United States · United States Congress · 1 August 1983
Amends Federal law relating to fire protection to permit a U.S. agency with fire protection duties to enter into reciprocal fire protection agreements with any fire organization (including foreign organizations) for mutual aid in fire protection. (Current law permits an agency to form a reciprocal agreement only with an organization within the vicinity of the property protected by the agency).
United States · United States Congress · 1 August 1983
Forfeited Conveyance Disposal Improvements Act - Title I: Amendments to Controlled Substances Act, Immigration and Nationality Act, and Title 28, United States Code - Amends the Controlled Substances Act and the Immigration and Nationality Act to require the deposit in the Department of Justice Forfeited Conveyances Fund of proceeds from the sale of forfeited conveyances (including vessels, vehicles, or aircraft) used in the transport of controlled substances. Makes such amendment effective from the date of enactment of this Act through FY 1984. Requires the Attorney General to report to Congress not later than four months after the end of each fiscal year on such property retained after forfeiture. Establishes the Department of Justice Forfeited Conveyances Fund for the use of the Attorney General from FY 1985 through 1987 in making specified payments with respect to seized conveyances under the control of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Drug Enforcement Administration, the United States Marshals Service, or the Immigration and Naturalization Service. Requires the Attorney General to report to Congress, not later than four months after the end of each fiscal year, on the receipts and disbursement of such Fund. Sets forth deposits to be made to the Fund for the period of FY 1985 through 1987. Authorizes appropriations from such Fund to carry out provisions of this Act for FY 1985 through 1987, and terminates the Fund at the end of FY 1987. Title II: Amendments to Tariff Act of 1930 - Amends the Tariff Act of 1930 to increase the valued amount of conveyances seized by customs officers which may be forfeited and sold. Increases the bond amount to be posted for persons claiming such conveyances. Establishes the Customs Service Forfeited Conveyances Fund for the deposit of the proceeds from sales of forfeited conveyances from the date of enactment of this Act through FY 1984. Makes such amounts available to the United States Customs Service from FY 1985 through 1987 for specified payments with respect to such seized conveyances. Requires the Commissioner of Customs to report to Congress, not later than four months at the end of each fiscal year, on the receipts and disbursements of such Fund. Sets forth deposits to be made to the Fund for FY 1985 through 1987 and terminates such Fund at the end of FY 1987. Directs the Commissioner of Customs to report to Congress, not later than four months after the end of each fiscal year, on retained conveyances.
United States · United States Congress · 1 August 1983
Fair Trade in Steel Act of 1983 - Title I: Steel Tripartite Advisory Council - Directs the President to establish within the Executive Office of the President a Steel Tripartite Advisory Council which shall: (1) advise the President and Congress on problems within the basic steel industry; (2) provide advice and make recommendations on certain international and domestic issues; and (3) perform other duties required by title II of this Act. Requires other Federal agencies to cooperate with the Council. Directs the Council to report to the President and Congress on its activities. Title II: Quantitative Restrictions on Imports of Certain Steel Products - Limits annual imports of steel mill product categories to 11 percent of the expected apparent consumption for that year. Defines steel mill product categories to mean specified categories of carbon and alloy steel articles and stainless steel articles identified in the Tariff Schedules of the United States. Directs the Secretary of Commerce to announce on October 1, and April 1, of each year the quantitative limitation on imports for the six months beginning on the following January 1, and July 1. Prohibits imposing limits on any steel product category unless the Secretary finds that the sector of the domestic steel industry which produces like or competitive articles has, and is engaging in, a verifiable investment plan to modernize that sector. Imposes additional quantitative limits on imports of steel mill product categories. Declares that it is the intent of this title to ensure, to the extent practicable, that the entry of articles in all steel mill product categories that are products of a foreign nation be equalized on a monthly basis. Provides for imposing additional limitations on imports from a foreign nation if imports from such nation, in any two consecutive months, exceed five percent of an amount equal to one-sixth of the total permissible imports for such nation for the year concerned. Terminates this title on December 31, 1988, unless extended by the President. Title III: Quantitative Restrictions on Iron Ore Imports - Imposes limits on the imports of iron ore for the last six months of 1983, and for calendar years 1984 and 1985. Authorizes the Secretary to permit imports of iron ore in excess of such limits in order to insure continued operation of domestic steelmaking facilities. Permits such waiver only on a plant-by-plant basis and only if the Secretary makes specified determinations.
United States · United States Congress · 25 July 1983
Establishes the Kamehameha National Monument in Hawaii. Requires the Secretary of the Interior to provide facilities to commemorate the historical significance of the monument. Authorizes appropriations.
United States · United States Congress · 21 July 1983
Inspector General Act Amendments of 1983 - Amends the Inspector General Act of 1978 to establish an Office of Inspector General in the Departments of Justice and Treasury. Transfers to such Office the functions of specified existing offices of such Departments. Conforms the Offices of Inspector General of the Departments of Energy and Health and Human Services to such Act. Authorizes each Inspector General, in carrying out the provisions of such Act, to administer to or take from any person an oath, affirmation, or affidavit, whenever necessary to perform functions assigned by such Act. Fixes the pay of all Inspectors General at level IV of the Executive Schedule.
United States · United States Congress · 20 July 1983
Authorizes the President to present, on behalf of Congress, a gold medal to Margaret Truman Daniel, daughter of Harry S. Truman, in recognition of the lifetime of outstanding public service he gave to the United States. Commemorates his one hundredth birthday which will be celebrated on May 8, 1984. Authorizes appropriations.
United States · United States Congress · 30 June 1983
Patent Term Restoration Act of 1983 - Amends the patent laws to extend the terms of patents which encompass specified products or a method for using a product, any of which are subject to certain nonpatent regulatory review periods. Sets forth the terms and conditions of such extension, including a seven year limitation. Directs the Commissioner of Patents to issue to the owner of record of a patent a certificate of extension stating the fact and length of the extension and identifying the product and the use and the claim to which such extension is applicable. Makes such certificate a part of the original patent. Limits the application of such patent term extension to patents for products subject to regulation under the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act, the Public Health Service Act, the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act, the Toxic Substances Control Act, and the Act of March 4, 1913 (relating to virus, serum, toxin, and analogous products).
United States · United States Congress · 29 June 1983
National Economic Cooperation Act of 1983 - Amends the Employment Act of 1946 to add a new title on national economic cooperation. Establishes a National Economic Cooperation Council. Sets forth the purposes of the Council, including the requirement that the Council report annually to the President and the Congress on the state of the national economy. Requires that the general policies and administrative direction of the Council shall be controlled by a Board composed of nine members appointed by the President, by and with the advice and consent of the Senate. Sets forth the qualifications of members of the Board. Requires the principal administrative officer of the Council to be an Executive Director appointed by the Board. Requires the Council to promote the growth and vitality of the U.S. economy by: (1) collecting and analyzing relevant data concerning economic trends and market opportunities; (2) evaluating existing and alternative government and business policies in terms of their impact on the capacity of American enterprises to take advantage of those trends and opportunities; (3) recommending government and business strategies and practices which will improve that capacity; (4) developing such concensus among the branches of government, labor, and business as is necessary to implement such strategies and practices; and (5) evaluating State and local policies and practices in terms of their impact on the economy. Sets forth methods for the Council to follow in carrying out such functions. Authorizes the Council to make special reports as necessary, in addition to its annual report. Sets forth the authority of the Council to conduct hearings. Establishes within the Council a Bureau of Economic Information and a Bureau of Economic Analysis and Policy. Sets forth the duties of such Bureaus. Directs the President to designate a Special Adviser for Economic Coordination who: (1) shall be the principal official responsible for the coordination of executive branch trade and economic functions and activities; and (2) shall serve as the principal liaison official between executive branch departments and agencies and the Council. Authorizes appropriations for FY 1984 through 1989. Sets forth general administrative provisions.
United States · United States Congress · 21 June 1983
Requests the Board of Engineers for Rivers and Harbors to review the report of the Chief of Engineers on Taylors Bayou, Texas, concerning the advisability of modifying the flood control project there.
United States · United States Congress · 7 June 1983
Designates the U.S. Post Office Building, 41-65 Main Street, Flushing, New York, as the Benjamin S. Rosenthal Post Office Building. Requires the Postmaster General to install an appropriate plaque indicating such designation.
United States · United States Congress · 6 June 1983
Expresses the sense of the House of Representatives that hospice care is a necessary and humane alternative to traditional health care for the terminally ill.
United States · United States Congress · 2 June 1983
Historic Shipwreck Preservation Act - Provides that the United States relinquishes to the respective States all right, title, and interest of the United States with respect to historical shipwrecks and structures on the seabed or in the subsoil of lands beneath the navigable waters within the boundaries of such States. Provides that the U.S. maritime law of salvage shall not apply to such shipwrecks or structures.
United States · United States Congress · 24 May 1983
Elephant Protection Act of 1983 - Prohibits importing or exporting African elephants or elephant products. Prohibits the acquisition, transportation, or sale in interstate commerce of such products imported in violation of this Act. Permits individuals to: (1) import and export a total of 10,000 pounds of unworked ivory for six months after enactment of this Act; and (2) import worked ivory for 90 days after enactment if there is no intention to sell such ivory in the United States. Requires the Secretary of the Interior to grant permits for the importation or exportation of elephants and elephant products if the Secretary finds that: (1) the nation involved has developed and implemented an elephant conservation program according to specified criteria; (2) the products can be traced as coming from a particular nation; (3) the products are acquired and transported in compliance with laws of the originating nation; (4) the importation or exportation will not be detrimental to the survival of the species; and (5) the permit is applied for in good faith. Authorizes the Secretary to grant permits for the importation or exportation of elephants or elephant products to enhance propagation or survival of the species. Requires the Secretary to report to Congress concerning granting of such permits. Sets forth civil or criminal penalties for violations of this Act. Provides for the remittance or mitigation by the Secretary of any civil penalty assessed under this Act. Provides for the forfeiture of elephants, elephant products, or vehicles aiding in the importation, exportation, acquisition, or transportation of such products contrary to the provisions of this Act. Grants specified search and seizure powers for enforcement of this Act by authorized persons. Authorizes the payment of rewards to persons furnishing information concerning violations of this Act. Requires all imports and exports of elephant products to go through either the Port of New York or the Port of Seattle, Washington. Exempts from this Act: (1) elephants imported or exported for zoological, educational, scientific, or exhibitional purposes; (2) elephant products included in a keyboard for a musical instrument; (3) elephant products taken and imported or exported by a sports hunter; and (4) elephant products taken and transported in compliance with the laws of the originating nation. Supersedes, with respect to elephants and elephant products, the Endangered Species Act of 1973 and State laws determined to be in conflict with this Act. Directs the Secretary of State to establish a program to assist nations to: (1) protect elephant habitats; (2) conserve living elephants; and (3) develop and implement elephant conservation management programs. Authorizes appropriations.
United States · United States Congress · 24 May 1983
United States Caribbean Possessions Act - Title I: Eastern Caribbean Regional Development Fund - Lists countries which the President shall consider in designating beneficiary countries for purposes of this title. Prohibits the President from designating a country a beneficiary country: (1) if such country is a communist country; (2) if the country has taken certain expropriating actions against property owned by U.S. citizens; (3) if the country fails to act in good faith with respect to arbitral awards involving U.S. citizens or companies; (4) if the country affords preferential treatment to a developed country other than the United States which adversely affects U.S. commerce unless the President receives certain assurances; (5) if a government-owned entity in such country engages in the broadcast of copyrighted material belonging to U.S. copyright owners without their express consent; and (6) unless such country is party to a treaty regarding the extradition of U.S. citizens. Lists factors the President shall take into account in determining whether to designate a country a beneficiary country. Prohibits the President from terminating the designation of a country as a beneficiary country unless, at least 60 days before the termination, the President has notified the Congress and the beneficiary country of such determination. Directs the President to withdraw or suspend the designation of a country as a beneficiary country if, because of changed circumstances, the country would be barred from designation as a beneficiary country. Establishes in the Treasury the Eastern Caribbean Regional Development Fund. Appropriates to the Fund the amount of money collected from: (1) the import duties on articles entered from beneficiary countries; and (2) the taxes on rum imported into the United States from beneficiary countries. Authorizes the Administrator of the Fund to allocate and distribute the moneys in the Fund to island beneficiary countries. Sets forth the method of allocation. Title II: Tax and Tariff Provisions - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to require that if the amount of taxes collected on rum imported into the United States from beneficiary countries exceeds the amount needed in the Eastern Caribbean Regional Development Fund the excess shall be covered into the treasuries of Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands. Prohibits granting duty-free treatment to bulk rum manufactured outside the United States, its territories, or possessions.
United States · United States Congress · 19 May 1983
Expresses the support of the House of Representatives for Lebanon's and Israel's agreement on arrangements for the withdrawal of Israeli forces from Lebanon. Calls upon other nations to work toward the withdrawal of all foreign forces from Lebanon. Emphasizes the need of all nations to recognize the sovereignty of Lebanon. Urges Syria and the Palestine Liberation Organization to agree to the arrangements for the withdrawal of their forces from Lebanon.
United States · United States Congress · 12 May 1983
Amends the Internal Revenue Code to exempt from the excise tax on sales of heavy trucks and trailers piggyback trailers or semi trailers designed for use principally in connection with trailer-on-flatcar service by rail.
United States · United States Congress · 4 May 1983
Corporation Act Amendments of 1983 - Amends the Legal Services Corporation Act to increase from nine to ten the number of members on state advisory councils, at least two of whom must be eligible clients and another two members of the general public. Directs the Legal Services Corporation (the Corporation) to: (1) publicize within a specified time-frame any contemplated grants, projects or contracts; and (2) notify the relevant State advisory council if legal assistance will be provided as a result of such grants, projects, or contracts. Establishes procedural guidelines for notification, comment, and review of such grants, projects, or contracts. Deems the Corporation's Board of Directors (the Board) to be Federal officers and employees in order to prohibit payment of members appointed during a recess of the Senate. Provides compensation to Board members only for attendance at Board meetings and necessary related travel expenses. Prohibits: (1) reimbursement to recipients and specified Board personnel for membership in private clubs; and (2) severance pay exceeding the amounts paid Federal employees for comparable service. Requires the project director of a recipient of Corporation funding to approve any allowable use of funds for communications with governmental entities. Allows class action suits against government entities if the practice in question is unlikely to change otherwise and will continue to affect eligible clients adversely. Revises conditions under which reasonable costs and legal fees shall be awarded to a defendant prevailing against the Corporation or the Corporation's recipient. Allows such an award of fees where the action had no reasonable basis in law or fact. (Currently, such fees may be awarded only if the action is a malicious abuse of legal process.) States that any such costs shall be paid directly by the Corporation. Authorizes the Corporation to recover such costs from a recipient adjudged to have commenced legal action without a reasonable basis in law or fact. Directs the Corporation to: (1) require recipients to attempt out-of-court resolution of disputes; (2) provide funds each fiscal year with which to compensate private attorneys who render legal services to eligible clients; and (3) develop criteria to determine reasonable legal costs and reduced fee schedules. Prohibits the use of Corporation funds for: (1) legal proceedings or legal assistance by any attorney relating to an abortion unless it is necessary to save the mother's life; or (2) legal assistance to aliens known to be in violation of Federal laws or treaties relating to immigration, exclusion, deportation, or expulsion if aliens. Directs the Corporation to: (1) require recipients to maintain documentation of their clients' eligibility for legal advice and assistance; and (2) periodically review such documentation and include findings in annual reports to the President and the Congress. Grants the Comptroller General and the General Accounting Office the same authority: (1) to conduct audits of the Corporation as they have with respect to all other Federal departments and agencies; and (2) to settle and adjust Corporation accounts. Authorizes appropriations for FY 1984 through 1986. Requires annual funding of current grantees and contractors to remain uninterrupted at previous fiscal year levels whenever less than six members of the Board have been appointed and are qualified under the Legal Service Corporation Act. Authorizes the Corporation to bring an action in Federal district court to: (1) compel specific performance of any agreement between the Corporation and any recipient for the provision of legal services; and (2) compel compliance by a recipient with this title. Prohibits the interruption of legal services to clients who have actions pending on the date of such court orders. Specifies exceptions.
United States · United States Congress · 25 April 1983
Paperwork Reduction Act Amendments of 1983 - Amends the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1980 to require the Director of the Office of Management and Budget to appoint a Chief Statistician of the United States to be responsible for certain statistical policy and coordination functions currently assigned to the Director. Includes among such functions the integration of statistical functions with other information resources management functions. Requires the Director to update, annually, the five- year plan for meeting the Government's automatic data processing and telecommunications needs. Requires the Director to: (1) set a goal to reduce the Government paperwork burden by ten percent by October 1, 1984, and by an additional five percent in the following year; (2) issue a comprehensive set of information resources management policies; (3) delegate to the Administrator of General Services the authority to issue information resources management principles, standards, and guidelines and the duty of reviewing each agency's information management activities every three years; and (4) report the results of such reviews to Congress within 30 days after receipt thereof. Requires the Director to include the following information in his or her annual report to Congress: (1) a summary of accomplishments and planned initiatives to improve information resources management within agencies; (2) a statement on each agency's initiatives to acquire information technology to improve such management; (3) an analysis of the extent to which the newly issued information management policies, principles, standards, and guidelines deter or promote such initiatives; (4) a description of the actions taken on, or planned for, statistical policy and coordination functions; and (5) a description of the status of each major statistical program. Authorizes appropriations for FY 1984 through 1986 to carry out such Act. Prohibits the use of appropriated funds for activities not specifically authorized or required under such Act or for reviewing any rule or regulation, other than a collection of information requirement. Limits the amount of appropriations available for the Federal information locator system. Amends the Federal Property and Administrative Services Act of 1949 to combine the existing Federal telecommunications and automatic data processing funds into an Information Technology Fund. Directs the Administrator to determine the rates to be charged to users of information technology resources provided through the Fund. Permits the Administrator to make contracts for such resources for up to five years if: (1) adequate funds are available to pay contract costs for the first fiscal year; (2) such a contract is awarded on a fully competitive basis; (3) the Government's need for such resources will continue over the contract period; and (4) use of a multiyear contract will cost less than annual contracts and will not inhibit small business participation. Requires that an annual report on the operation of the Fund be submitted to the Director and Congress.
United States · United States Congress · 21 April 1983
Expresses the sense of the House of Representatives that the President should reduce imports of apparel to no more than 25 percent of the American apparel market.
United States · United States Congress · 20 April 1983
Increases the number of judicial divisions in the Northern District of Ohio. Changes the location of the district courts for such divisions. Sets guidelines for the assignment of active, full-time district court judges sitting in Akron and Youngstown.
United States · United States Congress · 19 April 1983
Amends the Internal Revenue Code to exempt holdings in an independent local newspaper business from the tax on excess business holdings of private foundations. Defines an "independent local newspaper business" as: (1) a proprietorship which publishes an independent local newspaper; (2) a partnership which publishes such a newspaper and which has none of its outstanding partnership interests traded in an established securities market; and (3) a corporation which publishes such a newspaper and which has none of its outstanding capital stock traded in an established securities market.
United States · United States Congress · 19 April 1983
Transfers from the Director of the Office of Management and Budget to the Administrator of General Services the responsibility for: (1) maintaining and providing wide access to a computerized information system on domestic assistance programs; and (2) preparing, publishing, and distributing the catalog of domestic assistance programs each year. Requires the Administrator to ensure that the information in the computer system and the catalog is the most current information available. Assigns the Director responsibility for overseeing the authorities transferred by this Act. Authorizes appropriations.
United States · United States Congress · 13 April 1983
Authorizes the erection of a memorial on public grounds in the District of Columbia, or its environs, in honor and commemoration of members of the armed forces who served in the Korean war. Directs the Secretary of the Interior to select, with the approval of the National Commission of Fine Arts and the National Capital Planning Commission, a suitable site on public grounds for such memorial. Subjects the design and any plans for the memorial to the approval of the Secretary, the National Commission of Fine Arts, and the National Capital Planning Commission. Declares that no moneys belonging to the United States or the District of Columbia shall be expended for the erection of such memorial. Authorizes appropriations for site acquisition and preparation in the event nonpublic land is selected for the memorial.
United States · United States Congress · 23 March 1983
Office of Federal Procurement Policy Act Amendments of 1983 - Amends the Office of Federal Procurement Policy Act to eliminate the requirement that the Administrator of Federal Procurement Policy develop and submit to Congress for approval a uniform procurement system. Directs the Administrator to establish (currently, develop) a system of simplified and uniform policies, procedures, and regulations governing procurements by executive agencies. Permits the Administrator, with the concurrence of the Director of the Office of Management and Budget, to deny or rescind any agency rule relating to procurement if the Director determines that such rule is inconsistent with such policies, procedures, or regulation. (Current law requires the Director to deny or rescind such rules until a uniform procurement system is established.) Repeals a provision requiring the Administrator to propose to Congress changes in legislation relating to procurement. Requires the Administrator to transmit to specified congressional committees a detailed report on each proposed procurement regulation. Directs the head of each executive agency to: (1) develop plans to increase the use of full and open competition in agency procurements; (2) ensure that agency procurements are conducted in accordance with all laws, Government policies, and good business practices; (3) establish clear lines of responsibility for procurement decisionmaking; (4) appoint an agency official to direct the procurement system; and (5) maintain a procurement management career program. Authorizes appropriations to carry out the Office of Federal Procurement Policy Act in FY 1984 through 1986.
United States · United States Congress · 23 March 1983
Malt Beverage Interbrand Competition Act - Declares that no antitrust law shall prohibit the importer, brewer, or trademark licensee of a trademarked malt beverage, when such beverage has substantial competition from other malt beverages in an area, from: (1) entering into an agreement granting a wholesale distributor the exclusive right to sell such beverage within any defined geographic area within a State; or (2) limiting such distributor to the sale of such beverage for ultimate resale to consumers in such area. Declares that this Act shall not affect any provision of State law.
United States · United States Congress · 23 March 1983
Fair Trade in Steel Pipe and Tube Products Act of 1983 - Provides the Secretary of Commerce and the Secretary of the Treasury with the authority necessary to enforce the terms of the Steel Pipe and Tube Arrangement between the United States and the European Community. Requires the Secretary of Commerce (the Secretary), not later than October 1 of each year, to compute the annual import ceilings for steel pipe and tube articles. Provides for intra-annual adjustments for such ceilings. Requires the Secretary to consult with the European Community if it appears that the annual import ceilings for any year might be exceeded. Requires the Secretary to seek an agreement with the European Community which will result in compliance with the import ceilings for the rest of the year. Requires the Secretary of the Treasury to enforce the import ceilings if an agreement cannot be reached with the European Community. Permits adjustment of the import ceiling if domestic manufacturers cannot meet the demand for steel pipe and tube products.
![Official portrait of Rep. Brooks, Jack B. [D-TX-9]](https://www.congress.gov/img/member/b000880_200.jpg)