United States · United States Congress · 6 January 1977
Redefines "juvenile delinquency" for purposes of Federal court proceedings and subsequent treatment as (1) the commission of a Federal felony by an individual who has not attained 15 years of age or (2) the commission of any other Federal crime by an individual who has not attained 18 years of age. Directs the State to treat as adult offenders all persons who have attained 15 years of age and have committed a violation of State law for which imprisonment over one year may be imposed.
United States · United States Congress · 6 January 1977
World War I Pension Act - Requires the Administrator of Veterans' Affairs to pay (in addition to any already paid) a monthly pension of $150 to each veteran of World War I who meets specified service requirements, or to the surviving spouse of each such veteran, or when there is no surviving spouse, to the child or children of each such veteran.
United States · United States Congress · 6 January 1977
Declares it the duty of appropriate Federal, State, local, and territorial authorities to take and keep on record for two years following confinement the fingerprints of each individual convicted or adjudicated under laws permitting partially or wholly noncriminal treatment due to the age of the offender, for the commission of any act which would be treated as a criminal offense if committed by an older person. Stipulates that no information regarding the record of a person charged with a criminal offense against the laws of the United States, a State, the District of Columbia, or any territory or possession of the United States shall be withheld from any court trying such person on the grounds that such information related to juvenile proceedings if such proceedings related to an act which would have been a criminal offense if such person had been an adult.
United States · United States Congress · 4 January 1977
Authorizes the United States Commissioner of Education to award a scholarship for full-time undergraduate study to any child who was a dependent of a public safety officer killed in the performance of duty and who has been accepted for enrollment or is enrolled in an institution of higher education. Sets forth guidelines relative to the amount and duration of such scholarships. Authorizes the Commissioner to enter into agreements with institutions of higher education to facilitate the administration of the scholarship program.
United States · United States Congress · 4 January 1977
Comprehensive Oil Pollution Liability and Compensation Act - Title I: Domestic Oil Pollution Liability, Compensation, and Fund - Establishes in the Treasury of the United States a fund for the purpose of paying for otherwise uncompensated losses resulting from oil pollution. Enumerates the sources of monies to be deposited in such fund, including a fee, not to exceed three cents per barrel of oil, imposed upon owners of facilities receiving oil. Authorizes the Secretary of Transportation to issue obligations to the Secretary of the Treasury at times when fund assets are insufficient to meet fund liabilities. Lists the types of injuries which may be compensated under this Act and the potential claimants who have standing to assert claims involving each such type of damage. Imposes joint, several, and strict liability on the owners and operators of each pollution source. Specifies liability limits, except in cases of gross negligence or willful misconduct, for ships and other vessels. Directs the Secretary of Transportation to establish limits on the liability of classes of facilities used for transporting, producing, processing, storing, or transferring oil. Requires the owner or operator: (1) of any such facility; or (2) of any ship which uses such facility or navigable waters of the United States, to establish and maintain evidence of financial responsibility in an amount sufficient to satisfy applicable liability limits. Directs the person in charge of a vessel or facility to immediately notify the Secretary of Transportation of any pollution incident in which the vessel or facility is involved. Specifies procedures whereby the Secretary may, in the absence of such an admission, designate and advertise pollution sources. Directs the Secretary, in instances in which: (1) the owner and operator of a vessel or facility designated by the Secretary deny such vessel's or facility's involvement; (2) the source of the discharge is a public vessel; or (3) the Secretary is unable to designate the pollution source, to advertise procedures for presenting claims directly to the fund. Requires all other claims, with limited exceptions, to be initially presented to the owner or operator, or to such persons' guarantor. Permits claimants to either present a claim to the fund or to bring an action in an appropriate United States district court when an owner or operator and a guarantor deny liability or fail to settle the claim within a specified period. Sets forth procedures for the disposition and appeal of claims submitted to the fund. Requires both the plaintiff and the defendant in a court action brought against an owner, operator, or guarantor to forward copies of all pleadings to the fund. Permits the fund to intervene in such actions. Subrogates any person or governmental entity, including the fund, paying compensation to all the claimant's claims and rights under this Act. Specifies procedures for and the measure of recovery in actions brought by the fund against owners, operators, or guarantors of alleged pollution sources. Declares that the rights and remedies under this Act shall be exclusive with respect to economic loss caused by oil pollution. Sets penalties for persons failing to comply with specified provisions in this Act. Title II: Effective Dates; Conforming Amendments; Severability - Specifies the effective date of this Act. Amends specified laws, including the Deepwater Port Act of 1974 and the Federal Water Pollution Control Act, to conform with the provisions of this Act.
United States · United States Congress · 4 January 1977
Prohibits the Nuclear Regulatory Commission from licensing and the Energy Research and Development Administration from engaging in or allowing any export of nuclear fuel or technology to any country which is not a party to a nuclear nonproliferation treaty and which develops any nuclear enrichment or reprocessing plant without concluding an agreement with the International Atomic Energy Agency or Euratom against diversion to a country not a party to a nuclear nonproliferation treaty, unless the President waives such prohibition in the interests of national security and so reports to Congress 90 days prior to such licensing or authorization.
United States · United States Congress · 4 January 1977
Amends Title II (Old-Age, Survivors, and Disability Insurance) to remove the limitation on the amount of outside income which an individual may earn while receiving benefits.
United States · United States Congress · 4 January 1977
Equal Employment of the Handicapped Act - Title I: Equal Employment Opportunity for the Handicapped - Amends the Civil Rights Act of 1964 to include as an unlawful employment practice discrimination on the basis of handicap. Title II: Amendments to the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 - Amends the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 to include disabled persons on the Interagency Committee on Handicapped Employees. Sets forth procedures through which handicapped individuals who believe that they have been subjected to employment discrimination by a Federal agency, who believe that a Federal contractor has failed to comply with its obligation to take affirmative action to employ qualified handicapped individuals, or who believe that they have been subjected to discrimination under any program receiving Federal financial assistance may file complaints with the Civil Service Commission, the Secretary of Labor, or the Secretary of Health, Education and Welfare, respectively, and have such complaints heard by ad hoc arbitration panels. Requires that a contractor have in effect a program to take affirmative action to employ handicapped persons in order to be eligible for Federal contracts in excess of $2,500. Title III: Employment Placement Services for the Handicapped - Directs State agencies which are responsible for the administration of State laws for vocational rehabilitation of physically handicapped persons to provide assistance to handicapped individuals seeking employment through certain State employment agencies.
United States · United States Congress · 4 January 1977
Authorizes the Secretary of the department in which the Coast Guard is operating to provide transportation by motor vehicle or water carrier to and from places of employment for persons employed in, or attached to, the Coast Guard under specified circumstances.
United States · United States Congress · 4 January 1977
Amends the Intervention on the High Seas Act to redefine terms and establish procedures in a manner consistent with the Protocol Relating to Intervention on the High Seas in Cases of Pollution by Substances Other Than Oil, 1973. Places the burden of proof on the United States to establish that the substance reasonably could have posed a grave and imminent danger at the time of the intervention in actions brought against the United States for use of excessive measures during the course of an intervention.
United States · United States Congress · 4 January 1977
International Navigational Rules Act - Authorizes the President to proclaim the International Regulations for Preventing Collisions at Sea. Exempts from the regulation vessels in harbors, rivers, and inland waters, the Great Lakes, or the Red River. Authorizes the Secretary of the department in which the Coast Guard is operating to promulgate regulations to implement this Act. Authorizes the Secretary of the Navy and the Secretary of the department in which the Coast Guard is operating to promulgate rules for certain navigational signals. Imposes civil penalties for violation of such regulations.
United States · United States Congress · 4 January 1977
Amends the Ports and Waterways Safety Act of 1972 to authorize the Secretary of the department in which the Coast Guard is operating to make grants of up to $3,000,000 per fiscal year to port authorities, for the purpose of protecting such port, vessels within such port, and adjacent land structures or shore areas from any navigational connected casualty. Directs the Secretary to conduct a study regarding the means by which port authorities provide protection against navigational connected casualties and to transmit to the Congress a report of such study. Authorizes appropriations in such amounts per fiscal year as may be necessary to carry out the provision of this Act except that no more than $1,000,000 is authorized to conduct the study required by this Act.
United States · United States Congress · 4 January 1977
Amends the Federal Boat Safety Act of 1971 to authorize the President to proclaim annually one week as "National Safe Boating Week". Repeals the Act, which placed "National Safe Boating Week" during the first week of July.
United States · United States Congress · 4 January 1977
Amends the Omnibus Crime Control and Safe Streets Act of 1968 to condition certain assistance to States, local governments, and agencies thereunder on the adoption of a law enforcement officers' bill of rights to include as a minimum the following: (1) allowing off-duty officers' to engage in political activities; (2) granting officers specified procedural rights in connection with investigations of their conduct on duty which may lead to a personnel action; (3) requiring officer representation on any police complaint review board established in the jurisdiction; (4) prohibiting mandatory disclosure of officers' finances; and (5) establishing a law enforcement officers' grievance commission in the jurisdiction to determine officer grievances.
United States · United States Congress · 4 January 1977
Amends Part A of title IV (Aid to Families with Dependent Children) of the Social Security Act to eliminate the ten percent limitation on the proportion of the total number of recipients of aid to families with dependent children in any State who may receive such aid in the form of restricted or protective payments.
United States · United States Congress · 4 January 1977
Amends the Internal Revenue Code to allow a deduction to individuals who rent their principal residences for a portion of the real property taxes paid or accrued by their landlord.
United States · United States Congress · 4 January 1977
Tonnage Measurement Simplification Act - Transfers from the Secretary of the Treasury to the Secretary of the department in which the Coast Guard is operating, responsibility for measuring vessels by tonnage before such vessel may be documented. Requires that a vessel be measured if it engages in international voyage by sea, or it is at least 24 meters in length and is self-propelled. Stipulates that a vessel not required to be measured by this Act may be measured if requested by the owner. Specifies instances in which remeasurement shall be required. Stipulates that a vessel measured prior to the effective date of this Act shall be considered as having been measured as required by this Act.
United States · United States Congress · 4 January 1977
School Safety Act - Amends the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 to provide financial assistance to aid local educational agencies in meeting special needs incident to providing security for children, employees, and facilities in elementary and secondary schools by reducing and preventing crimes against them and to assure that crimes committed in schools are reported to local law enforcement agencies. Authorizes the appropriation of such sums as are necessary to carry out the provisions of this Act. States that local educational agencies may receive grants under this Act only upon the determination of the Commissioner of Education that the local agency has adopted and is implementing a plan to reduce crime and increase the safety and security of the students, employees, and facilities of its schools. Sets forth specified measures to be included in such a plan, including: (1) the provision of additional staff members; (2) planning and evaluation activities; and (3) minor alterations of school plants and facilities.
United States · United States Congress · 4 January 1977
Amends the Omnibus Crime Control and Safe Streets Act of 1968 to authorize the Law Enforcement Assistance Administration to provide monetary assistance to eligible local governments for the purpose of retaining or reattaining employment levels of essential law enforcement and criminal justice employees. Defines an eligible local government as one in which: (1) the number of essential law enforcement and criminal justice personnel who have been or who, but for the assistance extended in this Act, would have to be released for budgetary reasons exceeds five percent of such jurisdiction's total law enforcement and criminal justice work force; and (2) reported crime equals or exceeds the national average.
United States · United States Congress · 4 January 1977
Amends Title II (Old-Age, Survivors, and Disability Insurance) of the Social Security Act to decrease from 60 to 45 the entitlement age for otherwise qualified women to receive widow's insurance benefits.
United States · United States Congress · 4 January 1977
Vessel Documentation Act - Requires the Secretary of the department in which the Coast Guard is operating to designate ports of documentation in the United States where vessels may be documented. Describes the vessels which shall be eligible for documentation. Stipulates that eligibility shall be based upon weight (minimum of five tons) and ownership by a citizen of the United States, or the Government of the United States or a political subdivision thereof. Authorizes the Secretary to prescribe the form of filing, the manner of filing, and the information to be contained in applications for certificates of documentation. Requires the Secretary to maintain a numbering system for the identification of documented vessels. Stipulates that a certificate of documentation issued under this Act is: (1) conclusive evidence of nationality for international purposes, but not in any proceeding conducted under the laws of the United States; (2) evidence of qualification to be employed in a specified trade; and (3) not conclusive evidence of ownership in any proceeding in which ownership is in issue. Authorizes the issuance of a registry for any vessel which is eligible for documentation. Allows the issuance of a coastwise license or an appropriately endorsed registry for any vessel which: (1) is eligible for documentation; (2) was built in the United States; and (3) qualifies under laws of the United States to be employed in the coastwise trade. Stipulates that vessels receiving such a license may be employed in coastwise trade and the fisheries. Establishes similar requirements for the issuance of Great Lakes licenses, fishery licenses, and pleasure vessel licenses. Prohibits the employment of a documented vessel in any trade other than a trade covered by the certificate of documentation. Stipulates that whenever the owner of a vessel knowingly falsifies or conceals a material fact, or makes a false representation in connection with the documentation of a vessel under this Act, in addition to any other penalty provided by law, that vessel, together with its equipment, is liable to seizure by, and forfeiture to, the United States. Authorizes the Secretary and the Secretary of State to provide for the issuance of a provisional registry for any vessel procured outside the United States which meets the ownership requirements of this Act. Directs the Secretary of the department in which the Coast Guard is operating to publish periodically a list of all documented vessels. Authorizes the Secretary to require owners and masters of documented vessels to submit reports to insure compliance with this Act. Prescribes a civil penalty of $500 for each violation of this Act. Repeals specified shipping laws so as to conform with this Act.
United States · United States Congress · 4 January 1977
Increases the penalty for use or carrying of a firearm during commission of a felony. Imposes mandatory minimum sentences for second or subsequent convictions.
United States · United States Congress · 4 January 1977
Elementary and Secondary Career Education Act - Establishes a career education program for elementary and secondary schools to increase the emphasis such institutions place upon career awareness, exploration, decisionmaking, and planning. Authorizes appropriations for carrying out provisions of this Act for the next five fiscal years. Directs the Commissioner of Education to allot to each State an amount which bears the same ratio to the appropriated sums as such State's population, aged five to eighteen, bears to the total population, aged five to eighteen, of all the States. Stipulates that no State shall be allotted from such sums less than $100,000. Directs the Commissioner to allocate for each fiscal year an amount equal to three percent of the sums appropriated for that year to make grants to local educational agencies located in Puerto Rico, Guam, the Virgin Islands, American Samoa, and the Trust Territory of the Pacific Islands. Sets forth procedures for applying to the Commissioner for receiving such funds. Requires that an application contain specified assurances, including assurances that: (1) the State educational agency will be the agency responsible for planning the use and administering the expenditure of funds received under this Act; (2) the State educational agency or State Board of Education will adopt a statement of policy that career education is of prime importance in elementary and secondary schooling within the State; and (3) the State legislature and Governor have been notified of the State's application for such funds. Details the use of funds by the States which are permissible, including: (1) conducting inservice institutes for educational personnel; (2) training local career education coordinators; (3) collecting, evaluating, and disseminating career education materials; and (4) coordinating career education activities with other State and private agencies. Designates the Office of Career Education to be the administering agency within the Office of Education for the review of State plans, applications, and reports submitted pursuant to this Act. Provides that the Office of Career Education shall perform a national leadership role in furthering the purposes of career education. Directs the National Institute of Education to continue its complementary efforts in career education and calls for coordination between the Institute and the Office of Career Education in (1) identifying research and development priorities and (2) disseminating the products and findings of research and development undertaken by the Institute.
United States · United States Congress · 4 January 1977
Amends the Age Discrimination in Employment Act of 1967 to make the provisions, formerly applicable to persons between 40 and 65 years of age, applicable to anyone 40 years of age or older.
United States · United States Congress · 4 January 1977
Amends the Local Public Works Capital Development and Investment Act of 1976 to increase the amount authorized to be appropriated under such Act to $6,000,000,000.
United States · United States Congress · 4 January 1977
Health Security Act - Title I: Health Security Benefits - Makes every resident of the U.S. (and every non-resident citizen when in the U.S.) eligible for covered services. Permits reciprocal and "buy-in" agreements for groups or non-resident aliens, and in some cases benefits to U.S. residents when visiting in other countries. Entitles every eligible person to have payments made by the Health Security Board for covered services provided within the United States by a participating provider. Extends coverage to all necessary professional services of physicians, wherever furnished. Extends coverage to: (1) comprehensive dental services (exclusive of most orthodontic services) for children under age 15, with the covered age group increasing by two years each year until all those under age 25 are covered; (2) inpatient and outpatient hospital services and services of a home health agency; and (3) pathology and radiology services as parts of institutional services. Limits payment for skilled nursing home care. Limits the psychiatric hospital benefit to 45 consecutive days of active treatment during a spell of illness. Extends coverage to two categories of drug use: prescribed medicines administered to inpatients or outpatients within participating hospitals; or to enrollees of comprehensive health service organizations, and drugs necessary for the treatment of specified chronic illnesses or conditions requiring long or expensive therapy. Requires the Board and the Secretary of Health, Education, and Welfare to establish two lists of approved drugs, taking into account the safety, efficacy and cost of each drug. Lists approved medicines available for use in institutions and by comprehensive health service organizations and those available for use outside such organized settings. Declares that the appliances benefit is similar in concept and operation to the drug benefit, subject to a limitation on aggregate cost. Extends coverage to professional services of optometrists and podiatrists, subject to regulations, and diagnostic or therapeutic services furnished by independent pathology laboratories and radiology services. Excludes from coverage: (1) health services furnished or paid for under a workmen's compensation law; and (2) services of a professional practitioner if they are furnished in a hospital which is not a participating provider. Requires that participating providers meet standards established in this title or by the Board. Makes professional practitioners licensed when the program becomes eligible to practice in the State where they are licensed and requires that all newly licensed applicants for participation meet national standards established by the Board in addition to existing State standards. Establishes conditions of participation for general hospitals. Makes psychiatric hospitals eligible to participate only if the Board finds that the hospital is engaged in furnishing active diagnostic, therapeutic and rehabilitative services to mentally ill patients. Establishes conditions of participation for skilled nursing homes similar to those established for extended care facilities under Medicare. Makes provisions for the participation of home health service agencies. Allows the participation of the following as providers of health services under this Act: (1) a health maintenance organization which undertakes to provide an enrolled population either with complete health care or, at least, with complete health security services (other than institutional services, mental health or dental services) for the maintenance of health and the care of ambulatory patients; (2) a foundation sponsored by a county or other local medical society; and (3) community health centers or the like which, though furnishing services as comprehensive as are required by this Act, do not serve an enrolled or otherwise predetermined population and may not meet other requirements of this Act. Authorizes the Board to deal separately with the primary care portion of a system of comprehensive health care where it is necessary to rely on arrangements with other providers. Permits the Board to contract directly with public or other nonprofit mental health centers and mental health day care services. Specifies the conditions under which independent pathology laboratories, independent radiological services, and providers of drugs, devices, appliances, equipment, or ambulance services may qualify as providers under Health Security. Requires that a participating skilled nursing home have in effect an agreement with at least one participating hospital for the transfer of patients and medical and other information as medically appropriate. Prohibits in malpractice judgments any damages to be awarded to the injured party for the cost of medical services which he is entitled to receive under this Act. Excludes the institutions of the Department of Defense and the Veterans Administration, and institutions of the Department of Health, Education, and Welfare serving merchant seamen or Indians or Alaskan natives, from serving as participating providers, as well as any employee of these institutions when acting as an employee. Allows reimbursement for any services furnished by such institutions or agencies to eligible persons who are not a part of their normal clientele. Permits a physician, dentist, optometrist, or podiatrist, licensed in one State and meeting the national standards, to furnish Health Security benefits in any other State. Grants similar authority to other professional and nonprofessional health personnel. Establishes the Health Security Trust Fund, to receive the net assets of existing (Medicare) funds taken over by the Health Security program, the yield of the Health Security taxes, and the Government's contribution from general revenues amounting to 100 percent of the yield from these taxes. Directs that three separate accounts be established in the Health Security Trust Fund: a Health Service Account, a Health Resources Development Account, and an Administration Account. Make provision for allocation of the Health Services account among the regions of the country. Stipulates that the allocation to each region shall be based on the aggregate sum expended during the most recent 12-month period for covered services (with appropriate modification for estimated changes in the consumer price index, the expected number of eligible beneficiaries, and estimated changes in the number of participating providers). Directs the Board to divide the allocation to each region into funds available to pay: institutional services; physician services; dental services; furnishing of drugs; furnishing of devices, appliances, equipment; and miscellaneous services. Stipulates that payments for covered services provided to eligible persons by participating providers shall be made from the Health Service Account in the Trust Fund. Authorizes the Board to experiment with other methods of reimbursement so long as the experimental method does not increase the cost of service or lead to overutilization or underutilization of services. Stipulates that skilled nursing homes and home health agencies shall be paid in the same manner as a general hospital (on an approved annual budget basis). Stipulates that a health organization shall be paid for covered services, on the basis of a fixed capitation rate multiplied by the number of eligible enrollees. Authorizes special improvement grants: (1) to any public or other nonprofit health agency or institution to establish improved coordination and linkages with other providers of services; and (2) to organizations providing comprehensive ambulatory care, to improve their utilization review, budget, statistical, or records and information retrieval systems, to acquire equipment needed for those purposes, or to acquire equipment useful for mass screening or for other diagnostic or therapeutic purposes. Sets forth the responsibilities and duties of the Secretary of HEW and the Board with regard to this title. Creates an administrative structure within the Department of Health, Education, and Welfare with exclusive responsibility for the administration of the Health Security program. Establishes a five-member, full-time Health Security Board serving under the Secretary of Health, Education, and Welfare. Requires that the members be appointed by the President with the advice and consent of the Senate, for five-year overlapping terms. Establishes a National Health Security Advisory Council, with the Chairman of the Board serving as the Council's Chairman and 20 additional members not in the employ of the Federal Government. Authorizes the Advisory Council to appoint professional or technical committees to assist in its functions. Directs the Advisory Council to advise the Board on matters of general policy in the administration of the program, the formulation of regulations and the allocation of funds for services. Charges the Board with responsibility for informing the public and providers about the administration and operation of the Health Security program. Requires the Board to make a continuing study and evaluation of the program, including adequacy, quality and costs of services. Authorizes the Board to make detailed statistical and other studies on a national, regional, or local basis of any aspect of the title; to develop and test incentive systems for improving quality of care, methods of peer review of drug utilization and of other service performances; to develop and test systems of information retrieval, budget programs, instrumentation for multiphasic screening or patient services, and reimbursement systems for drugs; and to make such other studies which it considers would improve the quality of services and the administration of the program. Grants authority to the Board, in accordance with regulations, to make determinations of who are participating providers of services, determinations of eligibility, of whether services are covered, and the amount to be paid to providers. Allows a provider of services who is dissatisfied with a final Board determination to obtain a hearing before a Board panel, and judicial review of a final decision. Authorizes the Board, with the advice and assistance of the Commission on the Quality of Health Care, to issue and review regulations assuring the quality of care furnished under this Act. Requires continuing professional education by physicians, dentists, optometrists, and podiatrists. Authorizes the appointment of a Deputy Secretary of HEW and an Under Secretary for Health and Science. Stipulates that no provision of this Act shall alter any contractual obligation of an employer to provide health services to his employees and their dependents. Title II: Health Security Taxes - Converts the existing Medicare hospital insurance payroll taxes into Health Security taxes, and raises the rates to one percent on employees and 3.5 percent on employers. Excludes from the gross income of employees, for income tax purposes, payment by their employers of part or all of the Health Security taxes on the employees. Converts the existing Medicare self-employment tax into a Health Security self-employment tax, raising the rate to 2.5 percent. Adds a new one percent Health Security Tax on unearned income (unless such income is less than $400 a year), subject to the same maximum on taxable income as is applicable to the employee and self-employment taxes. Title III: Commission on the Quality of Health Care - Establishes in the Department of HEW a Commission on the Quality of Health Care, with the primary responsibility of: (1) initiating and continuing development of methods of assessing the quality of health care furnished under the Health Security Act; and (2) submitting to the Secretary and the Health Security Board its findings and recommendations. Stipulates that in carrying out its duties the Commission shall emphasize, and give first consideration to, care furnished for those illnesses and conditions which have relatively high incidence in the population and which are relatively amenable to medical or other care. Title IV: Repeal or Amendment of Other Acts - Requires that after the effective date of benefits received under this Act no State shall be required to furnish any service covered under Health Security as a part of its State plan for participation under Medicaid. Title V: Studies Related to Health Security - Authorizes the Secretary of Health, Education, and Welfare in consultation with the Secretary of State and the Secretary of the Treasury to study the coverage of health services for U.S. residents in other countries. Directs the Secretary of HEW to study the feasibility and desirability of coordinating the Federal health benefit programs for merchant seamen and Indians and Alaskan natives and also veterans and members of the Armed Forces, with the Health Security Benefit Program.
United States · United States Congress · 4 January 1977
Creates a Select House Committee on Population to conduct an investigation and study of: (1) the major adverse effects of current population growth throughout the world; (2) approaches which have been shown to be effective in coping with excessive population growth; and (3) means to encourage countries with excessive population growth rates to adopt methods proven to be successful in reducing population growth rates.
United States · United States Congress · 4 January 1977
Declares it the sense of the House of Representatives: (1) that the Soviet Union permit free emigration of Soviet Jews and others, (2) that the Soviet Union permit the free exercise of religious beliefs and cultural expression, and (3) that the Congress supports "Solidarity Sunday."
United States · United States Congress · 1 October 1976
Adoption Opportunities Act - Title I: National Registry of Adoptable Children - Directs the Secretary of Health, Education, and Welfare to establish and maintain a National Registry of Adoptable Children. Requires that the Registry contain statistics on the numbers of adoptable children in the United States. Directs the Secretary to conduct a continuing national survey to develop and keep current such statistics, and to publish the Registry or make it as widely available as possible. Title II: National Data Bank of Adoption Information and Resources - Provides that the Secretary shall establish and maintain a National Data Bank of Adoption Information and Resources to assist individuals desiring to adopt children. States that the Bank will provide prospective parents with current information on pre-adoption, adoption, and post-adoption costs, and with information on adoption agencies and their services. Requires the Secretary to conduct a continuing national survey to keep the Bank's information current. Title III: Requirements Applicable to Certain Child Related Programs - Subjects specified Social Security programs or projects to whatever requirements the State, in accordance with regulations prescribed by the Secretary, establishes for the purpose of: (1) insuring that adoption agencies which indirectly or directly federally funded are associated with an adoption service, are conducting an annual review of the status of each child under its care, and are having their expenditures periodically evaluated; (2) licensing all foster care homes in which agencies place children; and (3) promoting and administering State and local programs designed to make children under agency care legally free for adoption by qualified parents. Directs the Secretary to provide for periodic evaluation of State and local programs to insure compliance with this Act.
United States · United States Congress · 28 September 1976
Authorizes the Secretary of the Department in which the Coast Guard is operating to promulgate regulations specifying the duties and qualifications of the operators and crews of specified types of vessels.
United States · United States Congress · 23 September 1976
Removes the military service time requirements for qualification as a veteran of the Indian Wars, Mexican Border period, World Wars I and II, the Korean conflict or the Vietnam era. (Amends 38 U.S.C. 101, 511, 512, 521 and 532)
United States · United States Congress · 22 September 1976
Condemns the murders of Orlando Letelier and Ronni Karpen Moffitt and the serious injury of Michael Moffitt. Urges a complete and thorough investigation by federal authorities of the circumstances surrounding the bombing.
United States · United States Congress · 17 September 1976
Revises the boundaries of Gateway National Recreation Area, New York and New Jersey, to include specified sections of the Flushing Meadows-Corona Park. Permits the Secretary of the Interior to acquire lands owned by the State of New York within the revised boundaries by purchase or exchange as well as by donation. Directs the Secretary of Commerce to transfer the United States pavilion of the 1964 World's Fair to the administative jurisdiction of the Secretary of the Interior for administration as part of the recreation area.
United States · United States Congress · 9 September 1976
Authorizes the Secretary of the department in which the Coast Guard is operating to provide transportation by motor vehicle or water carrier for persons attached to, or employed in, such department to and from their places of employment. (Amends 10 U.S.C. 2632)
United States · United States Congress · 8 September 1976
Amends the Home Owners' Loan Act to permit federally chartered savings and loan associations located in New York to offer checking accounts to the extent that similar State-chartered institutions in New York are permitted to do so.
United States · United States Congress · 26 August 1976
Authorizes the President to issue a proclamation designating the week beginning October 3, 1976, and ending October 9, 1976, as "National Volunteer Firemen Week."
United States · United States Congress · 25 August 1976
Stipulates that the compensation of officers and members of the United States Park Police shall be adjusted in accordance with the Federal Civil Service pay comparability system. Directs the Secretary of the Interior to report on the feasibility and desirability of enacting as part of the United States Code those provisions relating to the Park Police which presently are compiled in the District of Columbia Code.
United States · United States Congress · 10 August 1976
Amends Titles XVIII (Medicare) and XIX (Medicaid) of the Social Security Act to require automatic sprinkler systems in all skilled nursing facilities and intermediate care facilities certified for participation in the Medicare or Medicaid programs unless a waiver of such requirement is granted in accordance with conditions set forth in this Act. Establishes a program of low-interest Federal loans to assist such facilities in constructing or purchasing and installing automatic sprinkler systems.
United States · United States Congress · 10 August 1976
Provides, under the Legislative Reorganization Act, that pay adjustments for Members of Congress may take effect no earlier than the beginning of the Congress next following the Congress in which they are approved.
United States · United States Congress · 10 August 1976
Amends the Ports and Waterways Safety Act of 1972 by adding the following new title: Title III - Port Safety Grants and Study. Provides that any port authority administering the operations of any public port in the United States may apply to the Secretary of the department in which the Coast Guard is operating for a grant to enable such authority to establish and maintain adequate means for the protection of such port, any vessel, structure, or waters within such port, and any land structure or shore area immediately adjacent to such port from damage caused by any fire, explosion, natural disaster, or other serious accident or casualty occurring in connection with navigation within such port. Authorizes the Secretary to award to such authority all or any part of the funds requested, except that not more than $3,000,000 may be awarded to such authority in any fiscal year. Specifies that such funds shall be granted to supplement and increase the level of State and local government funds expended and shall not be used to supplant such State and local government funds. Requires the Secretary to undertake a study of the means by which port authorities provide protection against damage caused by fires, explosions, natural disasters, or other serious accidents or casualties occurring in connection with navigation within ports administered by such authorities.
United States · United States Congress · 9 August 1976
Requires, under the Vocational Rehabilitation Act of 1973, that the Federal Government Interagency Committee on Handicapped Employees shall include not less than five disabled individuals nominated by national organizations of handicapped or disabled persons. Permits handicapped individuals who believe they have been discriminated against in hiring or placement by Federal agencies to file a complaint with the Chairman of the Civil Service Commission and request a hearing by an Arbitration Panel convened by the Chairman. States that the Panel shall be composed of three individuals: one designated by the accused agency, one designated by the aggrieved handicapped individual, and one jointly designated by the other two members of the Panel. Provides that the decisions of the panel shall be matters of public record. Directs the Chairman of the Civil Service Commission to pay all reasonable costs of arbitration. Requires that before entering into any contract, the head of any Federal department or agency must be satisfied that the contractor has taken affirmative action to employ and promote qualified handicapped individuals. Permits handicapped individuals who believe a contractor has failed to comply with the provisions of his contract relating to handicapped persons to file a complaint with the Secretary of Labor and request a hearing by an Arbitration Panel convened by the Secretary. Authorizes handicapped individuals who believe they have been subjected to discrimination under any program receiving Federal financial assistance to file a complaint with the Secretary and request a hearing by an Arbitration Panel. Establishes within the Department of Health, Education, and Welfare an office to assist handicapped individuals to obtain information about employment placement opportunities.
United States · United States Congress · 9 August 1976
Requires, under the Vocational Rehabilitation Act of 1973, that the Federal Government Interagency Committee on Handicapped Employees shall include not less than five disabled individuals nominated by national organizations of handicapped or disabled persons. Permits handicapped individuals who believe they have been discriminated against in hiring or placement by Federal agencies to file a complaint with the Chairman of the Civil Service Commission and request a hearing by an Arbitration Panel convened by the Chairman. States that the Panel shall be composed of three individuals: one designated by the accused agency, one designated by the aggrieved handicapped individual, and one jointly designated by the other two members of the Panel. Provides that the decisions of the panel shall be matters of public record. Directs the Chairman of the Civil Service Commission to pay all reasonable costs of arbitration. Requires that before entering into any contract, the head of any Federal department or agency must be satisfied that the contractor has taken affirmative action to employ and promote qualified handicapped individuals. Permits handicapped individuals who believe a contractor has failed to comply with the provisions of his contract relating to handicapped persons to file a complaint with the Secretary of Labor and request a hearing by an Arbitration Panel convened by the Secretary. Authorizes handicapped individuals who believe they have been subjected to discrimination under any program receiving Federal financial assistance to file a complaint with the Secretary and request a hearing by an Arbitration Panel. Establishes within the Department of Health, Education, and Welfare an office to assist handicapped individuals to obtain information about employment placement opportunities.
United States · United States Congress · 29 July 1976
Expresses the sense of the House of Representatives that Israel be commended for its rescue operation in Uganda. Calls upon the President to reevaluate the policies and programs of the United States in order to strengthen its stand against international terrorists and countries affording aid and support to terrorist organizations.
United States · United States Congress · 26 July 1976
Comprehensive Oil Pollution Liability and Compensation Act - Title I: Domestic Oil Pollution Liability, Compensation, and Fund - Establishes in the Treasury of the United States a fund for the purpose of paying for otherwise uncompensated losses resulting from oil pollution. Enumerates the sources of moneys to be deposited in such fund, including a fee, not to exceed three cents per barrel of oil, imposed upon owners of facilities receiving oil in bulk directly for a vessel, an offshore production of port facility, or an oil pipeline. Authorizes the Secretary of Transportation to issue obligations to the Secretary of the Treasury at times when fund assets are insufficient to meet fund liabilities. Lists the types of injuries which may be compensated under this Act and the potential claimants who have standing to assert claims involving each such type of damage. Imposes joint, several, and strict liability on the owners and operators of each pollution source. Specifies liability limits, except in cases of gross negligence or willful misconduct, for ships and other vessels. Directs the Secretary of Transportation to establish limits on the liability of classes of facilities used for transporting, producing, processing, storing, or transferring oil. Requires the owner or operator: (1) of any such facility; or (2) any ship which uses such facility or navigable waters of the United States, to establish and maintain evidence of financial responsibility in an amount sufficient to satisfy applicable liability limits. Directs the person in charge of a vessel or facility to immediately notify the Secretary of Transportation of any pollution incident in which the vessel or facility is involved. Specifies procedures whereby the Secretary may, in the absence of such an admission, designate and advertise pollution sources. Directs the Secretary, in instances in which: (1) the owner and operator of a vessel or facility designated by the Secretary deny such vessel's or facility's involvement; (2) the source of the discharge is a public vessel; or (3) the Secretary is unable to designate the pollution source, to advertise procedures for presenting claims directly to the fund. Requires all other claims, with limited exceptions, to be initially presented to the owner or operator, or to such persons' guarantor. Permits claimants to either present a claim to the fund or to bring an action in an appropriate United States district court when an owner or operator and a guarantor deny liability or fail to settle the claim within a specified period. Sets forth procedures for the disposition and appeal of claims submitted to the fund. Requires both the plaintiff and the defendant in a court action brought against an owner, operator, or guarantor to forward copies of all pleadings to the fund. Permits the fund to intervene in such actions. Subrogates any person or governmental entity, including the fund, paying compensation to all the claimant's claims and rights under this Act. Specifies procedures for and the measure of recovery in actions brought by the fund against owners, operators, or guarantors of alleged pollution sources. Declares that the rights and remedies under this Act shall be exclusive with respect to economic loss caused by oil pollution. Sets penalties for persons failing to comply with specified provisions in this Act. Title II: Effective dates; Conforming Amendments - Specifies the effective date of, and amends specified laws to conform with, the provisions of this Act.
United States · United States Congress · 2 July 1976
National Aquaculture Organic Act - Directs the Secretary of Commerce to establish a National Aquaculture Development Plan. States that such plan shall: (1) identify each aquatic species which can be cultured on a commercial basis (priority aquatic species); and (2) contain a program of aquaculture development for such priority aquatic species. Directs the Secretary of Commerce or Secretary of the Interior, whichever is appropriate, to review annually each aquatic species not identified as a priority species and the program established for each priority species. Directs the Secretary of Commerce to: (1) establish and maintain an aquaculture information center; (2) maintain an inventory of public and private aquaculture being carried out in the United States; (3) arrange for the mutual exchange of information relating to aquaculture with foreign nations; and (4) submit an annual report to Congress on the implementation of the provisions of this Act. Establishes the Interagency Committee on Aquaculture comprised of the heads of various Federal agencies to insure that there is a continuing exchange of information relating to the aquacultural programs and projects of the various agencies and to review on a continuing basis the relevant programs and projects of all the Federal agencies. Authorizes the Secretary of Commerce or the Secretary of the Interior to carry out any function under this Act through grants or contracts. Limits the amount of any grant made available under this Act to one-half of the estimated cost of the project for which the grant was made. Authorizes either Secretary to guarantee obligations issued for the financing of any aquaculture facility within the United States. Stipulates that the aggregate unpaid principal amount of all such guaranteed obligations shall not exceed $100,000,000. Authorizes the Secretary to collect a fee for guaranteed obligations not to exceed one-half of one percent per annum of the outstanding principal balance of the obligation. Sets forth the allowable interest rate, maturity date, and default procedures relating to such loans. Authorizes the appropriate Secretary to issue notes or obligations to the Secretary of the Treasury if the monies in the loan fund are insufficient to pay such a loan in the event of default. Authorizes the Secretary to make disaster loans available to individuals who have guaranteed loans under this Act. Establishes within the Treasury a Federal Aquaculture Assistance Fund for the purpose of guaranteeing loans or making disaster loans available under this Act. Directs the Secretary of Commerce to establish an insurance program for persons with guaranteed loans under this Act. Authorizes appropriations to the Secretaries of Commerce and the Interior to carry out the various provisions of this Act.
United States · United States Congress · 2 July 1976
Directs the President to proclaim that Valentyn Moroz shall be an honorary citizen of the United States. Urges cooperation in observance of the principles of the Final Act of the Conference on Security and Cooperation in Europe. Expresses the sense of the Congress that the Soviet Union as one of the signators to the Final Act should provide Valentyn Moroz with the opportunity to accept the invitation of Harvard University for the 1976-77 academic year.
![Official portrait of Rep. Biaggi, Mario [D-NY-19]](https://www.congress.gov/img/member/b000432_200.jpg)