United States · United States Congress · 5 May 1977
Amends the Railroad Safety Act of 1970 to direct the Secretary of Transportation to issue regulations requiring that the locomotive and rear car of all passenger, freight, and commuter trains be equipped with bulletproof glass and equipment which is capable of providing controlled temperatures.
United States · United States Congress · 4 May 1977
Minimum Income Maintenance Act - Amends the Social Security Act by adding Title XXI - Minimum Income Maintenance Benefits. Establishes a national program to guarantee a minimum adequate income for all qualified residents of the United States. Establishes eligibility requirements for such program. Sets the amount of annual benefit for any eligible individual at one-half of the applicable guarantee level as defined in this Act, reduced by one-half of the amount of such individual's income. Specifies that the guarantee level shall be established by the Bureau of Labor Statistics in the Department of Labor utilizing the most recent information and data which may be available on costs, incomes, budget levels, and consumption patterns, and shall take into account variations in consumption patterns as between different areas and regions and as between families of different sizes and compositions. States that "income," for purposes of this Act, includes all earned and unearned income. Requires every individual eligible for benefits to register for services, training, and employment in a work incentive program established under the Work Incentive Program of Title IV of the Social Security Act. Makes the Secretary of Health, Education, and Welfare responsible for the administration of this title and the program of benefits established by this title. Imposes a fine of not more than $1,000 or imprisonment for not more than one year or both upon anyone found guilty of fraud in connection with determining rights under this title. Abolishes specified public assistance programs under the Social Security Act and the Food Stamp Act of 1964.
United States · United States Congress · 3 May 1977
Public Safety Officers' Group Life Insurance Act - Authorizes the Law Enforcement Assistance Administration to purchase from life insurance companies a policy or policies of group life insurance to provide the benefits provided under this Act. Provides that each such life insurance company must: (1) be licensed to issue life insurance in each of the 50 states of the United States and in the District of Columbia; and (2) as of the most recent December 31 for which information is available to the administration have in effect at least one percent of the total amount of group life insurance which all life insurance companies have in effect in the United States. Provides that any purchased policy shall automatically insure any Public Safety Officer employed by a State or local government which has applied to participate in the insurance program and agreed to deduct from such officer's pay the amount of the premium, to be forwarded to the proper Federal agency as designated by the Administration. Specifies the amount of life insurance an officer may receive on the basis of his pay rate. Requires that policies purchased under this Act provide officers accidental death and dismemberment insurance in an amount equal to the applicable amount of life insurance. Provides that each policy purchased by the Administration under this Act shall contain a provision, in terms approved by the Administration, to the effect that any insurance thereunder on any public safety officer shall cease two months after; (1) his separation or release from duty as such an officer; or (2) discontinuance of his pay as such an officer, whichever is earlier. Provides that each policy purchased under this Act shall contain a provision, in terms approved by the Administration, for the conversion of such insurance effective the day following the date such insurance would cease. Specifies that during the period such insurance is in force the insured, upon request to the Administration, shall be furnished a list of life insurance companies participating in the program established under this Act, and upon written application (within such period), to the participating company selected by the insured and payment of the required premiums be granted insurance without a medical examination on a permanent plan then currently written by such company which does not provide for the payment of any sum less than the face value thereof, or for the payment of an additional amount of premiums if the insured engages in public safety activities. Requires that during any period in which a public safety officer is insured under a policy of insurance purchased by the Administration under this Act his employer shall withhold each pay period from his basic or other pay until separation or release from duty as a public safety officer an amount determined by the Administration to be such officer's share of the cost of his group life insurance and accidental death and dismemberment insurance. Sets forth the order of precedence in which the survivors of the officers will be awarded insurance benefits. States that each policy issued under this title shall include a schedule of basic premium rates and provide for the readjustment of rates. Establishes an Advisory Council on Public Safety Officer Group Life Insurance consisting of the Attorney General as Chairman, the Secretary of the Treasury, the Secretary of Health, Education, and Welfare, and the Director of the Office of Management and Budget. Provides that the Council shall meet once a year, or more often at the call of the Attorney General, and shall review the Administration of this Act and advise the Administration on matters of policy relating to activities thereunder.
United States · United States Congress · 28 April 1977
Authorizes the Secretary of the Interior to designate lands in Hyde Park, New York, as the Eleanor Roosevelt National Historic Site and to acquire such lands. Directs the Secretary to manage the site and to arrange studies, lectures, and seminars to be conducted at the site through agreements with qualified public or private entities. Authorizes the appropriation of such sums as may be necessary to carry out the provisions of this Act.
United States · United States Congress · 26 April 1977
Drought Assistance Amendment - Title I: Amendments to the Disaster Relief Act of 1974 - Declares the finding of Congress that droughts and other similar non-cataclysmic disasters require Federal assistance. Requires the President to appoint a Federal coordinator to operate in an area declared a drought emergency. Permits Federal agencies to provide assistance to drought emergency areas by performing any emergency service essential to save lives and property, including (1) conservation practices; (2) water supply investigations; (3) education training in conservation techniques for farmers and other affected persons; (4) provisions for water needs and the movement of supplies or persons; (5) the establishment of comprehensive employment and/or manpower training programs; and (6) contributions to State or local governments to carry out the provisions of this Act. Directs that where Federal funds for assistance activities may go by contract to private organizations or firms, preference be given to organizations or firms in the drought emergency area. Authorizes the President to make grants to States for the purpose of State grants to individuals or families adversely affected by a drought emergency to meet necessary expenses; and to make temporary mortgage or rental payments on behalf of individuals or families who have received written notice of foreclosure on land or equipment as a result o financial hardship caused by drought. Provides for loans to local governments losing revenues as a result of a drought emergency. Title II: Amendments to the Public Works and Economic Development Act of 1965 - Extends to drought emergency areas assistance for economic recovery following the period of emergency aid and replacement of essential facilities and services. Extends coverage of federally-guaranteed loans to the purchase of land and facilities for farming usage. Title III: Miscellaneous Provisions - Makes areas suffering an emergency of any sort eligible for Federal assistance for current school expenditures. Extends eligibility for small business loans under the Small Business Act to businesses in drought emergency areas and limits the interest rate on the Small Business Administrator's share of the loan to one percent annually.
United States · United States Congress · 26 April 1977
Directs the Architect of the Capitol to conduct a feasibility study of using solar energy in certain House Office Buildings. Authorizes the appropriation of funds to conduct such study.
United States · United States Congress · 21 April 1977
Solar Energy Government Building Act - Title I: Solar Hot Water and Space Heating Program for Federal Buildings - Directs the Administrator of General Services to establish a solar hot water and space heating program designed to place solar hot water and space heating devices in 15,000 federally owned buildings within six fiscal years following the date of enactment of this Act. Directs the Administrator to annually survey Federal buildings to determine those most suitable for the installation of solar hot water and space heating devices considering geographic distribution and life-cycle cost evaluations in making such determination. Directs the Administrator to report annually to Congress on the status of the Program, including recommendations for future funding levels necessary to fully implement the six-year target set forth in this Act. Establishes an advisory Committee on the Solar Energy Government Building Program of specified Government executives to assist the Administrator in the establishment and conduct of the Program. Authorizes the appropriation of $100,000 for each of fiscal years 1978 through 1983 for the purpose of this title. Title II: Federal Photovoltaic Utilization Program - Establishes a Federal Photovoltaic Utilization Program for the annual acquisition and use of photovoltaic solar electric systems, primarily for use by the Department of Defense. Directs the Administrator of General Services to administer the program, with the assistance of the Secretary of Defense. Directs the Administrator of the Energy Research and Development Administration of establish a photovoltaic system evaluation and purchase program to insure that such systems reflect the most advanced, low-cost technology. Authorizes the appropriation of $25,000,000 for each of fiscal years 1978 through 1982 for design and engineering aspects of the program. Authorizes the appropriation of $100,000,000 for photovoltaic system acquisition in fiscal year 1978.
United States · United States Congress · 21 April 1977
Title I: Small Business Act Amendments - Amends the Small Business Act to authorize the Small Business Administration to make loans to assist small business concerns in financing plant construction and the acquisition of equipment and supplies for the producing of solar energy or other energy conserving equipment. Authorizes the appropriation of $75,000,000 for such purpose. Authorizes the Administration to provide additional assistance to small businesses in the area of training seminars and technical manuals on the design, installation, and maintenance of solar energy equipment. Title II: Federal Nonnuclear Energy Research and Development Act of 1974 Amendments - Amends the Federal Nonnuclear Energy Research and Development Act of 1974 to establish an Office of Invention and Innovation in the Energy Research and Development Administration. Authorizes the Office to evaluate proposals for the development of energy-related inventions and to provide financial assistance for the development of such inventions. Stipulates that not less than 20 percent of the funds appropriated to the Energy Research and Development Administration for solar energy programs shall be expended for the benefit of small business concerns and individual inventors. Directs the Administrator of the Energy Research and Development Administration to encourage the participation of individuals and small businesses in the research, development, and advancement of energy-conserving technologies.
United States · United States Congress · 19 April 1977
Voting Rights for the Elderly and the Handicapped Act - Directs the Attorney General in consultation with the Secretary for Health, Education, and Welfare to prescribe standards for polling and registration facilities which will assure ready access by the handicapped and the aged. Permits designation of facilities for Federal elections which do not comply with such standards only where conforming facilities are unavailable. Requires States to provide alternative registration and voting methods for aged and handicapped persons assigned to inaccessible registration facilities or polling places. Requires that a paper ballot be made available or a voting assistant be permitted to a person unable to operate a voting machine.
United States · United States Congress · 18 April 1977
Amends the Disaster Relief Act of 1974 to authorize the President to make contributions to States or local governments to help repair or replace a public facility damaged or destroyed in an emergency. Limits the amount of any such contribution to 75 percent of the cost of repair or replacement of such facility.
United States · United States Congress · 6 April 1977
Sludge Management Act - Directs the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency to study the environmental, health, and economic effects of subsurface landfilling sludge on soils and ground water, and alternate methods of sludge disposal. Directs the Administrator to develop guidelines for sludge disposal and land-spreading in order to protect the public health and welfare. Authorizes the Administrator to make grants to States and localities of up to 40 percent of the cost of removal of sludge from navigable waters of the United States or any adjacent shoreline. Directs the Administrator to establish an Environmental Protection Agency Task Force on sludge removal. Authorizes the establishment of programs of training, demonstration, and surveys relating to the restoration of water quality where degraded by sludge. Amends the Federal Water Pollution Control Act to prohibit grants for treatment works, after September 30, 1976, unless the applicant demonstrates that adequate confined disposal methods will be provided.
United States · United States Congress · 6 April 1977
Declares that specified persons previously appointed as temporary hearing examiner's under the Supplemental Security Income program of the Social Security Act shall be considered appointed to career-absolute positions as hearing examiners.
United States · United States Congress · 6 April 1977
Intergovernmental Coordination Act - Requires, under the Intergovernmental Cooperation Act of 1968, any Federal agency which administers any program requiring a State plan as a condition of assistance to give the Governor of the State, or such agency as the Governor may designate, an opportunity to comment on the relationship of such State plan to any comprehensive or other State plan or program or to any plan or program of any affected areawide planning agency or unit of general local government. Directs such department or agency or unit of general local government be provided with an opportunity to review any State plan which has provided with an opportunity to review any State plan which has specific applicability to or effect upon areawide or local planning and programming or which establishes criteria or distribution formulas or systems for State subgrants of Federal assistance. Repeals title VIII of the Federal Property and Administrative Services Act of 1949 known as the Federal Urban Land-Use Act. Requires, whenever any Federal agency contemplates the disposal of any interest in real property, that reasonable notice be given to the Governor of the State in which such land is located and to the head of the governing body of the unit of general local government having jurisdiction over zoning and land-use regulation in the geographical area within which such land is located in order to afford the State and local government the opportunity of planning and zoning for the use of such land in accordance with State, areawide, and local comprehensive planning. Requires, to the extent practicable, prior to a commitment to acquire any real property or any interest in real property, any Federal agency or department to notify the State, the appropriate areawide agency and the local unit of general local government exercising zoning and land-use jurisdiction over the land proposed to be purchased of the intent of such agency or department to acquire such land and the proposed use of such land. Requires such acquiring agency to comply, to the extent practicable, with the zoning regulations and planning objectives of the State, areawide agency or local government with jurisdiction over such land. Permits any areawide agency which is designated under State laws or interlocal agreement to perform areawide comprehensive planning and has been designated as a planning and development clearinghouse to perform areawide planning under any Federal assistance program. Requires all such clearinghouses to prepare, adopt, and update annually a program for the coordinated use of Federal areawide planning assistance to develop and implement a unified and comprehensive areawide development plan. States that unless such program for the coordinated use of Federal areawide planning assistance has been adopted, no grant which assists areawide planning shall be made after two years from the date of enactment of this Act to any areawide planning agency under the authority of specified Federal assistance laws. Requires the concurrence of local governments within the jurisdiction of such development clearinghouse in such program. Requires such plan to be consistent with national urban growth and rural development policies. Provides that funds made available under any Federal assistance program for projects or activities undertaken by any areawide agency designated under State law or inter-local agreement to perform areawide comprehensive planning and to serve as a planning and development clearinghouse may be used jointly with funds made available for such projects or activities under any other Federal assistance program subject to regulations prescribed by the President.
United States · United States Congress · 6 April 1977
Suspends for two years with regard to regulations involving saccharin the operation of the proviso in the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act which prohibits regulatory approval of a food additive found to cause cancer.
United States · United States Congress · 6 April 1977
National Historic Preservation Policy Act - Title I: Declaration of National Historic Preservation Policy - Declares that it is the duty of the Federal Government, in cooperation with other nations, the States, and local communities, and private organizations and individuals, to promote the preservation and conservation of the historic, architectural, archeological, and cultural properties of the United States and of the international community of Nations. Title II: National Historic Preservation Program - Renames the Advisory Council on Historic Preservation as the Council on Historic Preservation. States that such Council is to administer specified Acts which relate to the historic preservation responsibilities of the Secretary of the Interior and the National Park Service. Requires the Council, in furtherance of the Convention Concerning the Protection of the World Cultural and Natural Heritage, to establish a program to nominate historic and cultural properties of universal significance to the World Heritage Committee. Directs the Council to promote nominations to the National Register of Historic Places of any properties proposed for sale, transfer, demolition or substantial alteration as a result of any Federal agency action, to provide training, information and advice concerning techniques for the preservation of historic and cultural properties, to establish a program for the emergency acquisition of property included in the National Register and threatened with immediate demolition, and to report to Congress on the national historic preservation program. Requires all Federal agencies, in cooperation with the appropriate State historic preservation officer, to nominate to the National Register all eligible districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects under the jurisdiction or control of such agency or that may be affected by agency action, and to assume responsibility for the preservation of such properties included or eligible to be included in the National Register. Allows the transference of control of such properties to the Secretary of the Interior. Title III: Administrative Provisions - Provides for the administration of the Historic Preservation Fund for fiscal years 1978 through 1981. Requires each Federal agency to expend appropriated funds for the maintenance of properties included in the National Register under its jurisdiction or control.
United States · United States Congress · 6 April 1977
Constitutional Amendment - Provides that the people of the several States, and the District of Columbia, shall elect the President and Vice President. Requires each voter to cast a single vote for two persons who shall have consented to the joining of their names as candidates for the offices of President and Vice President. Requires the voters for President and Vice President in each State to have the qualifications requisite for voters for the most numerous branch of the State legislature, except that for voters for President and Vice President, the legislature of any State may prescribe less restrictive residence qualifications and for voters for President and Vice President the Congress may establish uniform residence qualifications. Provides that the pair of persons having the greatest number of votes for President and Vice President shall be elected, if such number be at least 40 percent of the whole number of votes cast for such offices. Provides that if the choice of President and Vice President shall be made from the two pairs of persons who received the highest numbers of votes. Requires the days for such elections to be determined by Congress and to be uniform throughout the United States. Requires Congress to prescribe by law the time, place, and manner in which the results of such elections shall be ascertained and declared. Allows Congress to provide for the case of the death, inability, or withdrawal of any candidate for President or Vice President before a President and Vice President have been elected, and for the case of the death of both the President-elect and Vice President-elect.
United States · United States Congress · 4 April 1977
Motor Vehicle Emission Control Amendments - Amends the Clean Air Act to extend through model year 1979 interim standards for hydrocarbons and carbon monoxide emissions from light-duty motor vehicles. Specifies standards applicable in model years 1980 and afterwards for such pollutants. Revises the emission standard for carbon monoxide to allow emissions of up to 90 grams per vehicle mile. Extends until model year 1981 the current 20 grams per vehicle mile interim standard for nitrogen oxide emissions from light-duty vehicles. Establishes a nitrogen oxides emission standard of 1.0 gram per vehicle mile for model years after 1981, subject to revision or waiver by the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency in accordance with prescribed procedures. Stipulates that such revisions and waivers shall not permit emissions in excess of the 2.0 grams per vehicle mile interim standard. Directs the Administrator, the Secretary of Transportation, and the Federal Energy Administration to submit separate reports to Congress regarding the consequences of such emission standards on fuel consumption. Establishes additional prohibitions and penalties for tampering with motor vehicle emission control equipment. Imposes limits on the amount of vehicle testing required of small manufacturers. Revises warranty requirements stipulated by the Act. Specifies an 18-month or 18,000-mile warranty requirement for the useful life of motor vehicle emission control systems. Directs the Administrator to study the effects of emissions of sulfur-bearing compounds from motor vehicles and aircraft. Extends the exception for disclosure of confidential information in administrative and judicial proceedings to emission data upon a satisfactory showing to the Administrator that such data would divulge trade secrets. Requires that documentation, justifications, proposed drafts, and comments of other agencies on proposed motor vehicle emission standards be made available to the public once such standards are proposed. Establishes procedures for oral presentation of views, with opportunity for cross-examination, with respect to such standards. Authorizes direct review of alleged procedural errors in the appropriate court of appeals. Authorizes the appropriation of $200,000,000 per fiscal year for fiscal years 1978, 1979, and 1980, to carry out the purposes of this Act other than research, development, and demonstration activities.
United States · United States Congress · 31 March 1977
Renewable Energy and Energy Conservation Act - Allows an income tax credit for 30 percent of the expenditures not exceeding $750 which the taxpayer paid or incurred during the taxable year for installation of insulation or energy-conserving components which improve heating plant efficiency in his principal residence. Limits the application of this credit to expenditures paid or incurred for installations made between 1976 and 1982 in pre-existing dwellings. Reduces the allowable credit, on a graduated scale, for individuals with adjusted gross incomes greater than $10,000. Allows an income tax credit for 40 percent of the first $1,500, and a secondary credit for 25 percent of the next $7,600 paid or incurred by the taxpayer during the taxable year for the installation of qualified solar, wind and geothermal energy equipment in his principal residence. Allows an income tax credit for 20 percent of the first $1,500, and a secondary credit for 12.5 percent of the next $7,600 paid or incurred for the installation of wood stove, heat pump, or burner equipment in connection with new solar, wind or geothermal energy equipment which will be the principal source of space heat in the taxpayer's principal residence. Reduces these limitations in subsequent tax years by subtracting the amounts taken into account for these credits in previous tax years. Limits these credits to equipment installed between 1976 and 1982. Prorates each of the above credits for residential improvements among joint owners and cooperative shareholders according to their proportionate interests in the residential property. Provides for the carryover of any allowable credit which exceeds the taxpayer's current income tax liability. Reduces the allowable credits, on a graduated scale for and Conservation Act. persons with adjusted gross incomes greater than $15,000. Allows an investment tax credit for 25 percent of the qualified investment cost of depreciable geothermal, solar or wind energy equipment placed in service. Allows such a credit for 12 percent of the qualified costs of ventilation, heating, water and other components primarily designed to reduce the heat loss or gain of a structure, and origin ally used by the taxpayer. Prohibits these credits for property originally funded with Federal grants, or located in States which take these energy conserving measures into account for property assessment, or which don't enforce the thermal design requirements of the Energy Policy
United States · United States Congress · 30 March 1977
Utility Services Stamp Act - Directs the Secretary of Health, Education, and Welfare to establish and administer a utility services stamp program designed to assist low- income and fixed income households in meeting monthly utility costs. Prescribes a schedule of benefits relating the number of persons in the household and its taxable income to the allotment of coupons it is eligible to receive. Stipulates that responsibility for certification of eligible households and issuance of stamps shall rest with the States, subject to the approval of the Secretary. Directs the Secretary to reimburse participating States for costs incurred in administering the program. Stipulates that the value of the utility stamp provided to a qualified household under this Act shall not be considered to be income or resources for any purposes under any Federal or State law. Declares that any landlord who accepts any part of his rental charges in utility service stamps shall be deemed to have agreed to stated conditions regarding increases in rent. Imposes criminal penalties for uses of utility stamps not authorized by this Act.
United States · United States Congress · 29 March 1977
Requires that Federal agencies prepare energy consumption analysis prior to construction or renovation of public buildings. Details information and evaluations to be included in each such analysis.
United States · United States Congress · 29 March 1977
Declares that the heating and cooling of buildings accounts for a significant portion of the consumption of oil, natural gas, coal, and electric power in interstate commerce, and that the use of solar heating and cooling equipment reduces reliance on natural resources. Prohibits State and local laws which permit the construction of buildings or other obstructions which would interfere with the amount of sunlight necessary for the operation of solar heating and cooling equipment in buildings. Declares that State and local laws which are not inconsistent with the purposes of this Act are not preempted by this Act.
United States · United States Congress · 28 March 1977
Amends the Regional Rail Reorganization Act of 1973 to direct the Consolidated Rail Corporation (Con Rail) to make premium payments in order to maintain insurance policies providing medical or life insurance benefits to employees and retirees under such Act. Entitles the corporation to a loan under such Act to make such payments. Deems such costs to be expenses of the administration of the respective estates of the railroads in reorganization.
United States · United States Congress · 28 March 1977
Surface Mining Control and Reclamation Act - Title I: Statement of Findings and Policy - Declares that most of the nation's coal reserve can only be mined by underground methods. Lists the purposes of this Act, including the establishment of a nationwide program to prevent adverse effects to society and the environment from surface coal mining. Title II: Office of Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement - Establishes in the Interior Department the Office of Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement with a Director appointed by the President. States that such Office shall administer the programs required by this Act and assist the States in development of State programs for surface coal mining and reclamation. States that the Office shall be considered an independent Federal regulatory body. Title III: State Mining and Mineral Resources Research Institute - Authorizes appropriations to the Secretary of the Interior of sums adequate to provide for each participating State $200,000 for fiscal year 1978, $300,000 for fiscal year 1979, and $400,000 for each fiscal year thereafter for five years, to assist the States in carrying on the work of a competent and qualified mining and mineral resources research institute or center at the school of mines of one public college or university of the State. Requires such monies to be matched dollar-for-dollar by the States. Authorizes appropriations of $15,000,000 for fiscal year 1978, such sum to be increased by $2,000,000 each fiscal year for six years thereafter, for specific projects in mining and mineral research in institutes. Directs the Secretary to establish a center for cataloging current and projected scientific research in mining and mineral resources. Requires the Secretary to appoint an Advisory Committee on Mining and Mineral Research for advice on all matters concerning mining and mineral resources research. Title IV: Abandoned Mine Reclamation - Creates the Abandoned Mine Reclamation Fund in the Treasury. Requires operators of coal mines to pay into the fund quarterly fees of $.35 per ton of coal produced by surface mining and $.15 per ton of coal produced by underground mining, or ten percent of the value of the coal in the mine, whichever is less. Authorizes use of money in the Fund for acquisition and reclamation of abandoned and unreclaimed mine lands and for acquisitions and fillings of voids and sealing of tunnels and entryways in abandoned mines. Authorizes the Secretary of Agriculture to enter into agreements with landowners of water rights under which such landowners shall furnish a conservation and development plan and shall effect such plan in return for financial assistance from the Secretary of Agriculture of up to 80 percent of the cost of such a reclamation effort. Encourages States to acquire abandoned and unreclaimed land, and to transfer it to the Secretary for reclamation, and authorizes matching grants for such purpose, up to 90 percent of the land price. Allows resale of reclaimed land by public bidding, and allows local public participation in determining the use of reclaimed land. Title V: Control of the Environmental Impacts of Surface Coal Mining - Directs the Secretary of the Interior to publish, within 180 days of the enactment of this Act, regulations which establish a permanent regulatory procedure and performance standards for surface coal mining and reclamation standards. Requires the Secretary to obtain the concurrence of the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency with respect to regulations concerned with air or water quality standards. Establishes a permit program to require mining operators to comply with environmental protection standards. Allows State control over surface mining permits if certain requirements are met. Authorizes the implementation of a Federal program if States fail to act. Permits State laws and regulations that are more stringent than those set forth pursuant to this Act. Requires permit applications to describe the method of mining and equipment proposed to be used, to describe by maps the land to be affected, and to contain a statement of results of test borings or core samplings of the affected land. Stipulates that permits must be accompanied by a mining and reclamation plan which shall include a description of present uses of the land, steps to be taken to prevent environmental damage and a description of the reclamation activities. Requires the posting of performance bonds and possession of liability insurance by applicants for permits. Requires the establishment of coal exploration regulations by appropriate State and Federal authorities. Requires that such regulations include provisions for reclamation of lands disturbed in exploration activities. Imposes the following general environmental performance standards on surface mining operations as a condition of the issuance of a permit under this Act: (1) restoration of the land affected to a prior use, consistent with public health and safety; (2) restoration to the original contour of the land and backfilling, grading, and compacting the excess overburden and other waste materials to attain the lowest grade; (3) removal and segregation of topsoil in a separate layer where it is able to support vegetation; (4) minimization of disturbances to the hydrologic balance at the mine site and surrounding areas by eliminating or reducing toxic drainage, siltation, and contamination problems; (5) conformity with standards for the design and location of coal mine waste piles; and (6) establishment of a diverse, effective, and permanent vegetation on regraded areas. Stipulates that the regulatory authority shall make test borings of core samplings for mining operators with an estimated annual production of less than 250,000 tons of coal. Establishes additional requirements for steep-slope surface mining operations. Defines the term "steep-slope" to include any slope above 20 degrees or lesser slopes as may be defined by the regulatory authority. Directs the Secretary to promulgate rules and regulations directed at the surface effects of underground mining. Directs and authorizes inspection of surface coal mining and reclamation to determine compliance with this Act and regulations. Provides requirements for recordkeeping and submittal and monitoring by mine operators. Imposes civil penalties for violation of this Act or regulations under it. Establishes procedures for citizen suits and judicial review of actions under this Act. Establishes conditions under which mine operators may request a release of all or part of the performance bond. Requires public notice and hearings upon applications for such releases. Requires States to establish, as a condition of assuming primary regulatory control, a planning process designed to identify lands unsuitable for surface coal mining. Requires designation of lands as unsuitable if it can be shown that reclamation pursuant to the requirements of the Act is not feasible. Authorizes designation of lands as unsuitable where operations mining will: (1) be incompatible with land use plans or programs; (2) affect fragile or historic lands of significant historic, scientific or esthetic value; (3) affect renewable land resources with an impact on long-range food and water supply; and (4) increase a significant hazard to life and property, including the possibility of flood and earthquake damage. Prohibits surface coal mining operations on certain Federal lands, or within 100 feet of a public road or within 300 feet of a building or dwelling, unless the consent of the affected public or private interest is obtained. Requires implementation of a Federal lands program applicable to all surface coal mining and reclamation activities pursuant to Federal laws or taking place on Federal lands. Requires that coal exploration operations which substantially disturb the natural land surface on such lands be subject to a permit program established by the Secretary of the Interior. Requires separate regulations for programs for special bituminous coal surface mines that meet specified criteria, and for anthracite coal surface mines which are regulated by environmental protection standards of the States. Title VI: Designation of Lands Unsuitable for Noncoal Mining - Allows the Secretary to designate Federal lands unsuitable for mining materials other than coal, if they are predominantly urban or suburban in character or if such mining operations would have an adverse impact on lands used primarily for residential and related purposes. Title VII: Administrative and Miscellaneous Provisions - Defines the terms used in this Act. Prohibits discrimination against employees for filing suit under this Act and for testifying in a proceeding under this Act. Authorizes the Secretary to make annual grants to the States to assist the States in developing, administering, and enforcing State programs under this Act. Authorizes the Secretary to provide technical assistance and training, and assistance in preparing and maintaining a continuing inventory of information on surface coal mining and reclamation projects. Requires the Secretary to submit an annual report to the President and the Congress. Directs the Secretary to contract with the National Academy of Sciences-National Academy of Engineering for a study of surface coal mining conditions in Alaska in order to determine which, if any, of the provisions of this Act should be modified with respect to such operations in Alaska. Directs the Chairman of the Council on Environmental Quality to contract with the National Academy of Sciences-National Academy of Engineering and other groups for a study of the technology for surface and open-pit mining and reclamation for minerals other than coal designed to assist in the development of regulation for such operations. Directs the Secretary to consult with Indian tribes in studying the regulation of surface mining on Indian lands. Requires all surface coal mining operations on Indian lands to comply with requirements at least as stringent as specified provisions in this Act within 30 months from the enactment of this Act. Authorizes the appropriation of the following sums to carry out this Act: (1) for various contract authority, $10,000,000 per fiscal year for fiscal years 1978, 1979, and 1980; (2) for the performance of test borings by the regulatory authority, an amount reserved for such purpose from the Abandoned Mine Reclamation Fund not to exceed $40,000 per fiscal year; (3) for administrative and other purposes, $10,000,000 for fiscal year 1978, $20,000,000 for fiscal years 1979 and 1980, and $30,000,000 for fiscal years thereafter; and (4) for research and demonstration projects of alternative coal mining technologies, $35,000,000 for fiscal year 1978, and for the next four years. Stipulates that no new budget authority for fiscal year 1977 is authorized by the provisions of this Act.
United States · United States Congress · 28 March 1977
Title I: Survey and Certification, Rate-Setting and Audit, and General Regulation of Long Term Care Facilities Under Medicaid Programs - Directs that State plans under Title XIX (Medicaid) of the Social Security Act must provide that no skilled nursing facility may receive payments under such plan unless and until it is approved to receive payments under Title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act. Requires the State plan to give the State agency the power to terminate reimbursement to a skilled nursing or intermediate care facility which such agency has found has violated its provider agreement. States that payment of the skilled nursing facility and intermediate care facility services shall be based upon a prospective cost based method of computation in which the audited costs of rendering service in such facilities in a prior year is updated through the use of economic indices to the year in which payment is made. Requires that any skilled nursing facility or intermediate care facility receiving payments under such plan be required to maintain with the State agency a bond in such amount, under such terms, and in such form as the State agency may direct. Title II: Medical, Psychological, and Social Assessment of Patients In Need of Long Term Care under Medicare and Medicaid Programs - Directs that payments for services furnished an individual may be made only to eligible providers of services and only if a physician certifies that such services are necessary, based on such patient assessment criteria as the Secretary may require.
United States · United States Congress · 23 March 1977
Endangered American Wilderness Act - Designates specified lands in the following national forests as components of the National Wilderness Preservation System: (1) Tongass National Forest, Alaska; (2) Coronado National Forest, Arizona; (3) Inyo and Sequoia National Forests, California; (4) Los Padres National Forest, California; (5) Rio Grande National Forest, Colorado; (6) Cibola National Forest, New Mexico; (7) Willamette National Forest, Oregon; (8) Siskiyou National Forest, Oregon; (9) Wasatch and Uinta National Forests, Utah; and (10) Umatilla National Forest, Washington and Oregon. Directs the Secretary of Agriculture to review the feasibility and suitability of designating as wilderness specified lands in the following national forests: (1) Coronado National Forest, Arizona; (2) Rio Grande and Gunnison National Forests, Colorado; (3) Lolo and Kootenai National Forests, Montana; (4) Santa Fe and Carson National Forests, New Mexico; and (5) Medicine Bow National Forest, Wyoming. Includes specified lands in the Siskiyou National Forest, Oregon, in the Kalmiopsis Wilderness Area.
United States · United States Congress · 22 March 1977
Long-Term Care Services Act - Amends Title XI (General Provisions) of the Social Security Act to authorize the establishment of an experimental program to provide in-home care for elderly individuals. Authorizes the Secretary of Health, Education, and Welfare to subsidize families who agree to care for their dependents who are 65 years of age or older and who would otherwise require, because of physical or mental infirmities, the services of a skilled nursing facility or intermediate care facility, in their own homes. Amends Title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act to provide payment for elderly day care center services under the supplementary medical insurance program. Directs the Secretary to institute a program under which qualified organizations, public and private, will submit plans for the development of carefully conceived and innovative projects to meet the special health care, housing, and related needs of elderly persons in a campus-type setting. Authorizes the Secretary to make interest subsidy payments to holders of mortgages covering such projects. Amends the National Housing Act to authorize the Secretary of Housing and Urban Development to insure mortgages secured by properties in projects built pursuant to this Act. Amends Title XVIII to provide payment for extended and intermediate care services under the supplementary medical insurance program. Amends Title XVIII to provide for the creation of an alternative reimbursement formula which will allow participating hospitals with less than 100 beds and less than 60 percent average occupancy to provide long-term care without applying proportional allocation of overhead costs to all patients in such facilities.
United States · United States Congress · 22 March 1977
Geriatric Health Personnel Training Act - Amends the Public Health Service Act (Health Research and Teaching Facilities and Training of Professional Health Personnel) to authorize the Secretary of Health, Education, and Welfare to grant $500,000 for each of six schools of medicine to assist in the establishment and operation of departments of geriatrics. Authorizes the Secretary to make grants to assist schools of medicine in the establishment and operation of continuing education programs in geriatrics for physicians. Authorizes the appropriation of $2,500,000 for fiscal year 1978, and $5,000,000 for each of the next three fiscal years to enable the Secretary to make grants to schools of medicine to assist in developing and conducting training programs designed to prepare armed forces veterans, with appropriate experience as paramedical personnel, to serve as medical assistants in long-term health care facilities. Authorizes the Secretary to make grants and enter into contracts with public or nonprofit colleges and universities for the development of graduate programs for nurses in geriatrics and gerontology. Amends the National Labor Relations Act to make it an unfair labor practice for an employer to discharge or otherwise discriminate against an employee who has testified before any congressional committee or any governmental agency or department.
United States · United States Congress · 22 March 1977
Nursing Home Reform Act - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to authorize a deduction for amounts paid during the taxable year by the taxpayer for nursing home expenses for an individual if such individual is a dependent of the taxpayer in all respects except the receipt of at least half of his support from such taxpayer. Permits the payment of supplemental security income to residents in nonmedical shelter care facilities in any State if such State certifies that the residents are ambulatory, needing only minimum supervision, and that the amount of State supplementation is not less than $100 per resident per month. Amends Title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act to redefine the term "skilled nursing facility" to require that such facilities, in order to qualify under Title XVIII, provide the services set forth in this Act. Requires the Secretary of Health, Education, and Welfare to conduct a review of State plans approved under Title XIX (Medicaid) of the Social Security Act at least once a year to determine each State's compliance with and the quality of the administration of its plan. Directs the Secretary to establish a rating system for nursing homes participating in the programs under titles XVIII and XIX of the Social Security Act. States that whoever shall offer, solicit, receive, or accept any consideration as compensation or inducement for referring patients, clients, or customers to any person for purposes of Titles XVIII and XIX shall be guilty of a misdemeanor. Requires nursing facilities to provide a program to insure the integrity of patients' accounts, moneys, or valuables and to insure that they are not mingled with those belonging to the facility. Specifies that the Secretary shall pay to the States an amount equal to 100 percent of the sums expended in the enactment of, conversion to, and enforcement of, new enforcement tools short of nursing home licensure revocation. Allows beneficiaries to bring suit for specific performance in any Federal district court without reference to the $10,000 jurisdictional amount. Authorizes the Secretary to make loans to any nonprofit organization, church, or association of churches to meet all or a part of the cost of construction or rehabilitation of a home which will be owned and operated by such church, organization, or association. Authorizes the Secretary to make interest reduction payments under specified circumstances with respect to a mortgage covering repair or rehabilitation of a nursing home in order to correct physical deficiencies and comply with Federal minimum standards. Establishes a program of grants to any church, association of churches, or other nonprofit organization to meet all or part of the cost of planning, developing, constructing, or rehabilitating a nursing home owned by such entity in black and other minority areas where there is a demonstrated shortage of nursing home beds. Expresses the sense of the Congress that the President submit to the Congress an action plan which would provide a suitable multiagency plan for dealing with nursing home abuses. Authorizes the President to call a White House Conference on Long-Term Care in 1978, in order to develop recommendations for action in establishing a national policy with respect to the needs of disabled Americans with primary emphasis on the physically and mentally impaired aged.
United States · United States Congress · 22 March 1977
Removes the limitation on the amount of outside income which an individual may earn while receiving benefits under title II (Old-Age, Survivors, and Disability Insurance) of the Social Security Act.
United States · United States Congress · 22 March 1977
Amends the Internal Revenue Code to provide that the charitable deduction allowed for expenses incurred in the operation of a motor vehicle shall include the depreciation, operation and maintenance costs allocable to such operation and shall be determined in the same manner as for a business related deduction.
United States · United States Congress · 22 March 1977
Amends the Internal Revenue Code to exempt from the excise tax, buses purchased by tax exempt organizations or by other persons for exclusive use in furnishing transportation for a State or local government or a tax exempt organization (currently, transportation must be limited to students and employees of schools).
United States · United States Congress · 22 March 1977
Medicare Long-Term Care Act - Repeals existing provisions for post-hospital home health services under Title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act. Establishes, within the hospital insurance program of such Title, a program of long-term care benefits to be provided for aged and disabled individuals including all recipients of supplemental security income benefits and to be financed without additional cost to such individuals, through the Federal Hospital Insurance Trust Fund, from funds appropriated by the Federal Government. States that the benefits provided to an individual by such program shall consist of: (1) home health services; (2) homemaker services; (3) nutrition services; (4) long-term institutional care services; (5) day care and foster home services; and (6) community mental health center outpatient services. Requires that, to the maximum extent possible, such benefits shall be provided by or through community long-term care centers, as defined in this Act; and, in any case where a State has an agency which performs the functions of planning and developing such centers and overseeing their operation the Secretary of Health, Education, and Welfare shall make grants to the State or State agency to reimburse it for expenses incurred in the performance of such functions. Directs the Secretary to pay 75 percent of the amount expended by a State for the operation of a State long-term care agency. Enumerates the functions of such an agency. Declares that a community long-term care center shall: (1) provide the items and services listed in this Act to each individual (i) who is eligible for benefits under this part, (ii) who resides in the area served by such center and (iii) who is certified as requiring such services; (2) evaluate and certify the long-term care needs of an individual for whom such care may be required in order to maintain such individual in an independent living arrangement which is reasonable given such individual's state of health and other circumstances (but not including such individual's economic circumstances); (3) maintain a continuous relationship with (and periodically evaluate not less than annually) each individual who is receiving any of the items and services listed in this Act; (4) provide full opportunity for such individual and his family to participate in the determinations and functions under this Act; (5) provide an organized system for making its existence and location known to all individuals in its service area who are eligible for benefits under this part, and for making known to such individuals the method or methods by which they may most efficiently obtain and use the services which it makes available; and (6) perform such other functions as the Secretary of Health, Education, and Welfare may by regulation prescribe in order to have such center most effectively carry out the purposes of this Act. Defines terms used in this Act, including the services to be provided by community long-term care centers. Directs the Secretary to develop and promulgate to community long-term care centers one or more methods of obtaining payment for the benefits covered under this Act. Requires the Secretary to prescribe regulations setting forth the standards of care for homemaker and nutritional services. Establishes the Federal Advisory Council on Long-Term Care. Sets forth the qualifications of the five members of such Council. States that it shall be the duty and function of the Council to provide advice and recommendations for the consideration of the Secretary on regulations under this Act and on matters of general policy with respect to this Act. States that no regulations of the Secretary under this Act shall become effective unless they have first been approved by the Council. States that the determination of whether an individual is entitled to benefits under this shall be made by the Secretary in accordance with regulations prescribed by him. Authorizes the appropriation to the Federal Hospital Insurance Trust Fund of such sums as the Secretary considers necessary for any fiscal year for the purposes of the program created by this Act. Authorizes the Secretary to make grants and enter into contracts with institutions to meet the cost of training programs in the techniques and methods of providing long-term health care.
United States · United States Congress · 22 March 1977
Amends Title XIX (Medicaid) of the Social Security Act to prohibit any expenditure to an individual to the extent to which an entity (other than a member of the individual's family) would be liable for payment for such care and services but for a provision of a contract or a State law which has the effect of limiting or excluding such liability because the individual is eligible or entitled to receive care or services under the plan. Provides that a lien may be imposed by the State against the estate of a deceased individual after the death of his surviving spouse, on account of medical assistance paid or to be paid on his behalf under Title XIX.
United States · United States Congress · 22 March 1977
Amends Title XX (Grants to States for Services) of the Social Security Act to reallot unused social services funds to States which will use such funds during the succeeding year in preventing or reducing inappropriate institutional care by providing for community-based care, home-based care, or other forms of less intensive care. Allocates additional Federal matching for multipurpose senior center programs. Directs the Secretary of Health, Education, and Welfare to clarify and standardize the eligibility requirements applicable to the provision of assistance to multipurpose senior centers.
United States · United States Congress · 22 March 1977
Amends Title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act to provide payment under the supplementary medical insurance program for one comprehensive physical examination a year, dental care including dentures, eye examinations including eyeglasses, hearing aids including examination, treatment of foot conditions. Directs the Secretary of Health, Education, and Welfare to take steps to eliminate unnecessary or excessive medical appliance expenditures under the Medicare program by implementing appliance leasing, auditing of medical appliance manufacturers and providers, and by cross-referencing prevailing medical appliance rates. Includes under the term "medical appliance" hearing aids, eyeglasses, dentures, and similar health aids. States that the Federal Trade Commission should continue and increase scrutiny of the medical appliance industries in the interest of consumer protection. States that the Secretary of Health, Education, and Welfare should provide increased assistance to encourage the continuing education and training of hearing specialists, clinical audiologists, and physicians to improve the quality of hearing care, and to encourage the provision by State local governments of more and better hearing care for the elderly, including a network of examination and treatment sites.
United States · United States Congress · 22 March 1977
Amends the Older Americans Act of 1965 to add the following new title: Title VI - Legal Assistance for the Elderly in Connection with Home Health Services. Authorizes the Commissioner of the Administration on Aging to make grants to public or nonprofit private agencies or organizations for the purpose of providing legal assistance to individuals who are 60 years of age or older and who are unable to afford legal assistance in connection with their eligibility for home health care pursuant to Title XVIII (Medicare), Title XIX (Medicaid), and Title XX (Grants to States for Services) of the Social Security Act. Directs that preference in awarding grants under this title shall be given to national organizations of proven ability in providing legal services to individuals 60 years of age or older.
United States · United States Congress · 22 March 1977
Amends the Health Revenue Sharing and Health Services Act to permit the Secretary of Health, Education, and Welfare to make grants and loans for the initial costs of establishing and operating home health agencies and for expansion of their services. Permits the Secretary to make grants to educational institutions and other public and nonprofit private entities for programs for the training of guidance counselors, social workers, nurses, geriatric specialists, and other home health services personnel. Authorizes the appropriation of specified amounts for fiscal year 1977 for the purpose of making such grants. Amends title XIX (Medicaid) of the Social Security Act to include within its medical coverage: (1) preventive health care, including an annual comprehensive physical examination of older individuals, and diagnostic services; (2) hearing aids, foot care, dental care, and vision aids (including hearing and vision examinations for older individuals); (3) care and services provided by outpatient clinics for the elderly; (4) nutritional counseling; (5) professional guidance and counseling for aged and disabled individuals living alone at home; (6) periodic chore services; and (7) hospital outreach services. Revises such Act to require State comprehensive medical plans to include provisions for intermediate care facility services. Charges the Professional Standards Review Organization with the same responsibility for review of health care services in the case of skilled nursing homes, intermediate care facilities, and other long-term care providers as now required with respect to hospitals. Permits the Secretary to make grants to States to assist them in funding specified demonstration and pilot projects to determine the effectiveness of various home health and supportive services. Permits the Secretary to make grants to political subdivisions of States to enable them to conduct annual health fairs through which individuals over age 60 would be provided free medical checkups. Authorizes the Secretary to make demonstration grants to help meet the cost of establishing and operating private nonprofit entities to provide community care to persons over age 65. Authorizes the Secretary to make grants to political subdivisions of States to enable them to establish and operate programs to provide mobile health facilities to persons over age 60. Amends the Public Health Service Act to require that a minimum of $20,000,000 be obligated for grants and contracts for emergency medical services systems for the elderly.
United States · United States Congress · 22 March 1977
Establishes within the Department of Health, Education, and Welfare a Home Health Clearinghouse. Directs such Clearinghouse to establish and maintain a computer system to gather information on services and benefits available to the elderly through public and private agencies. Directs the Clearinghouse to publish and keep current a publication describing services and benefits available to the elderly under Federal law. Creates in the Department an Assistant Secretary for Elderly Health, to perform specified duties, including the coordination of Department policy relating to the health of the elderly and coordination of the interagency task force on long-term home and institutional care of the elderly.
United States · United States Congress · 22 March 1977
Amends Title XI (General Provisions) of the Social Security Act to provide that any patient of a nursing home or intermediate care facility which is participating in the hospital insurance program under Title XVIII (Medicare) or Title XIX (Medicaid) of the Social Security Act shall have the right to terminate any contract entered into for his or her care in such a facility upon giving the facility at least 30 days written notice. Prohibits such a facility from requiring any patient to turn over to it any periodic benefit check or other income received after the patient has given such notice.
United States · United States Congress · 22 March 1977
Amends Title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act to remove the limit of 100 visits which applies to post-hospital home health services. Drops the requirement that the home health care provided be of the same kind as provided in prior hospitalization. Eliminates the requirement that a physician review the home health care plan and that the patient be under the care of a physician. Requires that such functions be done by the appropriate health professional under regulation of the Secretary of Health, Education, and Welfare. Extends Medicare coverage to include periodic chore services, hospital outreach services, nutritional counseling, health and supportive services furnished in elderly day care centers, and expansion of professional standard review organization review functions. Requires the Secretary to establish a review plan which is adapted to meet the non-institutional nature of home health services. Extends Medicare coverage only to those outpatient rehabilitation services which are certified by a physician as being required.
United States · United States Congress · 22 March 1977
Appropriates $7,000,000 out of any money in the Treasury not otherwise appropriated as an additional amount for carrying out the home health services provisions of the Health Revenue Sharing and Health Services Act. Appropriates specified sums, out of any money in the Treasury not otherwise appropriated, for making multipurpose senior center grants under the Older Americans Act of 1965.
United States · United States Congress · 22 March 1977
Older Americans Health Services Act - Amends the Older Americans Act of 1965 to specify the amounts authorized to be appropriated in fiscal year 1978 for purposes of informational exchange on the subject of retraining programs for older Americans. Allows the Secretary of Health, Education, and Welfare to make grants under such Act to cover the cost of administering and operating multipurpose senior centers. Declares the sense of Congress that any Federal legislation establishing a national health insurance program should include specified provisions relating to the availability of home health services for older persons.
United States · United States Congress · 22 March 1977
Authorizes a tax deduction, under the Internal Revenue Code, for any taxpayer who contributes the right to use any real property owned by the taxpayer to a tax-exempt organization for use by a multipurpose senior citizen center or outpatient geriatric clinic. Limits such deduction to 50 percent of the lesser of (1) the fair market rental value of such property or (2) the amount of State or local property taxes which are paid or incurred by the taxpayer and which are allocable to such property.
United States · United States Congress · 22 March 1977
Amends the National Housing Act to direct the Secretary of Housing and Urban Development to give special emphasis to insuring mortgages covering group practice facilities or medical practice facilities which are to be used primarily for the purpose of providing preventive, diagnostic, and treatment services to elderly outpatients. Amends the Housing and Community Development Act to entitle a grant recipient to an additional grant for the construction or maintenance of a senior center providing recreational, health, and nutritional services, regardless of whether such centers offer housing facilities. Directs the Secretary to prescribe eligibility requirements for block grants for senior centers. Redefines the term intermediate care facilities for purposes of the National Housing Act to include facilities that permit day health care services to the extent necessary to serve the needs of elderly persons served by the facility.
United States · United States Congress · 22 March 1977
Amends the Internal Revenue Code to decrease the floor on allowable medical deductions to two percent of adjusted gross income. Eliminates the one percent floor on deductions for drugs and medicine. Includes deductible amounts for medical insurance with other medical care expenses for which the two percent floor is applicable.
United States · United States Congress · 22 March 1977
Family Farm Antitrust Act - Finds that vertical integration of the agricultural industry by corporations engaged in the processing, distributing and retail industries, and other conglomerate corporations, tends to create monopolies in the agricultural industry and produce unfair competition for family farms, contributing to the decline of rural populations and the consequent crowding of metropolitan centers. Declares it to be the national policy to restore competition to the agricultural industry and to provide for the continuance of the family farm. Provides that no person engaged in commerce in a business other than farming, whose nonfarming business assets exceed $3,000,000, shall engage in farming or the production of agricultural products, or participate in farming by any means of acquisition or control of another person who is engaged in farming. Specifies exceptions including charitable, educational, or nonprofit institutions, and farmer-owned and controlled cooperatives. Directs the Secretary of Agriculture to acquire at fair market value any property or interest of which a person is required to divest himself under the provisions of this Act, if the person is otherwise unable to divest himself of such property.
United States · United States Congress · 22 March 1977
Amends Title XVIII (Medicare) and Title XIX (Medicaid) of the Social Security Act to include as "medical and other health services" for which coverage will be provided under Medicare, and as "medical assistance" for which coverage will be provided under Medicaid, that medical or other remedial care furnished by licensed (registered) nurses within the scope of their practices as defined by State law.
United States · United States Congress · 21 March 1977
Authorizes the Administrator of General Services to dispose of approximately 30,000 long tons of grade A tin now held in the national and supplemental stockpiles. Stipulates that such disposal shall be made on the domestic market for consumption within the United States.
United States · United States Congress · 21 March 1977
Consumer Communications Reform Act - Expresses the sense of Congress that the authorization of lines, facilities, or services of specialized carriers which duplicate the lines, facilities, or services of other telecommunications common carriers is contrary to the public interest. Reaffirms the intent of Congress that the complete authority to regulate terminal and station equipment used for telephone exchange service shall rest with the States even though such terminal and station equipment also may be used in connection with interstate services. Amends the Communications Act of 1934 to provide that no compensatory charges for or in connection with such communication service may be found to be unjust or unreasonable on the ground that it is too low. Prohibits the Federal Communications Commission from holding the charge of a carrier up to a particular level to protect the traffic or revenues from a communication service offered or provided by another carrier if such charge proposed by the carrier is compensatory. Provides that the Commission shall not grant or authorize any construction permit, license, or certificate for the construction, acquisition, or operation of any communication or transmission line or facility, or extension thereof, or any modification or renewal thereof, unless the Commission shall find, after full opportunity for evidentiary hearing on the record, that such permit, license, or certificate, will not result in increased charges or unnecessary duplication of communication lines.
![Official portrait of Rep. Carney, Charles J. [D-OH-19]](https://www.congress.gov/img/member/c000164_200.jpg)