United States · United States Congress · 15 December 1977
Equal Retirement Benefits Act - Makes it unlawful for any employee pension benefit plan which offers benefits in the form of periodic payments based upon the life of the employee to fail to provide equal periodic payments to similarly situated male and female participants. Permits participants of employee benefit plans which offer benefits only in the form of a lump sum to make binding election at the time of retirement to purchase periodic payment annuities, and requires plans to provide lump sum amounts to persons selecting which will enable them to purchase annuities paying equal periodic benefits to similarly situated females and males.
United States · United States Congress · 8 November 1977
Amends the Internal Revenue Code to allow individuals whose income consists solely of employee compensation and interest to elect to have the Internal Revenue Service compute their income tax liability.
United States · United States Congress · 4 November 1977
Telephone Privacy Act - Amends the Communications Act of 1934 to prohibit unsolicited commercial telephone calls to a telephone subscriber who has notified the telephone company that he does not wish to receive such calls. Directs the Federal Communications Commission to prescribe regulations specifying the manner in which a telephone subscriber shall notify the telephone company that he does not wish to receive unsolicited calls. Prescribes criminal penalties for violations of this Act. Excludes from the definition of "unsolicited commercial telephone calls" calls made in response to an express request of the individual called or made in connection with an overdue debt or contractual obligation.
United States · United States Congress · 3 November 1977
Amends the Equal Credit Opportunity Act to prohibit discrimination against any applicant for credit on the basis of the geographical location of the applicant's residence.
United States · United States Congress · 2 November 1977
Declares it the sense of Congress that the President and the Secretary of State should recognize Jerusalem as the capital of Israel and move the United States embassy in Israel to that city.
United States · United States Congress · 26 October 1977
Alcohol Fuel Encouragement Act - Requires all gasoline stations, within three years of the passage of this Act, to sell a mixture of gasoline and alcohol in the same manner as they sell gasoline. Imposes a civil penalty for violations of such requirement. Amends the Internal Revenue Code to allow rapid amortization of facilities producing alcohol for use as a fuel in motor vehicles. Amends the Clean Air Act with respect to the authority of the Environmental Protection Agency to regulate the use of alcohol as a fuel additive.
United States · United States Congress · 25 October 1977
Declares it the sense of the Congress that the President direct the United States delegation to the Belgrade Conference to place the issue of the arrest, trial, and conviction of Mykola Rudenko and Oleska Tykhy before the Conference.
United States · United States Congress · 18 October 1977
Toxic Substance Pollution Victim Compensation Act - Establishes as an independent agency of the Federal Government, the Administrative Board for Compensation of Victims of Toxic Substance Pollution (hereinafter referred to as the ABC). Sets forth the powers and duties of the ABC regarding the compilation and dissemination of data on deaths, diseases, and injuries related to toxic substances, the designation of toxic substances and diseases related thereto, the procedure for compensating victims of toxic substance pollution, and the promulgation of rules and regulations necessary to carry out the purposes of this Act. Establishes the Office of the Ombudsman for Compensation of Victims of Toxic Substance Pollution. Sets forth the powers and duties of the Ombudsman regarding complaint procedures, compulsory process, investigations, and recommendations to the ABC concerning its rules, regulations, findings, and compensation awards. Directs the Internal Revenue Service to collect a pollution charge from each manufacturer of a toxic substance to be used to defray the costs of operating the ABC and the Office of the Ombudsman. Directs the ABC to establish risk levels for each toxic substance, and to correlate a graduated pollution levy to the established risk categories. Exempts Federal agencies and the United States Armed Forces from such pollution levels. Entitles victims of toxic substance pollution, or the survivors of such victims, to specified compensation, medical benefits, rehabilitation services, and disability or death benefits. Directs the ABC to authorize specific physicians in every State to report cases of toxic substance poisoning, maintain certain records, post a list of toxic substance related diseases, and participate in specialized training and conferences. Imposes strict liability on manufacturers of toxic substances for injuries resulting from toxic substance pollution. Requires the ABC to promulgate, through rules and regulations, forms and procedures for the filing of claims regarding symptoms related to toxic substance pollution. Sets forth time limitations governing the filing of a medical report by a claimant under this Act. Sets forth certain rules regarding rebuttable presumptions, burden of proof, nexus requirements, and notice to be adhered to in any proceeding for determining the causation of disease or injury arising from toxic substance pollution. Directs the ABC to designate as a toxic substance pollution designated disease, any toxic substance pollution-related disease that has been determined to cause actual harm to claimants or victims, and to notify certain persons of such designation. Outlines the procedure for the certification of victims of toxic substance pollution designated diseases. Directs the ABC to promulgate, through rules and regulations, forms and procedures for the filing of claims for compensation benefits. Sets forth rules governing the computation of the compensation award, the payment of victims, and the assignment and exemption of benefits. Authorizes the ABC to require manufacturers of toxic substances in high risk categories to post surety bonds or to maintain insurance coverage for victimization. Sets forth the procedure for apportioning damages among multiple toxic substance polluters. Authorizes the compensation of multiple victims by class, and the allocation of limited resources among such victims. Establishes an Emergency Relief Fund to assist persons suffering injury, disease, or death related to a major toxic substance pollution disaster. Prescribes civil and criminal penalties for violations of this Act. Vests jurisdiction for review of any compensation award or other final order of the ABC in the United States courts of appeals. Authorizes appropriations to carry out the purposes of this Act. Authorizes appropriations for studies, (in the State of Michigan,) of the effects of polybrominated biphenyls (hereinafter referred to as PBB) on human health, and to defray the cost of medical treatment incurred by residents of the State of Michigan having abnormal levels of PBB in their bodies.
United States · United States Congress · 18 October 1977
National Conservation Policy Act - Directs the Secretary of the Interior to cooperate with the States in programs for the conservation of native fish and wildlife by providing financial assistance to carry out approved conservation plans. Sets forth the procedure for apportioning funds from the Fish and Wildlife Conservation Fund to the States. Requires any State wishing to avail itself of the benefits of this Act to certify to the Secretary that it has a State agency with authority to conserve fish and wildlife species. Directs such States to submit fish and wildlife conservation plans to the Secretary. Declares that a State may instead elect to avail itself of such benefits by submitting a proposal to the Secretary for a single conservation project. Sets forth the procedure for approving such plan or project. Sets forth plan funding procedures. Authorizes the Secretary to fund fish and wildlife conservation programs in Puerto Rico, Guam, the Virgin Islands, American Samoa, and the District of Columbia. Authorizes appropriations to carry out the purposes of this Act. Authorizes the Secretary to promulgate rules and regulations deemed necessary to carry out the purposes of this Act. Abolishes the Federal aid to wildlife restoration fund.
United States · United States Congress · 17 October 1977
Unemployment Compensation Cost Equalization Act - Entitles, under the Social Security Act, states whose rates of insured unemployment is at least six percent to partial reimbursement on an ascending sliding scale of unemployment compensation costs incurred above a certain amount.
United States · United States Congress · 14 October 1977
International Emergency Food Reserve Act - Authorizes the President: (1) to enter into negotiations with other nations to develop an international system of food reserves for humanitarian food relief needs; and (2) to establish and maintain an International Emergency Food Reserve as a contribution of the United States toward the development of such a system. Requires for such Reserve minimum stocks of two million tons, allowing an increase up to six million tons pursuant to an international agreement.
United States · United States Congress · 13 October 1977
Veterans' Educational Equity Act - Provides for payment of a supplemental tuition allowance to each qualified veteran upon application to the Administrator of Veterans' Affairs. Extends the delimiting period for completing a veteran's education program for up to two years if at the close of the ordinary ten-year delimiting period the veteran is enrolled in a program.
United States · United States Congress · 12 October 1977
Confers on the courts of the United States jurisdiction to review, in accordance with the Administrative Procedure Act, decisions of the Administrator of Veterans' Affairs on any question of law or fact under any law administered by the Veterans' Administration providing benefits for veterans and their dependents or survivors.
United States · United States Congress · 11 October 1977
Authorizes the Foreign Claims Settlement Commission to receive, consider, and act upon evidence presented by a certain individual in support of a specified claim, and to establish that such individual was a national of the United States continuously from the time he suffered a loss of property in Rudki, Poland.
United States · United States Congress · 6 October 1977
Declares it the sense of Congress that the proposed toll increases on the Saint Lawrence Seaway should not be adopted and that negotiations on new tolls should be reopened, and if any toll increases are necessary, such increases should be minimal.
United States · United States Congress · 5 October 1977
Amends the National Trails System Act of 1968 to re-establish the advisory council on the Appalachian National Scenic Trail, to limit such council's existence to ten years, and to reduce the term of council members from five to two years. Increases the limitations on acreage which may be acquired for rights-of-way and by condemnation proceedings along the Appalachian Trail without the consent of the owner from 25 acres in any one mile to at least 25 acres but not more than 125 acres within any one mile. Increases from $5,000,000 to $35,000,000 the authorization of appropriations for acquisition of lands for the Appalachian National Scenic Trail.
United States · United States Congress · 4 October 1977
Amends the Internal Revenue Code to extend the income tax exclusion for political organizations' fund raising events to proceeds from gambling activities where the wagers are placed, the winners determined, and the prices distributed in the presence of all the players.
United States · United States Congress · 27 September 1977
Provides for payment of a supplemental tuition allowance to each qualified veteran upon application to the Administrator of Veterans' Affairs. Limits such allowance to no more than $900 with the first $400 of the tuition cost being paid by the veteran, and the Administrator paying 75 percent of the next $1,200 for the school year.
United States · United States Congress · 27 September 1977
Declares that the President should establish a Commission on Domestic and International Hunger and Malnutrition which should: (1) collect and generate information and resources on food, hunger, malnutrition and related concerns; (2) assess current programs affecting domestic and international hunger and malnutrition; (3) analyze and report its findings and recommendations to the President, the Congress, and the public; and (4) assist the President and the Congress in implementing its recommendations.
United States · United States Congress · 26 September 1977
Amends Title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act to provide payment for occupational therapy services under the supplementary medical insurance program.
United States · United States Congress · 22 September 1977
Postpones, until July 1, 1978, the effective date of the Internal Revenue Service's Revenue Ruling 76-453 which holds that (1) transportation expenses between an individual's residence and temporary place of work are not deductible and (2) reimbursement for such expenses by employers is includible in gross income.
United States · United States Congress · 22 September 1977
Community Reinvestment Act - States that the purpose of this Act is to require each appropriate Federal financial supervisory agency to use its authority, when chartering and regulating financial institutions, to encourage such institutions to help meet the credit needs of the local communities in which they are chartered. Directs each Federal financial supervisory agency to develop programs and procedures including the following: (1) requiring each applicant to analyze the deposit and credit needs of its primary savings service area and to specify how such applicant proposes to meet these needs; (2) permitting consumer organizations to present testimony at hearings on how well the applicant has met or is proposing to meet the credit needs of the communities served or to be served by the applicant; and (3) requiring periodic reports on the amount of consumer deposits received and credit extended in the institution's primary savings service area.
United States · United States Congress · 19 September 1977
Amends the Equal Credit Opportunity Act to prohibit discrimination against any applicant for credit on the basis of the geographic location of the applicant's residence or the applicant's occupation or title.
United States · United States Congress · 12 September 1977
Career Criminals Prosecution Act - Authorizes the Administrator of the Law Enforcement Assistance Administration to provide grants and technical assistance to certain units of local government having populations of at least 250,000 for the establishment and operation of programs designed to identify and expedite the prosecution of career criminal offenders. Sets forth requirements for grant applications and limits on payments to any single local government.
United States · United States Congress · 12 September 1977
Citizens' Postal Rate Relief Act - Sets the postal rate for personal mail of individuals sealed against inspection and mailed in the United States at 13 cents for the first ounce for each piece and 11 cents for each additional ounce for each piece. Permits the Postal Service to adjust such rate annually in the proportion to the increase in the Consumer Price Index since the previous rate adjustment but not to an amount exceeding the current rate for first class mail. (Adds 39 U.S.C. 3629; Amends 39 U.S.C. 2401)
United States · United States Congress · 5 August 1977
Older Americans Long-Term Care Act - Title I: Long-Term Care for the Elderly and the Disabled - Establishes a program of long-term comprehensive services for the elderly financed by the Federal Government and the States. Establishes within the Department of the Treasury a Federal Long-Term Care Trust Fund for such program. Requires a State to establish a State Long-Term Care Agency in order to receive funds under this Act. Requires such State agency to create within the State a system of Community Long-Term Care Centers. Title II: Miscellaneous Provisions - Sets forth the relationship between the program established by this Act and certain programs under the Social Security Act.
United States · United States Congress · 5 August 1977
Amends the Immigration and Nationality Act to exclude from admission into, and provides for the deportation from, the United States of any alien who engaged or assisted in, or incited or directed others to engage in, the persecution of others on the basis of religion, race, or national origin under the direction of the Nazi government of Germany between March 23, 1933, and May 8, 1945.
United States · United States Congress · 5 August 1977
Declares it the sense of Congress that the President should (1) urge the Soviet Union to release Rudenko and Tykhy from prison and permit them to emigrate, (2) urge the Soviet Union to release and drop charges against other members of groups monitoring the Helsinki Agreement, and (3) make it known that the United States expects all signatories of the Helsinki Accord to fulfill that agreement.
United States · United States Congress · 5 August 1977
Declares it the sense of Congress that the President should express to the Soviet Union the concern of the United States for the physical condition of Yurij Shukhevych, and should urge his release.
United States · United States Congress · 5 August 1977
Declares it the sense of the Congress that the Secretary of State should seek the good offices of the Secretary General of the United Nations for the purpose of establishing a special investigatory commission charged with the responsibility of securing a full accounting of Americans listed as missing in Southeast Asia.
United States · United States Congress · 4 August 1977
Unemployment Compensation Cost Equalization Act - Entitles, under the Social Security Act, states whose rates of insured unemployment is at least six percent to partial reimbursement on an ascending sliding scale of unemployment compensation costs incurred above a certain amount.
United States · United States Congress · 3 August 1977
Amends the Federal Water Pollution Control Act to direct the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency to prohibit the sale, offering for sale, or distribution of certain detergents containing excessive amounts of phosphorus for use within the Great Lakes Region. Defines the Great Lakes Region to include the States of New York, Pennsylvania, Ohio, Indiana, Michigan, Illinois, Wisconsin, and Minnesota. Stipulates that the maximum allowable amounts of phosphorus in such detergents shall not exceed (1) 0.5 percent in the case of machine laundry detergents and household cleaning agents; (2) 11 percent in the case of machine dishwashing detergents; and (3) 20 percent in the case of chemical water conditioners for machine laundry use. Authorizes the Administrator to exempt certain cleaning or water conditioning agents where compliance is deemed unreasonable, impractical, or not feasible. Imposes civil penalties of up to $10,000 for each violation of the prohibitions contained in this Act. Stipulates that illegal agents or conditioners shall be liable to be proceeded against and condemned in United States district courts. Establishes procedures for condemnation and disposal of such illegal products. Authorizes the Administrator to make inspections within reasonable limits in order to enforce the provisions of this Act. Directs the Administrator to study the feasibility of applying such regulations on a nationwide basis.
United States · United States Congress · 1 August 1977
Amends the Omnibus Crime Control and Safe Streets Act of 1968 to include rescue squad members in the group of persons eligible for public safety officers' death benefits.
United States · United States Congress · 28 July 1977
Prohibits the shipment in interstate or foreign commerce of any fur or leather, raw or in finished form, from animals trapped in any State or foreign country which has not banned the manufacture, sale, or use of such traps. Directs the Secretary of Commerce to publish a list of such States and foreign countries. Sets forth penalties for violations of this Act.
United States · United States Congress · 28 July 1977
Amends the Internal Revenue Code to provide that certain civil and criminal penalties applicable to the unauthorized disclosure of any tax return or return information may be imposed only if such unauthorized disclosure is willful.
United States · United States Congress · 26 July 1977
Amends the Internal Revenue Code to extend the income tax exclusion for political organizations' fund raising events to proceeds from gambling activities where the wagers are placed, the winners determined, and the prices distributed in the presence of all the players.
United States · United States Congress · 26 July 1977
Amends the Local Public Works and Capital Development and Investment Act of 1976 to authorize the Secretary of Commerce to make grants for local public works projects to any city or township with a population of 50,000 or less which is located in a county or labor market area which contains a city of more than 50,000 people. Provides for the allocation of grants to qualifying cities and townships.
United States · United States Congress · 26 July 1977
Declares it the sense of Congress that the President and the United States delegation urge the Soviet Union to grant visas to the Smeliansky family to emigrate to Israel.
United States · United States Congress · 25 July 1977
Amends the Clayton Antitrust Act to entitle the United States, natural persons, and State attorney generals acting as parens patriae for persons residing within the State to bring civil actions under such Act for injury in fact, whether direct or indirect. States that this amendment shall apply to any civil action pending on June 9, 1977, or filed thereafter.
United States · United States Congress · 25 July 1977
Urges the International Whaling Commission to adopt a ten-year moratorium on the commercial killing of whales, and to undertake the management of unprotected, small cetacean. Encourages specified nations to comply voluntarily with a ten-year moratorium on such killing, as endorsed by the United Nations.
United States · United States Congress · 21 July 1977
Unemployment Compensation Reform Act - Title I: Unemployment Compensation Cost Equalization Program - Unemployment Compensation Cost Equalization Act - Entitles, under the Social Security Act, States whose rates of insured unemployment is at least six percent to partial reimbursement on an ascending sliding scale of unemployment compensation costs incurred above a certain amount. Title II: Federal-State Extended Unemployment Compensation Act - Federal-State Extended Unemployment Compensation Act - Replaces the Federal-State Extended Unemployment Compensation Act of 1970 with an extended unemployment benefit program which includes both regular extended benefits of up to 13 weeks and supplemental extended benefits of up to 13 additional weeks. Directs that benefits be made available when unemployment exceeds specified trigger levels which are similar to those used under present law. Revises the method for determining unemployment rates for the purpose of such triggers. Provides for 50 percent Federal funding of regular extended benefits and for full Federal funding of supplemental benefits. Title III: Financing Amendments for Unemployment Compensation Programs - Authorizes the Secretary of Labor to extend the payback period of a State having an outstanding balance of loans and to permit a State to pay as little as 20 percent of the outstanding balance in a year upon determining that the State is taking sufficient steps to restore the fiscal soundness of its trust fund. Waives any repayment requirement for States in which the insured unemployment rate exceeds a specified level. Restricts the penalty tax in a State which defaults to only insured employers and provides that the rate of such tax shall remain constant even if the outstanding balance owed is not entirely repaid.
United States · United States Congress · 21 July 1977
Defense Economic Adjustment and Recovery Act - Directs the Secretary of Defense to establish a program to make grants to units of local government whose economy is adversely affected by the closure or major realignment of a military base. Stipulates that such program shall be made through existing Federal programs. Requires that applications for such a grant shall include a comprehensive local economic recovery plan describing the plans of the local community to recover from the economic impact of such closure or realignment. Stipulates that the amount of funds available under this Act shall be equal to ten percent of the total projected savings to be realized by the Department of Defense in the first ten years following the closure or realignment of such a military base. Requires units of local government receiving financial assistance under this Act to submit a report to the Secretary concerning the local community's progress toward economic recovery. Authorizes appropriations in such amounts as may be necessary to carry out the provisions of this Act.
United States · United States Congress · 21 July 1977
Amends the Equal Credit Opportunity Act to prohibit discrimination against any applicant for credit on the basis of the geographic location of the applicant's residence or the applicant's occupation or title.
United States · United States Congress · 19 July 1977
Amends Titles II and XVIII (Old-Age, Survivors, and Disability Insurance, and Medicare, respectively) of the Social Security Act to specify the types of treatment and amount of coverage which will be provided for individuals disabled by end stage renal disease. Defines the time at which coverage begins for programs of renal dialysis, and for kidney transplant operations. States that coverage for home dialysis programs shall begin with the month in which such program begins. Extends coverage for a regular course of renal dialysis to individuals who received a kidney transplant in the case of the failure of such transplant. Extends coverage under the Medicare program to kidney donors. Authorizes the making of payments under the Medicare program to providers of services and renal dialysis facilities on behalf of individuals who have end-stage renal disease. Directs the Secretary of Health, Education, and Welfare to establish annually a target reimbursement rate for home dialysis. Sets forth factors to be considered by the Secretary in determining such rate. Directs the Secretary to establish renal disease network areas, including a medical review board for each area, and a national end stage renal disease medical information system. Defines the goals of the network organizations and medical review boards to be the assurance of the most appropriate form of renal disease treatment for each individual having such disease, and the identification of treatment facilities and providers that are not cooperating toward meeting network goals. Declares it to be a national objective to have a majority of new patients being accepted for end-stage renal disease treatment in self-dialysis settings or in preparation for, or undertaking, kidney transplantation. Directs the Secretary, where it is found that self-training programs in any network are of insufficient capacity or are not distributed throughout the network in a manner which assures that self- dialysis training is adequate to meet the needs of individuals with renal disease, to place in effect a program under which self-dialysis training is provided in renal disease facilities or providers which shall be designated for this purpose. Directs the Secretary of Health, Education, and Welfare to establish a medical review board to assess the appropriateness of patients for proposed treatment procedures, and to review and evaluate the comparative performance of facilities and physicians. Directs the Secretary to establish pilot projects under which assistance is provided to individuals in the purchase of home dialysis equipment. Directs the Secretary to report to Congress annually on the end stage renal disease program.
![Official portrait of Rep. Brodhead, William [D-MI-17]](https://www.congress.gov/img/member/b000862_200.jpg)