United States · United States Congress · 17 March 1980
Amends the Trade Expansion Act of 1962 to prohibit the President from taking action, pursuant to the President's authority to adjust the imports of articles which threaten national security, to impose import fees on petroleum and petroleum products imported into the United States without specific authorization from Congress, effective March 1, 1980.
United States · United States Congress · 12 March 1980
Requires that each State establish and maintain an approved workfare program as a condition of its eligibility for Federal payments or other assistance under the: (1) program of aid to families with dependent children under the Social Security Act; (2) food stamp program under the Food Stamp Act of 1977; and (3) public housing and assisted housing programs under the United States Housing Act of 1937. Requires that such State workfare program shall require every State resident applying for or receiving aid under such Federal public assistance program to perform work in return for (and as a condition of his or her eligibility for) such aid. Directs the appropriate Federal agencies to promulgate guidelines for approval, supervision, and oversight of such State workfare programs. Exempts from required participation in such programs those who are: (1) under age 18 or over age 65; (2) disabled; (3) regularly employed for at least 40 hours a week; or (4) primarily responsible for the care of a child less than three years old (or for the care of a child more than two but less than six years old if suitable child care is not available at reasonable cost). Requires that each State workfare program must provide that if any individual who is required to participate in such program refuses to accept a bona fide offer of qualified employment or to perform qualified employment, in any month, neither such individual nor any other person in the family or household of which such individual is a member shall be eligible to receive any aid under such Federal public assistance programs for that month. Requires that State workfare programs include provision for job counseling, assistance in obtaining employment outside the program, and job search activities. Provides for: (1) Federal matching funds to cover administrative costs of such State programs; (2) Federal cut-offs of funds to State agencies for failure to comply with this Act; and (3) Federal agency reports to Congress on such State programs. Authorizes appropriations to carry out this Act.
United States · United States Congress · 12 March 1980
Expresses the sense of Congress that school authorities and college and university administrators should consider strengthening the study of foreign languages and cultures through appropriate actions.
United States · United States Congress · 11 March 1980
Amends the venue provisions of Federal law to provide that a civil action in which a defendant is the United States, a United States agency, or an officer or employee thereof acting in an official capacity may be brought in any judicial district in which the plaintiff or defendant has its principal place of business, and must be brought in a judicial district in which a substantial portion of the impact or injury exists. Requires an appeal from a final order of the Federal Communications Commission, the Federal Maritime Commission, the Interstate Commerce Commission, the Atomic Energy Commission, the Secretary of Agriculture, or the Maritime Administration to be brought in a judicial circuit in which a substantial portion of the impact or injury exists.
United States · United States Congress · 5 March 1980
Expresses the sense of the House of Representatives that the first concurrent resolution on the budget for fiscal year 1981 reported by the Committee on the Budget shall limit budget outlays to 21 percent of the gross national product.
United States · United States Congress · 28 February 1980
Resource Conservation and Development Act of 1980 - Directs the Secretary of Agriculture to establish a resource conservation and development program to assist States, local units of government, and local nonprofit organizations to operate and maintain a planning process for land conservation and utilization, natural resources development, and rural economic and environmental improvement. Authorizes the Secretary to: (1) provide technical assistance in developing area plans for designated rural areas; (2) cooperate in conducting surveys and inventories, disseminating information, and developing area plans; (3) assist in the carrying out of approved area plans by local public agencies and nonprofit organizations designated by States; and (4) enter into specified agreements. Sets forth terms and conditions of agreements which must be met if the Secretary is to provide any technical or financial assistance, including loans, to a State agency, local government, or local nonprofit organization in carrying out works of improvement specified in an approved area plan. Permits the identification of groups or problems for special consideration in area plans. Declares that the authority of the Secretary under this Act shall be supplemental and not in lieu of any authority of the Secretary under any other provision of law. Directs the Secretary to establish within the Department of Agriculture a Resource Conservation and Development Policy Board to advise the Secretary regarding the administration of this Act. Directs the Secretary to evaluate the program provided for in this Act and to report on such evaluation, with recommendations. Authorizes appropriations necessary to carry out this Act, with specified annual limits on technical and financial assistance and on loans.
United States · United States Congress · 27 February 1980
Municipal Waste-to-Energy Act of 1980 - Title I: Research, Development and Demonstration - Requires the Director of the Office of Urban Waste Energy Management (established under this Act) to establish, conduct, and promote an accelerated research, development, and demonstration program for the recovery of energy from municipal wastes. Directs the Director to provide financial assistance in the form of grants, contracts, price supports, purchase guarantees, loan guarantees and cooperative agreements, or any combination thereof, to public or private entities to support the cost of planning, designing, constructing, operating, and maintaining experimental and demonstration facilities and modifications of existing facilities for demonstration purposes, for the conversion of municipal wastes into energy, or for the recovery of materials. Requires that such program be designed to achieve its goals within ten years after enactment of this Act. Amends the Federal Nonnuclear Energy Research and Development Act of 1974 to extend the financial support program to include public and private entity waste reprocessing demonstration facilities. Authorizes appropriations for fiscal year 1982 to carry out this title. Title II: Commercialization - Requires the Director to establish a program of financial assistance for commercial-scale projects designed for the conversion of municipal wastes into energy or the recovery of materials, including, in decreasing order of priority, price and loan guarantees, loans, and grants. Stipulates that such assistance shall be made to supplement but not to compete with nor supplant any private capital investment under authority of any other Federal law. Directs the Director to establish internal procedures, standards, and criteria for the timely review of compliance with such requirement of each new award of assistance for a specific proposed municipal waste processing project. Limits such financial assistance to a maximum of 75 percent of the total capital cost of that project. Prohibits any project receiving such assistance from thereafter being eligible for such assistance. Requires that any specific tax credit directly associated with such projects be considered in determining the need for financial assistance awarded under this title. Limits the amount of loans entered into for such projects to a maximum of 49 percent of the total capital costs of the project, unless the Director determines that such limit would prevent the financial viability of the proposed project. Sets forth requirements concerning the Director's authority to enter into, or make, such loans, loan guarantees, price guarantees, and grants. Directs the Director to conduct economic analyses of municipal waste-to-energy conversion technologies in other countries for publication and dissemination. Authorizes appropriations for fiscal year 1982 to carry out this title. Title III: General Provisions - Amends the Department of Energy Organization Act to establish an Office of Urban Waste Energy Management within the Department of Energy to perform the research, development, demonstration, and commercialization activities authorized under this Act. Directs the Director of such Office to prepare a program and management plan for such activities and to transmit such plan to specified congressional committees. Requires the Director to annually submit to the Congress a detailed description of such plan as in effect, with proposed modifications as necessary. Requires the Director to support science and engineering education programs to provide trained personnel to perform the activities required under this Act. Directs the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency, the Secretary of Commerce, and other appropriate agency heads to cooperate with the Director in carrying out duties under this Act and to provide the Director with information in their possession which is necessary for such purposes. Requires the Director to assure the full and complete dissemination of information concerning any project or other activity conducted under this Act to Federal, State, and local authorities, relevant segments of the economy, the scientific community, and the public in order to promote the early, widespread, and practical use of municipal waste-to-energy technologies. Directs the Director, in consultation with the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency and the Secretary of Commerce, to prepare and transmit to the Congress a report analyzing and assessing legal impediments and other barriers to the development and application of such technologies. Sets forth the components of such report. States that amounts received by the Director as repayment of loans made under this Act and other specified amounts shall be deposited in the Federal Treasury as miscellaneous receipts.
United States · United States Congress · 26 February 1980
Directs the Joint Committee of Congress on the Library to procure a bust or statute of Frederick Douglas, to be placed in a suitable location in the Capitol.
United States · United States Congress · 19 February 1980
Declares February 26, 1980, as a national day of prayer, meditation, and unity if the hostages being held in Iran are not released by February 25, 1980.
United States · United States Congress · 13 February 1980
Authorizes and requests the President to issue a proclamation extending best wishes and expressing appreciation to Carl Vinson for his devotion to the United States.
United States · United States Congress · 12 February 1980
Amends the Internal Revenue Code to allow an income tax deduction to business enterprises engaged in the manufacture, importation, distribution, lease, or sale of products for which such businesses may incur product liability for contributions to their product liability loss reserve accounts and for amounts paid to captive insurers (wholly or partially-owned by such businesses) for product liability insurance. Requires that such businesses demonstrate difficulty in obtaining product liability insurance at reasonable rates. Disallows any deductions for product liability losses which do not exceed the sum of the total trust funds in the taxpayer's account at the beginning of the taxable year plus the amount of deductible payments made by the taxpayer to the account during such year. Imposes penalties for the improper use of product liability reserve funds.
United States · United States Congress · 31 January 1980
Amends the Internal Revenue Code to reduce from 70 percent to 50 percent the maximum rate of income tax for individuals. Requires separate computation of personal service income and non-personal service (unearned) income, applying each category to the lowest tax rates initially. Prohibits separate computations in the case of any individual with more than $10,000 in tax-preference items.
United States · United States Congress · 31 January 1980
Establishes a Commission on More Effective Government to study and recommend ways of promoting economy, efficiency, and improved service within the Federal Government. Directs the Commission to recommend methods to improve the relationship between Federal, State, and local governments. Provides for the appointment of members of the Commission by the President, the Speaker of the House of Representatives, and the President pro tempore of the Senate. Sets forth provisions governing the organization and compensation of the Commission and its staff. Empowers the Commission to establish advisory councils and committees as it deems appropriate without regard to the provisions of the Federal Advisory Committee Act. Sets forth the powers of the Commission enabling it to gather information free from subsequent review or comment by any Federal agency. Directs the Commission to submit its final report to the Congress ten days after the Ninety-eighth Congress convenes. Terminates the Commission 90 days after such date. Authorizes the appropriation of funds necessary to carry out this Act.
United States · United States Congress · 30 January 1980
Amends the Internal Revenue Code to exclude from the gross income of individual taxpayers specified amounts of dividends received from domestic corporations and interest income earned on deposits with financial institutions and on certain debt instruments. Limits the amount of such exclusion to $500 ($1,000 for joint returns), plus 25 percent of the interest and dividends which are not otherwise eligible for the exclusion. Phases in the $500 maximum exclusion in $100 yearly increments, beginning with $200 in 1981. Permits the exclusion of dividends distributed by real estate investment trusts.
United States · United States Congress · 28 January 1980
Fusion Energy Research, Development, and Demonstration Act of 1980 - Directs the Secretary of Energy to establish research, development, and demonstration programs involving magnetic fusion energy systems to: (1) construct and operate a fusion engineering test facility by 1986; (2) construct and operate a magnetic fusion demonstration facility before the end of this century; (3) maintain and expand the base programs for fusion energy research and the development and testing of appropriate alternative confinement technologies; (4) maintain a strong research and development program in advanced fusion fuels; and (5) ensure an uninterrupted source of scientific and engineering talent from institutions of higher learning to support such effort. Requires such programs to include a study of the potential of using fusion energy for the production of synthetic fuels and the electrification of ground transportation systems. Directs the Secretary to disseminate information promoting the practical uses of fusion energy.
United States · United States Congress · 24 January 1980
Amends the Federal charter of the Boy Scouts of America to change from April 1 to June 1 the due date of its annual report to Congress. Specifies that such report be printed as a separate document of the House of Representatives.
United States · United States Congress · 23 January 1980
Amplitude Modulated Broadcast Station Experiment Act of 1979 - Directs the Federal Communications Commission, within six months after the date of enactment of this Act, to conduct an experiment and study of the feasibility of establishing extended broadcasting hours of operation for amplitude modulated broadcast radio stations which have station licenses. Requires the Commission to report the results of such experiment and study to the Congress within two years of the date of enactment of this Act.
United States · United States Congress · 22 January 1980
Authorizes and requests the President to issue a proclamation honoring the memory of Walt Disney on the 25th anniversary of his contribution to the American dream.
United States · United States Congress · 20 December 1979
Provides for an exemption from the windfall profits tax for independent oil producers for an amount equal to 1,000 barrels of crude oil multiplied by the number of days in the taxable period.
United States · United States Congress · 19 December 1979
Amends the Internal Revenue Code to provide that the Internal Revenue Service shall send a notification of responsibility for Federal income taxes in lieu of tax return forms to individuals electing not to receive such forms.
United States · United States Congress · 11 December 1979
Amends the Military Personnel and Civilian Employee's Claims Act of 1964 to provide for a maximum payment by the United States of $40,000 in personal property claims by members of the uniformed services or civilian employees of the U.S. incident to evacuations from a foreign country after December 31, 1978. States that such claim must be submitted in writing within two years after it accrues, or within one year after enactment of this Act, whichever is later.
United States · United States Congress · 10 December 1979
Expresses the sense of Congress that the Soviet Union, Bulgaria, Yugoslavia, and Romania are urged: (1) to release certain political prisoners; and (2) to halt the incarceration and harassment of individuals contrary to the Helsinki Accords.
United States · United States Congress · 6 December 1979
Expresses the sense of Congress that the President should establish a Federal strike force and implement a program in each Federal judicial district for the purposes of investigating and prosecuting members of outlaw motorcycle gangs who commit Federal crimes.
United States · United States Congress · 9 November 1979
Repeals the provision prohibiting Federal recognition of Virgin Islands' National Guard Officers above the grade of colonel as members of the National Guard.
United States · United States Congress · 9 November 1979
Disapproves the proposed amendment to the strategic petroleum reserve plan which sets forth a method of drawdown and distribution of the reserve (Department of Energy energy action numbered 5).
United States · United States Congress · 18 October 1979
Hospital Cost Containment and Reporting Act of 1979 - Establishes a 15-member National Commission on Hospital Costs, to be appointed by the President, to report annually to Congress and the President on: (1) its activities and the implementation of this Act; (2) the rate of increases in hospital expenses; and (3) the success of the voluntary efforts of hospitals to meet the voluntary goals for hospital cost containment established by this Act. Directs the Commission to submit to Congress and the President, within one year of the appointment of a majority of its members, a report on measures that can be taken to control costs in the health care industry. Directs the Commission to study and make recommendations to Congress and the President within two years of the appointment of a majority of its members with respect to: (1) the effect of policies and procedures (including use of deductibles, coinsurance, cost- or risk-sharing, tax deductions and exclusions, and repaid health plans) on the strengthening of competitive forces in the health services industry; (2) the desirability of increasing the use of such methods in federally funded and other health insurance programs; (3) underutilized capacity in the health care system and means to reduce such capacity; (4) the costs and benefits of State certificate of need programs and programs of review of capital expenditures under the Social Security Act (section 1122); (5) the impact of increased hospital capital expenditures on operating expenses; (6) the impact of increases in the number of professional health personnel; (7) the impact of wage increases and increased utility expenses on hospital costs; (8) alternative systems of financing health care services; (9) the costs to hospitals of Federal and State regulations; (10) the costs to hospitals of serving the medically needed; and (11) other matters affecting hospital expenses or revenues. Directs the Commission to consult with appropriate professional organizations in the conduct of its activities. Authorizes the Secretary of Health, Education, and Welfare to provide financial assistance for up to 50 percent of the expenses involved with the planning, establishment, or operation of State voluntary or mandatory hospital cost containment programs which meet specified conditions, including that any such program: (1) excludes any institution (A) having an average stay of 30 days or more during the preceding three years, (B) deriving 75 percent or more of its inpatient care revenues from one or more health maintenance organizations; (C) located in a rural area and having an average annual admissions of 4,000 or less during the preceding 12 months; (D) which does not accept payments for services; (E) is a psychiatric hospital; or (F) is a Federal institution; (2) sets as voluntary goals the reduction of the rate of increase in total hospital expenses for 1979 ( and each subsequent year) to four percent less than the rate of increase for 1977 (subject to an inflation adjustment); (3) conforms with specified administrative and review requirements; and (4) does not treat as hospital revenues amounts attributable to specified types of grants, gifts, endowments, and other funds. Directs the Secretary to monitor the performance of such State programs and make recommendations with respect to: (1) containing aggregate levels of hospital utilization; (2) shifting utilization from inpatient to outpatient services; (3) reducing excess hospital capacity through mergers, conversions, and terminations; and (4) promoting alternative methods of providing health care, such as through health maintenance organizations. Authorizes appropriations through fiscal year 1982 for such State programs. Amends title XI of the Social Security Act (General Provisions) to provide that gifts, grants, and endowments shall not be deducted from any operating costs of nonprofit hospitals for purposes of determining under the Maternal and Child Health, Medicare, and Medicaid programs the reasonable costs of services furnished by such hospitals. Prohibits any Federal law providing for the containment or control of hospital costs from treating as hospital revenues amounts attributable to specified types of grants, gifts, endowments, and other funds. Adds as new requirements of the State plans under the Maternal and Child Health and Medicaid programs of the Social Security Act that: (1) entities providing services reimbursable on a cost-related basis be audited as the Secretary determines is necessary to insure proper payments; and (2) for any such audit involving an entity which is also reimbursed on a cost-related basis under Medicare, the audit under the Maternal and Child Health or Medicaid program be coordinated and conducted jointly with an audit under Medicare. Directs the Secretary to condition payment to a State for the administrative costs of auditing any such entity on such coordinated audit procedures. Amends the Medicare program to permit any hospital (other than a hospital which has in effect a waiver of the 24-hour nursing service requirement) which: (1) has an agreement under such program; and (2) has been granted a certificate of need for the provision of long-term care services for the State health planning and development agency (designated under title XV of the Public Health Service Act), to enter into an agreement with the Secretary under which its inpatient hospital facilities may be used for the furnishing of the type of services which, if furnished by a skilled nursing facility, would constitute posthospital extended care services. Provides that payment to any hospital for such services shall be based upon the reasonable cost of the services, consisting of the reasonable cost of routine and ancillary services as defined by this Act. Stipulates that a hospital furnishing such services shall be required to meet all the requirements that a skilled nursing facility would be required to meet and that the provision of such services shall be subject to the same requirements as those furnished by a skilled nursing facility, except for those requirements which the Secretary determines are inappropriate with respect to a hospital. Directs the Secretary to report to Congress within three years of enactment on such extended care service program. Amends the Medicaid program to permit payment to be made under approved State plans for nursing facility services and intermediate care facility services furnished by a hospital which has in effect an agreement under the Medicare program.
United States · United States Congress · 16 October 1979
Amends title II (Old Age, Survivors and Disability Insurance) of the Social Security Act to prohibit the payment of benefits to any individual for any month in which such individual is confined in a penal institution. Stipulates that benefits withheld from such individuals shall be treated as having been paid to such individuals for purposes of determining the benefits to which other persons are entitled on the basis of the same wages and self-employment income.
United States · United States Congress · 26 September 1979
Amends the Internal Revenue Code to provide that the standard mileage rate used in computing the charitable deduction for expenses incurred in the operation of a motor vehicle shall be the same as the standard mileage rate established by the Secretary of the Treasury for the business related deduction.
United States · United States Congress · 25 September 1979
National Center of Afro-American History and Culture Act - Establishes the National Afro-American History and Culture Commission which shall: (1) be responsible for the development of a definitive plan for the construction and operation of the National Center for Afro-American History and Culture; and (2) solicit subscriptions of funds from private sources to help meet costs of the construction, furnishing, and operation of the center, including the costs of acquiring works of art and artifacts. Allows the Commission to: (1) acquire by gift, purchase with appropriated or donated funds, transfer from any Federal or State agency, exchange, or otherwise acquire suitable land and interest in land in the vicinity of Wilberforce, Ohio, for the location of the headquarters of the center; (2) acquire appropriate works of art and any other real or personal property necessary for the establishment and operation of the center; and (3) sell, exchange, or otherwise dispose of any property acquired and designate any proceeds from such disposal for the benefit of the center. Authorizes the Secretary of the Interior to acquire by donation or purchase with donated or appropriated funds the Colonel Charles Young Home and adjacent lands in Wilberforce, Ohio, not to exceed 80 acres, which when acquired shall be known as the Wilberforce National Historic Site.
United States · United States Congress · 25 September 1979
Amends the Internal Revenue Code to increase the unified tax credit for both estate and gift taxes from $47,000 to $155,800 over a five-year phase-in period from 1980 through 1984, with annual inflation adjustments.
United States · United States Congress · 25 September 1979
Constitutional Amendment - Prohibits the total amount of money expended by the United States in any fiscal year from exceeding the total amount of revenue received by the United States during such fiscal year, except in time of war declared by the Congress. Allows the suspension of this Amendment by a joint resolution approved by a vote of three-fifths of the Members of each House of the Congress and approved and signed by the President, or by a vote of two-thirds of the Members of each House of the Congress. Requires tax rates to be reduced to offset the effects of inflation. Establishes a procedure for the approval of bills or joint resolutions affecting taxes.