United States · United States Congress · 31 January 1975
Emergency Homeowners' Relief Act - Declares that the purpose of this Act is to prevent widespread mortgage defaults and the distress-sale of homes as a result of adverse economic conditions. Authorizes and directs the Secretary of Housing and Urban Development to make repayable emergency mortgage relief payments on behalf of distressed homeowners when he determines that such action is necessary and that there is a reasonable prospect that the homeowner will be able to make necessary adjustments for the full resumption of mortgage payments. Defines "distressed homeower" as one or more persons who own and occupy a dwelling as a principal residence and whose income has declined by more than 20 percent as the result of unemployment or other adverse economic conditions. Limits relief payments to a period not exceeding two years. Provides that payments be repaid on such terms as the Secretary prescribes. Empowers the Secretary to delegate any of his functions under this Act to other Federal agencies or private entities. Authorizes the Secretary to establish a revolving fund for mortgage relief payments and other specified purposes, including payment of obligations issued to the Secretary of the Treasury to enable the Secretary of Housing and Urban Development to carry out his functions under this Act. Provides for a payment expiration date of July 1, 1976.
United States · United States Congress · 31 January 1975
Declares it to be the sense of the House of Representatives that: (1) the Government of the United States should maintain and protect its sovereign rights and jurisdiction over the canal and zone, and should in no way cede, dilute, forfeit, negotiate, or transfer any of these sovereign rights, power, authority, jurisdiction, territory, or property that are indispensably necessary for the protection and security of the United States and the entire Western Hemisphere; (2) that there be no relinquishment or surrender of any presently vested United States sovereign right, power, or authority or property, tangible or intangible, except by treaty authorized by the Congress and duly ratified by the United States; and (3) that there be no recession to Panama, or other divestiture of any United States-owned property, tangible or intangible, without prior authorization by the Congress (House and Senate), as provided in article IV, section 3, clause 2 of the United States Constitution.
United States · United States Congress · 30 January 1975
Authorizes the President to provide financial assistance to land- grant-type universities to enable such universities to assist and cooperate in developing and improving land-grant-type universitites in agriculturally developing nations. Lists programs designed to effectuate this assistance including: (1) cooperation in developing capacity in the university in the cooperating nation for classroom teaching, and (2) cooperation in agricultural research to promote efficiency in the production of food. Establishes an International Land-Grant University Advisory Board to assist in the administration of this Act. Authorizes to be appropriated such sums as may be necessary to carry out the provisions of this Act. Stipulates that such sums shall not exceed $150,000,000 in a fiscal year.
United States · United States Congress · 30 January 1975
Family Farm Inheritance Act - States that for purposes of the estate tax under the Internal Revenue Code the value of the taxable estate shall be determined by deducting the lesser of: (1) $200,000; or (2) the value of the decedent's interest in a family farming operation continuously owned by him or his spouse for five years prior to his death and which passes to a related individual. Disqualifies the individual to whom the estate passes from the tax benefit authorized by this Act if such individual, within five years after the decedent's death, sells or removes the family farming operation.
United States · United States Congress · 30 January 1975
American Folklife Preservation Act - Creates an American Folklife Center in the Library of Congress. Provides that the center shall be subject to the supervision and direction of a board of trustees. Specifies the composition of the board, including: four members appointed by the President, eight members appointed by the Librarian of Congress, the Librarian of Congress and the director of the Center. Authorizes the Center to establish and implement a program of contracts, grants, revitalize and scholarships to preserve, protect, revitalize and disseminate American folklife traditions and arts. Provides that no payment shall be made pursuant to this Act to carry out any research or training over a period in excess of two years, with specified exceptions. Provides that no former employee of the Federal government shall be eligible to receive any grant or other assistance under this Act in the two year period following the termination of such employment. Requires the Center to submit to the Librarian of Congress, for inclusion in its annual report to the Congress, an annual report of its operations under this Act. Authorizes to be appropriated to the Center to carry out the provisions of this Act $167,750 for fiscal year 1976, $710,000 for fiscal year 1977, and $1,716,000 for fiscal year 1978.
United States · United States Congress · 28 January 1975
Expresses the sense of the Congress that the President should not impose any tariff or other import restriction on petroleum or petroleum products before April 1, 1975, so as to give the Congress a reasonable period of time in which to act legislatively on such matter if it determines such action is necessary.
United States · United States Congress · 20 January 1975
Reduces the rate of tax imposed under the Internal Revenue Code of 1954 on the self-employed, employees, and employers for the payment of the cost of the old-age, survivors and disability insurance and the hospital insurance programs of the Social Security Act. Increases the contribution and benefit base for tax determination purposes under the old-age, suriviors and disability insurance program. Increases by 50 percent the annual Federal contribution to the Federal Old-Age and Survivors Insurance Trust Fund.
United States · United States Congress · 16 January 1975
Requires the return of any vessel which is the property of the United States and has been loaned or leased to a country which has, on or after January 1, 1967, seized any U.S. fishing vessel on account of its activities in waters recognized by the United States as international waters. Directs the Secretary of the Navy, if a leased ship is involved, to take such actions as may be necessary to insure the return of such vessel. (Adds 22 U.S.C. 1978)
United States · United States Congress · 14 January 1975
Interim Fisheries Zone Extension and Management Act - Extends the jurisdiction of the United States over specified ocean areas and fish for purposes of protecting the domestic fishing industry. Requires the Secretary of Commerce to conduct research in order to promote the conservation of fish originating in the United States territorial sea and contiguous fisheries zone. Authorizes the appropriation of up to $1,000,000 in any fiscal year to carry out the provisions of this Act.
United States · United States Congress · 18 November 1974
National Wildlife Refuge System Administration Act Amendments - Requires the payment of the fair market value of rights-of-way or other interests granted in wildlife refuges by the Secretary of the Interior. Provides that the sums received, after payment of expenses, shall be deposited in the Migratory Bird Conservation Fund. (Amends 16 U.S.C. 668dd(d); 715s(e).
United States · United States Congress · 15 October 1974
Surface Transportation Act - Title I: Financial Assistance to Railroads - Rail Freight Transportation Improvement Act - Authorizes the Secretary of Transportation to guarantee any person against loss of principal and interest on securities, obligations (including rolling stock leases), or loans issued for the purpose of financing acquisitions or improvements specified in this Act. States that the maturity date of any security, obligation, or loan, including all extensions and renewals thereof, shall not be later than 20 years from its date of issuance, nor be later than the end of the useful life of any asset to be financed by the security, obligation, or loan. Provides that the loan guarantees authorized by this Act may be made for the purpose of financing the acquisition, construction, maintenance, or development of the following railroad facilities and equipment: (1) track determined by the Secretary to be essential for present and future rail service needs; (2) structures and similar improvements; (3) railroad communications and power transmission systems; (4) signals; (5) terminal facility modernization and consolidation; and (6) new and rebuilt rolling stock. Requires that before making any guarantees pursuant to this Act the Secretary must consider whether the prospective obligee is responsible and whether adequate provision will be made for servicing the obligation. Creates within the Treasury a separate fund which shall be available to the Secretary without fiscal year limitation as a revolving fund for the purpose of this Act. Authorizes to be appropriated to the fund from time to time such amounts as may be necessary to provide capital for the fund. Provides that all amounts received by the Secretary as payments, fees, and any other money, property, or assets acquired by him from his operations in connection with this section shall be deposited in the fund. Requires that all guarantees, expenses, and payments pursuant to operations of the Secretary under this Act shall be paid from the fund. Authorizes the Secretary to conduct research and development into the design of a national rolling stock management information system which, utilizing advanced computer and communication techniques, would be capable of locating and expediting the movement of rolling stock on a national basis. Directs the Secretary to study, in cooperation with the Interstate Commerce Commission and the railroads, the information, functions, and procedures necessary to provide efficient and expeditious car service on a national basis. Requires that, within 2 years from the date of of enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall report to the Congress his recommendations respecting the organization, development, funding, and implementation of any national system which he may design as a result of research and development. Directs the Secretary to conduct a study respecting: (1) the costs to individual railroads of installing rolling stock management information systems compatible with a national system designed under this Act; and (2) the economic, safety, and service benefits to be derived from compatible systems. Requires that not later than 2 years from the date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall announce his recommendations for the installation of the systems by individual railroads. Directs the Secretary of Transportation to conduct a study of the potential benefits of railroad electrification for high density rail lines in the United States, and to report the findings of such study to the Congress not later than 6 months after the date of enactment of this Act. Authorizes to be appropriated $15,000,000 for the purpose of carrying out provisions of this Act, including the payment of necessary administrative expenses, to remain available until expended. Title II: Provisions Relating to Discriminatory State Tax Practices - Provides, under the Interstate Commerce Act, that any of the following actions by any State, or subdivision or agency thereof, whether any such action be taken pursuant to a constitutional provision, statute, or administrative order or practice, or otherwise, is declared to constitute an unreasonable and unjust discrimination against, and an undue burden upon, interstate commerce and is forbidden and declared to be unlawful: (1) the property tax assessment of transportation property of any common or contract carrier at a value which bears a higher ratio to the true market value of such transportation property than the assessed value of all other commercial and industrial property bears to the true market value of all such other commercial and industrial property; (2) the collection of any tax on the portion of such assessment so declared to be unlawful; (3) the collection of any ad valorem property tax on such transportation property at a tax rate higher than the tax rate generally applicable to commercial and industrial property in the taxing district; and (4) the imposition of any other tax which results in discriminatory treatment of a common or contract carrier subject to such Act. Declares it to be unlawful: (1) to assess such transportation property at a value which bears a higher ratio to the true market value of such transportation property than the assessed value of all other property (located in the assessment jurisdiction in which is included such taxing district and subject to a property tax levy) bears to the true market value of all such other property; or (2) to collect any ad valorem property tax on such transportation property at a tax rate higher than the tax rate generally applicable to taxable property in the taxing district. Grants to the district courts of the United States the jurisdiction to issue such writs of injunction or other property process as may be necessary to restrain any State, or subdivision or agency thereof, or any person, from doing anything or performing any act declared by this Act to be unlawful, except that such jurisdiction shall not be exclusive of that which any Federal or State court may otherwise have. Title III: Provisions Relating to Competitive Equity - Competitive Equity Act - Directs the Interstate Commerce Commission to investigate and identify traffics which are moving at rates below the variable costs, as determined by the Commission, incurred in handling the traffics to which such rates apply and, within procedures established under this Act, cause such rates to be promptly brought to at least such variable costs. Requires that with respect to railroads, express companies, and sleeping car companies the Commission shall develop, promulgate, and maintain reasonable standards and procedures for the determination and establishment of revenue levels adequate under honest, economical, and efficient management, to cover total operating expenses and a fair, reasonable, and economic profit or return on total capital prudently employed in such surface transportation business. Directs the Interstate Commerce Commission to: (1) conduct investigations, based upon the identification and examination of such rates as are significant to such investigation, of the rate structure for the transportation of recycled materials by transportation carriers subject to its regulatory jurisdiction; (2) in all cases where the rate structure applicable to the transportation of recycled materials is found to be unreasonable or unjustly discriminatory, issue orders requiring the removal from such rate structure of such unjust discrimination or, in the case of interstate commerce, such unreasonableness; and (3) file annual reports with the President and the Congress on or before December 10 of each year and such final report as shall be appropriate to reflect all actions commenced or completed under this Act during the reporting period to eliminate unreasonable and unjustly discriminatory rates for the transportation of recycled materials. Title IV: Agreements Between Carriers - Rate Bureau Modernization Act - Requires that, within 120 days after a rule, rate, or charge is docketed with a conference, bureau, committee, or other organization, established or continued pursuant to specified agreements approved by the Interstate Commerce Commission, such rule, rate, or charge shall finally be disposed of by said conference, bureau, committee, or other organization. Requires that the Interstate Commerce Commission shall not approve under this Act any agreement which establishes a procedure for the determination of any matter through joint consideration unless it finds that under the agreement there is accorded to each party the free and unrestrained right to take independent action. Directs the Commission, within 1 year after the date of enactment of this Act, to conduct a proceeding or proceedings, in which all interested parties may participate, to determine if any conference, bureau, committee, or other organization established by the Commission is preventing an efficient utilization of transportation resources or has established practices which are inconsistent with efficient, flexible, and economic operation. Title V: Repeal of Discriminatory Government Rates - Sets standards for the regulation of rates covering the transportation of specified commodities exempt from economic regulation. Title VI: Establishment of Uniform Cost Accounting - Authorizes the Interstate Commerce Commission to prescribe, after consultation with the Secretary of Transportation, a uniform system of accounts applicable to any class of carriers subject thereto, and a period of time within which such class shall have a uniform system of accounts, and the manner in which such accounts shall be kept. Title VII: Interstate Commerce Commission Budget - Interstate Commerce Commission Budget Submission Act - Provides for the direct submission of the budget of the Interstate Commerce Commission by the President to the Congress on or before October 15 of each year and to be included in the budget without revision. Title VIII: Miscellaneous - Makes it the intent of the Congress to encourage the purchase, acquisition, and efficient utilization of freight cars.
United States · United States Congress · 7 October 1974
Provides that tax returns are confidential, and therefore, are not open to inspection, and that information contained in them shall not be disclosed. Permits, under regulations established by the Commissioner of the Internal Revenue Service, the inspection of tax returns by the taxpayer, the Internal Revenue Service, the Justice Department, State tax authorities, the President, and the Joint Committee on Internal Revenue Taxation. Establishes criminal penalties for unauthorized disclosure or receipt of tax return information.
United States · United States Congress · 7 October 1974
Expresses the sense of the House of Representatives that the Secretary of Agriculture should set the dairy support level at 90 percent of parity for the remainder of the 1974-1975 marketing year.
United States · United States Congress · 15 August 1974
Expresses the sense of Congress that the United States Government, while engaged in a lessening of tensions with the People's Republic of China, do nothing to compromise continued close relations with the Republic of China.
United States · United States Congress · 18 July 1974
Authorizes the financing of parkways for fiscal years 1975 and 1976 from the Highway Trust Fund, provided such parkways are managed solely for scenic and recreational use and passenger car travel.
United States · United States Congress · 18 July 1974
Rice Act - Title I: Rice - Directs the Secretary of Agriculture, under the provisions of the Agricultural Adjustment Act of 1938, to establish for each of the 1975 through 1977 crops of rice a national acreage allotment which shall be the number of acreas which the Secretary determines on the basis of the estimated national average yeild for the crop for which the determination is being made will produce an amount of rice equal to the estimated domestic consumption and exports (less imports) of rice for the marketing year beginning in the year in which the crop is to be produced, adjusted as the Secretary determines necessary to maintain adequate supplies or to prevent execessive carryover stocks. Requires that the national acreage allotment shall not be less than two million acres. Directs the Secretary to allocate the national acreage allotment to States, counties, farms, and in producer States and administrative areas to producers on the basis of the rice allotments established for the preceding crops, adjusted to the extent deemed necessary to establish a fair and equitable apportionment base for each State, county, farm, and producer. Provides for reserving a portion of the rice allotment for apportionment to new rice farms and new rice producers. Sets forth criteria for reducing the rice allotment. Authorizes the Secretary to transfer for any year because of natural disaster all or part of such rice acreage for any farm in the county or in any other nearby county on which one or more producers on the farm from which the transfer is to be made will be engaged in the production of rice and will share in the proceeds thereof, in accordance with such regulations as the Secretary may prescribe. Directs the Secretary to permit the owner and operator of any farm for which a farm acreage allotment has been established to sell, or lease all or any part, to any other owner or operator of a farm in the same State, or to transfer all or any part of such allotment to any other farm owned or controlled by him in the same State. Title II: Rice Research - Authorizes the Secretary of Agriculture to carry out regional and national research programs with regard to rice for the following purposes: (1) to reduce fertilizer and herbicide usage in excess of production needs; (2) to develop varieties of rice more susceptible to complete fertilizer utilization; (3) to improve the resistance of rice plants to disease and to enhance their conservation and environmental qualities; (4) to increase the usage of rice and processing byproducts; (5) to develop better husbandry practices in production and conservation of rice; (6) to develop more efficient rice storage practices; (7) to improve domestic and international marketing of rice; and (8) to benefit the general welfare. Authorizes the appropriation of up to $1,000,000 in any fiscal year to carry out such research. Title III: Miscellaneous - Provides, under the Agricultural Act of 1949, that for the 1975 through 1977 crops of rice, a cooperator shall be a producer on a farm on which a farm acreage allotment has been established or to which a producer acreage allotment has been allocated, who has set aside the acreage required under such Act and who complies with the conditions of eligibility prescribed by the Secretary.
United States · United States Congress · 28 June 1974
Provides, under the Consolidated Farm and Rural Development Act, emergency loans to producers and processors whose livestock and poultry have been condemned because of chemical contamination and who cannot obtain sufficient credit elsewhere at reasonable rates and terms. Provides that the interest rate on loans made by the Secretary of Agriculture pursuant to this Act may not exceed 5 percent.
United States · United States Congress · 25 June 1974
Provides for the recomputation of military retirement benefits. Provides that a member or former member of a uniformed service: (1) who is sixty years of age or older, and is retired for reasons other than physical disability, whose disability is finally determined to be of a permanent nature and less than 30 percent under the disability rating system, and is entitled to retired pay computed under the rates of basic pay in effect before January 1, 1972; or (2) who is entitled to retired pay for physical disability, whose disability was finally determined to be of permanent nature and at least 30 percent under the schedule of rating disabilities, and whose retired pay is computed under rates of basic pay in effect after October 11, 1949 and before January 1, 1972, is entitled to have that pay recomputed upon the rates of basic pay in effect on January 1, 1972.
United States · United States Congress · 21 June 1974
Emergency Livestock Credit Act - Authorizes the Secretary of Agriculture to establish a guaranteed loan program for bona fide farmers and ranchers, including operators of feedlots, who are primarily engaged in agricultural production for the purpose of breeding, raising, fattening, or marketing livestock (meaning beef cattle, dairy cattle, swine, chickens, turkeys, and the products thereof.) States that no contract guaranteeing any such loan by an approved lender shall require the Secretary to participate in more than 90 percent of any loss sustained thereon. Provides that loans guaranteed under this Act shall bear interest at a rate to be agreed upon by the lender and borrower. Sets forth conditions for such loan guarantees, including that: (1) the farmer or rancher is primarily engaged in agricultural production, and the financing to be furnished the farmer or rancher is to be used for purposes related to the breeding, raising, fattening, or marketing of livestock or livestock products; (2) the total loans guaranteed under this Act for any farmer or rancher shall not exceed $350,000; and (3) in the case of any loan to refinance the livestock operations of a farmer or rancher, the loan and refinancing are absolutely essential in order for the farmer or rancher to remain in business. Limits such loan guarantees outstanding under this Act to a maximum of $3,000,000,000 at any one time. Terminates the authority to make new guarantees under this Act one year from the date of enactment, except that the Secretary of Agriculture may extend such authority for a period not to exceed six months if he determines a need and properly notifies Congress.
United States · United States Congress · 13 June 1974
Provides, under the Consolidated Farm and Rural Development Act, for loans to producers and processors whose livestock and poultry have been condemned because of chemical contamination and who cannot obtain sufficient credit elsewhere at reasonable rates and terms.
United States · United States Congress · 6 June 1974
Rice Act - Title I: Rice - Directs the Secretary of Agriculture, under the provisions of the Agricultural Adjustment Act of 1938, to establish for each of the 1975 through 1977 crops of rice a national acreage allotment which shall be the number of acreas which the Secretary determines on the basis of the estimated national average yeild for the crop for which the determination is being made will produce an amount of rice equal to the estimated domestic consumption and exports (less imports) of rice for the marketing year beginning in the year in which the crop is to be produced, adjusted as the Secretary determines necessary to maintain adequate supplies or to prevent execessive carryover stocks. Requires that the national acreage allotment shall not be less than two million acres. Directs the Secretary to allocate the national acreage allotment to States, counties, farms, and in producer States and administrative areas to producers on the basis of the rice allotments established for the preceding crops, adjusted to the extent deemed necessary to establish a fair and equitable apportionment base for each State, county, farm, and producer. Provides for reserving a portion of the rice allotment for apportionment to new rice farms and new rice producers. Sets forth criteria for reducing the rice allotment. Authorizes the Secretary to transfer for any year because of natural disaster all or part of such rice acreage for any farm in the county or in any other nearby county on which one or more producers on the farm from which the transfer is to be made will be engaged in the production of rice and will share in the proceeds thereof, in accordance with such regulations as the Secretary may prescribe. Directs the Secretary to permit the owner and operator of any farm for which a farm acreage allotment has been established to sell, or lease all or any part, to any other owner or operator of a farm in the same State, or to transfer all or any part of such allotment to any other farm owned or controlled by him in the same State. Title II: Rice Research - Authorizes the Secretary of Agriculture to carry out regional and national research programs with regard to rice for the following purposes: (1) to reduce fertilizer and herbicide usage in excess of production needs; (2) to develop varieties of rice more susceptible to complete fertilizer utilization; (3) to improve the resistance of rice plants to disease and to enhance their conservation and environmental qualities; (4) to increase the usage of rice and processing byproducts; (5) to develop better husbandry practices in production and conservation of rice; (6) to develop more efficient rice storage practices; (7) to improve domestic and international marketing of rice; and (8) to benefit the general welfare. Authorizes the appropriation of up to $1,000,000 in any fiscal year to carry out such research. Title III: Miscellaneous - Provides, under the Agricultural Act of 1949, that for the 1975 through 1977 crops of rice, a cooperator shall be a producer on a farm on which a farm acreage allotment has been established or to which a producer acreage allotment has been allocated, who has set aside the acreage required under such Act and who complies with the conditions of eligibility prescribed by the Secretary.
United States · United States Congress · 6 June 1974
Expresses the sense of the House of Representatives that the President should (1) immediately initiate negotiations at the highest level of the Turkish Government to prevent the resumption of opium production; and (2) if such negotiations prove unfruitful, exercise the authority provided by the Congress under the Foreign Assistance Act, to terminate all assistance to the Government of Turkey.
United States · United States Congress · 6 June 1974
Expresses the sense of the House of Representatives that the President should (1) immediately initiate negotiations at the highest level of the Turkish Government to prevent the resumption of opium production; and (2) if such negotiations prove unfruitful, exercise the authority provided by the Congress under the Foreign Assistance Act, to terminate all assistance to the Government of Turkey.
United States · United States Congress · 4 June 1974
Provides for the designation of a post office, courthouse, and Federal office building in Oxford, Mississippi, as the "Jamie L. Whitten Federal Building".
United States · United States Congress · 30 May 1974
Interim Fisheries Zone Extension and Management Act - Extends the jurisdiction of the United States over specified ocean areas and fish for purposes of protecting the domestic fishing industry. Requires the Secretary of Commerce to conduct research in order to promote the conservation of fish originating in the United States territorial sea and contiguous fisheries zone. Authorizes the appropriation of up to $1,000,000 in any fiscal year to carry out the provisions of this Act.
United States · United States Congress · 13 May 1974
Sugar Act Amendments - States that the Secretary of Agriculture shall determine for each calendar year the amount of sugar needed to meet the requirements of consumers in the continental United States, to maintain and protect the domestic sugar industry, and to attain on an annual average basis the price objective set forth in the Sugar Act of 1948. Establishes the total amount of apportioned raw values of sugar among domestic sugar producing areas at 6,685,000 short tons, and prescribes the apportionment of that amount. States that, whenever the production of sugar in any domestic sugar-producing area in any year results in there being available for marketing in the continental United States in any year sugar in excess of the quota for such area for such year established under this Act, the quota for the immediately following year established for such area under this Act shall be increased to the extent of such excess production up to specified limits. Provides that the quota for the mainland cane sugar area shall be prorated to Florida and Louisiana on the basis of 57.5 percent to Florida and 42.5 percent to Louisiana and each State shall be regarded as a sugar-producing area for such purposes. Provides that each State shall have the right to market the unfilled share of the other State in any year in which such other State is unable to fill its share of the quota. Authorizes the Secretary on a quarterly basis to set maximum or minimum limits on the importation of sugar within the annual quota for any foreign country. Provides that the Secretary is not authorized to limit the importation of sugar for any foreign country having a quota of fifteen thousand short tons, raw value, or less through the use of limitations applied on other than a calendar year basis. States that the failure of any foreign country, subject to such reasonable tolerance as the Secretary may determine, to fill a quarterly minimum quota shall operate to reduce the quantity of sugar permitted to be imported for such calendar year by the amount by which such country failed to fill such quarterly quota. Specifies the prorated amounts of the total quota to be allowed to listed foreign countries. Allows for quota increases to foreign countries when the Secretary determines that any domestic area or foreign country will not market its quota. Provides that direct-consumption sugar, produced from quota sugar in the continental United States of a grade, type, or specification determined by the Secretary not to be available in a domestic sugar-producing area outside the continental United States from raw sugar produced in such area, may be marketed within the local consumption quota for such area. Provides administrative and judicial review for any person adversely affected by the Secretary's determination in a wage rate proceeding. Provides that no employer may discharge an employee on the basis of such employee's action under this Act, including action to recover the liability of an employer who has not paid him wages at a rate determined to be fair and reasonable by the Secretary.
United States · United States Congress · 13 May 1974
Allows an individual a tax credit under the Internal Revenue Code of 1954 for household and dependent care expenses necessary for gainful employment. Limits such tax credit to $150 per month. Imposes restrictions on such credit when an individual's adjusted gross income reaches $18,000.
United States · United States Congress · 7 May 1974
Foreign Dairy Quality Act - Provides that no dairy product shall be imported into the United States unless it has been inspected and found to be wholesome and unless the foreign farms and plants in which such products were produced, manufactured, or processed comply with all the inspection, grading, and other standards prescribed by the Secretary of Health, Education, and Welfare pursuant to the provisions of this Act. Requires that such foreign standards shall be comparable to those standards prescribed by the Secretary for the same kind of dairy products in the United States. States that the labeling of imported dairy products shall comply with the requirements of the Fair Packaging and Labeling Act and shall be otherwise marked as the Secretary may require. Directs the Secretary to cause to be inspected all dairy products imported into the United States. Authorizes the Secretary to prescribe rules and regulations to carry out the purposes of this Act, and rules and regulations for the destruction of dairy products refused admission into the United States. Authorizes to be appropriated such sums as are necessary to carry out the administration and supervision of the provisions of this Act. Imposes criminal penalties for violations of this Act.
United States · United States Congress · 7 May 1974
Foreign Investment Study Act - Requires the President to conduct a study of foreign direct and foreign portfolio investment in the United States and to: (1) compare foreign direct and foreign portfolio investment activities in the United States with investment activities of American investors abroad, and compare the impact of such foreign activities in the United States with the impact of investment activities of Americans abroad; (2) determine the impact of foreign direct and foreign portfolio investment in the United States on United States national security, energy resources, balance of payments and trade, agriculture (and other real estate), and international economic position; (3) determine the effect of foreign direct and foreign portfolio investment in the United States on levels of employment and personnel practices in the United States; and (4) evaluate the costs and benefits and determine the various international implications of alternate policy choices available to the United States regarding foreign investment in the United States.
United States · United States Congress · 7 May 1974
Declares it to be the sense of the House of Representatives that: (1) the Government of the United States should maintain and protect its sovereign rights and jurisdiction over the canal and zone, and should in no way cede, dilute, forfeit, negotiate, or transfer any of these sovereign rights, power, authority, jurisdiction, territory, or property that are indispensably necessary for the protection and security of the United States and the entire Western Hemisphere; (2) that there be no relinquishment or surrender of any presently vested United States sovereign right, power, or authority or property, tangible or intangible, except by treaty authorized by the Congress and duly ratified by the United States; and (3) that there be no recession to Panama, or other divestiture of any United States-owned property, tangible or intangible, without prior authorization by the Congress (House and Senate), as provided in article IV, section 3, clause 2 of the United States Constitution.
United States · United States Congress · 6 May 1974
Increases the borrowing capacity of the Panama Canal Company from a limit of $10,000,000 to a limit $40,000,000 and bases the method of computing interest thereon to be utilized by the Secretary of the Treasury on comparable yields of other outstanding obligations of the United States.
United States · United States Congress · 6 May 1974
Amendments Act to the Federal-Aid Highway Act - Declares it to be the intent of Congress to establish a national transportation policy recognizing the interdependence of the cities and the countryside, the interrelationships between various transportation modes, and the necessity to make use of the best available technology and transportation resources to meet the transportation needs of the Nation. Increases authorizations for primary and secondary highway systems, bridge replacement and reconstruction, and for projects to eliminate or reduce the hazards of high-accident sections of highways for fiscal years 1974, 1975, and 1976. Provides for a program to be administered at the county level with funds from the Highway Trust Fund to initiate an emergency bridge replacement program for non-Federal countryside roads and highways.
United States · United States Congress · 30 April 1974
Allows a deduction from gross income under the Internal Revenue Code for social agency, legal, and related expenses incurred in connection with the adoption of a child by a taxpayer. Defines, for purposes of this Act, the term "adoption expense". (Adds 26 U.S.C. 219)
United States · United States Congress · 2 April 1974
Directs the Secretary of Agriculture to make indemnity payments for poultry and egg products at a fair market value, to poultry and egg producers and processors who have been directed by the United States Government to remove their poultry or egg products from commercial markets because such products contained residues of chemicals registered and approved for use by the Federal Government at the time of such use. Authorizes to be appropriated such sums as may be necessary to carry out the purposes of this Act. States that the authority granted under this Act shall expire on December 31, 1977.
United States · United States Congress · 26 March 1974
Directs the Secretary of Agriculture to make indemnity payments for poultry and egg products at a fair market value, to poultry and egg producers and processors who have been directed by the United States Government to remove their poultry or egg products from commercial markets because such products contained residues of chemicals registered and approved for use by the Federal Government at the time of such use. Authorizes to be appropriated such sums as may be necessary to carry out the purposes of this Act. States that the authority granted under this Act shall expire on December 31, 1977.
United States · United States Congress · 19 March 1974
Authorize appropriations for the Coast Guard: for the procurement of vessesl ($22,676,000), aircraft ($17,793,000), construction of shore and offshore establishments ($73,631,000), and bridge alterations ($6,800,000). Authorizes for the Coast Guard an end-year strength for active duty personnel of 37,748 and average military student loads for the fiscal year 1975.
United States · United States Congress · 18 March 1974
Abolishes the position of Commissioner of Fish and Wildlife. Establishes within the Department of the Interior the United States Fish and Wildlife Service, to be administered under the supervision of the Director, subject to the supervision of the Assistant Secretary for Fish and Wildlife. States that the Director of the United States Fish and Wildlife Service shall be appointed by the President, by and with the advice and consent of the Senate. Provides that no individual may be appointed as the Director unles he is knowledgable in the principles of fisheries and wildlife management. (Amends 16 U.S.C. 742(b))
United States · United States Congress · 12 March 1974
Small Business Tax Simplification and Reform Act - Title I: Tax Simplification Relating to Small Business - Creates a Committee on Tax Simplification for Small Business for the purpose of devoting continued attention to the simplification of the Internal Revenue Code to small business, and the regulations, instructions, procedures, and other publications relating to small business taxation. Provides that the membership of the Committee would include representatives of the Secretary of the Treasury (for policy matters); Internal Revenue Service (for technical matters); Office of Management and Budget (for coordinating the paperwork aspects of IRS forms, in view of the Federal Reports Act) and the Small Business Administration to express the interests of the small business community. Creates in the Treasury Department an Office of Small Business Analyst, which would be responsible for looking at tax problems primarily from the view of small business and the free enterprise system. Calls upon the Treasury Department for a comprehensive study of depreciation policies with particular attention to: the impact of legislation; the rapid advances in technology to which small business must adapt; and the practices of other industrialized nations. Calls upon the Treasury to study the entire range of pension, retirement, health, medical, and insurance benefits in the larger context of what both corporations (including large corporate enterprise) and other forms of business are providing for their employees and executives. Authorizes a special study of the differential effect of tax law changes on businesses of different sizes. Title II: Adjustment of Corporate Normal Tax - Effects a progressive reform in the entire corporate tax structure by providing for reductions in normal corporate tax rates based on the corporations earning. Provides that as corporate earnings rise above $1 million per year the normal tax would incline upward to a maximum of 24 percent for corporations earning over $1 billion annually. Title III: Special Provisions to Encourage Establishment of New Small Business Enterprises - Permits eligible new small business corporatians an income tax deduction equal to the corporation's net operating income so long as that amount does not exceed $2083. Allows an income tax deduction to a partnership for its oragnizational expenses ratably over a period of 60 months. Provides for a bad debt tax deduction for guarantors of obligations of and lenders to small business corporations. Title IV: Provisions to Assist Small Business Growth - Increases the additional first-year depreciation limitation for small business property from $10,000 to $20,000. Extends the period for use of the loss carryover provisions for small businesses by allowing existing corporations to carry these losses over a ten year period. Raises the earning credit in accordance with the costs of doing business to $150,000. Allows the expenses of certain types of small business stock flotations, such as those under Regulation A and section 1244 of the Code, which are not otherwise deductible, to be amortized over a period of 60 months. Allows research and development expenses of small business to be amortized beginning at the time they are made. Permits a limited number of surtax exemptions (up to 5) in the event members of a family are placed in proprietary positions where they have ownership of at least 50 percent of the stock (or other interest) and full time management of a separately incorporated unit of a family business. Title V: Provisions Relating to Partnerships - Allows the closing of the partnership year for a decedent at any of the following times: (1) the normal close of the partnership year if there has been no prior sale, exchange, or liquidation of the partnership interest; (2) the date of any of the above described transactions; or (3) the day after the partner's death. Permits a partner to deduct currently his share of partnership losses in excess of the adjusted basis of his partnership interests, in the event that the partner is unconditionally obligated for his share of such partnership losses. Title VI: Provisions Relating to Subchapter S Corporations - Allows enlargment of the Subchapter S "tax-option" small business corporations in the following 3 ways: (1) initial shareholders could number 15, rather than the present 10; (2) shareholders in excess of this ceiling who take their stock by reason of heirship would not disqualify election; and (3) after 5 years, the number of permissible shareholders would increase to 25. Provides that the classes of shareholders would be expanded to include: (1) trusts where stock passes pursuant to a will, and where the trust is used merely to convey the stock to a long term eligible holder within 60 days; (2) trusts where the entire income is taxable to the grantor; and (3) small business investment companies, subject to such income. Provides for nondisqualification of a Subchapter S corporation by reason of exceeding the limit of 20 percent passive income in a single year. Provides that the election privilege could still be lost pursuant to this proposal if the limit is exceeded in any 2 of 4 consecutive years. Provides that if the corporation is able to establish that the termination was, in fact, inadvertent and gain full compliance within 90 days of notification, its Subchapter S status would be preserved for future years. Title VII: Business Development Corporations - Permits State and local development companies to extend long-term financing to non-bankable new enterprises and such companies would be permitted a bad-debt reserve deduction up to 10 percent of outstanding loans. Provides that certain types of business development corporations would be nontaxable upon the condition that the proceeds from such unusual transactions are re-invested in the area of service and no part of these proceeds insures to the benefit of any individual or private institution. Title VIII: Preservation of Small Business Independence - Allows recovery of losses in 1 or 2 quarters to the extent the newly estimated tax for the year is less than the amount already paid in. Disallows interest deductions beyond $500,000 on any loan for small business acquistion purposes. Permits valuation comparisons with any similar closely held corporation whether or not it is listed on an exchange. Changes the standard of "undue hardship" (required to qualify for 10-year estate tax installments) to "hardship." Directs the Treasury to conduct a comprehensive examination of the pressures of income taxes, capital gains tax, reorganization rules, and estate and gift taxes which are causing so many small business to sell or merge out of existence rather than continue in independent form.
United States · United States Congress · 12 March 1974
States that all returns made with respect to taxes imposed under the Internal Revenue Code are confidential and private records; but they may be opened to inspection by the following persons at such times and in such manner as the Commissioner of Internal Revenue by regulation may prescribe: (1) the taxpayer for whom the return was made or his attorney in fact; (2) officers and employees of the Internal Revenue Service, the Department of Justice for tax administration and economic stabilization purposes; (3) shareholders of record owning 1 percent or more of the outstanding stock of any corporation; (4) tax officials of the States; (5) the Committee on Ways and Means of the House of Representatives, the Finance Committee of the Senate, and the Joint Committee on Internal Revenue and Taxation; (6) the Attorney General, Assistant Attorneys General, and United States attorneys; and (7) officers and employees of executive departments and other establishments of the Federal Government upon written request of the head of such department or establishment naming the taxpayer whose return is to be inspected and provided that the inspection is necessary in the enforcement of Federal statutes. States that whenever a return is open to the inspection of any person, a certified copy thereof shall, upon request, be furnished to such person under regulations prescribed by the Commissioner of Internal Revenue who may prescribe a reasonable fee for furnishing such copy. Provides that all regulations issued by the Commissioner of Internal Revenue pursuant to this Act must have written approval of the Chief of Staff of the Joint Committee on Internal Revenue Taxation. States that this Act shall be effective upon enactment. Allows the Commissioner of Internal Revenue a period of ninety days after enactment to issue the regulations required herein.
United States · United States Congress · 27 February 1974
Prohibits the exportation of fertilizer from the United States until the Secretary of Agriculture determines that an adequate domestic supply of fertilizer exists.
United States · United States Congress · 6 February 1974
Suspends emissions controls on motor vehicles and engines in the continental United States except vehicles registered to residents of designated air quality regions until June 30, 1977, or sixty days after the President determines there is no significant shortage of petroleum fuels, whichever is later. Directs the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency to designate, subject to the limitations of the Act, geographic areas of the United States in which there is significant auto emissions related air pollution. Provides that each State shall, not later than sixty days following enactment of this Act, submit to the Administrator a plan for implementing the Act. Provides that if a State fails to submit a plan under the Act or if the Administrator determines (after notice and opportunity for hearing) that such State is not adequately enforcing such a plan, then such State shall lose its entitlement to, and may not thereafter receive, any Federal grant or loan assistance under this Act or under the Federal Water Pollution Control Act. Declares that willful and deliberate violation of any provision of this Act shall be punishable by a fine of up to $1,000, or imprisonment for up to one year, or both.
United States · United States Congress · 28 January 1974
Provides for the repeal of the Postal Reorganization Act and reenacts the former postal service provisions of title 39, United States Code. Reestablishes the former Post Office Department as an executive department of the Federal Government.
United States · United States Congress · 21 January 1974
Federal Paperwork Burden Relief Act - Directs the Comptroller General to conduct a study of the reporting requirements of Federal regulatory programs to determine the extent to which these requirements may be revised to lessen the burden upon small and independent business establishments. Requires the Comptroller General to report the results of such study to the Congress one year from the date of enactment of this Act.
United States · United States Congress · 18 December 1973
Egg Research and Consumer Information Act - Declares that it is the purpose of this Act to authorize and enable the establishment of an orderly procedure to the development and financing of an effective and continuous coordinated program of research, consumer and producer education, and promotion designed to strengthen the egg industry's position in the marketplace, and maintain and expand domestic and foreign markets and uses for eggs, egg products, spent fowl, and products of spent fowl of the United States. Authorizes the Secretary of Agriculture to issue orders applicable to persons engaged in the hatching and/or sale of egg-type baby chicks and started pullets, the production and marketing of commercial eggs, the processing and distribution of commercial eggs, and the purchase, sale, or processing of spent fowl. Provides that a hearing shall be held on a proposed order before it is issued. Directs that orders issued pursuant to this Act shall contain one or more of the following terms and conditions, and no others: (1) providing for the establishment, issuance, effectuation, and administration of appropriate plans or projects for the advertising of, sales promotion of, and consumer education with respect to the use of eggs, egg products, spent fowl, and products of spent fowl, and for the disbursement of necessary funds for such purposes; (2) providing for, establishing, and carrying on research, marketing and development projects, and studies with respect to sale, distribution, marketing, utilization, or production of eggs, egg products, spent fowl, and products of spent fowl, and the creation of new products thereof; (3) providing that hatchery operators, persons engaged in the sale of egg-type baby chicks and started pullet dealers, egg producers, breakers, processors, persons marketing commercial eggs and persons engaged in the purchase, sale, or processing of spent fowl, maintain and make available for inspection such books and records as may be required by any order issued pursuant to this Act, or (4) terms and conditions incidental to and not inconsistent with the terms and conditions specified in this Act and necessary to effectuate the other provisions of such order. Requires that orders issued pursuant to this Act shall contain the conditions set forth in this Act. Provides for the establishment and appointment, by the Secretary of Agriculture, of an Egg Board and defines its specified powers and duties. Requires the Egg Board to develop and submit to the Secretary for his approval any advertising or sales promotion or research and development plans or projects, and that any such plan or project must be approved by the Secretary before becoming effective. Provides that each egg producer shall pay, to the first processor of such producer's eggs, an assessment based upon the number of cases of commercial eggs processed for the account of such producer, in the manner as prescribed by the order, for such expenses and expenditures as the Secretary finds are reasonable and likely to be incurred by the Egg Board under the order during any period specified by him. Provides that the Secretary shall conduct a referendum among egg producers to ascertain whether the issuance of an order is approved by such producers. Provides that no such order issued pursuant to this Act is effective unless the Secretary determines that it is approved by the egg producers. Exempts from this Act: (1) any egg producer whose aggregate number of laying hens at any time during three months prior to assessment has not exceeded three thousand laying hens; (2) any flock of breeding hens whose production of eggs is primarily utilized for the hatching of baby chicks; or (3) commercial eggs of foreign origin not exceeding one hundred cases in any one entry into the United States. Provides that any egg producer against whose commercial eggs any assessment is made under this Act and who is not in favor of supporting the research and promotion program as provided for by this Act shall have the right to demand and recieve form the Egg Board a refund of such assessment. Provides for petition and review of any order issued pursuant to this Act. Provides penalties for willful violation of orders issued pursuant to this Act. Authorizes the Secretary of Agriculture to make such investigations as he deems necessary for the effective administration of this Act or to determine if violations of this Act have occurred. Provides the Secretary with the power of subpoena. Authorizes the appropriation of such sums as may be necessary to carry out this Act.
United States · United States Congress · 13 December 1973
High Seas Oil Port Act - States that the purpose of this Act is to authorize the Secretary of the Interior to grant to eligible applicants licenses for the construction of high seas oil ports. Title I: Construction of High Seas Oil Ports - Sets forth standards under which the Secretary of the Interior may issue a license to an eligible applicant to construct a high seas oil port. States that any license issued under this Act shall be for a term of five years and may be extended for any additional period of time as the Secretary finds reasonably necessary for completion of construction. Authorizes the Secretary to include in any license issued or transferred any reasonable conditions which he finds necessary to carry out the purposes of this Act. States that prior to the issuance of a license under this Act, the Secretary shall establish criteria for evaluating the potential impact of the construction or operation of the proposed high seas oil port on the marine environment. Authorizes the Secretary to issue reasonable rules and regulations prescribing procedures governing the application for and issuance of licenses pursuant to this Act. Provides that copies of any communications, documents, reports, or information received or sent by any applicant shall be made available to the public upon identifiable request, and at reasonable cost, unless such information concerns or relates to a trade secret. States that when an adjacent coastal State has an existing State program controlling, or other legislative requirements related to, land or water uses, upon which the construction of a high seas oil port will have a direct impact, the applicant shall include, in his application to the Secretary, a certification that in the applicant's best judgment the issuance of the license applied for would be consistent with applicable State requirements. Provides that within thirty days after receipt of an application filed under this Act, the Secretary shall publish in the Federal Register a notice containing a summary of the application. Requires that the Secretary's decision granting or denying the license shall be in writing and shall be made within one hundred twenty days following the conclusion of all hearings. Provides for judicial review of such decisions. Sets forth procedures for the Secretary to suspend or revoke a license. Authorizes to be appropriated for fiscal year 1974 and for each of the two succeeding fiscal years such sums, not exceeding $500,000 for any fiscal year, for the administration of this title. Title II: Operation of High Seas Oil Ports - States that upon receipt of the certification of the Secretary of the Interior of completion of construction, the license to construct a high seas oil port shall be converted into a license to operate the oil port. Provides that each license converted pursuant to this title shall be limited to a reasonable term in light of all circumstances concerning the project, but in no event for a term of more than thirty years. Authorizes the Secretary to issue reasonable rules and regulations prescribing procedures under which high seas oil ports shall be operated. Directs the Secretary to establish safety zones around such ports. Provides that State taxation laws shall not apply to any high seas oil port or to any component thereof located outside the tax jurisdiction of the State. Requires all United States officials to be afforded reasonable access to a high seas oil port for the purpose of enforcing laws under their jurisdictions. States that any person who violates any provision of this title or any rule or regulation issued pursuant thereto shall be liable for a civil penalty of $10,000 for each day during which the violation continues. Sets forth procedures for the suspension or revocation of a license to operate a high seas oil port. Authorizes to be appropriated for the fiscal year 1976 and for each of the three succeeding fiscal years such sums, not exceeding $2,500,000 for any fiscal year, for the administration of this title.
United States · United States Congress · 12 December 1973
Revises the Tennessee Valley Authority Act by providing that expenditures for pollution control facilities be credited against required power investment return payments and repayments.
![Official portrait of Rep. Bowen, David R. [D-MS-2]](https://www.congress.gov/img/member/b000682_200.jpg)