United States · United States Congress · 26 June 1986
Amends the Temporary Emergency Food Assistance Act of 1983 to require that excess cheese held by the Commodity Credit Corporation be made available, at the request of the chief executive officer of a State, upon a showing of need, and without charge, for distribution by eligible agencies in the State.
United States · United States Congress · 19 June 1986
Amends Federal defense procurement provisions to prohibit the head of a defense agency from contracting with a firm in which a foreign government (or an agent or instrumentality of such foreign government) owns or controls a significant interest, if such foreign government: (1) is an enemy of the United States; or (2) has repeatedly provided support for acts of international terrorism. Authorizes the head of a defense agency to enter into a contract with such a firm: (1) at the end of the 30-day period after such agency head submits a report to the Congress describing such contract; and (2) if the Secretary of Defense has determined that entering into such a contract would not be inconsistent with the foreign policy or national security objectives of the United States. Directs the head of an agency to require any firm submitting a bid or proposal to disclose any significant interest owned or controlled by a foreign government. Makes this Act inapplicable to: (1) contracts for less than $100,000; or (2) the Coast Guard or the National Aeronautics and Space Administration. Directs the Secretary, within 180 days after the enactment of this Act, to prescribe regulations to carry out this Act. Prohibits the Secretary from obligating or expending any amount appropriated to the Department of Defense for FY 1986 or 1987 for certain engineering equipment acquisition contracts to any firm in which the Libyan Government owns or controls a significant interest.
United States · United States Congress · 19 June 1986
Long-Term Care Patient Advocacy Act of 1986 - Amends the Older Americans Act of 1965 to authorize ombudsmen to designate agents to perform ombudsman functions. Directs the State agency administering the programs under such Act to establish a mandatory training program for ombudsmen and their agents, providing instruction on investigative techniques and the laws and regulations pertaining to long-term care facilities. Protects ombudsmen and their agents from liability if they exercise reasonable care in pursuit of their duties. Directs the State agency to establish: (1) a statewide register which lists information relating to reported incidents of abuse in skilled nursing or intermediate care facilities; and (2) a procedure by which an employee of such facilities or an ombudsman may enter a report in the statewide register detailing alleged incidents of abuse. Amends titles XVIII (Medicare) and XIX (Medicaid) of the Social Security Act to require ombudsmen access to patient records in skilled nursing and intermediate care facilities upon the patient's consent and the establishment of reasonable cause. Imposes civil fines and other sanctions upon skilled nursing or intermediate care facilities failing to satisfy Medicare skilled nursing facility requirements. Grants skilled nursing facilities a hearing before the imposition of sanctions. Prohibits the reinstatement of skilled nursing or intermediate care facility participation in the Medicare or Medicaid program earlier than two years from the termination of their participation by reason of their failure to satisfy program requirements. Requires the administrative staff of skilled nursing or intermediate care facilities to clear a criminal background check. Prohibits such facilities from employing individuals within 12 months of their having been dismissed from a facility and cited in a report to the statewide register as suspected abusers of patients in such a facility. Requires skilled nursing and intermediate care facilities to consider only the severity of an applicant's illness and the application date in deciding admissions, unless at least 80 percent of the facility's population are Medicare or Medicaid beneficiaries. Sets forth reporting requirements regarding the quality of care and conditions at long-term and intermediate care facilities.
United States · United States Congress · 19 June 1986
Amends the Packers and Stockyards Act, 1921 to include poultry and eggs within the purview of such Act. Gives poultry and egg producers and cash sellers who have not received full payment from specified large poultry dealers or packers a beneficial interest in all poultry products and proceeds from their poultry until full payment has been made by such producers or sellers. States that payment shall not be considered to have been made if the seller or producer receives a payment instrument which is dishonored. Requires the seller or producer in such instance to preserve his interest as provided for by this Act. Requires full payment by the next business day in a cash sale and within seven days following the week of slaughter in a poultry growing arrangement. Permits the parties to modify such payment schedules. Makes a delay in fund collection in order to extend the payment period an unfair practice under such Act. Provides egg producers with similar protections.
United States · United States Congress · 19 June 1986
Designates July 3, 1986, as Let Freedom Ring Day. Requests the President to encourage people to ring bells immediately following the relighting of the torch of the Statue of Liberty.
United States · United States Congress · 18 June 1986
Social Security Administrative and Investment Reform Act of 1986 - Title I: Establishment of the Social Security Administration - Amends title VII (Administration) of the Social Security Act to establish as an independent executive agency a Social Security Administration, headed by a Social Security Board. Provides that it shall be the duty of the Administration to administer the programs established by titles II (Old Age, Survivors and Disability Insurance) and XVI (Supplemental Security Income) of the Social Security Act. Requires the Board to study and make recommendations as to the most effective methods of providing economic security through social insurance and as to legislation and matters of administrative policy. Establishes in the Administration: (1) a Commissioner of Social Security; (2) a Deputy Commissioner of Social Security; (3) a General Counsel; (4) an Inspector General; and (5) an Office of the Beneficiary Ombudsman, to be headed by a Beneficiary Ombudsman who shall represent the interests of beneficiaries under the Old Age, Survivors and Disability Insurance program and the Supplemental Security Income Program within the Administration. Requires the annual report of the Board to include a description of the activities of the Beneficiary Ombudsman. Requires the Board to make annual budgetary recommendations relating to the Administration. Requires that appropriations requests by the Administration for staffing and personnel be based upon a comprehensive workforce plan as established by the Board. Provides for the apportionment of administrative costs. Requires the annual report of the Board to include a section reflecting the use of budget authority provided to the Administration. Requires that authority for automated data processing procurement and facilities construction be provided in the form of contract authority covering the total cost of such acquisitions. Makes amounts needed for the liquidation of contract authority so provided available from the Federal Old-Age and Survivors Insurance Trust Fund and the Federal Disability Insurance Trust Fund to the extent that such amounts are not needed to meet current obligations for benefit payments. Requires the Board and the Director of the Office of Personnel Management to implement demonstration projects relating to personnel matters. Directs the Board and the Administrator of General Services to implement such projects relating to delegations from the Administrator. Specifies the authorities which are to be delegated to the Board from the Administrator and the Director. Requires the Comptroller General to report to specified congressional committees concerning such projects, including an evaluation of the Board's readiness to assume full and permanent authority. Requires the Board to cause a seal of office to be made and judicial notice taken thereof. Provides for the transfer to the Administration of all functions carried out by the Secretary of Health and Human Services with respect to the programs and activities to be carried out by the Administration under this Act. Abolishes the position of Commissioner of Social Security in the Department of Health and Human Services. Sets forth effective date and transitional rule provisions. Title II: Conforming Amendments and Rules of Construction - Requires the Secretary and the Board to report to the Congress within 120 days after the beginning of each regular session on their administration under this Act. Requires the Secretary to study and make recommendations on the most effective methods of providing economic security and on the administrative policy for the programs. Directs the Board to appoint, quadrennially, an Advisory Council on the Old-Age, Survivors, and Disability Insurance Program and an Advisory Council on Health and Supplementary Medical Insurance to review the relation of the trust funds supporting the OASDI program and the Medicare program and the long-term commitments of those programs. Requires each council to submit a report to the Board for transmittal to the Congress and the Board of Trustees of each Trust Fund. Title III: Management of the Federal Old-Age and Survivors Insurance Trust Fund and the Federal Disability Insurance Trust Fund - Amends the OASDI program to direct the Managing Trustee of the Federal Old-Age and Survivors Insurance Trust Fund and the Federal Disability Insurance Trust Fund (OASDI trust funds) to immediately invest that portion of the OASDI trust funds which is not required for current withdrawals. Requires the investment to be made in accordance with policies established by the Social Security Board. Prohibits the sale and redemption of OASDI trust fund assets or the expenditure of OASDI trust fund amounts for purposes other than those specified in title II of the Act. Requires members of such trust funds' Board of Trustees to faithfully execute their duties, but does not impose a fiduciary duty. Requires that, in consideration of the public debt limit, required investment of trust fund amounts occur prior to the issuance of other obligations. Directs that tax receipts earmarked for the OASDI program be immediately transferred (currently, monthly transfers are made) from the general fund of the Treasury to the OASDI trust funds. Requires the Board of Trustees of the OASDI trust funds to meet at least twice each year. Sets forth provisions requiring reports by the Board of Trustees and the Managing Trustees to the Congress regarding the operation and status of the OASDI trust funds. Title IV: Additional Matters - Amends the OASDI program to prohibit the payment of OASDI benefits to individuals who have been deported pursuant to the Immigration and Nationality Act because of activities conducted under the direction of or in association with the Nazi government of Germany or its allies. Requires individuals to be paid interim benefits in cases where an administrative law judge has determined their entitlement to certain OASDI or SSI (Supplementary Security Income) benefits, but the Secretary's final decision has not been issued within 90 days of the judge's decision. Excludes any representative of the Department of Health and Human Services, the Social Security Administration, any other agency of such department, or an involved State agency from appearing as a party at an OASDI or SSI benefit hearing or participating in the development of the record of such hearing, unless, in the latter case, the presiding officer requests such participation.
United States · United States Congress · 18 June 1986
Nuclear Winter Research Act of 1986 - Directs the Secretaries of Defense and of Energy to obligate specified amounts out of appropriated funds for FY 1987 through 1991 for nuclear winter research activities. Requires the Secretary of Defense, acting through the Director of the Defense Nuclear Agency, to distribute certain allocations to government and nongovernment entities for nuclear winter research activities. Allocates a specified amount for the Nuclear Winter Study Commission established by this Act. Directs such Commission to conduct a comprehensive study on the consequences of nuclear explosions and exchanges, including the implications of such consequences upon U.S. military and civil defense policies. Requires the Commission to report to the President and the Congress regarding the conduct of such study.
United States · United States Congress · 17 June 1986
Amends the National Housing Act to extend authority through FY 1987 for: (1) title I financial institution insurance for housing renovation and modernization; (2) general mortgage insurance; (3) low and moderate income and displaced families mortgage insurance; (4) homeownership for lower income families including mortgage insurance authority and housing stimulus authority; (5) mortgage co-insurance, including rental rehabilitation and development projects; (6) graduated payment and indexed mortgage insurance; (7) the demonstration mortgage reinsurance program; (8) mortgage insurance for armed forces' civilian employees and defense housing for impacted areas; (9) mortgage insurance for land development; and (10) mortgage insurance for medical and dental group practice facilities. Sets forth specified limits on FY 1986 and 1987 insured housing loans and on FY 1987 guaranteed mortgage-backed securities. Amends the Housing Act of 1964 to extend urban rehabilitation loan authority through FY 1987. Amends the Housing Act of 1949 to extend Farmers Home Administration authority through FY 1987 for: (1) insured loans for rental and cooperative housing and related facilities for elderly persons and families in rural areas; (2) rural communities with 10,000 to 20,000 population to participate in rural housing programs; and (3) mutual and self-help housing grant and loan authority. Amends the National Flood Insurance Act of 1968 to extend authority for national flood insurance, including emergency implementation and flood-risk zones through FY 1987. Amends the National Housing Act to extend authorities for the national crime insurance program and existing contracts through FY 1987. Amends the Housing and Community Development Act of 1974 to extend community development block grant entitlement authority for certain metropolitan city and urban county areas through FY 1987. Amends the Housing and Urban-Rural Recovery Act of 1983 to extend for 30 days the maximum interest rate limitation on loans for housing and related facilities for elderly or handicapped families through FY 1987. Extends the Home Mortgage Disclosure Act through FY 1987.
United States · United States Congress · 12 June 1986
Expresses the sense of the Congress that the threshold for itemized deductions for medical and dental expenses for Federal income tax purposes should not be greater than five percent of adjusted gross income.
United States · United States Congress · 11 June 1986
Expresses the sense of the Congress that the Director of the National Institutes of Health should transfer the Silver Spring Monkeys to the Primarily Primates, Inc., animal sanctuary in San Antonio, Texas.
United States · United States Congress · 10 June 1986
Honors the late Portuguese diplomat, Dr. Aristides de Sousa Mendes do Amarel e Abranches, for his extraordinary acts of mercy and justice during World War II.
United States · United States Congress · 5 June 1986
Amends the Perishable Agricultural Commodities Act, 1930 to require commission merchants, dealers, and brokers to label perishable agricultural commodities with their country of origin if not otherwise so indicated as provided for under the Tariff Act of 1930.
United States · United States Congress · 5 June 1986
National Organ and Tissue Donor Act - Amends the Public Health Service Act to direct the Secretary of Health and Human Services to encourage and assist States in enacting and implementing State laws requiring hospitals to establish protocols for identifying and assisting human organ and tissue donors. Directs the Secretary to report to the Congress within one year on such activities.
United States · United States Congress · 4 June 1986
Amends the Disaster Relief Act of 1974 to establish a cost-sharing formula for certain Federal disaster assistance programs. Declares the Federal share of assistance to be 75 percent for the repair of damaged public facilities and debris removal on the condition that remaining costs are paid by a State or local government. Declares the Federal share of assistance to be 100 percent for: (1) unemployment assistance; (2) temporary housing assistance; and (3) crisis counseling assistance and training.
United States · United States Congress · 20 May 1986
Amends the Small Business Act to set forth specified criteria to be used by the Small Business Administration for determining whether a small business or agricultural cooperative has suffered a substantial economic injury as a result of a disaster or Federal action with respect to the award of economic injury loans. Sets forth the effective date of eligibility for such loans. Prohibits the disapproval of such loans solely on the basis of the indebtedness of the applicant which existed prior to the disaster or Federal action which is claimed to have caused the economic injury.
United States · United States Congress · 20 May 1986
Amends the Internal Revenue Code to allow homeowners to deduct the full amount of prepaid interest in connection with the refinancing of their principal residences for the taxable year in which paid.
United States · United States Congress · 20 May 1986
Expresses the sense of the Congress that: (1) the essential air service to small communities program established under the Federal Aviation Act of 1958 should be maintained for the ten-year period for which it is authorized; and (2) no executive action should be taken to undermine this program.
United States · United States Congress · 15 May 1986
Amends the Federal Aviation Act of 1958 with respect to air carrier mergers or acquisitions to require the Secretary of Transportation to impose, as a condition of approval of such transactions, labor protective conditions that are calculated to mitigate possible adverse effects upon air carrier employees' employment, wages, or working conditions.
United States · United States Congress · 15 May 1986
Directs the Secretary of Defense to establish a pilot rental housing lease indemnity program under which the Secretary of each military department will guarantee to a lessor the lease payment of any member of such department, as well as any breach of the lease or damage to the rental unit. Requires such pilot program to be established within 90 days after the enactment of this Act, but not before October 1, 1986. Requires each Secretary to designate one military installation within the Secretary's jurisdiction for participation in such pilot program. Authorizes each Secretary to enter into agreements with rental unit lessors in order to carry out this Act. Outlines provisions to be included in such agreements. Authorizes any Secretary who compensates a lessor under this Act to garnish the wages of the member involved for an amount equal to the compensation paid to the lessor. Directs the Secretary of Defense, within 18 months following the establishment of such pilot program, to report to the Congress concerning the findings, conclusions, and recommendations of such program. Terminates the authority of any Secretary to enter into lease guarantee agreements with lessors under this Act 18 months after the establishment of the program.
United States · United States Congress · 13 May 1986
Amends the Trade Agreements Act of 1979 to repeal the authority in such Act to waive the Buy American Act. Requires Federal agencies to take tax losses and unemployment costs into account in determining the costs of awarding a contract to foreign competitors.
United States · United States Congress · 8 May 1986
Rural Health Care Improvement Act of 1986 - Amends part A (General Provisions) of title XI of the Social Security Act to require that whenever the Secretary of Health and Human Services proposes a regulation or promulgates a final version of a regulation under titles XVIII (Medicare), XIX (Medicaid), or part B (Peer Review) of title XI of the Act which will have a substantial impact on small rural hospitals, the Secretary make a regulatory impact analysis available to the public. Amends the Medicare program to continue, beyond FY 1986, current law regarding Medicare payment to sole community hospitals for capital-related costs, treating such costs as distinct from operating costs of inpatient hospital services. Provides certain small sole community and rural hospitals with payment for extremely high cost cases (outlier payments) which represent five or six percent of the total payments made to such hospitals. Sets aside ten percent of amounts expended by the Secretary on certain experiments and demonstration projects for projects relating exclusively to rural health issues. Requires fiscal intermediaries to pay certain small rural hospitals for Medicare claims, at the latest, 30 days after receiving the request for such payment. Amends title VII (Administration) of the Act to establish an Office of Rural Health Policy in the Office of the Administrator of the Health Care Financing Administration to: (1) advise the Administrator regarding the effects of changes in the Medicare and Medicaid programs on rural health; and (2) oversee compliance with provisions of this Act requiring regulatory impact analysis and rural health demonstration projects.
United States · United States Congress · 8 May 1986
Expresses the sense of the House of Representatives that if the basis recovery rule for annuities of employees who contribute to their retirement program is changed in tax reform legislation, in no event should such change apply to individuals retiring before the date of enactment of such legislation.
United States · United States Congress · 7 May 1986
Government Contractor Liability Reform Act of 1986 - Declares that this Act: (1) applies to all actions filed in Federal or State court; and (2) shall preempt and supersede any State law to the extent it is inconsistent with the provisions of this Act, unless it provides defenses to or limitations on a person's liability in addition to those provided by this Act. Provides that a government contractor shall not be found liable for damages in a contractor product liability action: (1) for any injury unless the contractor was negligent in the design, production, distribution, or sale of such product, or the product was defective, and such defect rendered the product unreasonably dangerous; (2) for any injury related to an unreasonable or unforeseeable use or alteration of the product; (3) for any injury related to the failure to provide an adequate warning or instruction as to any danger associated with the use of the product if such danger would be apparent to a reasonable person, or the danger is a matter of common knowledge; and (4) for any injury related to a design defect, or to a failure to provide such adequate warning or instruction, unless at the time the product was made the ability to discover and to eliminate the defect or danger was available and capable of use according to engineering and manufacturing practices which were reasonably feasible in existing technology. Declares that a contractor may not be found liabile for damages in a contractor service action unless the contractor is found to have been negligent in providing such service. Bars the application of joint and several liability in a contractor product liability or service action, except in those cases where the injury was proximately caused by two or more persons acting in concert. Declares that in actions subject to this Act, non-economic damages may not be awarded in excess of $100,000. Permits the periodic payment of judgments for future economic loss where the award exceeds $100,000. Provides that any award for damages for personal injury or death shall be reduced by the amount of compensation received from certain collateral sources of income for the same injury or death. Establishes a schedule for the size of any contingency fee an attorney may charge under this Act. Directs the Attorney General to provide the Congress, within one year after enactment of this Act, with recommendations to: (1) implement alternative dispute resolution techniques to achieve the efficient, cost-effective, and expeditious disposition of civil disputes; and (2) modify procedural and evidentiary rules to accommodate such techniques.
United States · United States Congress · 7 May 1986
Product Liability Reform Act of 1986 - Preempts inconsistent State laws. Declares that the provisions of this Act are inapplicable in certain actions under the Atomic Energy Act of 1954. Bases liability for damages in product liability actions on whether: (1) the design, production, distribution, or sale of the product was negligent; or (2) the product was defective, and such defect rendered the product unreasonably dangerous. Includes among the applicable defenses in such actions proof that: (1) the defect was the subject of an adequate warning; (2) the defect was apparent to a reasonable person, or the subject of common knowledge; (3) the injury resulted from an unreasonable or unforeseeable use or alteration of the product; and (4) at the time the product was made, the ability to discover and eliminate the defect was unavailable. States that joint and several liability may not be applied to any product liability action subject to this Act (unless persons acting in concert were the proximate cause of the injury). Limits the amount of damages for noneconomic losses to $100,000. Requires that damage awards for future economic losses exceeding $100,000 be made by periodic payments. Requires that damage awards be offset by amounts received as compensation for the same injury. Establishes a contingency fee schedule for plaintiffs' attorneys. Directs the Attorney General to provide recommendations regarding the creation, adoption, and use of alternative dispute resolution techniques.
United States · United States Congress · 7 May 1986
Amends title II (Old Age, Survivors and Disability Insurance) of the Social Security Act to replace the requirement that there be a least a three-percent rise in the Consumer Price Index before a cost-of-living adjustment of benefits is made with a requirement that such an adjustment be made whenever the cost of living increase is greater than zero.
United States · United States Congress · 30 April 1986
President's Council on Health Promotion and Disease Prevention Act of 1986 - Establishes the President's Council on Health Promotion and Disease Prevention. Includes among the Council's responsibilities an assessment of available but under-used health promotion and disease prevention resources. Directs the Council to advise the President on how such resources can be better utilized. Requires the Council to prepare and transmit a report to the President and to the Congress within 18 months. Terminates the Council within 18 months after enactment of this Act.
United States · United States Congress · 30 April 1986
Provides that, for taxable years beginning after 1984, rural letter carriers are permitted to compute the amount of their deduction for use of their automobiles in performance of such services: (1) by using a standard mileage rate for all such miles of such use equal to 150 percent of the basic standard rate; or (2) without applying the limitation on deductions rules where the business use of the automobile used in performing such services is not greater than 50 percent of the time. Prohibits the use of 150 percent of the basic standard mileage rate in determining the allowable deduction where the taxpayer claimed an investment tax credit or depreciation deduction for such automobile.
United States · United States Congress · 29 April 1986
Manufacture and Public Distribution of Certain Copyrighted Material Act - Amends the copyright law to extend indefinitely the manufacturing clause, which prohibits the importation of certain English language books not manufactured in the United States or Canada. Eliminates the Canadian exemption, per se, after 1988. Permits exemptions from such restriction if a foreign country, including Canada, is certified by the United States Trade Representative as providing adequate copyright protection for U.S. nationals and such country freely trades in printed matter with the United States or adheres to a bilateral or multilateral agreement with the United States and supports internationally recognized workers' rights.
United States · United States Congress · 28 April 1986
National Aeronautics and Space Administration Authorization Act, 1987 - Title I: NASA Authorization - Authorizes appropriations for FY 1987 to the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) for specified activities relating to: (1) research and development; (2) space flight, control and data communications; (3) construction of facilities; and (4) research and program management. Permits appropriations for research and development and for space flight, control and data communications, to be used: (1) for any items of a capital nature (other than acquisition of land) which may be required at locations other than NASA installations for the performance of research and development contracts; and (2) for grants to nonprofit institutions of higher education, or to nonprofit organizations whose primary purpose is the conduct of scientific research, for purchase or construction of additional research facilities. Requires the Administrator of NASA (the Administrator) to notify specified congressional officers and committees whenever the cost of a facility exceeds a specified amount. Permits funds appropriated for research construction of facilities to remain available without fiscal year limitation. Permits appropriations for research and program management to be used for scientific consultations or extraordinary expenses upon the approval of the Administrator. Limits to not more than $100,000 per project (including collateral equipment) the amount that may be used for construction of new facilities and additions to existing facilities, and for repair, rehabilitation, or modification of facilities, from funds appropriated for research and development, for space flight, control and data communications, and for research and program management. Limits to not more than $500,000 per project (including collateral equipment) the amount that may be used for any of the foregoing for unforeseen programmatic needs, from funds appropriated for research and development and for space flight, control and data communications. Permits the funds for construction of any of specified facilities: (1) in the discretion of the Administrator, to be varied upward ten percent; or (2) following a report by the Administrator to specified congressional committees, to be varied upward 25 percent to meet unusual cost variations. Permits one-half of one percent of the funds appropriated for research and development or for space flight, control and data communications, to be transferred to the appropriation for construction of facilities. Authorizes the expenditure of such transferred funds, together with a specified amount of the funds appropriated for construction of facilities, to construct, expand, or modify laboratories and other installations. Requires the Administrator, 30 days before expending such funds, to notify specified congressional officers and committees of the nature, cost, and necessity of such construction. Prohibits, until 30 days pass after congressional receipt of a full explanation by the Administrator, the use of funds appropriated pursuant to this Act for any program: (1) deleted by the Congress; (2) in excess of the amount actually authorized for the particular program under provisions for research and development, space flight, control and data communications, and research and program management; or (3) which has not been presented to either of the specified congressional committees. Declares that it is the sense of the Congress that it is in the national interest that consideration be given to geographical distribution of Federal research funds whenever feasible, and that NASA should explore ways of doing so. Directs the Administrator, by July 28, 1986, to submit to specified congressional committees a comprehensive plan for recovery of the Space Transportation System following the loss of the space shuttle orbiter Challenger and the return to manned space flight. Requires such plan to include a specific request for authorization to proceed. Expresses the sense of the Congress that: (1) there is an urgent national need for a replacement space shuttle orbiter which should be constructed immediately with additional funds; (2) the Administrator should explore the availability of and accept private funding for such construction, if it is in the national interest to do so; and (3) NASA should carry out a balanced space program, with particular emphasis on space science and applications. Amends the National Aeronautics and Space Act of 1958 to authorize the Administrator to accept gifts or donations for the construction of a space shuttle orbiter to be named "Challenger II." Terminates such authority five years after enactment of this Act. Provides that all such gifts and donations which are not needed for such construction shall be used in tribute to the crew of the space shuttle Challenger and in furtherance of the exploration of space. Requests the Working Group for Planetary System Nomenclature of the International Astronomical Union to officially designate seven of the ten moons recently discovered near the planet Uranus in the names of the crew members of the space shuttle Challenger. Expresses the sense of the Congress that NASA should move expeditiously to conduct a competition for alternative production for space shuttle solid rocket boosters. Directs the Administrator to report to specified congressional committees on NASA's progress in this matter every 90 days for one year after enactment of this Act. Provides that such requirements shall not be construed to direct the Administrator to select and qualify a second source of production for solid rocket boosters if the results of the competition would not produce significant savings for NASA. Amends the National Aeronautics and Space Act of 1958 to establish the National Aeronautics and Space Council in the Executive Office of the President. Directs the Council to advise the President on cooperation among Federal departments and agencies and designation of their specific responsibilities in the aeronautics and space field. Directs the Council to establish a User's Advisory Group composed of non-Federal representatives of industries and other persons involved in space activities. Title II: Office of Commercial Space Transportation - Amends the Commercial Space Launch Act to authorize appropriations for FY 1987 to the Secretary of Transportation to carry out such Act (which provides for licensing and liability insurance requirements for commercial space launches).
United States · United States Congress · 23 April 1986
Amends Federal armed forces provisions to direct the Secretary of the military department concerned to conduct an independent operational test and evaluation with respect to a major defense acquisition program under which a major system is to be acquired. Requires such test and evaluation to be conducted before the program may proceed into the production stage. Requires side-by-side testing as part of such test and evaluation. Requires the Director of Operational Test and Evaluation to independently analyze the results of each such operational test and evaluation, and to report such analyses to the Secretary of Defense. Prohibits the operational testing to be conducted until the Director approves in writing the adequacy of the plans for such operational test and evaluation. Authorizes the Secretary of Defense or the Secretary concerned to contract for low-rate initial production of a program only for the purpose of acquiring items for use in operational tests and evaluations. Prohibits a final decision from being made to proceed with full production of a program until 30 days after the congressional defense committees have received the report of the Director. Authorizes the President to suspend any provision of this Act in time of a declared war.
United States · United States Congress · 23 April 1986
Deficit Reduction Insurance Program - Amends the Balanced Budget and Emergency Deficit Control Act of 1985 (Gramm-Rudman-Hollings Act) to include the pay of Members of Congress within the coverage of such Act.
United States · United States Congress · 22 April 1986
Omnibus Debt Collection and Credit Management Act of 1986 - Title I: Establishment of Treasury Department Oversight - Requires the appointment of an Under Secretary of the Treasury for Debt Collection and Credit Management to: (1) supervise the development of, approve, and review the debt collection and credit management system of each Federal agency; (2) evaluate the effectiveness and value of disposing of the Government's loan and delinquent debt portfolio to private sources; (3) require each Federal agency to submit records on its debt status and collection efforts; and (4) provide an annual summary of the activities conducted under this Act to specified congressional committees. Requires the head of each Federal agency to submit for the Under Secretary's approval a comprehensive debt collection and credit management plan. Lists the contents of such a plan, including requirements for: (1) procedures for screening credit applicants; (2) loan origination and application fees to defray costs; and (3) payment schedules comparable to schedules used in private credit transactions. Title II: Improved Debt Collection Practices - Requires each executive and legislative agency to enter into a contract for the collection of indebtedness owed the United States that is delinquent by more than three months. Requires the contractor to report on its debt collection of indebtedness owed the United States that is delinquent by more than three months. Requires the contractor to report on its debt collection efforts at least biannually. Directs an agency to sell such debts which have not been collected within one year after being referred to a contractor, unless: (1) the contractor certifies that the debt is about to be collected; or (2) litigation to collect the debt has been initiated and not concluded. Requires an agency to disclose to consumer reporting agencies information concerning any debt exceeding $100 which is delinquent by more than 31 days. Amends the Internal Revenue Code to require (current law authorizes) the Secretary of the Treasury, upon written request, to disclose the address of a taxpayer for use by a Federal agency in collecting a debt owed the Government. Authorizes the U.S. Attorney General to make contracts retaining private counsel to furnish legal services in U.S. debt collection cases. Directs the Attorney General to obtain at least four such contracts with private individuals or firms in each district in which such a contract is made. Lists contract provision requirements. Authorizes executive and legislative agencies to refer debt claims to such counsel who shall be considered to be a debt collector under the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act. Provides that no counterclaim filed in any debt collection action brought on behalf of the United States by such counsel who shall be considered to be a counterclaim filed in any debt collection action brought on behalf of the United States by such counsel shall be valid unless served directly on the U.S. Attorney General or the U.S. attorney for the appropriate judicial district. Requires each executive agency, in accordance with standards prescribed by the Attorney General, to establish a unit for the conduct of litigation to collect delinquent debts owed to the United States. Directs the Attorney General to report to the Under Secretary quarterly on the status of litigation conducted by such units. Provides that no State law setting an earlier deadline than Federal law shall apply to the time limitation for filing suit for collection of a debt owed to the United States. Prohibits any legislative or executive agency from providing any Government funds to any person identified to be delinquent in the payment of the debt to the United States, unless: (1) the person demonstrates that the debt is no longer delinquent; or (2) satisfactory arrangements for payment of the debt have been made. Prohibits any court from granting any injunction against the collection of a debt owed to the United States pending final judgment on any review of such collection. Directs the Comptroller General to: (1) audit and report to each House of the Congress on the implementation of this title by executive and legislative agencies; and (2) report to each House annually on the status of debts owed to the United States. Title III: Budgetary Incentives for Improved Debt Collection and Credit Management - Expresses the intent and commitment of the Congress to promote implementation of this Act by: (1) conducting annual oversight hearings on such implementation and on the Under Secretary's report on activities under this Act; (2) permitting funds collected on delinquent debt as a result of such implementation to be returned to the program from which they are derived or used to offset reductions under the Balanced Budget and Emergency Deficit Control Act of 1985 (Gramm-Rudman-Hollings Act); (3) requiring that each direct and guaranteed loan program obtain ten percent of its budget authority from debt collection; and (4) requiring each Federal agency to submit a report on such implementation with its annual appropriations request.
United States · United States Congress · 21 April 1986
Social Security Reorganization Act of 1986 - Title I: Establishment of the Social Security Administration - Subtitle A: Establishment - Amends title VII (Administration) of the Social Security Act to establish as an independent executive agency a Social Security Administration, headed by a Social Security Board. Provides that it shall be the duty of the Administration to administer the programs established by titles II (Old Age, Survivors and Disability Insurance) and XVI (Supplemental Security Income) of the Social Security Act. Requires the Board to study and make recommendations as to the most effective methods of providing economic security through social insurance and as to legislation and matters of administrative policy. Establishes in the Administration: (1) a Commissioner of Social Security; (2) a Deputy Commissioner of Social Security; (3) a General Counsel; (4) an Inspector General; and (5) an Office of the Beneficiary Ombudsman, to be headed by a Beneficiary Ombudsman who shall represent the interests of beneficiaries under the Old Age, Survivors and Disability Insurance program and the Supplemental Security Income Program within the Administration. Requires the annual report of the Board to include a description of the activities of the Beneficiary Ombudsman. Requires the Board to make annual budgetary recommendations relating to the Administration. Requires that appropriations requests by the Administration for staffing and personnel be based upon a comprehensive workforce plan as established by the Board. Provides for the apportionment of administrative costs. Requires the annual report of the Board to include a section reflecting the use of budget authority provided to the Administration. Requires that authority for automated data processing procurement and facilities construction be provided in the form of contract authority covering the total cost of such acquisitions. Makes amounts needed for the liquidation of contract authority so provided available from the Federal Old-Age and Survivors Insurance Trust Fund and the Federal Disability Insurance Trust Fund to the extent that such amounts are not needed to meet current obligations for benefit payments. Requires the Board and the Director of the Office of Personnel Management to implement demonstration projects relating to personnel matters. Directs the Board and the Administrator of General Services to implement such projects relating to delegations from the Administrator. Specifies the authorities which are to be delegated to the Board from the Administrator and the Director. Requires the Comptroller General to report to specified congressional committees concerning such projects, including an evaluation of the Board's readiness to assume full and permanent authority. Requires the Board to cause a seal of office to be made and judicial notice taken thereof. Provides for the transfer to the Administration of all functions carried out by the Secretary of Health and Human Services with respect to the programs and activities to be carried out by the Administration under this Act. Abolishes the position of Commissioner of Social Security in the Department of Health and Human Services. Sets forth effective date and transitional rule provisions. Subtitle B: Conforming Amendments and Rules of Construction - Requires the Secretary and the Board to report to the Congress within 120 days after the beginning of each regular session on their administration under this Act. Requires the Secretary to study and make recommendations on the most effective methods of providing economic security and on the administrative policy for the programs which he or she administers. Directs the Board to appoint, quadrennially, an Advisory Council on the Old-Age, Survivors and Disability Insurance Program and an Advisory Council on Health and Supplementary Medical Insurance to review the relation between the trust funds supporting the Old-Age, Survivors and Disability Insurance program and the Medicare program and the long-term commitments of those programs. Requires each council to submit a report to the Board for transmittal to the Congress and the Board of Trustees of each Trust Fund. Sets forth the effective dates of this title. Title II: Social Security Court - Establishes, under article I of the Constitution, a Social Security Court (Court) having exclusive jurisdiction over cases arising under titles II (Old Age, Survivors and Disability Insurance), XVI (Supplemental Security Income), XVIII (Medicare), and XI of the Social Security Act. Amends title VII (Administration) of the Act to provide for the President's appointment of 20 judges to the Court. Authorizes review by the Court by means of hearings conducted before filed panels of one or more judges and held in a manner and at locations which the Court's chief judge prescribes as providing claimants with a reasonable opportunity to appear before the Court without great inconvenience. Allows the Court, within certain guidelines, to prescribe its procedural rules and punish, by fine or imprisonment, contempt of its authority. Requires the claimant and Secretary to be given notice and the opportunity to be heard upon a proceeding in the Court. Provides that within 60 days of a field panel's decision such decision shall be the decision of the Court, unless, within that period, a party petitions the Court's chief judge, or the chief judge makes his own motion, for the Court's review of the decision. Requires the publication for public use of precedential decisions. Authorizes any individual who has exhausted administrative remedies and was a party to a final decision rendered after a hearing under title II, XI, XVI, or XVIII of the Act to bring a timely action for review of such decision in the Court. Authorizes the Court to affirm, modify, or reverse the Secretary's decision, but restricts the Court's authority to reconsider factual findings. Subjects the Court's review to regulations of the Secretary or Social Security Board. Gives the United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit exclusive jurisdiction to review Social Security Court decisions upon a party's appeal, but prohibits such appeal until the Social Security Court has reviewed or denied a petition for review of its decision. Grants the district courts of the United States exclusive jurisdiction to review any final decision rendered after a hearing under titles II, XI, XVI, or XVIII of the Act if the claim arises under the Constitution or challenges the validity of any regulation of the Secretary or Social Security Board, but requires that the parties stipulate that there is no dispute as to material facts. Authorizes any party to the hearing (other than the Secretary or Social Security Board) to bring such claims to the district courts. Gives the United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit exclusive jurisdiction to review the final decisions of the district courts. Requires, when a district court decision necessitates regulatory change, that the Secretary and Social Security Board either make regulations conform to such decision or appeal such decision to the United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit. Abolishes the Department of Health and Human Services' Appeals Council one year after enactment of this Act. Title III: Disability Benefit Entitlement Review Procedures - Amends the OASDI and SSI programs of the Social Security Act to set forth a separate procedure for review of the Secretary's determination that the disability on which a benefit claim is based does not exist. Requires the Secretary, where such a determination is made, to issue a statement of the reasons for such decision and give interested parties notice of their right to an evidentiary hearing before a hearing officer who is not the individual who made the initial determination. Subjects the hearing officer's decision to court review only after an interested party (which may include the Secretary) makes a timely application for review by an administrative law judge. Permits the administrative law judge to modify or reverse the decision only if it is contrary to law or the case presents a novel question of law, though the judge may order additional evidence to be taken before the hearing officer. Authorizes the Secretary to review disability denials when the individual fails to meet time limits on filing for review, but considers a decision by an administrative law judge to be the Secretary's final decision. Alters the method for determining when a period of disability begins. Requires the payment of interim benefits under the OASDI and SSI programs where the Secretary appeals a decision rendered by a hearing officer or administrative law judge which is favorable to the applicant for or recipient of benefits and 60 days pass without resolution of the appeal.
United States · United States Congress · 17 April 1986
Amends title II (Old Age, Survivors and Disability Insurance) of the Social Security Act to eliminate the requirement that there be at least a three-percent rise in the Consumer Price Index before a cost-of-living adjustment of benefits is made.
United States · United States Congress · 17 April 1986
Declares that the House of Representatives, on behalf of the U.S. people, expresses its gratitude to the Government and people of the United Kingdom who assisted the United States in its exercise of self-defense against Libya and in the fight against state-sponsored international terrorism.
United States · United States Congress · 10 April 1986
Acid Deposition Control Act of 1986 - Title I: Stationary Sources - Amends the Clean Air Act to require States to develop and submit to the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) an emissions limitation compliance schedule for sulfur dioxide and oxides of nitrogen from fossil-fuel-fired electric utility steam generating units. Requires a two-phase reduction in such emissions, the first to be achieved by 1993, the second by 1997. Requires each State to develop and submit to the Administrator a plan to achieve emissions reductions from other fossil-fuel-fired steam generating units by 1977. Directs the Administrator to conduct and update a comprehensive annual inventory of emissions of sulfur dioxide and oxides of nitrogen from stationary sources, identifying achievable reductions which could be made by 1997. Requires States to submit to the Administrator for approval a plan for achieving such reductions. Grants States discretion in their choice of compliance measures. Requires the Administrator to report to the Congress by July 1, 1993, on phase I reductions and the feasibility of meeting phase II reductions. States that phase II reductions will not take effect if the Congress enacts legislation to that effect. Sets forth emissions rates a State without an approved reductions plan must follow. Authorizes the Administrator to impose a fee on the generation and importation of electric energy between December 31, 1988, and December 31, 1996, to subsidize the interest on qualified pollution control debt incurred by the utility. Establishes civil penalties for fee violations. Establishes in the Treasury the Acid Deposition Control Fund to receive such fees and provide interest subsidy payments for pollution control systems meeting specified standards. Revises the standards for nitrogen oxides emissions for new electric utility steam generating units which burn bituminous or subbituminous coal and for certain fossil-fuel-fired steam generating units. Requires certain smelters to be in compliance with the applicable emissions reduction standard by January 2, 1988, without extension or delay. Title II: Control of Emission from Mobile Sources - Sets oxides of nitrogen emission standards for motor vehicles for model years 1988, 1989, and beyond. Modifies hydrocarbon standards for trucks after model year 1989. Directs the Administrator to regulate sulfur in diesel fuel for 1989 and beyond. Requires either the use of onboard hydrocarbon control technology or the use of gasoline vapor recovery of hydrocarbon emissions emanating from fueling motor vehicles. Title III: International Cooperation - Expresses the concern of the Congress over transboundary pollution between the United States and Mexico and directs the Secretary of State and the Administrator to conclude an agreement within three months of enactment. Requires such an agreement to cover specified copper smelters. Requires the Secretary and the Administrator to report to the Congress within six months on negotiating such agreement. Requires EPA to perform atmospheric field experiments to determine the effects of sulfur dioxide emissions, before and after pollution controls, of the Nacozaria smelter, Mexico, on specified western States. Directs the Secretary to establish an international agency, or utilize an existing agency, to report on the effects of transboundary air pollution from copper smelters on public health and welfare in the United States and in Mexico.
United States · United States Congress · 9 April 1986
Non-Smokers' Rights Act of 1986 - Directs the Secretary of Health and Human Services, within 180 days of enactment of this Act, to promulgate regulations designating the areas in which smoking shall be allowed within buildings or building sections occupied by the Government. Requires the conspicuous display of signs at building entrances and in areas where smoking is permitted. Directs the Secretary to solicit comments from labor organizations and local health organizations prior to promulgating regulations. Prohibits such regulations from superseding those which provide more stringent restrictions on smoking. Declares that nothing in this Act prevents more stringent regulations from being promulgated.
United States · United States Congress · 9 April 1986
Bilingual Education Act Amendments of 1986 - Amends the Bilingual Education Act (the Act) to add to the statement of policy the declaration that, regardless of the method of instruction, programs which serve children of limited English proficiency have the equally important goals of developing both academic achievement and English proficiency. Removes a requirement that the Secretary of Education (the Secretary) reserve limited portions of funds under the Act for special alternative instructional programs and related activities. Removes a requirement that the Secretary reserve at least 75 percent of funds under part A (Financial Assistance for Bilingual Education Programs) of the Act for transitional bilingual education programs.
United States · United States Congress · 9 April 1986
Prohibits the issuance of a letter of offer with respect to specified proposed sales of Sidewinder, Stinger, and Harpoon missiles and services to Saudi Arabia, as described in the April 8, 1986, certifications from the President to the Congress under the Arms Export Control Act.
![Official portrait of Rep. Boehlert, Sherwood [R-NY-24]](https://www.congress.gov/img/member/b000586_200.jpg)