United States · United States Congress · 8 April 1987
United States Olympic Checkoff Act - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to allow taxpayers to designate on their income tax returns a contribution of one dollar of their income tax refunds and any voluntary cash contributions for use by the U.S. Olympic Committee. Establishes in the Treasury a U.S. Olympic Trust Fund. Appropriates to such trust fund amounts equal to the amounts designated on tax returns. Directs the Secretary of the Treasury to pay such amounts to the U.S. Olympic Committee at least quarterly. Allows specified administrative expenses of the Department of the Treasury to be paid from such trust fund.
United States · United States Congress · 8 April 1987
Expresses the sense of the Congress that: (1) the Congregate Housing Services program should be permanently reauthorized; and (2) FY 1988 and 1989 funding should be set at specified levels.
United States · United States Congress · 7 April 1987
Amends the International Air Transportation Fair Competitive Practices Act of 1974 to reduce from 180 days to 90 days the Secretary of Transportation's aggregate period for taking action upon unfair competitive practices by a foreign air carrier or instrumentality of a foreign government. Cites conditions under which the Secretary is authorized to extend such period for an additional 90 days. Instructs the Secretary, when considering any complaint or in any proceedings under the Secretary's own initiative, to solicit the views of the Department of Commerce and of the United States Trade Representative as well as of the Department of State (as under current law). Directs the Secretary to report to certain congressional committees on actions taken with respect to such complaints.
United States · United States Congress · 7 April 1987
Farm Employment and Enterprise Development Act of 1987 - Title I: Designation of Enterprise Zones - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to provide for the designation of enterprise zones by the Secretary of Agriculture (Secretary) for purposes of providing tax and regulatory relief and improving local services. Specifies that States and local governments shall nominate areas for such designation. Limits to 100 the total number of areas which may be designated as enterprise zones. Limits the period during which: (1) the Secretary has authority to designate such zones; and (2) the designations may remain in effect. Authorizes the Secretary to designate such zones only if: (1) the area is within the jurisdiction of a local government; (2) the boundary of the area is continuous; (3) the area has a population of at least 1,000 or is entirely within an Indian reservation; and (4) the area meets specified unemployment and poverty requirements. Requires nominating local governments, as a condition of the Secretary's designation, to agree in writing to follow a course of action which may include reducing tax rates, improving local services, simplifying or streamlining regulation of business, and providing job training to residents of the area. Describes areas to which the Secretary must give preference in selecting nominated areas for designation as enterprise zones. Requires the Secretary to report to the Congress every four years on the effects of such enterprise zones' designation in accomplishing the purposes of this Act. Requires that any property tax reduction effected by a local government under the terms of this Act be disregarded for purposes of determining the eligibility of a State or local government for Federal assistance or benefits. States that the designation of an enterprise zone shall not give displaced persons from such an area any rights or benefits under the Uniform Relocation Assistance and Real Property Acquisition Policies Act of 1970. Provides that such enterprise zones shall be treated for all purposes under Federal law as labor surplus areas. Title II: Federal Income Tax Incentives - Subtitle A: Credits for Employers and Employees - Allows employers located in rural enterprise zones a nonrefundable income tax credit for qualified increased employment expenditures and employment of the disadvantaged. Allows a three-year carryback and a 15-year carryover of such credit. Sets the amount of such credit at ten percent of the increase in payroll (taking into account $17,500 in wages per year per employee) plus a specified percentage of wages paid to certain disadvantaged workers through the first 20 years of the enterprise zone designation. Phases out such credit in the last four years of the enterprise zone designation. Disallows a deduction for the portion of wages taken into account for such credit. Allows a nonrefundable income tax credit to enterprise zone employees for five percent of wages earned (taking into account up to $10,500 per year). Phases out such credit in the last four years of the enterprise zone designation. Subtitle B: Credits for Investment in Tangible Property in Enterprise Zones - Allows businesses an additional investment tax credit for investments made in certain enterprise zone construction property located in enterprise zones. Limits such credit to ten percent for new enterprise zone construction property, including rental property. Requires that the property subject to such credit be located in an enterprise zone, be predominantly used in the zone, be either constructed, reconstructed, renovated, etc. during the period of zone designation or acquired during such period, and not be acquired from relatives or related corporations. Requires the recapture of such credit upon the early disposition of the property. Provides for a phase-out of the tax credit as the enterprise zone ends. Provides for an adjustment to the basis of the enterprise zone construction property to reflect the tax credit. Subtitle C: Nonrecognition of Qualified Enterprise Zone Capital Gain Where Acquisition of Enterprise Zone Business Property - Provides for the nonrecognition of capital gain on the sale of property if, within one year after such sale, the taxpayer acquires qualified replacement property (generally defined as property related to an enterprise zone or to a business within such a zone). Limits such nonrecognition of gain to the amount by which the gain does not exceed the cost of the replacement property. Sets forth special rules and provisions relating to this subtitle. Subtitle D: Deduction for Purchase of Enterprise Stock - Allows a taxpayer to deduct up to $100,000 of the aggregate amount paid during the taxable year for the purchase of enterprise stock on the original issue of such stock by a qualified issuer. Requires that the gain from the disposition of the stock be treated as ordinary income. Includes provisions to govern situations in which: (1) the stock is transferred within three years of its purchase; or (2) the issuer ceases to be a qualified issuer of enterprise stock within five years of its issue. Requires the basis of such stock to be reduced by the amount of the deduction. Exempts this deduction from calculations with respect to the limitation of an individual taxpayer's miscellaneous itemized deductions to two percent of adjusted gross income. Subtitle E: Rules Relating to Industrial Development Bonds - Provides that limitations on the cost recovery deductions for property financed with tax-exempt bonds shall not apply to enterprise zone property. Provides that the termination of the small issue exemption shall not apply to bonds whose proceeds are used to finance facilities in such enterprise zones. Modifies certain small issue volume limitations with respect to enterprise zone facilities. Requires that five percent of the private activity bond volume cap of a State that has at least one enterprise zone shall be set aside for use only in such zones. Subtitle F: Ordinary Loss Deduction for Securities of Enterprise Zone Business Which Become Worthless - Permits an ordinary loss deduction for securities of enterprise zone businesses which become worthless during the taxable year. Subtitle G: Increase in Research Credit for Research Conducted in Enterprise Zones - Increases from 20 to 30 percent the tax credit for increasing research conducted in enterprise zones. Subtitle H: Sense of the Congress with Respect to Tax Simplification - Expresses the sense of the Congress that the Internal Revenue Service should simplify the administration and enforcement of any provision of the Internal Revenue Code affected by this Act. Subtitle I: Regulations - Directs the Secretary of the Treasury to issue regulations to carry out the provisions of this Act not later than six months after the date of enactment. Title III: Regulatory Flexibility - Revises the definition of "small entity" for purposes of the analysis of regulatory functions to include qualified business, government, and nonprofit enterprises operating within enterprise zones. Authorizes Federal agencies, upon request by a designating government, to waive or modify rules and regulations pertaining to the implementation of projects or activities within an enterprise zone. Requires agencies to approve such request if the resulting benefits of job creation, community development, or economic revitalization outweigh the public interest in retaining the rule unchanged. Disallows waiver or modification of a rule that would directly violate a statutory requirement (including the Davis-Bacon Act and Fair Labor Standards Act) or present a danger to the public health and safety. Provides that such waivers or modifications of a rule shall remain in effect only as long as the affected zone designation. Amends the Department of Housing and Urban Development Act to direct the Secretary of Housing and Urban Development to promote the coordination of all enterprise zone programs and to consolidate all periodic reports required under such programs into one summary report. Title IV: Establishment of Foreign-Trade Zones in Enterprise Zones - Requires the Foreign-Trade Board to consider on a priority basis and to expedite the processing of applications for the establishment of foreign-trade zones within enterprise zones. Requires the Secretary of the Treasury to give priority to, and expedite applications for, the establishment of ports of entry necessary to establish such zones. States that, to the maximum extent practicable, foreign-trade zones should be established within enterprise zones.
United States · United States Congress · 7 April 1987
Urges the President to: (1) void the current embassy agreements with the Soviet Union; and (2) enter into negotiations for a new agreement under which the Soviet Union will move its new embassy to a site in the District of Columbia that is not more than 150 feet above mean sea level.
United States · United States Congress · 6 April 1987
Makes permanent the income tax credit for qualified research expenditures by repealing the provisions of the Internal Revenue Code that would terminate such credit for expenses incurred or paid after 1988.
United States · United States Congress · 6 April 1987
Suspends nondiscriminatory treatment (most-favored-nation treatment) for products of Romania entered into the United States during the one-year period beginning on the date of enactment of this Act. Allows the President to restore nondiscriminatory treatment to products of Romania prior to the end of such period if the President submits a report to the Congress, before the 181st day of the suspension year, containing: (1) the annual objectives of the United States toward achieving the gradual reduction of Romanian human rights violations during the remainder of the suspension year and the reduction and termination of such violations during the five succeeding years; and (2) recommendations regarding actions to be taken by the United States within such five-year period to achieve such objectives. Allows the President to extend nondiscriminatory treatment to the products of Romania during each of the five succeeding years if the President submits a report to the Congress before the beginning of each year stating that the Romanian Government is achieving the applicable human rights violation reduction objectives. Provides for the termination of such nondiscriminatory treatment for any part of such years by enactment of a joint resolution disapproving of the extension of such nondiscriminatory treatment.
United States · United States Congress · 2 April 1987
Social Security Transitional Benefit Computation Act of 1987 - Amends title II (Old Age, Survivors and Disability Insurance) of the Social Security Act to alter the formula for computing the primary insurance amount of individuals who attain age 65 in or after 1982 and would otherwise be subject to the benefit computation rules of the Social Security Amendments of 1977. Extends the application of such transitional benefit computation rules to those who become eligible for benefits before 1989. (Currently those who become eligible after 1983 are subject to the benefit computation rules of the Social Security Amendments of 1977.)
United States · United States Congress · 1 April 1987
Home Health and Hospice Care Waiver Extension Act of 1987 - Amends the Consolidated Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1985 and the Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1986 to continue, until FY 1990, waivers of liability which provide that home health agencies and hospice programs which keep their services for which Medicare coverage (under title XVIII of the Social Security Act) is denied below specified percentages shall not be denied payment for such care. (Currently, the home health agency waiver expires one year after certain regional intermediaries begin to service such agencies and the hospice program waiver expires on November 1, 1988.)
United States · United States Congress · 1 April 1987
Home Health Communications Act of 1987 - Amends part A (Hospital Insurance) of title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act to direct a fiscal intermediary to provide each home health agency it serves a copy of a written notice and communication of a nonwritten notice of any change in Medicare home health policy within seven days of receiving such notice from the Department of Health and Human Services.
United States · United States Congress · 1 April 1987
Home Health Informed Consumers Act of 1987 - Amends title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act to require the publication, distribution, and periodic revision of a booklet informing current and potential consumers of home health services regarding Medicare coverage of such services. Requires that such booklet include a description of the: (1) process for the review and appeal of coverage denials; and (2) guidelines applied in determining whether an individual is homebound and whether he or she needs skilled nursing care on an intermittent basis. Requires that such booklet be published and distributed within one year of this Act's enactment.
United States · United States Congress · 1 April 1987
Home Health Medical Necessity Standards Act of 1987 - Amends title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act to provide that in determining whether home health services meet the Medicare requirement that covered services be reasonable and necessary: (1) medical care prescribed by a physician shall be considered reasonable and necessary unless it is deemed by expert, unbiased medical evidence to be otherwise; and (2) the individual's particular circumstances shall be taken into account, but not whether the individual's condition is acute or chronic.
United States · United States Congress · 1 April 1987
Home Health Prompt Reconsideration Act of 1987 - Amends part A (Hospital Insurance) of title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act to direct a fiscal intermediary to act fully on reconsideration of a payment denial for home health services and give the individual and home health agency involved notice of its findings within 90 days after the reconsideration request is filed. Requires intermediaries to pay interest on the claim for the period during which the reconsideration findings are past due, regardless of whether or not the claim is ultimately paid. Makes such interest penalty inapplicable when the home health agency receives periodic interim payments for its services.
United States · United States Congress · 1 April 1987
Establishes a commission to: (1) study the causes of the current decline in the industrial base of the United States; (2) examine and formulate remedies for the decline; and (3) propose to the President and to the Congress programs to remedy the decline and revivify the Nation's industrial manufacturing base.
United States · United States Congress · 31 March 1987
Satellite Television Fair Marketing Act - Amends the Communications Act of 1934 to prohibit the encrypting of satellite programming from the Public Broadcasting Service and the Armed Forces Radio and Television Service. Requires anyone who encrypts satellite delivered programming for private viewing to: (1) make it available for private viewing by home satellite antenna users; (2) establish reasonable character and financial criteria for distributors of satellite delivered programming and not discriminate in prices, terms, or conditions among distributors offering similar distribution services; and (3) conduct such encryption according to Federal Communications Commission (FCC) - approved standards designed to comply with specified criteria. Requires the FCC-approved standards to provide the public interest benefits of a universal encryption system permitting decryption by cable television subscribers and home satellite users. Authorizes aggrieved persons to commence civil actions to enforce this Act. Requires the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) to conduct a study of pricing and distribution terms of satellite television programming to determine whether the programming market is developing competitively. Authorizes the FTC to establish remedies necessary to produce adequate competition. Requires the FCC to begin a rulemaking proceeding on improving access to network signals for rural Americans.
United States · United States Congress · 26 March 1987
Medicare Rural Health Care Stability Amendments of 1987 - Amends title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act to require that whenever the Secretary of Health and Human Services proposes a regulation or promulgates a final version of a regulation under the Medicare program or part B (Peer Review) of title XI of the Act which will have a significant impact on rural health care, the Secretary make a regulatory impact analysis available to the public. Amends part A (General Provisions) of title XI of the Act to establish an Office of Rural Health Policy in the Office of the Administrator of the Health Care Financing Administration to: (1) advise the Administrator regarding the effects of current policies and changes in the Medicare program on rural health; and (2) oversee compliance with the requirement that there be at least 60 days for public comment before a proposed Medicare regulation is finalized.
United States · United States Congress · 26 March 1987
Medicare Part A Rural Health Care Stability Amendments of 1987 - Amends title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act to permit a rural hospital with less than 150 beds to furnish extended care services. (Currently, rural hospitals must have less than 50 beds to furnish such services.) Prohibits the making of Medicare payments to hospitals with more than 49 beds for extended care services: (1) which a patient receives after a bed has been available for five days in a skilled nursing facility located within the same region as the hospital, unless the patient's physician certifies that transferring the patient to such facility is medically inappropriate; and (2) to the extent such services utilize more than 15 percent of the bedspace over a cost reporting period. Directs the Secretary of Health and Human Resources to report to the Congress by February 1989 concerning: (1) the proportion of hospital admissions for extended care services which are denied or approved by a peer review organization; and (2) methods of encouraging eligible hospitals that have a low occupancy rate and are located in areas in need of extended care service providers to enter into agreements with the Secretary to provide such services. Requires that whenever the Secretary proposes a regulation or promulgates a final version of a regulation under the Medicare program or part B (Peer Review) of title XI of the Act which will have a significant impact on payment under part A (Hospital Insurance) of the Medicare program for rural health care, the Secretary make a regulatory impact analysis available to the public. Extends, through FY 1989, the provision of additional payments to sole community hospitals experiencing a decrease of more than five percent in patient volume for a cost reporting period due to circumstances beyond their control. Requires the Administrator of the Health Care Financing Administration to establish a study of the criteria used for classifying hospitals as rural referral centers which includes an examination of the extent to which such centers receive more or less than their actual costs of providing inpatient hospital services. Directs the Administrator to report to the Congress by March 1989 regarding such study. Directs the Secretary to establish three-year demonstration projects to determine appropriate methods of strengthening the financial and managerial capability of isolated and financially distressed rural hospitals to provide necessary health care services. Sets forth reporting requirements.
United States · United States Congress · 25 March 1987
Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention Amendments of 1987 - Amends the Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention Act of 1974, the Runaway and Homeless Youth Act, and the Missing Children's Assistance Act to extend the authorization of appropriations to FY 1989 through 1992.
United States · United States Congress · 25 March 1987
Telephone Decency Act - Amends the Communications Act of 1934 to prohibit any obscene or indecent telephone communication, in foreign or interstate communication or in the District of Columbia, for commercial purposes to any person. (Current law prohibits such communication to any person without his or her consent or to any person under 18 years of age.)
United States · United States Congress · 25 March 1987
Acknowledges the magnanimity of the Marshall plan and the efforts of the Marshall Foundation in Lexington, Virginia, to continue the values for which George C. Marshall stood, and asks all Americans to rededicate themselves to the ideals which George C. Marshall represented. Welcomes the publication on June 5, 1987, of the fourth volume of the official biography of George C. Marshall. Designates the month of June 1987 as George C. Marshall Month.
United States · United States Congress · 25 March 1987
Recognizes the Fallen Fire Fighters Memorial in Colorado Springs, Colorado, as the International Association of Fire Fighters National Fallen Fire Fighter Memorial.
United States · United States Congress · 24 March 1987
Public Building Code Compliance Act of 1987 - Amends the Public Buildings Act of 1959 to require that public buildings constructed or altered under such Act, to the maximum extent feasible, be in compliance with: (1) one of the nationally recognized model building codes; (2) State and local zoning laws; and (3) State and local laws relating to maximum height, historic preservation, and other similar laws. Corrects the street name for the John F. Kilkenny United States Post Office and Courthouse, Pendleton, Oregon, from "Dorian" to "Dorion."
United States · United States Congress · 19 March 1987
Small Business Trade Remedies Act of 1987 - Directs the Administrator of the Small Business Administration to establish within the Small Business Administration's Advocacy Office the Small Business Trade Remedies Office. Provides that the functions of the Office are to assist small businesses by preparing, initiating, and participating in proceedings relating to the administration of U.S. trade laws. Amends the Tariff Act of 1930 to require the International Trade Commission (ITC), with respect to countervailing and antidumping duty investigations, to make determinations concerning whether a U.S. small business has been materially injured by reason of imported merchandise upon information (available at the time of the determination) which was provided by the parties to the investigation or generally available to the public. (Previously, determinations were based upon the best information available to the Commission at the time of the determination.) Sets forth special rules the ITC must use in making determinations as to material injury to U.S. small businesses in countervailing and antidumping duty investigations.
United States · United States Congress · 19 March 1987
Government Contractor Whistleblower Protection Act of 1987 - Prohibits a Federal contractor from taking reprisal actions against its officers or employees for disclosing information to a Federal agency regarding performance of a contract with such agency which indicates: (1) a violation of law; or (2) mismanagement, gross waste of funds, abuse of authority, or a danger to public health or safety. Sets forth civil penalties and remedies for violations of this Act.
United States · United States Congress · 18 March 1987
Employee Educational Assistance Act of 1987 - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to make permanent the income tax exclusion for employee educational assistance programs. (Present law terminates such exclusion as of December 31, 1987.) Requires, for every taxable year beginning after 1988, an annual cost of living adjustment of the maximum excludable amount. Waives the maximum excludable amount for any educational assistance furnished by certain educational institutions to graduate students engaged in teaching or research activities for such organization.
United States · United States Congress · 18 March 1987
Establishes the Veterans Administration as an executive department redesignated as the Department of Veterans' Affairs. Makes technical and conforming changes, including the redesignation of the Administrator of Veterans Affairs as the Secretary of Veterans' Affairs.
United States · United States Congress · 17 March 1987
Social Security Reorganization Act of 1987 - Title I: Establishment of the Social Security Administration - Subtitle A: Establishment - Amends title VII (Administration) of the Social Security Act to establish as an independent executive agency a Social Security Administration, headed by a Social Security Board. Provides that it shall be the duty of the Administration to administer the programs established by titles II (Old Age, Survivors and Disability Insurance) and XVI (Supplemental Security Income) of the Social Security Act. Requires the Board to study and make recommendations as to the most effective methods of providing economic security through social insurance and as to legislation and matters of administrative policy. Establishes in the Administration: (1) a Commissioner of Social Security; (2) a Deputy Commissioner of Social Security; (3) a General Counsel; (4) an Inspector General; and (5) an Office of the Beneficiary Ombudsman, to be headed by a Beneficiary Ombudsman who shall represent the interests of beneficiaries under the Old Age, Survivors and Disability Insurance program and the Supplemental Security Income Program within the Administration. Requires the annual report of the Board to include a description of the activities of the Beneficiary Ombudsman. Requires the Board to make annual budgetary recommendations relating to the Administration. Requires that appropriations requests by the Administration for staffing and personnel be based upon a comprehensive workforce plan as established by the Board. Provides for the apportionment of administrative costs. Requires the annual report of the Board to include a section reflecting the use of budget authority provided to the Administration. Requires that authority for automated data processing procurement and facilities construction be provided in the form of contract authority covering the total cost of such acquisitions. Makes amounts needed for the liquidation of contract authority so provided available from the Federal Old-Age and Survivors Insurance Trust Fund and the Federal Disability Insurance Trust Fund to the extent that such amounts are not needed to meet current obligations for benefit payments. Requires the Board and the Director of the Office of Personnel Management to implement demonstration projects relating to personnel matters. Directs the Board and the Administrator of General Services to implement such projects relating to delegations from the Administrator. Specifies the authorities which are to be delegated to the Board from the Administrator and the Director. Requires the Comptroller General to report to specified congressional committees concerning such projects, including an evaluation of the Board's readiness to assume full and permanent authority. Requires the Board to cause a seal of office to be made and judicial notice taken thereof. Provides for the transfer to the Administration of all functions carried out by the Secretary of Health and Human Services with respect to the programs and activities to be carried out by the Administration under this Act. Abolishes the position of Commissioner of Social Security in the Department of Health and Human Services. Sets forth effective date and transitional rule provisions. Subtitle B: Conforming Amendments and Rules of Construction - Requires the Secretary and the Board to report to the Congress within 120 days after the beginning of each regular session on their administration under this Act. Requires the Secretary to study and make recommendations on the most effective methods of providing economic security and on the administrative policy for the programs which he or she administers. Directs the Board to appoint, quadrennially, an Advisory Council on the Old-Age, Survivors and Disability Insurance Program and an Advisory Council on Hospital and Supplementary Medical Insurance to review the relation between the trust funds supporting the Old-Age, Survivors and Disability Insurance program and the Medicare program and the long-term commitments of those programs. Requires each council to submit a report to the Board for transmittal to the Congress and the Board of Trustees of each Trust Fund. Sets forth the effective dates of this title. Title II: Social Security Court - Establishes, under article I of the Constitution, a Social Security Court (Court) having exclusive jurisdiction over cases arising under titles II (Old Age, Survivors and Disability Insurance), XVI (Supplemental Security Income), XVIII (Medicare), and XI of the Social Security Act. Amends title VII (Administration) of the Act to provide for the President's appointment of 20 judges to the Court. Authorizes review by the Court by means of hearings conducted before filed panels of one or more judges and held in a manner and at locations which the Court's chief judge prescribes as providing claimants with a reasonable opportunity to appear before the Court without great inconvenience. Allows the Court, within certain guidelines, to prescribe its procedural rules and punish, by fine or imprisonment, contempt of its authority. Requires the claimant and Secretary to be given notice and the opportunity to be heard upon a proceeding in the Court. Provides that within 60 days of a field panel's decision such decision shall be the decision of the Court, unless, within that period, a party petitions the Court's chief judge, or the chief judge makes his own motion, for the Court's review of the decision. Requires the publication for public use of precedential decisions. Authorizes any individual who has exhausted administrative remedies and was a party to a final decision rendered after a hearing under title II, XI, XVI, or XVIII of the Act to bring a timely action for review of such decision in the Court. Authorizes the Court to affirm, modify, or reverse the Secretary's decision, but restricts the Court's authority to reconsider factual findings. Subjects the Court's review to regulations of the Secretary or Social Security Board. Gives the United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit exclusive jurisdiction to review Social Security Court decisions upon a party's appeal, but prohibits such appeal until the Social Security Court has reviewed or denied a petition for review of its decision. Grants the district courts of the United States exclusive jurisdiction to review any final decision rendered after a hearing under titles II, XI, XVI, or XVIII of the Act if the claim arises under the Constitution or challenges the validity of any regulation of the Secretary or Social Security Board, but requires that the parties stipulate that there is no dispute as to material facts. Authorizes any party to the hearing (other than the Secretary or Social Security Board) to bring such claims to the district courts. Gives the United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit exclusive jurisdiction to review the final decisions of the district courts. Requires, when a district court decision necessitates regulatory change, that the Secretary and Social Security Board either make regulations conform to such decision or appeal such decision to the United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit. Abolishes the Department of Health and Human Services' Appeals Council one year after enactment of this Act. Title III: Disability Benefit Entitlement Review Procedures - Amends the OASDI and SSI programs of the Social Security Act to set forth a separate procedure for review of the Secretary's determination that the disability on which a benefit claim is based does not exist. Requires the Secretary, where such a determination is made, to issue a statement of the reasons for such decision and give interested parties notice of their right to an evidentiary hearing before a hearing officer who is not the individual who made the initial determination. Subjects the hearing officer's decision to court review only after an interested party (which may include the Secretary) makes a timely application for review by an administrative law judge. Permits the administrative law judge to modify or reverse the decision only if it is contrary to law or the case presents a novel question of law, though the judge may order additional evidence to be taken before the hearing officer. Authorizes the Secretary to review disability denials when the individual fails to meet time limits on filing for review, but considers a decision by an administrative law judge to be the Secretary's final decision. Alters the method for determining when a period of disability begins. Requires the payment of interim benefits under the OASDI and SSI programs where the Secretary appeals a decision rendered by a hearing officer or administrative law judge which is favorable to the applicant for or recipient of benefits and 60 days pass without resolution of the appeal.
United States · United States Congress · 17 March 1987
Amends the Tax Reform Act of 1986 to delay for one year revision of the taxable years of partnerships, S corporations, personal service corporations, and trusts. Reduces by one year the transition period for such revision.
United States · United States Congress · 17 March 1987
Federal Lands Receipts Clarification Act - Amends the Mineral Lands Leasing Act, the Mineral Leasing Act for Acquired Lands, and other Federal law to specify that the States' share of certain revenue from National Forest System timber sales, from oil and gas royalties, and from mineral and geothermal leases be determined on the basis of gross receipts.
United States · United States Congress · 12 March 1987
Amends part D (Child Support and Establishment of Paternity) of title IV of the Social Security Act to require the withholding of child support payments from the non-custodial parent's wages upon the issuance or modification of a child support order. (Currently, such withholding need not occur until one month of nonpayment has elapsed.) Directs States to establish binding guidelines for child support award amounts. (Currently, such guidelines need not be binding.) Creates a rebuttable presumption that the child support award resulting from the application of such guidelines in a judicial or administrative child support proceeding is correct. Requires States to review and update all child support orders at least once every two years to ensure that they continue to comply with child support award guidelines. Gives the Federal Parent Locator Service and State child support enforcement agencies access to all employment security information in the possession or control of existing data networks. Conditions a State's eligibility for payments under titles IV or XIX (Medicaid) of the Act on its compliance with federally prescribed child support enforcement procedures.
United States · United States Congress · 12 March 1987
Product Liability Reform Act of 1987 - Preempts inconsistent State law, within limitations contained in this Act. Subjects the seller of a defective product unreasonably dangerous to a user or consumer to strict liability for physical damage caused by the product when: (1) the seller is engaged in the business of selling such a product; and (2) the product reaches the user or consumer without substantial alteration in its condition. Denies liability in instances when the harm results: (1) more from the user's negligence than from the negligence of the product seller; (2) from an unreasonable misuse of the product even if foreseeable and feasibly preventable; and (3) from a defect that could not have been discovered and eliminated given the technology at the time the product was made. Prohibits the application of the doctrine of joint and several liability to product liability actions, except in cases when persons acting in concert are the proximate cause of the injury. Sets a limitation on the amount of noneconomic damages that can be recovered. Permits an award of punitive damages in a product liability action only when: (1) it is shown that the person subject to liability acted with flagrant indifference to consumer safety; and (2) compensatory damages are awarded. Prohibits an award of punitive damages against a manufacturer or seller of a drug or medical device if the drug or device was subject to premarket approval by the Secretary of Health and Human Services or if the drug is generally recognized as safe and effective pursuant to conditions established in regulations of the Secretary. Permits structured settlements and periodic payment of damages awarded for future economic loss. Requires that damage awards be offset by amounts received as compensation for the same injury from specified collateral sources. Establishes a contingency fee schedule to govern compensation for plaintiffs' attorneys. Imposes a two-year statute of limitations on product liability actions, commencing upon the discovery of harm. Establishes a ten-year statute of repose for product liability actions, with a longer period applicable in certain cases. Directs the Attorney General to provide to the Congress, within one year of this Act's enactment, recommendations to encourage and accommodate the creation, adoption, and use of alternative dispute resolution techniques in civil disputes filed in Federal courts.
United States · United States Congress · 12 March 1987
Expresses the sense of the Congress that the corporate, legal, labor, and academic communities should pursue establishment of an organization to provide pro bono legal assistance to small businesses in cases involving foreign unfair trade practices. Urges such organization to: (1) develop an outreach program to inform businesses of remedies available under U.S. trade laws; and (2) provide pro bono legal assistance to those businesses lacking resources to seek such remedies.
United States · United States Congress · 11 March 1987
Administrative Law Judge Corps Act - Amends Federal law to establish, in Washington, D.C., an Administrative Law Judge Corps (the Corps) comprised of all current administrative law judges. States that the chief administrative law judge shall be the chief administrative officer of the Corps as well as its presiding judge. Specifies the qualifications for chief judge. States that such judge shall be appointed by the President, with the advice and consent of the Senate. Directs the chief judge to submit a written report to the President and the Congress. Establishes divisions (to number between four and ten) within the Corps, with each division headed by a division chief judge appointed by the President, with the consent of the Senate. Identifies initial divisions and their respective areas of jurisdiction. Specifies qualifications required for division chief judges. States that the Corps' policymaking body shall be the Council of the Corps (the Council), comprised of the chief judge and the division chief judges. Authorizes the Council to approve or disapprove: (1) the assignment of judges to divisions; (2) creation, abolition, or reorganization of divisions; and (3) re-assignments of division chief judges. Authorizes the Council to determine matters of general Corps policy, including: (1) the issuance of regulations for Corps proceedings; (2) creation or abolition of divisions or regional offices; (3) contractual transactions; and (4) delegation of functions to division chief judges. Establishes a Judicial Nomination Commission (the Commission) to submit a list of qualified nominees for positions of chief judge and division chief judges. Specifies officials who shall appoint a member to the Commission. Sets the terms of initial Corps appointments and the procedure for filling vacancies. Prescribes a procedure for recommending appointments to the President. Directs the Corps to appoint new judges from a register maintained by the Office of Personnel Management. Confers jurisdiction upon members of the Corps to adjudicate cases under specified sections of the Administrative Procedure Act. Requires cases arising under such sections to be referred to the Corps. Directs the Council to issue regulations for assigning such cases. Provides guidelines for the removal and discipline of administrative law judges. Establishes a Complaints Resolution Board within the Corps to recommend action upon complaints against the official conduct of judges. Details the membership of such Board and the procedures to be followed. Declares Board proceedings and the contents of complaints to be privileged and confidential. Exempts documents and reports considered by the Board from the disclosure and publication requirements of the Freedom of Information Act. Exempts the Board from compliance with the public meeting requirements of specified Federal law. Authorizes appropriations.
United States · United States Congress · 11 March 1987
Child Care Act of 1987 - Sets forth congressional findings regarding the child care policies of the country. Title I: Voucher System for Child Care - Directs the Secretary of Health and Human Services to make grants to each State which has an approved plan for making vouchers for child care available to individuals whose family income is less than 200 percent of the Federal proverty level and who require such services due to their employment, search for employment, or training for employment. Authorizes appropriations for FY 1988 through 1991. Requires child care providers which are not required by State law to be licensed or certified to register with the State in order to participate in the voucher program. Directs States to make voluntary certification available to child care providers not required to be licensed or certified under State law. Exempts family day care providers (child care providers caring for six or fewer children) which are not required by State law to be licensed or certified from registration requirements if the State demonstrates to the Secretary that not less than 80 percent of the children served by such providers are likely to be served by family day care providers whose names and addresses are recorded by the State. Requires the Secretary to establish criteria, standards, and a timetable for the implementation of these and other specified State voucher plan requirements. Directs the Secretary to reimburse a State for 75 percent of its costs under such plan. Provides for proportional allotments among States based upon the amount each State receives under title XX (Grants to States for Social Services) of the Social Security Act. Permits a State to use title XX funds for the voucher plan. Permits the Secretary to withhold this Act's grant payments from a noncompliant State. Excludes the amount of any voucher from determinations of income or resources for purposes of any Federal or State law. Requires each State to report biennially to the Secretary on the implementation of the plan, including the amounts used on vouchers from title XX funds. Requires the Secretary to submit an analysis of the State reports to the Congress. Title II: Changes in Dependent Care Tax Credit - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to provide for proportionately greater reductions in the dependent care tax credit when a taxpayer's income exceeds $60,000 than when his or her income exceeds $10,000, except where such credit is for care provided to a handicapped individual. Adjusts such dollar figures annually to reflect changes in the cost-of-living. Disallows dependent care tax credits for care paid for with vouchers.
![Official portrait of Rep. Clinger, William F., Jr. [R-PA-5]](https://www.congress.gov/img/member/c000523_200.jpg)