United States · United States Congress · 1 March 1977
Amends Title XI (General Provisions and Professional Standards Review) of the Social Security Act to assure the participation by registered professional nurses in the peer review and related activities authorized under such Title.
United States · United States Congress · 1 March 1977
Electric Utilities Rate Reform Act - Directs State and local electric utility regulatory authorities to implement and maintain rate schedules which distribute costs to consumer classes in accordance with consumption patterns. Requires that rate schedules accurately reflect long-run incremental costs of service and that price differentials between consumer classes reflect actual document differentials in cost of service. Prohibits regulatory authorities from allowing recoupment of promotional and advertising expenses, unless such expenses finance efforts encouraging the consumption of electricity or the shifting of electricity consumption from peak load periods to off-peak load periods. Establishes standards to regulate monthly changes in rates by the use of fuel adjustment clauses. Establishes standards of determining the effective date of proposed changes in rates and schedules. Authorizes the Federal Power Commission to provide financial assistance to non-Federal regulatory authorities as necessary to meet additional costs incurred as a result of complying with provisions of this Act.
United States · United States Congress · 1 March 1977
National Condominium Act - Establishes requirements for federally assisted condominium housing loans, including a statement by the developer to the Secretary of Housing and Urban Development containing information concerning the nature of the project, and the owner's estimated operating costs and assurances of warranty, completion date, developer's responsibility for structural defects, and of owners' rights to form an association. Requires that recreation fees be stated separately from any other fees charged purchasers of dwelling units in the project. Establishes requirements to protect tenants in a leased-unit structure to be converted to condominium use, including assurances that tenants have received prior notice, a period of at least three months to decide whether or not to purchase their units and for those tenants renting under a lease, specific protection from eviction and abridgment of the lease. Requires developers to disclose to new purchasers operating costs, service benefits, and planned structure alterations. Requires a 15-day cancellation period. Requires the Secretary to publish a form for developers embodying provisions for all of the information required in such statement. Authorizes the Secretary to make grants to State and local governments to help establish or expand offices or agencies to administer similar requirements and procedures. Sets forth penalties for the violation of this Act.
United States · United States Congress · 1 March 1977
Establishes within the House of Representatives a Select Committee on Welfare Reorganization to: (1) study any problems which exist in the interaction of present benefit programs; (2) formulate legislation to resolve such problems; (3) study the system used by the House to refer proposed welfare legislation to committees; and (4) study whether there is a need in the House for a standing committee to handle such legislation.
United States · United States Congress · 28 February 1977
Amends the Older Americans Act of 1965 to direct area and State agencies which administer or supervise State and community programs on aging pursuant to such Act to employ personnel adequately trained in the field of aging to deliver specified services to the aged including the following: (1) health, continuing education, welfare, informational, recreational, homemaker, counseling, or referral services; and (2) services designed to assist older persons to use services available to them, to obtain adequate housing, and to avoid institutionalization. Authorizes grants to institutions of higher education to assist such institutions in planning, developing, and carrying out programs designed to apply the resources of higher education to the problems of the elderly including: (1) programs focusing on transportation and housing problems of elderly persons living in rural and isolated area; and (2) programs to train individuals in delivering social services to the elderly.
United States · United States Congress · 28 February 1977
Amends the Clean Air Act to prohibit use of tolls or other charges for the use of New York City bridges as part of any clean air implementation plan. Voids all such tolls and charges previously so included. Authorizes the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency to revise implementation plans through public hearing procedures should such a prohibition result in a failure to achieve air quality standards.
United States · United States Congress · 24 February 1977
Reemployment Services Act - Amends the Wagner-Peyser Act to direct the Secretary of Labor to establish an outreach program for the provision of technical and management assistance through the United States Employment Service to State public employment offices for the following: (1) implementation of annual management plans, (2) implementation of improved employment services, (3) implementation of pilot programs assisted by the Service, and (4) evaluation of the cost-effectiveness and potential improvements in performance associated with changes in priorities, programs and objectives. Directs the Secretary to establish within the Service a national clearinghouse for employment service information. Sets forth requirements for State public employment service annual management plans, including (1) provisions for the identification of employment opportunities, and for job placement and counseling, for specified categories of workers, (2) a program to encourage the active participation of employers in the public employment office system, and (3) conformity with certain budgeting principles. Directs the Secretary, through the Service, to implement a financial assistance program for certain job placement projects under State public employment offices. Directs the Secretary to carry out a comprehensive examination of the merits and the cost-effectiveness of establishing a nationwide job bank system and of the feasibility and effectiveness of establishing a system of Federal public employment offices in lieu of the system of State offices established under the Wagner-Peyser Act.
United States · United States Congress · 24 February 1977
Amends the United Nations Participation Act of 1945 to permit enforcement of any executive order restricting the importation of Rhodesian chrome, pursuant to any United Nations Security Council resolution. Requires that steel mill products containing chromium not be imported while such executive order is in effect without the filing of a certificate of origin with the Secretary of the Treasury unless such shipment is released by the Secretary. Authorizes the Secretary to prescribe regulations to carry out this provision.
United States · United States Congress · 24 February 1977
Requires States receiving financial assistance under the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 which are operating a program designed to insure reading readiness for educationally deprived preschool children or children in grades 1, 2, or 3 to continue such programs at their present level. Prohibits the exclusion of children enrolled in such program from further participation on the ground that such child has achieved a reading aptitude equal to or greater than the normal reading aptitude for the grade in which the child is enrolled.
United States · United States Congress · 24 February 1977
Reaffirms competition as the best means of serving the American consumers' telecommunications needs, except where there is clear and convincing evidence that such competition would produce unreasonably higher costs or poorer service for the American consuming public.
United States · United States Congress · 23 February 1977
Comprehensive Veterans Readjustment Assistance Act - Title I: Educational Assistance Program Amendments - Redefines the qualifying service period of an "eligible veteran" to be the period from August 4, 1964 to January 1, 1977; and redesignates as an "eligible peacetime post-Korean veteran" anyone whose qualifying service period fell between January 31, 1955, and August 5, 1964; and entitles both "eligible veterans" and "eligible peacetime post-Korean veterans" to all benefits, services and loans available under the educational assistance program. Extends from 36 to 45 months the period of eligibility for receiving educational assistance (this provision currently exist, 38 U.S.C. 1661 (a)). Sets conditions for extending the ten-year delimiting period for receipt of assistance up to a maximum of two additional years. Provides that counseling offered by the Administrator of Veterans' Affairs to veterans eligible for educational assistance may include assisting any veteran: (1) to select the occupation or training objective suitable to personal circumstances, characteristics, financial resources, dependent responsibilities and other relevant factors; (2) to select the occupation or training objective which will provide reasonable opportunities for employment and with job satisfaction after development of the required job skills; (3) to select the educational institution that will effectively assist in attaining educational or vocational objectives; and (4) to develop a program of education that will lead to a recognized and predetermined educational, vocational, technical, or professional objective within the veteran's period of entitlement. Directs the Administrator to take such measures as may be necessary, including denial of applications or disapproval of courses, to insure that no aspect of the educational assistance program is used for the purpose of income supplementation, unemployment compensation, or adjusted compensation. Allows continued payments to veterans enrolled in institutions not complying with provisions of the Act if such veterans are not at fault for the noncompliance. Provides an accelerated educational assistance allowance, not to exceed twice the ordinary monthly amount, to be granted, after appropriate counseling, to an eligible veteran or person who demonstrates need for the acceleration. Stipulates the categories of persons most likely to need a program of acceleration. Limits any program of accelerated assistance allowances to five years. Title II: War Orphans' and Widows' Educational Assistance Program Amendments - Allows the ten-year period of eligibility for educational assistance for the spouse of a veteran with a service-connected disability to run from the wedding date of the spouse and such veteran. Entitles eligible war orphans and widows to accelerated educational assistance allowances. Title III: Administration of Educational Benefits - Extends the coverage of existing administrative provisions of the educational assistance program to all branches and extensions of an educational institution. Directs the Administrator to establish between the Administration, the State approving agencies and nationally recognized accrediting agencies and associations, an exchange of information pertaining to activities of educational institutions, especially to the enforcement of approval standard and enrollment restrictions and fraudulent and other criminal activities on the part of persons connected with the institution; and directs the Administrator to furnish the U.S. Attorney General, the Department of Defense, the Department of Health, Education and Welfare, the Federal Trade Commission, the Federal Communications Commission and other Federal, State and local agencies such information and assistance as may be necessary to preclude abuses or enhance the effectiveness of the programs established hereunder. Requires educational institutions to transmit to State approving agencies catalogs or bulletins certified as true, current and correct both in content and policy by an authorized school official. Requires the State approving agencies to find as a condition of approval, adequate standards of progress established and clearly defined, and to find that an institution and its programs of education are in every aspect, portion, element, and division in full compliance with the law. Revises the criteria for approval of nonaccredited courses. Requires all advertising, promotion, sales techniques, claims and personnel employed by or representing the institution and branches or extensions offering nonaccredited courses to be in compliance with all applicable State and Federal licensing regulations and laws. Permits the Administrator to disapprove any institution of program of education approved as accredited if it fails to comply with any of specified provisions of law. Makes any advance payment of initial educational assistance or subsistence allowance conditional, and denies such advance payments to those entitled to receive accelerated payments. Requires the application for conditional advance payments to indicate that the eligible veteran or person had requested such, that it is necessary and appropriated to meet specific expenses, and that such expenses shall reasonably equal or exceed the amount of conditional advance payment. Requires the Administrator to set up an appeals procedure for administrative proceedings involving property loss resulting from a decision to terminate or modify an eligible veteran's or person's educational benefits. Increases from $3 and $4 to $8 and $10 respectively the fees paid to educational institutions in reimbursement for reports and certifications. Directs the Administrator to refer to the U.S. Attorney General any deliberate, premeditated, or willful misconduct or illegal action of a significant nature or involving a significant sum of money stemming from overpayments occasioned by a false or misleading report by an educational institution. Sets new conditions for the enrollment of an eligible veteran or person in a program of correspondence or residence-correspondence. Denies approval of enrollment in an institution in any way affiliated with a proprietary institution or profitmaking operation which affects any program of education provided eligible veterans and persons unless such program meets all the requirements of the law. Requires the Administrator to notify any eligible veteran or eligible person of any available vocational assistance alternatives and of any legal recourse when it disapproves an institution or discontinues anyone's educational assistance. Requires the Administrator, upon determination that the interruption of failure of a person's program was due in whole or in part to problems of personal adjustment, to advise such person of available counseling services and vocational, educational and psychological assistance. Establishes with the Veterans Administration an Interagency Veterans' Advisory Task Force to advise and assist the Administrator, among other things, in: (1) the review of the effectiveness and coordination of all rights and services authorized for veterans; (2) the development and implementation of studies of the effectiveness of laws applicable to veterans and eligible persons; (3) the monitoring and evaluation and preclusion of abuses of veterans' adjustment assistance programs; (4) the investigation of allegations indicating that veterans are being denied rights, benefit,or assistance; and (5) the appraisal of Federal laws, appropriations, and policies meeting the readjustment needs of veterans. Directs the Task Force to serve as a national clearinghouse for information and assistance relating to the needs of veterans, and to serve as an advocate for the correction of problems and the preclusion of abuses. Establishes within the Task Force a section on enforcement and implementation of laws, a section on the evaluation and accreditation of military experience, and an Advisory Committee to take over the duties and responsibilities of the current advisory committee, with special emphasis on the inclusion and participation of veterans receiving or requiring readjustment assistance. Empowers the Task Force and its sections to issue subpenas. Requires the Task Force to report to Congress within one year of enactment its findings and recommendations for post-Vietnam era readjustment assistance programs. Sets maximum aggregate education loan amounts for eligible persons with no, one, two, or more dependents. Title IV: Miscellaneous Veterans Program Amendments - Requires the Veterans' Administration to adjust its adjudication criteria and under no circumstances to determine eligibility for veterans' benefits for ex-servicemen with other than honorable discharges with either less lenient or more restrictive criteria and procedures that those used by the various military departments in the review and upgrading of other than honorable discharges. Title V: Employment and Training of Disabled and Vietnam-era Veterans - Creates within the Department of Labor a separate agency to be known as the Veterans' Employment Service which shall be headed by an Assistant Secretary of Labor for Veterans' Employment. Title VI: Veterans' Administration: Miscellaneous Amendments - Directs the Administrator to initiate a comprehensive outreach and information program to inform veterans of the programs and services made available by this Act. Directs the veterans' representatives to carry out such outreach and information assistance services. Requires both the Administrator and the veterans' representatives especially to assist veterans whose educational benefits have ended because of the expiration of their delimiting period to obtain alternative means of completing their education and training.
United States · United States Congress · 23 February 1977
Authorizes the Secretary of the Treasury, for cash management purposes, to invest any portion of the Treasury's operating cash for periods of up to 90 days in (1) obligations of depositories maintaining Treasury tax and loan accounts secured by a pledge of collateral acceptable to the Secretary as security for tax and loan accounts, and (2) obligations of the United States and of agencies of the United States. Amends the Home Owners' Loan Act to authorize the Secretary of the Treasury to deposit public money in any federal savings and loan association or member of a federal home loan bank. Amends the National Housing Act to make institutions insured by the Federal Savings and Loan Insurance Corporation depositories of public money. Amends the Internal Revenue Code to define qualified savings and loan associations which may receive tax payments.
United States · United States Congress · 23 February 1977
Emergency Stamp Assistance Act - Authorizes the Federal Energy Administrator to establish an energy stamp program to assist households with gross annual incomes below $12,500 in meeting monthly fuel costs. Authorizes assistance to renters to offset rent attributable to fuel costs. Stipulates that participating States shall assume responsibility for certification of eligible households and issuance of coupons. Specifies monthly allotments authorized by this Act. Requires that priority be given households in regions which have been declared emergency or disaster areas as a result of fuel supply, allocation, and costs problems. Stipulates that the provisions of this Act shall be retroactively effective on January 1, 1977, and shall terminate April 30, 1977. Stipulates that benefits received pursuant to this program shall not be considered as income for internal revenue purposes or for determination of eligibility for other federally-related benefits programs.
United States · United States Congress · 23 February 1977
Cigarette Health Protection Tax Act - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to substitute a health protection tax on cigarettes manufactured in or imported into the United States for the present tax. Sets forth graduated tax rates based on the tar and nicotine content of each cigarette. Directs the Federal Trade Commission to determine the tar and nicotine content of each brand of cigarettes manufactured in or imported into the United States, and to certify these findings to the Secretary of the Treasury.
United States · United States Congress · 23 February 1977
Amends the Older Americans Act by adding the following title: Title VII: Relief for Older Americans Who Own or Rent Their Homes - Directs the Secretary of Health, Education, and Welfare to reimburse the States for real property tax relief programs aimed at elderly households with incomes of $15,000 or less. Provides that the amount of such reimbursement shall be a percentage (determined on the basis of the household income) of the tax relief provided multiplied by the aggregate number of households receiving such relief.
United States · United States Congress · 23 February 1977
Child Abuse Prevention Act - Prohibits the sexual exploitation of children by making it unlawful for any individual to: (1) cause or permit a child to be photographed or filmed engaged in a sexual act prohibited under this Act; (2) photograph or film a prohibited sexual act; (3) knowingly transport any film or photograph depicting a prohibited sexual act; or (4) receive for sale or sell any such film or photograph, if such individual knows or should know such film or photograph has or may be transported in such a manner as to affect interstate or foreign commerce. Imposes a fine of up to $50,000 and/or imprisonment for up to 20 years for a violation of this Act.
United States · United States Congress · 23 February 1977
Community- Based Day Treatment and In-Home Services for Children and Families Act - Amends Part B of Title IV (Child-Welfare Services) of the Social Security Act to provide for the establishment of day treatment and in-home arrangements for services to children and families in trouble. Makes funds appropriated under the Social Security Act for child welfare services available to cooperating State agencies in the provision of day treatment and in-home services to children and families. Authorizes the appropriation of an additional $50,000,000 for each of the two fiscal years following the enactment of this Act for the purposes of this Act. Provides for the distribution of such funds to the appropriate State agencies. Defines the terms "day treatment services," and "in-home services. Requires States, as a condition to receiving Federal payments for child welfare services, to limit the placement of children outside of the home for treatment to those cases in which all feasible alternatives have been exhausted, or such placement has been ordered by a court of competent jurisdiction. Requires State plans for aid and services to needy families with children to provide that the State agency supervising the administration of the plan will: (1) exhaust all feasible alternatives to placement of a child in a foster home, institution, or other residential facility before placing or approving the placement of such child in such a home, institution, or facility; and (2) submit to the Secretary of Health, Education, and Welfare periodic reports indicating the steps being taken to explore such alternatives (and the various types of alternative arrangements being considered) in connection with the placement of children in such homes, institutions, and facilities.
United States · United States Congress · 23 February 1977
Redesignates the Boundary Waters Canoe Area in Superior National Forest, Minnesota, as the Boundary Waters Wilderness Area. Specifies restrictions relating to timber harvesting, mining, and use of recreational vehicles within such area. Increases to one and one-quarter percent of the fair appraised value the amount payable to the State of Minnesota with respect to lands within the Superior National Forest.
United States · United States Congress · 23 February 1977
Federal Nonsmokers Protection Act - Prohibits smoking in specified areas of Federal facilities and in interstate passenger carrier facilities. Requires the effective separation of smokers from non-smokers in certain areas of such facilities. Requires that nonsmoking employees in Federal facilities be given the opportunity to be assigned to physically distinct offices or workplaces from those who smoke, whenever possible. Makes the executive head or chief administrative officer of each instrumentality responsible for the enforcement of these prohibitions in any Federal facility in which such instrumentality maintains offices. Requires such officers to submit an annual report on the enforcement of these prohibitions to the Administrator of General Services. Establishes civil penalties for individuals who smoke in any area of an interstate passenger carrier facility where smoking is prohibited under this Act. Requires that "No Smoking" signs be posted in specified areas.
United States · United States Congress · 23 February 1977
Public Health Cigarette Smoking Act - Makes it unlawful, under the Federal Cigarette Labeling and Advertising Act, for any person to manufacture, import, or package for sale or distribution within the United States any cigarettes the package of which (1) fails to bear the required health warning statement; and (2) fails to bear a statement of the tar and nicotine content of each cigarette in such package, as determined by the Federal Trade Commission. States that it shall be unlawful for any person to disseminate or cause to be disseminated any cigarette advertisement which fails to contain the required statements and which is either disseminated by United States mails or in commerce or which is likely to induce, directly or indirectly, the purchase in, or have an effect upon, commerce of cigarettes. Requires cigarettes for export to contain the required statements in the language of the country to which such package is exported.
United States · United States Congress · 23 February 1977
Amends the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act to include tobacco products within the definition of food as contained in such Act thereby subjecting such products to the same regulation as food under such Act.
United States · United States Congress · 17 February 1977
Amends the Public Health Service Act to allow medical facilities to be reimbursed by the Federal Government for emergency medical treatment given aliens unlawfully in the United States if such aliens are unable to pay the cost of such treatment or can pay only a part of the cost and the aliens or medical facilities which provided such treatment are not eligible under any public assistance program for payment or reimbursement of such cost. Requires that an application for reimbursement be submitted to the Secretary of Health, Education, and Welfare. Sets forth criteria for determining whether such an application shall be approved.
United States · United States Congress · 17 February 1977
Amends the Consumer Credit Protection Act to: (1) allow the mortgagor of a second mortgage to pay all or part of the unpaid balance ahead of schedule without penalty; (2) require a judicial hearing to determine whether a default has occurred before sale, foreclosure, or seizure of real property for nonpayment of any payment due under any second mortgage; (3) prohibit the extension of credit in the form of a second mortgage to a prospective mortgagor whose projected income is not sufficient to meet the payments of the second mortgage; (4) prohibit harassment of a mortgagor of the second mortgage by the mortgagee or person employed by the mortgagee in connection with collection of any payment; (5) entitle a mortgagor of a second mortgage to specified remedies for violations of this Act; and (6) prohibit a real estate broker who has arranged a second mortgage to acquire such property at a foreclosure sale.
United States · United States Congress · 17 February 1977
Full Employment and Balanced Growth Act - Title I: Establishment of Goals, Planning, and General Economic Policies - Amends the Employment Act of 1946 to declare that all adult Americans able, willing, and seeking work have the right to useful paid employment at fair rates of compensation. States that, in moving toward the goal of full employment, it shall be an objective to maintain trends in the ratio of private employment civilian public employment and first priority is to expand conventional private jobs through policies made available under this Act. Directs the President in each annual Economic Report to recommend numerical goals for employment, production, and purchasing power, as well as policies to support these goals and achieve balanced growth and full employment. Requires the preparation of a Full Employment and Balanced Growth Plan, prepared with the assistance of Economic Advisers and in consultation with the Office of Management and Budget. Requires that such plan set forth foreseeable social and economic goals; provide estimates of unmet social and economic needs; identify available and needed resources; and contain long-term economic goals including (1) full employment goals set at the number of jobs to be provided in order to reduce unemployment to the minimum level of functional unemployment consistent with efficient job search and labor mobility, (2) full production goals set at levels of output estimated to be yielded by achievement of full employment goals, and (3) full purchasing power goals set at levels estimated to be necessary for attaining and maintaining full employment and production while contributing to an equitable distribution of purchasing power. States that in achieving such goals the President shall include the objective of holding the annual rate of price increases to levels consistent with reasonable price stability. Requires the full employment goal to be consistent with an adult unemployment rate not in excess of three percent. Requires that the plan propose priority policies and programs to support full employment and balanced growth and enumerates sectors of the economy to be included in such policies and programs. Directs the President to submit proposals improving the efficiency and economy of the Federal Government. Requires the Presidents' Budget and Economic Report to set forth the level and composition of Federal expenditures, tax policy, and monetary policy consistent with and in promotion of the goals and policies contained in this Act. Directs the Federal Reserve Board to report to the President and Congress, identifying the extent to which the Federal Reserve will support the economic goals recommended by the President. Stipulates that each Economic Report contain a comprehensive set of anti-inflation policies to supplement monetary and fiscal policy. Establishes an Advisory Committee on Full Employment and Balanced Growth to advise and assist the Council of Economic Advisers. Directs the Council of Economic Advisers to prepare the Full Employment and Balanced Growth Plan and to consult with the Advisory Committee. Title II: Countercyclical, Structural, and Youth Employment Policies - Directs the President to transmit to Congress within 90 days of the enactment of this Act a proposal, together with necessary legislation, establishing permanent supplementary employment policies and programs required to reduce high unemployment arising from cyclical movements in the economy. Specifies types of programs which should be considered by the President in establishing component parts of such proposal and the means to be utilized in coordinating them. Requires the President to also transmit to Congress within such period legislation creating a permanent grant program related to the stabilization and needed growth of State and local budgets. Directs the President to transmit to Congress within 180 days of the enactment of this Act (1) a comprehensive regional and structural employment proposal designed to reduce chronic underutilization of human and capital resources in certain areas of the country and in groups within the labor force, and (2) legislation providing institutional means to encourage public and private investment in areas with substantial unemployment and to provide an alternative source of capital funds for local and State governments to finance public facilities. Directs the President to transmit to Congress legislation creating a comprehensive youth employment program which utilizes existing resources and facilities and provides additional employment programs. Directs the President to provide job opportunities through reservoirs of federally operated public employment projects and approved private nonprofit employment projects to the extent, and only to the extent, that willing able adults are not otherwise provided job opportunities. Establishes, within the Department of Labor, a Full Employment Office to assist in creating such employment opportunities. Directs the President to transmit to Congress a proposal, together with such legislation as is necessary, on how the income maintenance and employment policies can be integrated to insure that employment is substituted for income maintenance to the maximum extent feasible. Title III: Policies and Procedures for Congressional Review - Requires the Joint Economic Committee to carry out overall review of executive branch policies under this Act. Requires the Committee on the Budget of the Senate and the Committee on the Budget of the House of Representatives to review the fiscal policy, economy in government policies, and Federal budget priorities recommended by the President. Requires the Joint Economic Committee to review and make recommendations to Congress on annual numerical goals for employment, production, and purchasing power proposed by the President. Provides for Congressional review of the Full Employment and Balanced Growth Plan, including reports to the Joint Economic Committee from the Standing Committees of Congress on matters that relate to the plan, public hearings before the Joint Economic Committee, and consideration of State and local views on the plan. Establishes a Division of Full Employment and Balanced Growth within the Congressional Budget Office to assist the Joint Economic Committee in the discharge of its duties under this Act. Provides that the provisions of this title, with specified exceptions, be incorporated into the rules of the House of Representatives and Senate, respectively. Title IV: General Provisions - Makes general provisions with respect to nondiscrimination, labor standards, and authorizations of appropriations.
United States · United States Congress · 17 February 1977
Amends the Internal Revenue Code to allow employers to take the credit for expenses of work incentive programs for wages paid new, full-time handicapped employees over the first cumulative 12 months of their employment.
United States · United States Congress · 17 February 1977
National Consumer Cooperative Bank Act - Title I: National Consumer Cooperative Bank - Establishes the National Consumer Cooperative Bank to: (1) encourage the development of cooperatives eligible for its assistance by providing specialized credit and technical assistance; (2) maintain broad-based control of the Bank by its voting stockholders; (3) encourage broad-based ownership control and active participation by members in eligible cooperatives; (4) assure that the net savings from operations and the operations of borrowers from the Bank are made available or accounted for to the stockholders or members; and (5) assist in improving the quality and availability of goods and services to consumers. Authorizes the creation of no less than four nor more than twelve corporate regional banks. States that the Bank shall have the power to make and service loans, commitments for credit, guarantees, furnish financially related services, technical assistance, and issue obligations. Enumerates additional powers necessary to carry out its powers and duties. Requires the Bank to hold an annual meeting of stockholders. Permits the Bank to obtain funds through the public or private sale of its bonds, debentures, notes, and other evidences of indebtedness. Authorizes the Bank to make loans to eligible organizations which shall be repayable in not more than 40 years. States that the objective of the Bank shall be to provide the type of credit needed by eligible borrowers, at the lowest reasonable cost on a sound business basis, taking into account the cost of money to the Bank. Defines "eligible cooperatives" for purposes of assistance under this title. Title II: Self-Help Development Fund - Establishes in the Treasury a Consumer Cooperative Self-Help Development Fund. Permits the Cooperative Bank and Assistance Administration to make a capital investment advance out of the Fund to any eligible cooperative if the Administration determines that the applicant's initial or supplemental capital requirements exceed its ability to obtain a Title I loan from the Bank or other sources, and the membership of the applicant consists substantially of low-income persons. Title III: Cooperative Technical Assistance - Directs the Cooperative Bank and Assistance Administration to make available information and services concerning the organization or reorganization of cooperatives to best achieve the objectives of this Act and to best provide the means through which various types of goods, services, and facilities can be made available to members and patrons. States that such assistance may include investigations, surveys, and director and management training and assistance. Title IV: The Cooperative Bank and Assistance Administration and General Provisions - Establishes the Cooperative Bank and Assistance Administration. Directs the Administration to assure that the objectives of this Act are carried out. States that until the stock of the Bank held by the United States has been fully retired the Bank shall be exempt from any form of taxation. Requires the Administration and the Board to report annually to the appropriate committees of Congress on the activities of the Administration and on the Bank's capital, operations, financial condition, the self-help development fund, and to make recommendations for legislation to improve its services.
United States · United States Congress · 16 February 1977
Amends the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 to require the Overseas Private Investment Corporation to terminate insurance or reinsurance issued to any investor, upon a Corporation determination that such investor has offered or paid, directly or indirectly, any significant amount of money (or anything of significant value) to a foreign official to influence any decision of a foreign government.
United States · United States Congress · 16 February 1977
Amends Title IV (Aid to Families with Dependent Children), Title XVIII (Medicare), and Title XIX (Medicaid) of the Social Security Act to provide that the Federal matching rate for purposes of reimbursement to States under the programs of aid to needy families with children and medical assistance shall be set at 75 percent. Requires that the non-Federal share of such aid be paid from State (rather than local) funds.
United States · United States Congress · 16 February 1977
National Vitiligo Control Act - Amends the Public Health Service Act to direct the Secretary of Health, Education, and Welfare to carry out a program to develop information and educational materials relating to the skin disease known as vitiligo and to distribute such information and materials to persons providing health care and to the general public. States that the Secretary may carry out such program through grants to or contracts with public and nonprofit public entities. Authorizes the Secretary to make such grants, and enter into contracts with such entities and with individuals for projects for: (1) research and research training in the diagnosis, treatment, and control of vitiligo; and (2) the development of programs to educate the public concerning the nature and inheritance of the disease. States that participation by any person in any program under this Act shall be wholly voluntary. Sets forth requirements for applicants of grants under this Act, including the requirement that all test results, medical records, and other information regarding treatment of any person treated in connection with a project assisted under this Act shall be kept confidential, unless such person consents to the release of such information. Requires the Secretary to annually prepare and submit to the President for transmittal to Congress a comprehensive report on the administration of this Act.
United States · United States Congress · 9 February 1977
Amends the Civil Rights Act of 1968 to allow the Secretary of the Department of Housing and Urban Development to initiate civil actions to enforce the provisions of such Act. Extends from 30 to 60 days the period during which no civil suits may be initiated and the Secretary must make efforts to obtain voluntary compliance with such Act. Permits courts to award attorneys' fees to prevailing plaintiffs without regard to his financial ability to assume such fees.
United States · United States Congress · 9 February 1977
Adds Title X - "Special Demonstration Programs in the Biomedical Sciences for Secondary School Students from Disadvantaged Backgrounds" to the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965. Authorizes the Commissioner of Education to make grants to, and enter into contracts with, institutions of higher education for the purpose of offering five-year demonstration programs to encourage disadvantaged secondary education students to pursue professional training in the biomedical sciences. Directs the Commissioner to appoint an advisory committee to advise on the approval of applications for assistance under this title. Stipulates that the amount of assistance for any one five-year demonstration program shall not exceed a specified sum. Sets forth the activities each demonstration program must provide and the criteria which each applicant must meet in order to be eligible for assistance under this title. Requires each demonstration project to have an advisory committee of at least nine members. Sets forth the authorized uses of funds made available under this title. Authorizes the appropriation of $12,000,000 for fiscal year 1978. Stipulates that such sum shall remain available for expenditure or obligation through fiscal year 1983.
United States · United States Congress · 9 February 1977
Amends the Emergency Unemployment Compensation Act of 1974 to extend for one year the emergency compensation program thereunder so as to permit benefits to be paid with respect to weeks ending before March 31, 1978.
United States · United States Congress · 8 February 1977
Directs the Secretaries of the various armed forces to establish discharge review boards and panels and to geographically disburse such panels on the basis of population concentrations of discharge applicants. Requires such panels to travel to areas where a reasonable number of applications for review have been filed. Directs the discharge review boards and panels to review any discharge or dismissal from the armed forces granted under other than fully honorable conditions upon their own motion or upon the request of the former member or the representative of a former member. Directs the review board or panel to determine whether such discharge was fair and equitable, or in the interest of justice, by standards current at the time of review, taking into consideration all the circumstances of the case. Directs the Secretary of Defense to establish guidelines and directives to be followed by the review boards and panels including specified mitigating and extenuating circumstances. Stipulates that the presence of strong mitigating factors shall normally warrant the upgrading of an other than fully dishonorable discharge to an honorable discharge, unless they are offset by serious aggravating factors which have a direct relationship to the issuance of an other than fully honorable discharge. Authorizes a review board or panel to issue an honorable discharge (limited) to individuals who were discharged under less than honorable conditions if such individuals have rehabilitated themselves and their conduct, activities and habits since being granted original discharge have been exemplary. Stipulates that such new discharge certificate shall be the same as a fully honorable discharge for all records and information pertaining to the individual. Stipulates that no benefits under any laws shall automatically be afforded to any individual issued an honorable discharge (limited) unless such an individual would have been entitled to such benefits under the original discharge or dismissal. Sets forth the procedures which review boards and panels must follow regarding review hearings. Requires the Government to provide legal counsel or assistance as may be necessary to insure that an applicant is competent to present a claim for review, in clear cases of need. Directs the Secretary of Defense to carry out a public information program designed to inform former members of the armed services of the new discharge review program under this Act. Requires each Secretary of the various services concerned to prepare a semiannual report on the functions, problems, and accomplishments of the review boards and panels established under this Act. (Amends 10 U.S.C. 1553)
United States · United States Congress · 8 February 1977
Provides that recipients of veterans' pension and compensation will not have the amount of such pension or compensation reduced, or entitlement thereto discontinued, because of increases in monthly social security benefits. Applies these amendments to annual income determinations made for calendar years after 1972. (Amends 38 U.S.C. 415(g), adds 38 U.S.C. 503(d))
United States · United States Congress · 8 February 1977
Amends Title XVI (Supplemental Security Income Program) of the Social Security Act to extend benefits to Puerto Rico, the Virgin Islands, and Guam on the same basis as the States.
United States · United States Congress · 7 February 1977
Amends the Internal Revenue Code to limit the application of the Tax Reform Act's elimination of the sick pay exclusion for persons who have not retired on total disability, to taxable years beginning after December 31, 1976.
United States · United States Congress · 7 February 1977
Nuclear Energy Reappraisal Act - Directs the Nuclear Regulatory Commission to cease the granting of licenses or construction authorizations for nuclear fission powerplants pending the outcome of a comprehensive study by the Office of Technology Assessment. Continues such termination until Congress determines that safety and environmental hazards have been adequately studied and that nuclear fission plants are acceptable in comparison to other energy sources. Authorizes a resumption of licensing under limited conditions which shall be specified by Congress. Requires a five-year independent study of the nuclear fuel cycle by the Office of Technology Assessment. Empowers the Office to compel delivery of any information necessary for conducting such study. Directs all government agencies to cooperate fully with the Office. Requires the preparation of a final report with recommendations at the end of five years and annual progress reports. Requires the following specific issues to be considered in the final report: (1) safety and environmental hazards, including an analysis of reported malfunctions; (2) genetic effects of low level radiation; (3) economic implications of a long-term nature; (4) proliferation dangers; (5) economical and technical capabilities of utilities; and (6) licensing procedures of past regulatory agencies. Stipulates that existing nuclear fission powerplants shall operate at less than licensed core power level and be annually derated should Congress fail to determine that the licensing of fission plants may continue after conclusion of the study. Authorizes the appropriation of $15,000,000 per year for each of the five fiscal years following the date of enactment of this Act.
United States · United States Congress · 7 February 1977
Handgun Crime Control Act - Makes it unlawful for any person to import, manufacture, sell, buy, transfer, receive, or transport any handgun. Authorizes the Secretary of the Treasury to exempt from such prohibition any licensed importers, manufacturers, or dealers and pistol clubs licensed under this Act. Exempts from the prohibitions of this Act: (1) handguns the Secretary determines are being imported or manufactured for, sold or transferred to, purchased, received, or transported by, or issued for the use of, the United States Government or any State or local governments; and (2) handguns which are unserviceable, not restorable to firing condition, and intended for use as a curio, museum piece, or collection item. Provides for the voluntary delivery of handguns to any law enforcement agency for disposition, and entitles the transferor to a payment of $25 or the fair market value of the handgun, whichever is greater. Authorizes the Secretary to license pistol clubs conforming to specified minimal standards. Provides for administrative and judicial review of a license denial or revocation. Imposes criminal penalties on persons who violate provisions of this Act. Authorizes the Secretary to prescribe such rules and regulations necessary to carry out the provisions of this Act.
United States · United States Congress · 7 February 1977
Title I: Meat and Meat Products - Requires, under the Federal Meat Inspection Act, the package or container of any imported meat or meat products capable of use as human food to be labeled in such a way as to inform consumers that such product was imported. Requires that such products meet the same health standards as domestically produced meats. Requires testing of imported meat in the countries from which such meat is being imported. Directs that periodic tests be conducted in the United States by the Department of Agriculture also. Authorizes the Secretary of Agriculture to prescribe such assessments and fees as he determines necessary to cover the Departments costs under this Title. Title II: Dairy Products - Prohibits the importation of dairy products into the United States unless the Secretary of Health, Education, and Welfare certifies the products as wholesome and pure. Requires the Secretary to establish standards for imported products comparable to standards imposed upon domestic dairy products. Directs the Secretary, where and to the extent necessary, to inspect imported dairy products and require such products to be accompanied by a certificate of compliance issued by the Secretary. Requires imported dairy products to comply with United States labeling and packaging requirements. Requires that imported dairy products be labeled in such a way as to inform consumers that such product was imported.
United States · United States Congress · 3 February 1977
National Conference on Learning Disabilities and Juvenile Delinquency Act - Directs the Coordinating Council on Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention to organize and convene a National Conference on Learning Disabilities and Juvenile Delinquency. Directs the Conference to formulate methods of disseminating extant knowledge and the results of ongoing research related to learning disabilities and handicaps to appropriate agencies and individuals. Makes it a goal of such Conference to develop coordinated plans of cooperation among disciplines to deliver all services feasible to the learning disabled. Sets forth the procedures under which the Conference shall operate and the qualifications for membership in it. Calls for the convening of meetings related to the Conference in each State or Region in preparation for the National Conference.
United States · United States Congress · 2 February 1977
Medicare-Medicaid Anti-Fraud and Abuse Amendments - Amends Titles XVIII (Medicare) and XIX (Medicaid) of the Social Security Act to require that Medicare and Medicaid payments be made directly to the physician or other person providing the service involved. Allows payment in accordance with an assignment from the person or institution providing care or service if such assignment is made to a governmental agency or entity or is established by the order of a court of competent jurisdiction or to an agent of such person or institution if the agent does so pursuant to an agency agreement under which the compensation to be paid to the agent for his services or in connection with the billing or collection of payments due such person or institution under the plan is unrelated to the amount of such payments or the billings thereof, and is not dependent upon the actual collection of any such payment. States that the Secretary of Health, Education, and Welfare shall by regulation (or by contract provision) provide that any entity (other than a public entity) which is a provider or supplier that furnishes, or arranges for the furnishing of items or services with respect to which is claimed under Title XVIII, Title V (Maternal and Child Welfare), or under Title XIX (Medicaid) of the Social Security Act or a party to an agreement with the Secretary under such titles shall promptly comply with any request, specifically addressed to that entity by the Secretary or the Comptroller General of the United States, for information concerning ownership, control, or costs of such entities. Increases the maximum penalty for defrauding the Medicare and Medicaid programs. Makes review and certification requirements of the Social Security Act inapplicable to providers, suppliers, and practitioners being reviewed by any Professional Standards Review Organization designated by the Secretary to be competent to perform review responsibilities. Directs the Secretary to give priority to requests by Professional Standards Review Organizations for review responsibility with respect to services furnished in shared health facilities. States that where a Professional Standards Review Organization has been found competent by the Secretary to assume review responsibility with respect to specified types of health services, such reviews shall constitute the conclusive determination on those issues for purposes of payment under the Social Security Act. Requires professional Standards Review Organizations to provide data and information to assist Federal and State agencies having responsibility for identifying and investigating cases or patterns of fraud or abuse, and to assist the Secretary in carrying out appropriate health care planning and related activities. Requires the Secretary to make payment to qualified Professional Standards Review Organizations in an amount equal to the reasonable amount of the expenses incurred in connection with the defense of any suit, action, or proceeding brought against such organization, member, employee, or person related to the performance of any duty or function of such organization. Directs the Secretary to submit to the Congress an annual report on the administration, impact, and cost of the program during the preceding fiscal year. Authorizes the Comptroller General of the United States to sign and issue supoenas for the purpose of any audit, investigation, examination, analysis, review, evaluation, or other function authorized by law with respect to any program authorized under this Act. Requires the Secretary to suspend any physician or practitioner from participation in the Medicare or Medicaid programs whenever such individual is convicted of a criminal offense related to their involvement in such programs. Conditions participation in, or certification or recertification under, the programs established by titles XVIII, XIX, and XX (Grants to States for Services) upon disclosure of the name of any person who: (1) has a direct or indirect ownership or control interest of five percent or more in such provider, institution, organization, or agency, and (2) has been convicted of a criminal offense related to the involvement of such person in any of such programs. Prohibits expenditure under the Medicaid plan to the extent that any agency, organization, or other person (other than a member of the individual's family) would have been obligated by a State law or contract to provide such care or services but for a provision of the State law or contract which limits or excludes such obligation because the individual is eligible for or receives care or services under the plan.
United States · United States Congress · 2 February 1977
National Meals-on-Wheels Act - Amends the Older Americans Act of 1965 to allow States to distribute Federal Funds for the establishment of: (1) projects to provide home-delivered meals to qualified homebound elderly persons; (2) an information and referral system for homebound individuals receiving such meals; and (3) an operation to seek volunteer personnel for the delivery of such meals and to compensate such personnel for related transportation expenses. Authorizes the appropriation of specified sums in fiscal years 1978 and 1979 for the purpose of providing home-delivered meals under this Act. Limits to five percent the amount of such funds which may be spent upon the administration of such program. Directs the Commissioner of the Administration on Aging to conduct a demonstration project involving at least three States to determine the feasibility of using the meals system designed by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration for the elderly as a component of, or substitute for, regular nutrition projects assisted under the Older Americans Act of 1965.
United States · United States Congress · 2 February 1977
Civil Rights Amendments - Amends the Civil Rights Act of 1964 to prohibit discrimination based on affectional or sexual preference in: (1) public accommodations; (2) public facilities; (3) public education; (4) federally assisted opportunities; (5) equal employment opportunities; (6) housing; and (7) educational programs receiving Federal assistance.
United States · United States Congress · 1 February 1977
Amends the Federal Water Pollution Control Act to extend until September 30, 1978, the period of time during which funds allotted to States for the construction of treatment works shall remain available.
United States · United States Congress · 1 February 1977
Authorizes the Administrator of Veterans' Affairs to assist any veteran, who has a permanent and total service-connected disability due to the loss, or loss of use, of one arm and one leg, including but not limited to cases of hemiplegia, such as to preclude locomotion without the aid of braces, crutches, canes, or a wheelchair, in acquiring a suitable housing unit with special fixtures or moveable facilities made necessary by the nature of the veteran's disability, and necessary land therefor.
United States · United States Congress · 1 February 1977
Amends Title II (Old-Age, Survivors, and Disability Insurance) of the Social Security Act to provide that the automatic cost-of-living increases in benefits be made on a semiannual basis (rather than on an annual basis as at present).
United States · United States Congress · 1 February 1977
Amends the Arms Export Control Act to eliminate maintenance of internal security as a purpose for which military sales may be made. Amends the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961: (1) to eliminate maintenance of internal security as a purpose for which military assistance may be furnished; and (2) to prohibit furnishing military education and training for internal security.
United States · United States Congress · 1 February 1977
Authorizes and directs the Secretary of Labor, through the Bureau of Labor Statistics, to prepare, as part of the Consumer Price Index published monthly by the Bureau of Labor Statistics, a consumer price index (to be known as the Consumer Price Index for the Aged and Other Social Security Beneficiaries) designed to reflect the relevant price information for individuals, as a group, who are 65 years of age or older or are otherwise entitled to monthly benefits under Title II (Old-Age, Survivors, and Disability Insurance) of the Social Security Act.
![Official portrait of Rep. Chisholm, Shirley [D-NY-12]](https://www.congress.gov/img/member/c000371_200.jpg)