenditures on or financial assistance for purposes within the System. Lists those projects eligible for financial assistance. Requires the Director of the Office of Management and Budget to certify annually to Congress that the Federal agencies concerned have complied with the provisions of this Act. Sets forth the contents of reports to be filed by the Secretary with specified Congressional committees. Authorizes appropriations to the Department of the Interior for fiscal years 1982 through 1986 for the purposes of this Act.
United States · United States Congress · 27 April 1981
Taxpayer Protection and Reimbursement Act - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to permit reasonable court costs, including attorneys' fees, to be awarded to the prevailing party (other than the United States or a creditor of the prevailing party) in any civil action in any court of the United States for the determination, collection, or refund of any tax, interest, or penalty imposed under the Internal Revenue Code. Limits the amount of such award to $20,000 for any one civil action. Includes within the definition of "attorney's fees" amounts paid to an individual who is not an attorney but who is authorized to practice before the Tax Court. Defines "prevailing party" as a party who: (1) establishes that the position of the United States in the civil action was unreasonable; and (2) substantially prevails with respect to the amount in controversy or the most significant issue or set of issues. Disallows costs for certain civil actions involving declaratory judgments.
United States · United States Congress · 27 April 1981
Expresses the disapproval of Congress of the proposed sale to Saudi Arabia of five airborne warning and control aircraft (AWACS) and conformal fuel tanks and air-to-air missiles for F-15 aircraft.
United States · United States Congress · 10 April 1981
Directs the Secretary of Education to make grants to State educational agencies to fund model programs, designed and operated by local educational agencies, for the improvement and expansion of foreign language study for children aged five through 17 who reside within their school districts. Sets forth formulas for determining the amount of such grants based on State population. Sets forth provisions relating to the availability of such funds. Sets forth grant application requirements for State educational agencies. Directs the Secretary to make grants to institutions of higher education to cover part of the costs of foreign language instruction for their students. Sets forth formulas to determine whether an institution is eligible for such grants, based on the percentage of its student body enrolled in qualified postsecondary language courses. Authorizes the Secretary to establish standards, including reporting requirements, for programs assisted by such grants. Sets forth formulas for determining the amounts of such grants, based on numbers of students enrolled in such courses. Directs the Secretary to make grants to each institution of higher education which requires at least two years of postsecondary credits in foreign language (or a competency equivalent) for each graduating student. Sets forth formulas for determining the amounts of such grants, based on the number of students enrolled in the institution. Prohibits any grant or contract under this Act except to such extent, or in such amounts, as may be provided in appropriation Acts. Authorizes appropriations for fiscal years 1983 through 1985 to carry out grant programs under this Act.
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