United States · United States Congress · 6 March 1978
National Credit Union Central Liquidity Facility Act - Establishes the National Credit Union Central Liquidity Facility to provide funds to meet the liquidity needs of credit unions. Vests management of the Facility in the National Credit Union Administration. Declares the initial capitalization of the Facility shall be by stock subscription consisting of shares having par value of $50 each. Entitles any member of the Facility to apply on a form prescribed by regulations for advances. Authorizes the Administration to deny or grant any application upon such terms as it may prescribe by regulations. Authorizes the Secretary of the Treasury to lend the Facility up to $500,000,000 to enable it to meet the obligations arising under this Act. Directs the Administration to prepare and submit to the President and to the Congress annually a full report on the activities of the Facility for the previous year. Directs the Comptroller General to audit the Central Liquidity Facility.
United States · United States Congress · 3 March 1978
Amends the Commodity Credit Corporation Charter Act to make the Commodity Credit Corporation the seller or marketing agent for all export sales of the following commodities in raw form: wheat, corn, grain sorghum, barley, oats, rye, and soybeans.
United States · United States Congress · 1 March 1978
Full Employment and Balanced Growth Act - Title I: Establishment of Goals and General Economic Policies - Amends the Employment Act of 1946 to declare full employment as a national goal. Declares further that inflation is a national problem requiring improvement of government policies, reform of outmoded government rules, and correction of structural defects in the economy. States that (1) nothing in this Act shall independently authorize production, wage, or price controls and (2) the effort to expand jobs under this Act shall focus on the private sector and shall use subsidized public employment only as a last resort. Directs the President to recommend in each annual Economic Report numerical goals for five years for employment, production, real income, and productivity. Designates as a goal to be achieved within five years of the enactment of this Act three percent unemployment for the civilian labor force age 20 and over and of four percent unemployment for the civilian labor force age 16 and over. Directs that, in reducing unemployment, every effort be made to reduce differences in unemployment rates among teenagers, women, minorities, and other groups in the labor force. Requires inclusion in each Economic Report of priority policies and programs to assure productive nonwasteful jobs. Specifies among such priorities (1) development of energy, transportation, small business and environmental improvement; (2) attention to the needs of rural America; and (3) improvement of the quality and quantity of health care, education, child care, and housing. Requires that the President's Budget and Economic Report include projections of outlays and receipts which are consistent with the goals of this Act. Directs the Federal Reserve Board to transmit to Congress an independent annual report setting forth its intended policies and the relationship between such policies and short-term goals contained in the Economic Report. Directs the President to initiate structural policies to reduce inflation, including policies relative to (1) more effective monitoring and analysis of inflationary trends, (2) stockpiling of critical commodities, (3) strengthening of antitrust laws, and (4) modification of government regulation. Directs the President to establish an advisory board or boards to advise with respect to this Act and other matters related to national economic programs and policies. Directs the Council of Economic Advisers to consult with such board or boards and to cooperate with other Federal agencies with respect to its work in connection with this Act. Title II: Structural Economic Policies and Programs, Including Treatment of Resource Restraints - Requires the President to initiate supplementary programs and policies to facilitate achievement of the full employment and balanced growth goals and timetables set forth in Title I. States that any countercyclical employment programs so initiated shall (1) consider for inclusion specified activities, including standby public works projects and community development programs, and a trigger mechanism geared to times of rising unemployment and (2) contain policies to facilitate coordinated action among the Federal Government, State and local governments, and the private sector. Directs the President to improve and expand existing youth employment programs, recommending legislation where required. Directs the Secretary of Labor, in furtherance of the full employment policies contained in this Act, and after full utilization of programs under the Comprehensive Employment and Training Act of 1973 (CETA) and other laws, to undertake job training, counseling, and referral activities. Directs the President to establish reservoirs of public employment and private nonprofit employment projects, to be approved by the Secretary, through expansion of CETA projects or through other existing or new employment and training programs. Stipulates that such projects which require authorizations under this Act shall not be put into operation less than two years after the enactment of this Act nor without a Presidential finding that other means of employment are not yielding enough jobs to meet goals and timetables. Requires that the Economic Report review and assess (1) existing Federal programs which affect business investment decisions, (2) the effect of the overall economic policy environment and the inflation rate on business investment, and (3) Federal policies and programs which directly or indirectly affect public investments. Directs the President to make recommendations based upon such assessments. Title III: Policies and Procedures for Congressional Review - Directs the appropriate Congressional committees to review and revise goals, priorities, policies, and programs proposed by the President and the Federal Reserve Board under this Act and the Employment Act of 1946. Specifies the oversight duties of the Joint Economic Committee under this Act, including the reporting of a concurrent resolution approving, disapproving, or modifying the policies, goals, and programs of the Economic Report. Sets forth procedures for the consideration of such a concurrent resolution. Directs the Committees on the Budget of both Houses, after receiving the recommendation of the Joint Economic Committee, to review and make recommendations with respect to the annual numerical goals formulated pursuant to this Act. Title IV: General Provisions - Makes general provisions with respect to nondiscrimination, labor standards, and authorizations of appropriations.
United States · United States Congress · 23 February 1978
Directs the Postal Service to issue a commemorative postage stamp in observance of the thirtieth anniversary of the founding of the modern State of Israel.
United States · United States Congress · 22 February 1978
International Development Assistance Act - Amends the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 to restate United States development assistance policy. Authorizes the President to furnish grant and loan assistance to carry out this Act. Revises the criteria for making development loans. Repeals certain exemptions from the three percent minimum interest on such loans. Repeals the prohibitions against: (1) transferring such loan funds to other accounts; and (2) utilizing the special assistance authority of the President to waive the limitations on development loan assistance. Authorizes a specified amount of such Fund to furnish assistance to research and development institutions within the United States to strengthen their capacity to carry out economic and social development programs in less developed countries. Authorizes the President to use development assistance funds to pay transportation costs on relief, rehabilitation, and development shipments by certain United States voluntary foreign aid agencies. Abolishes the Development Loan Fund. Repeals certain limitations on making development loans with respect to the efficient use of the loan by the recipient country. Repeals the authority of the President to enter into agreements obligating development loan funds. Repeals the statement of the purposes of development assistance. Repeals the authority of the President to make technical cooperation and development grants. Deauthorizes assistance programs for: (1) small farmers; (2) use of used equipment; (3) demonstration of protein concentrates; (4) media communication of development information; (5) reopening the Suez Canal; (6) development research; and (7) regional and multilateral development programs for Southeast Asia. Abolishes the President's authority to appoint a committee to review the economic development program of the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961. Authorizes appropriations for fiscal year 1979 for: (1) food, nutrition, and rural development assistance; (2) education and human resources development; (3) technical assistance, energy, research, reconstruction; and selected development programs; (4) American schools and hospitals abroad; (5) international organizations and programs; (6) international disaster assistance; and (7) operating expenses to furnish foreign assistance. Requires the Agency for International Development to emphasize technology for small farms and businesses in furnishing technological assistance. Requires the President to take the environmental consequences of development activities into account in carrying out development programs. Revises American policy with respect to furnishing housing guarantees. Revises Presidential authority to grant housing and other credit guarantees. Sets forth the priorities for the type of projects for which such guarantees may be issued. Repeals the authority for such guarantees limited to Latin America. Extends for one year the authority to furnish agricultural and productive credit and self-help community development assistance to five unspecified Latin American countries. Extends for one year the authority to furnish housing and other credit guarantees. Requires the President to make annual reports to Congress with respect to the types and amounts of foreign assistance furnished by the United States. Repeals the requirement that the annual report accompanying the request for foreign assistance appropriations contain information regarding military sales and Assistance to South Vietnam, Thailand and Loas. Repeals other reporting requirements with respect to: (1) food production targets; (2) management of foreign assistance programs; (3) enumeration of countries and organizations receiving assistance; and (4) military assistance and sales. Repeals certain limitations upon furnishing foreign military assistance under the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961. Revises the amount which may be spent on the purchase or hire of motor vehicles pursuant to such Act. Increases the amount which may be used for reimbursable development programs. Repeals the request that the President explore improved arrangements for standby forces for United Nations peacekeeping purposes. Repeals the authority of the President to conclude agreements with less developed countries for the establishment of Joint Commissions on Rural Development. Repeals the exemption from the limitations of part I of the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 for the use of settlement receipts under the Agreement Between the United States and Japan Regarding the Settlement of Postwar Economic Assistance to Japan. Repeals the requirement that assistance under such Act be furnished to the maximum extent possible through multilateral organizations. Authorizes the appropriation of such sums as may be necessary to carry out foreign assistance programs for fiscal year 1980.
United States · United States Congress · 22 February 1978
Authorizes appropriations for fiscal year 1979 for the Department of Energy concerning the conservation, development, and use of naval petroleum and oil shale reserves.
United States · United States Congress · 21 February 1978
Amends the Administrative Procedure Act to require Federal agencies to prepare and publish in the Federal Register an economic impact analysis of all proposed and final rules subject to the provisions of the Act.
United States · United States Congress · 16 February 1978
Condemns the recent poisoning of Israeli oranges. Declares it the sense of the House of Representatives that the President direct the United States delegations to the Conference of the Committee on Disarmament and the United Nations Special Session on Disarmament to urge that the poisoning incident be placed high on the agenda of these organizations. Declares it the sense of the House of Representatives that the President direct the United States delegation to the Conference of the Committee on Disarmament to recommit itself to efforts to negotiate an effective prohibition of chemical weapons.
United States · United States Congress · 15 February 1978
Hubert H. Humphrey Institute of Public Affairs Memorial Act - Authorizes the Commissioner of Education to provide financial assistance to assist in the development of the Hubert H. Humphrey Institute of Public Affairs at the University of Minnesota-Twin Cities. Authorizes up to $5,000,000 to be appropriated for such purpose.
United States · United States Congress · 14 February 1978
Authorizes a $543,000,000 appropriation for reimbursing States for expenditures made with respect to services provided by such States under specified titles of the Social Security Act. Sets forth procedures and time limitations for making claims for for reimbursement and maximum amounts which a State may receive for providing services under the Social Security Act.
United States · United States Congress · 14 February 1978
Amends the Wild and Scenic Rivers Act to designate a segment of the Pere Marquette River, Michigan, as a component of the National Wild and Scenic Rivers System.
United States · United States Congress · 8 February 1978
Middle Income Student Assistance Act - Amends the Higher Education Act of 1965 to establish a $250 minimum basic educational opportunity grant for college students whose adjusted family income does not exceed $25,000. Sets forth new guidelines for determining the assets of independent students for purposes of eligibility for basic educational opportunity grants. Revises certain provisions regarding Federal payments to reduce student loan interest costs under such Act including raising the maximum allowable adjusted family income requirement to $40,000.
United States · United States Congress · 8 February 1978
Middle Income Student Assistance Act - Amends the Higher Education Act of 1965 to establish a $250 minimum basic educational opportunity grant for college students whose adjusted family income does not exceed $25,000. Sets forth new guidelines for determining the assets of independent students for purposes of eligibility for basic educational opportunity grants. Revises certain provisions regarding Federal payments to reduce student loan interest costs under such Act including raising the maximum allowable adjusted family income requirement to $40,000.
United States · United States Congress · 2 February 1978
Amends Title II (Old-Age, Survivors, and Disability Insurance) of the Social Security Act and the Internal Revenue Code to reduce tax rates below the level established by the Social Security Amendments of 1977 on employment income for both employers and employees and on self-employment income. Increases Federal contributions to the Federal Old-Age and Survivors Insurance Trust Fund, the Federal Disability Insurance Trust Fund, and the Federal Hospital Insurance Trust Fund established under Title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act by 50 percent. Increases the ceiling on the amount of income that is subject to social security taxation to $100,000 in 1979.
United States · United States Congress · 1 February 1978
Career Criminals Prosecution Act - Authorizes the Administrator of the Law Enforcement Assistance Administration to provide grants and technical assistance to certain units of local government having populations of at least 250,000 for the establishment and operation of programs designed to identify and expedite the prosecution of career criminal offenders. Sets forth requirements for grant applications and limits on payments to any single local government.
United States · United States Congress · 31 January 1978
Constitutional Amendment - Provides that the District of Columbia be treated as a State for purposes of representation in the Congress, election of the President and Vice President, and Article V of the Constitution of the United States. Repeals the provisions of the twenty-third amendment to the Constitution of the United States.
United States · United States Congress · 30 January 1978
Solar Power Satellite Research, Development, and Demonstration Program Act - Directs the Secretary of Energy and the Administrator of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration to initiate a Solar Power Satellite Research, Development, and Demonstration Program to study technical problems regarding the viability of the solar power satellite concept. Requires the Secretary to cooperate with the Administrator in the submission to Congress, by September 30, 1978, of a comprehensive plan to implement the Program.
United States · United States Congress · 26 January 1978
Small Business Tax Reform Act - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to replace the corporate income tax rates with a graduated, five-tier rate schedule, imposing the uppermost (48 percent) marginal rate upon income in excess of $100,000.
United States · United States Congress · 24 January 1978
Establishes an 11-member Commission on the Humane Treatment of Animals to study the treatment of animals. Requires that the membership include zoologists, veterinarians, and representatives from humane societies. Requires the Commission to determine if animals are caused needless pain or suffering as a result of their treatment on farms and in laboratory experimentation. Requires Commission investigation into domestic pet growth rates and the effectiveness of existing laws regarding the treatment of animals. Excludes the study of the treatment of animals occurring in connection with the exercise of any religion. Directs the Commission to report its findings to the Congress and the Commission 60 days after it submits its final report. Authorizes appropriations of $750,000 per year to carry out the provisions of this Act.
United States · United States Congress · 19 January 1978
Legislative Oversight Act - Title I: Requirements for Authorization Bills - Requires all legislation considered by either House of Congress which authorizes new budget authority or increased tax expenditures to include a statement of objectives of the program to be authorized or established and a requirement that the agencies administering the program report annually to Congress to assist it in determining whether such program should be amended. Requires such agency reports to list the costs and accomplishments of each program. Title II: Requirements for Reports Accompanying Authorization Bills - Requires committee reports accompanying such legislation to identify expected economic and social costs and benefits of new programs authorized or established by such legislation, potentially duplicative programs, and previous efforts to accomplish the objectives of the program being considered. Requires reports to contain, if the legislation continues an existing program, authorization, or tax expenditure, an assessment of the degree to which such program or tax expenditure has met previously stated objectives. Requires the Comptroller General to publish and periodically update a descriptive catalog of interrelated Federal activities which compares program costs and accomplishments and describes program interrelationships, including the extent to which programs are duplicative. Title III: Presidential Budget Recommendations - Requires the President's budget to describe the relationship between the President's recommended program budgets and the program accomplishments reported by Federal agencies under this Act. Title IV: Authorization Time Limit; Certain Obligations not Impaired - Prohibits congressional consideration of any legislation which authorizes new budget authority or provides new or increased tax expenditures, or new spending authority for a period exceeding five years. Exempts from this prohibition national debt service and payments to individuals from Federal trust funds to which such individuals have contributed. Title V: Miscellaneous Provisions; Effective Date - Recognizes the authority of either House to amend this Act. Sets the effective date of this Act.
United States · United States Congress · 15 December 1977
Amends the Woodrow Wilson Memorial Act of 1968 to establish a Hubert H. Humphrey Fellowship in Social and Political Thought at the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars at the Smithsonian Institution. Establishes the Hubert H. Humphrey Fellowship Trust Fund in the Treasury.
United States · United States Congress · 29 November 1977
Expresses the sense of the Congress that Anwar el Sadat and Menachem Begin be commended for the steps they have taken towards peace in the Middle East.
United States · United States Congress · 8 November 1977
Small Business Government Contracting Reform Act - Simplifies Government contracting procedures with respect to small businesses. Establishes Government contract arbitration panels within the Small Business Administration to facilitate the resolution of disputes between any small business concern and any Federal agency having procurement authority. Directs Federal agencies to take the apparent low responsive bidder's small business concern subcontracting plan into account in determining the responsibility of such bidder for the award of such contract. Assigns an employee of the Small Business Administration to each Federal agency to monitor compliance with specified small business programs. Establishes the Small Business Procurement Advisory Committee.
United States · United States Congress · 3 November 1977
Federal Disclosure and Accountability Act - Prohibits any Federal employee from coercing any individual for the purpose of interfering with the right of such individual to disclose any illegal or otherwise improper Government action to the Review Board on Improper Government Actions, established by this Act and from taking any adverse personnel action against such individual who is a Federal employee in retaliation for such disclosure. Requires the Board to investigate any such disclosure and, in the event further investigation or action is warranted, to notify the person, the head of the agency in which such person is employed, and, if appropriate, the Attorney General and/or the Comptroller General.
United States · United States Congress · 2 November 1977
Declares it the sense of Congress that the President and the Secretary of State should recognize Jerusalem as the capital of Israel and move the United States embassy in Israel to that city.
United States · United States Congress · 27 October 1977
Declares that there be no reduction of customs duties on textile, apparel, or fiber products and that such products be excluded from the current Tokyo Round of Multilateral Trade Negotiations in Geneva.
United States · United States Congress · 26 October 1977
Alcohol Fuel Encouragement Act - Requires all gasoline stations, within three years of the passage of this Act, to sell a mixture of gasoline and alcohol in the same manner as they sell gasoline. Imposes a civil penalty for violations of such requirement. Amends the Internal Revenue Code to allow rapid amortization of facilities producing alcohol for use as a fuel in motor vehicles. Amends the Clean Air Act with respect to the authority of the Environmental Protection Agency to regulate the use of alcohol as a fuel additive.
United States · United States Congress · 25 October 1977
Declares it the sense of the Congress that the President direct the United States delegation to the Belgrade Conference to place the issue of the arrest, trial, and conviction of Mykola Rudenko and Oleska Tykhy before the Conference.
United States · United States Congress · 18 October 1977
Amends the National Trails System Act of 1968 to re-establish the advisory council on the Appalachian National Scenic Trail, to limit such council's existence to ten years, and to reduce the term of council members from five to two years. Increases the limitations on acreage which may be acquired for rights-of-way and by condemnation proceedings along the Appalachian Trail without the consent of the owner from 25 acres in any one mile to at least 25 acres but not more than 125 acres within any one mile. Increases from $5,000,000 to $35,000,000 the authorization of appropriations for acquisition of lands for the Appalachian National Scenic Trail.
United States · United States Congress · 17 October 1977
Safe Banking Act - Title I: Supervisory Authority over Depository Institutions - Creates civil penalties for specified insider loans and loans to affiliates prohibited by the Federal Reserve Act; for violations of reserve requirements under such Act; and for violations of the National Bank Act relating to one borrower loan limits. Amends the Federal Reserve Act and the Federal Deposit Insurance Act to prohibit member banks and State nonmember banks from making loans to specified insiders where the amount of such loan, when aggregated with the amount of all other loans then outstanding by such bank to such insider, would exceed 50 percent of the limits on loans to a single borrower established by the Federal Reserve Act. Amends the National Housing Act to grant authority to the Federal Savings and Loan Insurance Corporation to make loans to a savings and loan association in order that it may buy the assets of a failing savings and loan. Authorizes financial regulatory agencies, including the National Credit Union Administration and the Federal Home Loan Bank Board, to initiate cease and desist actions against officers, directors, stockholders, or any person participating in the affairs of a financial institution (as well as against the institution itself as is allowed current law) when there have been violations of laws and regulations or unsafe and unsound banking practices which are likely to seriously weaken the condition of the institution in question. Sets forth a procedure to be followed for removal of officers and directors for breach of judiciary duty, which is defined as personal dishonesty or continuing disregard for the safety of the institution. Creates a hearing process for removal of a bank officer or director based on an indictment for or conviction of a felony. Title II: Interlocking Directors - Depository Institution Management Interlocks Act - Prohibits interlocking management and director relations between any depository institutions located in the same metropolitan area, savings loan associations, insurance companies, title companies, companies which appraise real property, and companies which close real estate transactions. States that this prohibition applies without regard to geographical limits where such an institution has assets exceeding $1,000,000,000 and seeks an interlocking relationship with any institution with assets over $500,000,000. Permits any person who is operating as a management official and whose activity was not in violation of this Act at the beginning of such service, to continue to serve in that position for a period not to exceed 15 months. States that a violation of this Title constitutes a violation of the Clayton Act. Charges the Antitrust Division of the Department of Justice with investigations of possible violations. Delegates authority for the enforcement of this Act. Title III: Foreign Branching - Amends the Federal Deposit Insurance Act to prohibit any State nonmember insured bank from operating any foreign branch without prior written consent of the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC). Permits such bank to acquire evidence of ownership in any foreign bank with such consent. States that when the liabilities of an insured bank for deposits are assumed by another insured bank the following shall occur: (1) the insured status of the bank whose liabilities are assumed shall terminate on the date of receipt by the FDIC of evidence of such assumption; (2) termination of separate insurance of all assumed deposits at the end of six months from the effective date; and (3) notification of such assumption by the assuming bank to each of the depositors of the assumed bank. Subjects performance of any bank services for a bank which is examined by a Federal supervisory agency to regulation by such agency. Requires such bank to notify such agency of the service relationship. Title IV: Conflicts of Interest - Depository Institutions Conflict of Interest Act - Amends the Federal Reserve Act to provide for the appointment by the President of the Senate, of a chairman and a vice chairman of the Federal Reserve Board. Amends the Federal Deposit Insurance Act, the Federal Reserve Act and the Federal Home Loan Bank Act to prohibit specified Presidential-appointee bank regulatory agency heads and members of such agencies from being employed for a period of two years after they leave office by institutions under their regulatory jurisdiction or with a holding company of affiliate. States that the Chairman of the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System shall be paid a salary at the Level I or Cabinet level and the remaining members shall be compensated at the Level III rate. Title V: Credit Union Restructuring - Amends the Federal Credit Union Act to place the National Credit Union Administration under the management of a National Credit Union Administration Board. Directs the Chairperson of such Board to be the spokesperson of the Board and to represent the Board and the National Credit Union Administration in its official relations with other branches of the Government. Requires each Federal credit union to pay the Administration an annual operating fee and to make annual financial reports to the Board. Title VI: Change in Bank Control Act - Amends the Federal Deposit Insurance Act to authorize the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, with consultation with the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System and the Comptroller of the Currency, to approve or deny in advance any change in control of any bank insured under this Act. Sets forth the procedure for such approvals or denials. Disallows approval if the change would create a monopoly, lessen competition, threaten the safety of the institution, or if the management capability of the applicant is not sound. Subjects the stock of all insured banks to the margin requirements established pursuant to the Securities Act of 1934. Requires insured banks to fully disclose bank stock loans to the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation. Sets forth civil penalties for violations of this Title. Title VII: Change in Savings and Loan Control Act - Amends the National Housing Act to authorize the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation to approve or deny in advance any change in control of any savings and loan association. Sets forth the procedure for such approvals or denials. Subjects the stock of all insured institutions to the margin requirements established pursuant to the Securities Act of 1934. Requires insured institutions to fully disclose bank stock loans to the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation. Sets forth civil penalties for violations of this Title. Title VIII: Correspondent Accounts - Amends the Federal Deposit Insurance Act to direct each appropriate banking agency to study and report to Congress various aspects of interbank accounts. Title IX: Disclosure of Material Facts - Amends the Federal Deposit Insurance Act to require banks to include the following (in addition to other items) in at least one report of condition filed annually: (1) a list of all stockholders of record owning five percent or more of the stock of the institution; (2) a list by name of each insider, his maximum amount of indebtedness during such period, his outstanding amount of indebtedness, the range of interest rates charged on such indebtedness and the terms and conditions of such indebtedness; and (3) a list of the dollar amount of loans classified substandard, doubtful, and loss at the last examination of the bank. Title X: Financial Institutions Examination Council - Federal Bank Examination Council Act - Establishes the Bank Examination Council which shall prescribe uniform principles and standards for the Federal examination of financial institutions. Directs the Council to make recommendations for uniformity in other supervisory matters, including classification of loans subject to risk and identification of financial institutions in need of special supervisory attention. Requires the Council to establish a liaison committee composed of five representatives of State supervisory agencies in order to encourage the application of uniform examination principles and standards by State and Federal supervisory agencies. Authorizes the Comptroller of the Currency, upon the request of the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System, to examine foreign operations of State member banks. Title XI: Right to Financial Privacy - Right to Financial Privacy Act - Prohibits any Federal Agency or employee, or any State of local government, from obtaining copies of, access to, or the information contained in, the financial records of any customer from a financial institution unless such records are described with particularity and: (1) such customer has authorized such disclosure in accordance with this Act; (2) such records are disclosed in response to an administrative subpena or summons; (3) such records are disclosed in response to a court order; or (4) such records are disclosed in response to a judicial subpena. States that no depository institution may provide to a Federal agency or employee, or to any State or local government, copies of or the information contained in the financial records of any customer except in accordance with the requirements of this Act. Requires that any depository institution which operates a customer bank communications terminal establish precautions which prevent unauthorized access to, or use of, the terminal and disclosure to unauthorized parties. Sets forth provisions governing customer authorization, administrative subpenas and summons, judicial subpenas, and search warrants. Prescribes civil and criminal penalties for violation of the provisions of this Title. Title XII: Charters for Thrift Institutions - Amends the Home Owners' Loan Act to authorize the Home Loan Bank Board to provide for the organization, chartering operation, and regulation of associations to be known as Federal Savings and Loan Associations or Federal mutual savings banks. Subjects converting mutual savings banks to: (1) the requirements of existing State law pertaining to discrimination in the extension of home mortgage loans if the State requirements are more stringent than Federal laws and regulations; (2) a residential housing investment quota; and (3) such conditions of the Federal Home Loan Bank Board may prescribe. Establishes a five year shared risk program in the event that a converting institution fails. Title XIII: Holding Companies - Grants cease and desist and removal authority to the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System with respect to bank holding companies and to the Federal Home Loan Bank Board with respect to savings and loan holding companies. Sets forth civil penalties for violations of the Bank Holding Company Act. Eliminates the exemption for agricultural, labor, and horticultural organizations under the Bank Holding Company Act. Permits the waiver of the 30 day notice requirement for acquisitions of banks by bank holding companies when the action would facilitate the acquisition of a failing bank. Prohibits bank mergers or acquisitions by bank holding companies if such transactions would result in a monopoly, furtherance of a combination or conspiracy to monopolize, or substantially lessen competition in any section of the country unless such anticompetitive effects are clearly outweighed in the public interest by the probable effect of the transaction in meeting the convenience and needs of the community to be served. Prohibits such transactions if the appropriate regulatory agency finds that as a result of such transaction any one bank or holding company will control more than 20 percent of the banking assets held by banks in the States in which such bank of holding company is located. Excepts from such 20 percent prohibition a transaction which the appropriate agency finds to be immediately necessary to prevent the probable failure of a bank and where such agency finds that a less anticompetitive alternative is not available. Gives the appropriate agency discretion to prohibit such a transaction even if it is not disallowed by any other part of this Act if it is found to have probable adverse effects on competition or market concentration which are not clearly outweighed by the public interest. Gives the Department of Justice an independent right to seek a court injunction for any violation of this Act. Gives the district courts of the United States jurisdiction to prevent and restrain violations of this Act. Restricts standards for the entry of bank holding companies into bank related activities by requiring that such companies may not enter into such activities unless they are so closely and directly related to banking or managing or controlling banks that they are considered a proper and necessary incident thereto. Requires that such activity be likely to produce substantial benefits to the public which clearly and significantly outweigh possible adverse affects. Allows a bank holding company to continue specified activities so long as it has continuously engaged in those activities. Prohibits any national bank from engaging in any activity which the Board finds to be an improper activity for bank holding companies in general, or the holding company owning the bank in question, in particular. Requires bank holding companies and their subsidiaries to be capitalized in a safe and sound manner and to refrain from discriminating in making loans in favor of their parent holding company or their affiliated subsidiaries. Requires regular reports to the Board dealing with all intercompany loans. Sets forth procedures for administration of this Act and for judicial review. Gives to any interested person the right to petition the Board to commence a proceeding to consider the issuance, amendment, or revocation of a regulation promulgated here under. Title XIV: Effective Date - States that this Act shall take effect 120 days after enactment.
United States · United States Congress · 12 October 1977
Sunset Program Evaluation Act - Title I: Authorizations of New Budget Authority - Requires Government programs to be evaluated pursuant to a specified schedule to determine whether each such program should be continued, terminated, or altered (sunset review). Prohibits the authorization of new budget authority for a period of more than six years. Prohibits the authorization of new budget authority for any program for which there has not been conducted a sunset review. Title II: Program Inventory - Requires the Congressional Research Service to compile an inventory of Federal programs including a description of such programs covering specified topics. Title III: Program Evaluation - Requires each House of Congress to select from the program scheduled for sunset review in any given year a number of programs for comprehensive sunset review. Requires the President and each congressional committee to recommend such programs. Title IV: Citizens' Commission on the Organization and Operation of Government - Establishes an independent Citizen's Commission on the Organization and Operation of Government to study the organization and operation of Federal agencies and to recommend ways to improve the efficiency and operations of such agencies. Requires the Commission to submit its final report by July 1, 1981, and terminates the Commission 90 days after the submission of such report. Title V: Miscellaneous - Requires the Comptroller General to furnish Congress with the results of prior audits and reviews of programs being reviewed under this Act.
United States · United States Congress · 6 October 1977
Declares it the sense of Congress that the proposed toll increases on the Saint Lawrence Seaway should not be adopted and that negotiations on new tolls should be reopened, and if any toll increases are necessary, such increases should be minimal.
United States · United States Congress · 5 October 1977
National Product Liability Act - Declares that the purpose of this Act is to establish a substantive law of product liability for damages resulting from harm caused by products affecting interstate commerce and to establish a product liability action therefor. States that such product liability action preempts all existing causes and laws for the same purpose. Subjects whomever is engaged in interstate commerce and manufactures or sells: (1) a product which is in a defective condition; or (2) any product and fails to warn or protect against a dangerous condition in the use or reasonably foreseeable misuse or unintended use of the product or fails to provide proper instructions for the intended use of that product, to liability for the harm caused despite the fact that the manufacturer or seller has exercised all possible care in the preparation and/or sale of the product. Allows any person harmed by a product who is a reasonably anticipated user or consumer of the product to bring an action in "product liability" against the manufacturer or seller of the product. Allows any person against whom a product liability action is brought to bring an action for indemnification or other appropriate relief against any third party whose misconduct has caused or contributed to the harm for which damages are sought. Limits the time for commencing a product liability action to two years from the date when the harm is first sustained, discovered, or in the exercise of reasonable care should have been discovered. Stipulates that a product shall be deemed in defective condition only if it is unreasonably dangerous for its intended use at the time the product left the control of the party against whom the action is being brought. Prohibits the awarding of punitive or exemplary damages unless the trier of fact finds that the accused acted out of malice or willfully or wantonly acted in flagrant disregard of public health and safety. Allows the primary forum for trying cases brought under this Act to remain in the State courts.
United States · United States Congress · 27 September 1977
Provides for payment of a supplemental tuition allowance to each qualified veteran upon application to the Administrator of Veterans' Affairs. Limits such allowance to no more than $900 with the first $400 of the tuition cost being paid by the veteran, and the Administrator paying 75 percent of the next $1,200 for the school year.
United States · United States Congress · 27 September 1977
Declares that the President should establish a Commission on Domestic and International Hunger and Malnutrition which should: (1) collect and generate information and resources on food, hunger, malnutrition and related concerns; (2) assess current programs affecting domestic and international hunger and malnutrition; (3) analyze and report its findings and recommendations to the President, the Congress, and the public; and (4) assist the President and the Congress in implementing its recommendations.
United States · United States Congress · 23 September 1977
Allows a tax deduction up to $750 for ordinary and necessary expenses incurred by a taxpayer under the Internal Revenue Code in making repairs and improvements to his residence during the taxable year. Allows the owner of rental housing to amortize at an accelerated rate (over a 60-month period) the cost of rehabilitating or restoring such housing. Authorizes the taxpayer to switch from such accelerated amortization to the regular depreciation deduction allowable under the Internal Revenue Code for property used in a trade or business or held for the production of income.
United States · United States Congress · 22 September 1977
Amends the Federal Meat Inspection Act to permit States to impose inspection, marking, labeling, packaging, and ingredient requirements that are more stringent than Federal standards.
United States · United States Congress · 15 September 1977
Provides that representatives of the Polish Legion of American Veterans are recognized as claims agents for claims arising under laws administered by the Veterans' Administration.
United States · United States Congress · 15 September 1977
Right to Financial Privacy Act - States that the purposes of this Act are to protect and preserve the confidential relationship between financial institutions and their customers and the constitutional rights of those customers, and to promote commerce by prescribing policies and procedures to insure that customers have the same right to protection against unwarranted disclosure of customer records as if the records were in their possession. Prohibits any Federal agency or employee, or any State or local government, from obtaining copies of, access to, or the information contained in, the financial records of any customer from a financial institution unless such records are described with particularity and: (1) such customer has authorized such disclosure in accordance with this Act; (2) such records are disclosed in response to an administrative subpena or summons; (3) such records are disclosed in response to a court order; or (4) such records are disclosed in response to a judicial subpena. States that no financial institution may provide to a Federal agency or employee, or to any State or local government, copies of or the information contained in the financial records of any customer except in accordance with the requirements of this Act. Sets forth provisions governing customer authorization, administrative subpenas and summons, and judicial subpenas. Prescribes civil and criminal penalties for violation of the provisions of this Title.
United States · United States Congress · 14 September 1977
Title I: Authorizations of New Budget Authority - Sunset Act - Sets forth a five-year schedule for review and reauthorization of all Federal programs according to budget function and subfunction as set forth in the Budget of the United States Government for Fiscal Year 1977. States that no program not specifically reauthorized by Congress pursuant to this Act shall continue to function after the review date set forth in such schedule. Excepts from the requirements of this Act specified programs such as health care services,general retirement and disability insurance, and Federal employment retirement and disability payments. Permits legislation authorizing Federal program review more often than every five years as required by this Act. Requires the Comptroller General to identify for Congress for each program being reviewed the type of budget authority such program has and those inactive programs for which no outlays have been made during fiscal years 1976 and 1977. Title II: Review of Programs - Requires the authorizing committees of the Senate and House of Representatives to conduct sunset reviews of all programs prior to the review date applicable to such program and to issue a report on the findings of such review. Sets forth guidelines for the content of such sunset reviews, including the identification of programs with duplicative objectives and an assessment of the impact of eliminating the program or funding it at a lower level. Provides the authorizing committees with assistance from the Government Accounting Office, the Congressional Budget Office, and the Congressional Research Service in carrying out such sunset reviews. Title III: Citizens' Commission on the Organization and Operation of Government - Establishes a Citizens' Commission on the Organization and Operation of Government to study and make recommendations on ways to improve the efficiency and effectiveness of the Federal Government. Requires the Commission to submit its final report together with its findings and recommendations no later than September 30, 1980. Requires the Comptroller General to report once a year for two years after submission of the Commission's final report the status of actions taken as a result of the report. Terminates the Commission 90 days after submission of its final report. Authorizes to be appropriated $12,000,000 to carry out the provisions of this Title. Title IV: Tax Expenditures - Requires the Joint Committee on Taxation, after consultation with Secretary of the Treasury and the Budget Committees of the House and Senate, to prepare a reauthorization schedule for all tax expenditures, similar to the schedule set out in Title I for Federal programs, and to report its recommendations to the Committees on Ways and Means and Finance. Requires the Congress to take final action before the end of the 95th Congress on the schedule for tax expenditures. States that, following the adoption of the schedule, the Committees on Ways and Means and Finance are required to conduct sunset reviews of tax expenditures according to the schedule. Sets forth guidelines for such reviews similar to those set out in Title II for such programs. Title V: Miscellaneous - Requires Executive Department agency heads to submit to Congress after the President has submitted his budget a statement of that agency's request for new budget authority as transmitted to the Office of Management and Budget. Requires agency heads to furnish the authorizing committees of Congress information regarding supplemental budget requests and supplemental estimates of outlays. Provides for a one-year grace period for programs which have not been specifically reauthorized by the scheduled time.
United States · United States Congress · 12 September 1977
Career Criminals Prosecution Act - Authorizes the Administrator of the Law Enforcement Assistance Administration to provide grants and technical assistance to certain units of local government having populations of at least 250,000 for the establishment and operation of programs designed to identify and expedite the prosecution of career criminal offenders. Sets forth requirements for grant applications and limits on payments to any single local government.
![Official portrait of Rep. Blanchard, James [D-MI-18]](https://www.congress.gov/img/member/b000538_200.jpg)