United States · United States Congress · 30 January 1985
Taxpayers' Bill of Rights - Requires the Secretary of the Treasury to prepare, for distribution to taxpayers, brief but comprehensive statements which set forth in nontechnical terms: (1) the rights and obligations of taxpayers during an audit; (2) the procedures by which a taxpayer may appeal any adverse decision of the Internal Revenue Service (IRS); (3) the procedures for prosecuting refund claims and filing of taxpayer complaints; and (4) the procedures which the IRS may use in enforcing the internal revenue laws. Requires a copy of such statement to accompany any tax forms sent to taxpayers. Extends permanently the authority to award court costs, attorney fees, and other fees to a prevailing party in civil tax cases. (Present law terminates such authority as of December 31, 1985.) Provides for a civil action against IRS employees for any deprivation of rights, privileges, or immunities secured by the Constitution or laws of the United States. Establishes within the Department of the Treasury an Office of the Ombudsman to provide assistance to individuals in their dealings with the Department of the Treasury (including the IRS). Requires the IRS, upon a taxpayer's request, to: (1) conduct any interview regarding a deficiency assessment in the taxpayer's residence or place of business, at a reasonable time convenient to the taxpayer; and (2) allow a taxpayer to make a recording of such interview at his own expense and with his own equipment. Requires the officer or employee conducting such interview to warn the taxpayer that: (1) he or she has the right to remain silent; (2) any statement he or she makes may be used against him or her; and (3) he or she has the right to the presence of an attorney or a certified public accountant. Requires the Comptroller General of the United States to establish a program for a continuing audit and investigation of the efficiency, uniformity, and equity of the the administration of the internal revenue laws of the United States. Requires the Comptroller General to report annually to the Congress on such program. Prohibits the use of amounts collected pursuant to audits or investigations of taxpayer returns as a basis for the evaluations of the IRS personnel who participated in such audits or investigations.
United States · United States Congress · 30 January 1985
Amends the Internal Revenue Code to provide that the use of law enforcement, fire protection, and emergency medical vehicles by government employees shall be treated as a nontaxable fringe benefit.
United States · United States Congress · 28 January 1985
Effective Schools Development in Education Act of 1985 - Amends the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 to establish a grants program to promote more effective schools and excellence in education. Authorizes appropriations for FY 1986 through 1990 for such grants program. Allows program grants to be used to: (1) promote State educational agency (SEA) and local educational agency (LEA) awareness of effective schools information through conferences at schools and district and multidistrict offices and through onsite visits to model effective schools; (2) develop and implement systems of data collection, analysis, interpretation, and communication; (3) plan, review, and revise program activities; (4) support related effective schools efforts; (5) obtain technical assistance and consultant services from regional educational laboratories, research and development centers, institutions of higher education, and other nonprofit educational organizations; (6) design, develop, and publish educational materials on effective schools programs; (7) conduct program evaluations; and (8) otherwise identify, document, and disseminate information concerning exemplary effective schools programs. Requires that program grant applications by SEAs or LEAs demonstrate that: (1) the applicant has an effective schools improvement program in effect; (2) grant funds would be used to pay not more than one-half of the cost of any program or activity; (3) grant funds would be supplementary; and (4) independent annual evaluations will be conducted and reported. Directs the Secretary of Education, in selecting grant recipients, to: (1) consider the extent to which grant funds would be used to improve schools in districts with the greatest numbers or percentages of educationally deprived children and the extent to which the applicant's ongoing effective schools program has demonstrated the capacity to improve student achievement or behavior; (2) ensure reasonable geographic distribution of grants; and (3) designate grants as being available for a period of at least one but not more than three years. Sets forth provisions for technical assistance and program evaluation. Requires the Secretary to report to the Congress by September 1, 1987.
United States · United States Congress · 24 January 1985
Civil Rights Restoration Act of 1985 - Amends the Education Amendments of 1972, the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, the Age Discrimination Act of 1975, and the Civil Rights Act of 1964 to provide a definition of the phrase "program or activity." Defines such term as all of the operations of: (1) a department or agency of a State or of a local government; (2) the entity of such State or local government that distributes Federal assistance and each such department or agency to which the assistance is extended; (3) a university or a system of higher education; (4) a local educational agency or other school system; (5) a corporation, partnership, or other private organization; or (6) any other entity consistent with the coverage provided above.
United States · United States Congress · 24 January 1985
Merchant Marine Defense Service Recognition and Medals Act - Authorizes the Secretary of Transportation to award decorations and insignia to members of the U.S. Merchant Marine performing meritorious acts or distinguished service. Permits such honors to be of the same design as other comparable military honors. Authorizes the Secretary to cite any U.S. ship for outstanding or gallant acts. Permits the awarding of plaques for the ships and ribbons to the personnel. Authorizes the Secretary to provide a flag and grave markers for merchant mariners who served the United States or its allies in periods of conflict. Establishes criminal penalties for the unauthorized manufacture or display of these awards or decorations. Repeals the Merchant Marine Medals Act.
United States · United States Congress · 24 January 1985
Expresses the sense of the House of Representatives that no changes be enacted in current law that would reduce or delay cost-of-living adjustments for beneficiaries under the Social Security Act.
United States · United States Congress · 24 January 1985
Expresses the sense of the Congress that the President should: (1) ensure that U.S. officials carry out the pledge to resolve the issue of the Americans still missing and unaccounted for in Indochina; (2) work for the immediate release of any Americans still held captive and the return of the remains of those who died in Southeast Asia; and (3) make every effort to secure the further cooperation of Laos and Vietnam in resolving this issue.
United States · United States Congress · 24 January 1985
Expresses the sense of the Congress that no law should be enacted which would: (1) increase the costs to be incurred by beneficiaries under titles XVIII (Medicare) or XIX (Medicaid) of the Social Security Act; or (2) make more restrictive the eligibility requirements under such titles.
United States · United States Congress · 22 January 1985
Amends the Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention Act of 1974 to require the Administrator of the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention in the Department of Justice (Administrator) to make grants to States for the purpose of establishing, operating, or expanding Missing Children Information Clearinghouses. Limits the grants to 50 percent of the costs of establishing and operating the Clearinghouse. Requires any State Clearinghouse to: (1) work in conjunction with the National Crime Information Center; (2) educate parents, children, and community agencies; (3) provide public information to assist in locating missing children; (4) publish a directory of organizations that provide assistance in locating missing children; (5) establish an in-State toll-free line for reporting missing children; (6) work with other public and private organizations; and (7) work with the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children. Allows the Administrator to prescribe rules necessary to carry out this Act. Grants the Comptroller General of the United States access to any books, documents, or records of any State receiving assistance for the purpose of audit. Authorizes appropriations.
United States · United States Congress · 22 January 1985
Veterans' Administration Adjudication Procedure and Judicial Review Act - Title I: Adjudication Procedures - Codifies for Veterans Administration (VA) adjudication purposes the burden of proof and reasonable doubt standards currently provided for by VA regulation. States that a claimant has the burden of submitting sufficient evidence to justify his or her claim, and that if an approximate balance of positive and negative evidence exists regarding the merits of a claim, the VA is to resolve such doubt in favor of the claimant. States that VA subpoenas may be served either by personal delivery or by registered or certified mail. Requires the chairman of the Board of Veterans' Appeals to submit an annual report to the appropriate congressional committees concerning the Board's current handling of cases and projections for the subsequent fiscal year. Requires the Board to: (1) provide notice to a claimant and an opportunity for a hearing before a decision may be based on "additional official information" received after a Board decision has previously been made; and (2) make its decision exclusively on evidence and material of record in the proceeding. Removes the requirement that new material sufficient to allow the Board to reopen a previously disallowed claim be in the form of official reports. Provides that the Board's discretionary authority to reopen a claim will not be diminished by a judicial decision following an appeal as provided for by this Act. Requires the Board to mail to the claimant notice of its decision and the reasons for such decision. Provides that, upon the request of a claimant, the Board shall provide an independent advisory medical opinion when there exists substantial medical disagreement with respect to a material issue in a veteran's appeal. Sets forth new procedural rules for adjudication hearings regarding: (1) oaths, affirmations, and witness examination; (2) admissibility of evidence; (3) procedural rights of claimants; (4) disqualification of a hearing officer; (5) the record of the proceedings and the claimant's right to examine and obtain a copy of such record; and (6) the exclusiveness of veterans' adjudication procedures and rights prescribed by the Administrator. Requires the Administrator to provide at each stage of the appeal proceedings written notice to a claimant of the claimant's procedural rights. Directs the Administrator to conduct a study of two alternative claims resolution methods: one a new intermediate-level adjudication process; the other an enhanced schedule of formal Appeals Board hearings. Directs the Administrator to report to the Congress on such studies. Title II: Veterans Administration Rule Making - Includes the VA's rulemaking procedures under the relevant provisions of the Administrative Procedure Act. Title III: Judicial Review - Provides for judicial review of VA decisions in the Federal court system. States with regard to jurisdiction: (1) the definition of final decision; (2) that judicial review of a final decision in a claim for benefits may be obtained in a civil action brought within 180 days of the Board's mailing of notice of its decision, and that such action shall be brought in Federal district court; (3) that the VA shall file the various materials constituting the record in a case together with its answer to the claimant's complaint; (4) that the court may render a decision on the pleadings; and (5) that the judicial review procedures established under this Act shall not apply to insurance and home loans. States, with regard to the reviewing court's scope of review, that such court: (1) shall decide questions of law and interpret constitutional, statutory, and regulatory provisions, but that questions of fact (unless unsupported by substantial evidence) will not be subject to a trial de novo; and (2) in reviewing a final decision of the VA which is adverse to a party solely because such party failed to comply with VA procedures, may only review questions concerning such procedures. Sets out provisions regarding remand, survival of actions, and appellate review. Title IV: Attorneys' Fees - Authorizes the Administrator to allow attorneys' fees above the present $10 maximum if the appealing party's claim is allowed by the VA after an initial denial. States that such fee shall be the lesser of: (1) the fee agreed upon by the party and attorney; (2) $500, unless the Administrator approves a greater amount; or (3) if the party and attorney have entered into a contingent-fee agreement, not more than 25 percent of the total of any past-due benefits awarded on the basis of such party's claim. Provides for the approval of attorneys' fees in successful veterans' claims brought before a court as provided for under this Act. States that such fees shall be determined by such court, and in contingent-fee agreements such fees shall not exceed 25 percent of the total of any past-due benefits awarded on the basis of such claim. Authorizes attorneys' fees of up to $750 in certain unsuccessful veterans' claims. Prohibits the VA from authorizing payment to a claimant's attorney based on past-due benefits unless such benefits are owed as of the date of the VA's or a court's award. States that such provisions regarding attorneys' fees shall only apply to claims for benefits under the laws administered by the VA and shall not apply in cases in which the VA is the plaintiff or in which other attorneys' fees statutes are otherwise controlling. Title V: Effective Dates - Sets forth the effective dates for this Act.
United States · United States Congress · 22 January 1985
Fair Voting Hours Act of 1985 - Provides for uniform voting hours (between 8 o'clock a.m., eastern standard time and 11 o'clock p.m., eastern standard time) for presidential general elections beginning in 1988.
United States · United States Congress · 22 January 1985
Repeals the requirement added by the Tax Reform Act of 1984 relating to the maintenance of contemporaneous records with respect to: (1) business travel expenses, including automobile expenses; (2) business entertainment expenses; and (3) expenses for gifts.
United States · United States Congress · 22 January 1985
United States-Mexico Joint Development Bank Act - Authorizes the President to enter into an agreement with Mexico to establish a United States-Mexico Joint Development Bank (the Bank) to make economic development loans in Mexico and in the border region of the United States. Sets forth information that shall be included in the agreement including the requirements that: (1) assistance provided by the Bank shall be directed at improving employment opportunities and enhancing the economic development of the geographic and economic sectors of Mexico which are the major sources of undocumented Mexican nationals who enter the United States; and (2) the United States and Mexico contribute equally to the Bank. Directs the President to appoint the U.S. Directors of the Bank. Authorizes the Secretary of the Treasury, upon the United States entering into an agreement with Mexico to establish the Bank, to subscribe to the capital stock of the Bank. Authorizes appropriations to pay for such subscription. Requires reports with respect to the operation of the Bank to be included in the first report of the National Advisory Council on International Monetary and Financial Problems transmitted after the United States accepts participation in the Bank. Prohibits any person or agency on behalf of the United States, unless authorized by Congress, from: (1) agreeing to an increase in the U.S. subscription to the Bank; (2) agreeing to an agreement which increases U.S. obligations or which would change the Bank's purpose or functions; or (3) providing financing to the Bank.
United States · United States Congress · 22 January 1985
Expresses the sense of the Congress that the Federal Home Loan Bank Board should delay until June 30, 1985, the effective date of its proposed regulations regarding limitations on direct investment in real estate, service corporations, and equity securities by federally insured savings and loan associations. Directs the Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs of the Senate and the Committee on Banking, Finance, and Urban Affairs of the House of Representatives to examine alternatives to the proposed regulations which will ensure safety and sound investment activities.
United States · United States Congress · 7 January 1985
State and Local Narcotics Control Assistance Act of 1985 - Authorizes the Attorney General to make grants to States to assist States and local governments to increase their drug enforcement activities. Requires such grants to be based on the relative needs of the States, taking into consideration the severity of drug trafficking and abuse and the availability of State and local resources to resolve such problems. Establishes a procedure for grant applications. Requires such an application to include a State-wide strategy for the enforcement of State drug laws. Imposes limitations on the use of such grants, including a maximum ten percent allocation for administrative purposes. Requires each State which receives a grant to submit a yearly report to the Attorney General, who shall in turn report to the Congress with respect to such grants. Allows the Secretary of Health and Human Services to make grants to States for developing more effective drug abuse prevention, treatment, and rehabilitation programs. Establishes a procedure for grant applications. Authorizes appropriations for both grant programs for FY 1986 through 1990.
United States · United States Congress · 7 January 1985
Alzheimer's Disease and Related Disorders Treatment Act of 1985 - Directs the Secretary of Health and Human Services to designate 20 centers for the treatment of Alzheimer's disease and related disorders. Requires such centers to: (1) provide a central facility for diagnosis, evaluation, and counseling; (2) develop standards of treatment and methods of delivering cost-effective services; (3) train professionals and nonprofessionals in diagnosing and treating such disorders; and (4) develop a comprehensive acute and long-term treatment program. Authorizes FY 1986 through 1990 appropriations. Directs the Secretary to make $1,000,000 available to each center for each of at least five years for teaching, training, research, and staffing. Permits eligible persons to elect to receive benefits as provided for by this Act rather than under titles XVIII (Medicare), XIX (Medicaid), or XX (Grants to States for Service) of the Social Security Act, or under the Older Americans Act of 1965.
United States · United States Congress · 7 January 1985
Establishes the Commission on the Deficit to study alternatives for reducing the Federal deficit over the short and long term. Directs the Commission to report its findings, conclusions, and recommendations for legislative and administrative actions to the President and the Congress by December 31, 1985. Terminates the Commission 30 days after it submits its report.
United States · United States Congress · 7 January 1985
Amends the Tax Reform Act of 1984 to provide that an individual who, as of September 12, 1984, was performing services for one member of a corporate group and was eligible for nontaxable air travel benefits provided by a corporate affiliate shall continue to be eligible for such benefits if as of that date: (1) the primary business of the affiliated group was air transportation of passengers; and (2) at least 50 percent of the persons performing services for the corporation for which the individual is currently performing services were employees of or had previously performed services for the second such corporation.
United States · United States Congress · 3 January 1985
National Observance Advisory Act - Establishes the President's Advisory Commission on National Observances to establish criteria for recommending to the President that a proposed national observance be approved or disapproved.
United States · United States Congress · 3 January 1985
Civil Liberties Act of 1985 - Title I: Recognition of Injustice and an Apology on Behalf of the Nation - States that the Congress recognizes that a grave injustice was done to both citizens and resident aliens of Japanese ancestry by the evacuation, relocation, and internment of civilians during World War II. Title II: United States Citizens of Japanese Ancestry and Resident Japanese Aliens - Requests the President to offer pardons of those convicted of violating laws during the internment period whose violation was based on a refusal to accept racially discriminatory treatment. Provides that Federal departments and agencies that review applications for restitution of positions, status, or entitlement lost during the internment period shall review such applications giving full consideration to the findings of the Commission on Wartime Relocation and Internment of Civilians. Establishes within the Treasury a Civil Liberties Public Education Fund. Authorizes appropriations for the Fund. Requires the Attorney General to pay $20,000 from the Fund to each surviving internee. Establishes a Board of Directors which shall be responsible for making disbursement from the Fund. Provides that disbursement from the Fund shall be used to: (1) sponsor research and public educational activities dealing with the internment; (2) fund studies of similar civil liberties abuses; (3) prepare and distribute hearings and findings of the Commission; and (4) promote the general welfare of the ethnic Japanese community in the United States. Title III: Aleutian and Pribilof Islands Restitution - Aleutian and Pribilof Islands Restitution Act - Establishes within the Treasury the Aleutian and Pribilof Islands Restitution Fund. Directs the Administrator of the Fund (the Aleutian/Pribilof Islands Association) to make restitution for certain Aleut losses sustained in World War II. Requires the Administrator to establish a trust of $5,000,000 and to distribute the interest of such trust for: (1) the benefit of the elderly, disabled, or seriously ill; (2) students in need of scholarship assistance; (3) preservation of Aleut cultural heritage and historical records; (4) the improvement of community centers of affected Aleut villages; and (5) other purposes to improve Aleut life. Authorizes the Administrator to rebuild and restore churches and church property damaged or destroyed in Aleut villages during World War II. Requires the Secretary of the Treasury to make payments of $12,000 from the fund to each eligible Aleut for any uncompensated personal property loss. Authorizes the Secretary of the Army to implement a program for the removal and disposal of live ammunition, obsolete buildings, abandoned machinery, and other hazardous debris remaining in populated areas of the lower Alaska Peninsula and the Aleutian Islands. Authorizes the Secretary of the Interior to convey to the Aleut Corporation all right, title, and interest of the United States in Attu Island, Alaska. Authorizes appropriations. Title IV: Miscellaneous Provisions - Provides that all documents, personal testimony, and other material collected by the Commission on Wartime Relocation and Internment of Civilians shall be deposited in the National Archives of the United States.
United States · United States Congress · 3 January 1985
Amends the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act to require that any attorney who collects debts on behalf of a client be subject to the provisions of such Act.
United States · United States Congress · 3 January 1985
Olmsted Heritage Landscapes Act of 1985 - Requires the Secretary of the Interior, acting through the Director of the National Park Service, to prepare a State-by-State inventory of Olmsted heritage landscapes. Provides that all properties on the inventory shall be part of an Olmsted heritage landscape system. Requires periodic updating of the inventory. Directs the Secretary to: (1) promulgate general standards for preservation of historic landscapes; (2) provide technical assistance to Federal agencies, State and local governments, private organizations, and other interested individuals on the identification, commemoration, and preservation of Olmsted heritage landscapes; (3) conduct and submit to the Congress a thematic study of historic landscapes to identify those landscapes which would qualify as national historic landscapes; (4) encourage a program for the use of the Frederick Law Olmsted National Historic Site in Massachusetts as a center for research and establish an advisory committee for the site; and (5) encourage appropriate international activities related to the Olmsted heritage landscapes. Requires the Secretary to provide for the coordination of applications for grants for the preservation of Olmsted heritage landscapes. Requires the Secretary to encourage maximum public participation in carrying out the purposes of this Act. Requires the Secretary to conduct appropriate activities during the decade of 1985 to 1995 to commemorate the Olmsted achievements and influence on American life. Establishes the Advisory Committee on Olmsted Heritage Landscapes, which shall assist the Advisory Council on Historic Preservation in carrying out those of its duties under the National Historic Preservation Act that relate to Olmsted heritage landscapes. Terminates such Committee after December 31, 1995. Authorizes appropriations.
United States · United States Congress · 3 January 1985
Abandoned Shipwreck Act of 1985 - Provides that the United States asserts title to any abandoned shipwreck that is: (1) substantially buried in submerged lands of a State; (2) in coralline formations protected by a State on its submerged lands; or (3) on submerged lands of a State when such shipwreck is included or eligibile for inclusion in the National Register, and the public is given adequate notice of the location of the shipwreck. Declares that any title to abandoned shipwrecks asserted under such conditions is transferred to the State in or on whose submerged lands the shipwreck is located. States that any abandoned shipwreck in or on the public lands of the United States (except the Outer Continental Shelf) is the property of the United States. Directs the Advisory Council on Historic Preservation to publish, within six months after the enactment of this Act, advisory guidelines for the protection of shipwrecks and properties.
United States · United States Congress · 3 January 1985
Directs the Secretary of Health and Human Services to promote the establishment of family support groups to assist individuals with Alzheimer's disease or a related disorder and their family members and to provide for a national coordinating network of such groups. Requires a report to the Congress within one year.
United States · United States Congress · 3 January 1985
Title I: National Development Investment - National Development Investment Act - Amends the Public Works and Economic Development Act of 1965 to cite such Act as the National Development Investment Act and to revise the emphasis of such Act from primary Federal initiative to coordination of investments between the public and the private sectors. Sets forth the findings of the Congress. Authorizes the Secretary of Commerce, upon the application of an eligible State, economic development district, distressed local government (with a population under 50,000 and located outside an economic development district), Indian tribe, or nonprofit economic development organization, to make a grant for a portion of the cost of projects submitted in a development investment strategy. Sets forth activities eligible for such development investment assistance, including: (1) construction and repair of public facilities; (2) revolving loan funds to promote small business; (3) feasibility studies to enhance the investment climate; and (4) development activities which prevent economic dislocation and promote employee ownership organizations. Sets forth specific eligibility criteria for applicants for such assistance. Requires an application for a grant under this Act to include: (1) a certification that the area concerned meets certain distress requirements; (2) a certification of any responsibilities which the Secretary has agreed to perform; and (3) a development investment strategy prepared in accordance with this Act. Requires the Secretary to consider specified purposes of this Act in approving applications. Lists as criteria any one of which an area must meet in order to be eligible for a grant under this Act: (1) a per capita income of 80 percent or less of the national average; (2) an unemployment rate one percent above the national average for the most recent 24-month period for which statistics are available; or (3) a sudden economic dislocation resulting in job losses. Sets forth the information to be contained in a grant applicant's development investment strategy. Authorizes the Secretary to make grants to establish a revolving loan fund for making or guaranteeing loans to small businesses for initial or working capital, or for the purchase of facilities or equipment. Limits to $1,000,000 the amount of any such grant. Limits the amount of any grant under this Act to a maximum of 50 percent of the cost of completing the project as determined at the time of the grant application. Permits the Secretary to reduce or waive the non-Federal share of a project in the case of an Indian tribe. Limits expenditures in any one State to a maximum of 15 percent of the appropriations made pursuant to this Act, except for expenditures to Indian tribes. Prohibits the Secretary from obligating more than $2,000,000 in any fiscal year to any person, other than grants for employee ownership organizations. Requires the Secretary, each fiscal year, to obligate minimum amounts of funds for such grants. Authorizes the Secretary to make economic development planning grants to States, economic development districts, Indian tribes, distressed counties, and distressed units of local governments with populations over 50,000 (if located outside an economic development district). Earmarks such grants for coordination of investment for community facilities, economic development, manpower training, and transportation services. Authorizes the Secretary to evaluate Federal, State, and local development investment efforts. Authorizes the Secretary to conduct any demonstration program to test the feasibility of new ways to increase productivity, foster innovative technology, match labor force with labor markets, or encourage economic diversity and regional balance. Authorizes the Secretary to make grants to colleges, universities, and other nonprofit educational and research organizations. Directs the Secretary to conduct a study to determine financing needs for the construction and repair of public facilities. Requires the Secretary to submit to each House of the Congress a detailed statement, including findings and recommendations, concerning such financing needs. Limits the amount of any such grant to not more than 75 percent of the cost of economic development planning or of investment strategy preparation. Authorizes appropriations through FY 1988. Declares that the Secretary of Commerce shall administer this Act with the assistance of a specified Assistant Secretary of Commerce. Authorizes the Secretary to consult with other persons and agencies. Prohibits the approval of any grant unless the Secretary is satisfied that the project concerned will be properly and efficiently administered, operated, and maintained. Sets forth the powers of the Secretary under this Act. Permits the Secretary to discharge responsibilities relative to a project by accepting a certification of the grant applicant's performance of such responsibilities. Requires the Secretary to make comprehensive annual reports to the Congress detailing operations under this Act. Requires all laborers and mechanics employed by contractors or subcontractors on projects assisted under this Act to be paid the prevailing rate of wage. Requires the Secretary to maintain records of approved applications available for public inspection. Requires each recipient of a grant to maintain certain specified records. Allows the Secretary and the Comptroller General access to all records of such recipients. Authorizes appropriations through FY 1988. Title II: Appalachian Regional Development - Appalachian Regional Development Act Amendments of 1985 - Amends the Appalachian Regional Development Act of 1965 to declare that investments under such Act shall also be made in severely distressed and underdeveloped counties lacking resources for basic services. Authorizes appropriations through FY 1990 for the administrative expenses of the Appalachian Regional Commission. Authorizes the Commission to lease office space through FY 1988. Authorizes appropriations through FY 1992 for the Appalachian development highway system. Increases from 70 to 80 percent the subsequent Federal share of an Appalachian development highway segment when a participating State proceeds to construct a segment of such a highway without the aid of Federal funds. Applies such increase to projects approved after March 31, 1979. Authorizes the Commission to make grants to States and public and nonprofit entities for projects which will: (1) assist in the creation or retention of permanent private sector jobs, the upgrading of the region's manpower, or the attraction of private investment; (2) provide special assistance to severely distressed and underdeveloped counties which lack financial resources for improving basic services; (3) assist in achieving the goal of making primary health care accessible in the region; or (4) otherwise serve the purposes of this Act. Prohibits the authorization of any financial assistance to enable plant subcontractors to undertake work previously performed in another area by other subcontractors or contractors. Prohibits grants with funds authorized after October 1, 1985, from exceeding 50 percent of the costs of any approved project. Permits such grants to increase the Federal contribution to any project to such percentage as the Commission determines within specified limitations. Authorizes appropriations through FY 1990. Extends the termination date of such Act from 1982 to October 1, 1990.
United States · United States Congress · 3 January 1985
Federal Employees Health Benefits Reform Act of 1985 - Increases the amount of the Government's contribution for an employee enrolled in an employee health benefits plan from 60 to 75 percent of the average subscription charge for such plan. Increases the maximum Government contribution for an enrollee from 75 to 100 percent of such subscription charge. Requires payment of a Government differential equal to five percent of the average subscription charge, in addition to the Government's contribution, for any enrollee who is over 65 years of age and not entitled to Medicare benefits. Excludes such differential in determining the amount to be paid by the enrollee. Permits the following persons to elect to continue coverage under a Federal employees' health benefits plan for a specified period: (1) an employee who is involuntarily separated from the civil service due to a reduction in force; (2) an individual who elects to receive the lump-sum credit for civil service retirement benefits; and (3) an individual 22 years of age or older whose enrollment was based on such individual's being an unmarried child who was incapable of self-support because of a mental or physical disability which existed and did not terminate before the individual attained the age of 22. Requires such persons who elect to continue coverage to pay into the Employees Health Benefits Fund an amount equal to the sum of employee and agency contributions paid for the same level of benefits. Allows such a person to: (1) change to a lower level of benefits; (2) change coverage within 60 days after a change in family status; and (3) transfer enrollment to another plan under conditions prescribed by the Office of Personnel Management (OPM). Provides a temporary extension of coverage to allow persons who elected not to continue coverage or whose continued coverage is terminated to convert to a nongroup contract providing health benefits. Allows annuitants whose annuity is less than the amount required to be withheld for enrollment in a health benefits plan to pay the amount of any deficiency required for enrollment. Requires contracts for employee organization plans to require carriers to: (1) reinsure with other participating companies; (2) enter into an agreement approved by OPM with an underwriting subcontractor licensed to issue group health insurance in all States and the District of Columbia; and (3) meet minimum financial standards prescribed by OPM. Requires the service benefit plan and the indemnity benefit plan to provide, in addition to all currently authorized benefits: (1) nervous and mental disorder benefits; (2) alcoholism and substance abuse treatment and rehabilitation benefits; and (3) comprehensive dental benefits. Prohibits the OPM from entering into a contract for any service benefit, indemnity benefit, or employee organization plan which does not provide for 50 outpatient visits and 60 inpatient days of nervous and mental disorder benefits and two 28-day alcoholism treatment and rehabilitation benefits. Requires any limits on nervous and mental disorder benefits to be exceeded on a case by case basis only to the extent that a peer review mechanism determines such treatment to be necessary. Requires 80 percent of such excessive benefit claims to be paid from the balance of one percent of all contributions to the Employees Health Benefits Fund remaining after the expenses of administering provisions governing Federal employees health benefit plans are paid. Prohibits the OPM from entering into a contract with a carrier for any health benefits plan which does not provide 95 percent of the benefits that such plan or the most similar plan provided during the preceding year, unless the carrier and the OPM mutually agree to waive such requirement. Directs the OPM to: (1) provide a three week period during which enrollees in health benefits plans may change or cancel their enrollments before any contract term in which the rates or benefits of a plan will change, a new plan will be offered, or an existing plan will be terminated; and (2) make available to such enrollees information on such plans at least four weeks before such open enrollment period. Prohibits the OPM from entering into a contract for a health benefits plan which excludes anyone because of nonactive employee status. Eliminates the requirement that the group of physicians under a group-practice prepayment plan include physicians representing at least three major medical specialties.
United States · United States Congress · 3 January 1985
Requires that funds allocated for military assistance for the Government of El Salvador or for the rebels in Nicaragua be used instead by the Immigration and Naturalization Service to prevent illegal immigration from Central America.
United States · United States Congress · 3 January 1985
Amends the Immigration and Nationality Act to exempt persons over 50 years old who have been U.S. permanent residents for at least 20 years from the "Government knowledge" naturalization requirement.
United States · United States Congress · 3 January 1985
Continued Access to Group Health Insurance Act of 1985 - Amends the Internal Revenue Code and the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA) to require continuation coverage under group health plans for certain spouses, former spouses, and dependent children of employees insured under such plans. Makes such continuation coverage a requirement for the allowance of a tax deduction for employer contributions to group health plans. Provides that the spouse and dependent children of an insured employee may be entitled to five years of continuation coverage under a group health plan if the insured employee: (1) dies; (2) becomes separated or divorced from his or her spouse; or (3) becomes entitled to Medicare. Makes such coverage available only if it is elected within a specified period by or on behalf of the spouse or child to be covered. Sets forth notification requirements. Sets forth a special rule relating to collective bargaining agreements.
United States · United States Congress · 3 January 1985
Directs the Secretary of Health and Human Services, in consultation with specified agencies, to conduct at least ten demonstration projects to determine the feasibility of providing for alternative Medicare benefits for individuals entitled to Medicare benefits who are diagnosed as suffering from Alzheimer's disease or a related memory disorder. Directs the Secretary, in conducting such projects, to consider: (1) alternative benefits that encompass a range of outpatient services; and (2) providing alternative benefits in a manner that is analogous to the manner in which benefits for hospice care are made available under Medicare. Limits the cost of each such project. Provides for the paying for such projects.
United States · United States Congress · 3 January 1985
African Famine Relief and Recovery Act of 1985 - Title I: Authorizations of Appropriations - Authorizes supplemental appropriations for FY 1985 for famine relief in Africa for: (1) agricultural development programs; (2) international disaster assistance programs; (3) development program operating expenses; and (4) the Migration and Refugee Assistance account of the State Department. Title II: Appropriations - Makes supplemental appropriations for FY 1985 to: (1) the Department of Agriculture for Public Law 480; (2) the Agency for International Development for specified agriculture, rural development, and nutrition programs, for international disaster assistance, and for operating expenses; and (3) the Department of State for migration and refugee assistance. Declares that funds appropriated for Public Law 480, for agriculture, rural development, and nutrition programs (other than funds for rehabilitation and recovery projects), and for international disaster assistance shall be available only for those African countries which suffer from exceptional food supply problems in 1985 due to drought and other calamities. Permits the use of Public Law 480 funds to reimburse certain ongoing famine relief programs. Declares that funds for rehabilitation and recovery projects and for migration and refugee assistance shall be available only to those African countries which have suffered in the last two years from exceptional food supply problems due to drought and other calamities.
United States · United States Congress · 3 January 1985
Amends the Uniformed Survivors Benefits Amendments of 1980 to entitle certain individuals who were widowed on or before September 21, 1972, and who are not covered by the Military Survivor Benefit Plan to an annuity.
United States · United States Congress · 3 January 1985
Amends the Internal Revenue Code to provide that one-half of the cost of insurance paid by a self-employed taxpayer for medical care during the taxable year will be allowed as a business deduction.
United States · United States Congress · 3 January 1985
States that the President should, at the earliest possible date: (1) request Senate advice and consent to ratification of the Threshold Test Ban and Peaceful Nuclear Explosions Treaties; and (2) propose to the Soviet Union the resumption of negotiations toward conclusion of a verifiable comprehensive test ban treaty.
![Official portrait of Rep. Bustamante, Albert G. [D-TX-23]](https://www.congress.gov/img/member/b001172_200.jpg)