United States · United States Congress · 1 July 1974
Expresses the sense of the House of Representatives that the President should (1) immediately initiate negotiations at the highest level of the Turkish Government to prevent the resumption of opium production; and (2) if such negotiations prove unfruitful, exercise the authority provided by the Congress under the Foreign Assistance Act, to terminate all assistance to the Government of Turkey.
United States · United States Congress · 27 June 1974
Provides for the recomputation of military retirement benefits. Provides that a member or former member of a uniformed service: (1) who is sixty years of age or older, and is retired for reasons other than physical disability, whose disability is finally determined to be of a permanent nature and less than 30 percent under the disability rating system, and is entitled to retired pay computed under the rates of basic pay in effect before January 1, 1972; or (2) who is entitled to retired pay for physical disability, whose disability was finally determined to be of permanent nature and at least 30 percent under the schedule of rating disabilities, and whose retired pay is computed under rates of basic pay in effect after October 11, 1949 and before January 1, 1972, is entitled to have that pay recomputed upon the rates of basic pay in effect on January 1, 1972.
United States · United States Congress · 27 June 1974
Repeals, under the Social Security Act, the provisions for the establishment of Professional Standards Review Organizations to review services covered under the medicare and medicaid programs.
United States · United States Congress · 20 June 1974
Comprehensive Right to Privacy Act - Requires that any organization of Federal, State, or local government maintaining an information system that includes personal information shall: (1) collect, maintain, use, and disseminate only personal information necessary to accomplish a proper purpose of the organization; (2) collect information to the greatest extent possible from the data subject directly; (3) maintain information in the system with accuracy, completeness, timeliness, and pertinence as necessary to assure fairness in determinations relating to a data subject; (4) make no dissemination to another system or any individual other than the data subject without specifying requirements for security and the use of information exclusively for the purpose set forth in the notice required under this Act; (5) maintain a complete and accurate record, including identity purpose, and date, of every access to any personal information in a system by persons or organizations not having regular access authority; and (6) collect no personal information concerning the political or religious beliefs, affiliations, and activities of data subjects maintained by any government agency unless expressly authorized by statute. Prohibits any Federal agency from requiring individuals to disclose for statistical purposes any personal information unless such disclosure is required by a constitutional provision or Act of Congress, and the individual is so informed. Requires any organization maintaining or proposing to establish an information system for personal information to: (1) give notice of the existence and character of each existing system once a year to the Federal Privacy Board; (2) give public notice of the existence and character of each existing system each year; and (3) assure that such public notice specifies the categories of data maintained, and the categories of all information sources, a description of types of use made of information, and the procedures whereby an individual can gain access to such information and contest its accuracy and the necessity for its retention. Requires any organization maintaining personal information to inform an individual asked to supply personal information whether he is legally required, or may refuse, to supply the information requested, and also of any specific consequences, which are known to the organization, of providing or not providing such information. Permits data subjects who dispute information about themselves to have such disputed information noted as being disputed when such information about him is disseminated. Requires, upon request, corrections in information to be sent to past recipients of information. Directs organizations maintaining information to inform, within two years and each year thereafter, individuals on whom data is stored of its content and where a copy of such data may be obtained. Allows the head of a Federal agency maintaining such information to exempt his agency from requirements of this Act in the interest of national defense. Makes it unlawful for any organization to require an individual to disclose or furnish his social security account number, for any purpose in connection with any business transaction unless the disclosure or furnishing of such number is specifically required by Federal law. Establishes the Federal Privacy Board whose five members shall be appointed by the President. Directs the Board to: (1) publish an annual Data Base Directory of the United States containing the name and characteristics of each personal information system covered by this Act; (2) make rules to assure compliance with this Act; (3) upon the determination of a violation of a provision of this Act or regulation promulgated under the Act, and after opportunity for a hearing, order the organization violating such provision to cease and desist such violation; and (4) conduct open, public hearings on all petitions for exceptions or exemptions from provisions, application, or jurisdiction of this Act. States that any individual or organization or responsible officer of an organization who willfully: (1) keeps an information system without having notified the Federal Privacy Board; or (2) issues personal information in violation of this Act; or (3) solicits, uses, or otherwise acquires information in violation of this Act shall be fined not more than $10,000 in each instance or imprisoned not more than five years, or both. Provides that any person, system, or agency which violates the provisions of the Act, or any rule, regulation, or order issued thereunder, shall be liable to any person aggrieved thereby.
United States · United States Congress · 6 June 1974
Expresses the sense of the House of Representatives that the President should (1) immediately initiate negotiations at the highest level of the Turkish Government to prevent the resumption of opium production; and (2) if such negotiations prove unfruitful, exercise the authority provided by the Congress under the Foreign Assistance Act, to terminate all assistance to the Government of Turkey.
United States · United States Congress · 5 June 1974
Provides that, under the Internal Revenue Code of 1954, real property which is farmland, woodland, or open land and forms part of an estate may be valued, for estate tax purposes, at its value as farmland, woodland, or open land (rather than at its fair market value). Provides that real property which is listed on the National Register of Historic Places may be valued, for estate tax purposes, at its value for its existing use. Provides for the revocation of such lower valuation and recapture of unpaid tax with interest under specified circumstances.
United States · United States Congress · 5 June 1974
Designates the premises occupied by the Chief of Naval Operations as the official residence of the Vice President, effective upon the termination of service of the incumbent Chief of Naval Operations. Authorizes the Administrator of General Services to provide for the care, maintenance, repair, improvement, alteration, and furnishing of the official residence and grounds. Authorizes to be appropriated such sums as may be necessary from time to time to carry out the foregoing purposes. Expresses the sense of Congress that living accommodations, generally equivalent to those available to the highest ranking officer on active duty in each of the other military services, should be provided for the Chief of Naval Operations. Repeals the Federal law authorizing the planning, design, construction, furnishing, and maintenance of an official residence for the Vice President of the United States.
United States · United States Congress · 4 June 1974
Provides, under the Social Security Act, that any State with a statewide Professional Standards Review Organization shall be established, upon the request of the Governor of such State, as one area for which a Professional Standards Rivew Organization may be designated.
United States · United States Congress · 29 May 1974
Excludes from gross income, under the Internal Revenue Code, the interest on deposits in qualified savings institutions and credit unions. Limits such tax exclusion to $400 for an individual during a calendar year.
United States · United States Congress · 28 May 1974
Small Investors Act - Provides that, in the case of a taxpayer other than a corporation, gross income under the Internal Revenue Code does not include an amount representing the excess of the net long-term capital gain for the year over the net short-term capital loss from the sale or exchange of a security or securities, to the extent that such amount does not exceed $1,000. (Adds 26 U.S.C. 124)
United States · United States Congress · 20 May 1974
Title I: Home Maintenance and Improvement Loans for Low-and Middle-Income Families - Authorizes the Secretary of Housing and Urban Development to make loans as provided in this Act to low and middle-income individuals and families owning and occupying one, two, or three-family residential structures to assist in financing the necessary maintenance or improvements of such structures through qualified repairs. Provides that such loans shall bear interest at 3 percent. Defines "low and middle-income individuals and families" for purposes of this Act. Defines "qualified repairs" for purposes of this Act. Requires the reservation of 15 percent of such loans for elderly homeowners. Authorizes appropriations necessary to carry out this Act. Title II: Audits of Federal Housing Programs by General Accounting Office - Directs the Comptroller General to annually audit housing and related programs of the Department of Housing and Urban Development. Sets forth requirements for such audits.
United States · United States Congress · 16 May 1974
Expresses the sense of the House of Representatives that (1) it most strongly condemns all acts of terrorism in the Middle East; (2) the President and the Secretary of State should and are hereby urged and requested to (a) call upon all governments to condemn this inhuman act of violence against innocent victims; and (b) strongly urge the governments who harbor these groups and individuals to take appropriate action to rid their countries of those who subvert the peace through terrorism and senseless violence; and (3) the President should request the American Ambassador to the United Nations to take appropriate action before that body in order to have introduced a Security Council resolution condemning this brutal act of violence.
United States · United States Congress · 14 May 1974
Limits the jurisdiction of the Supreme Court and the district courts with respect to any case arising from a State law relating to assigning public school students to a particular school because of race, creed, color, or sex.
United States · United States Congress · 7 May 1974
Oil Shale Mining and Energy Corporation Act - Creates the "Oil Shale Mining and Energy Corporation" to establish and administer on Federal land a national program of oil shale exploration and development. Provides that the Corporation shall have a Board of Directors appointed by the President with Senate approval, such board to direct the exercise of all the powers of the Corporation. Provides that the Corporation: (1) may make contracts to carry out its functions under this Act: (2) may purchase, lease, or dispose of such property as it deems necessary; (3) shall have the power to exercise the right of eminent domain; (4) shall have such power as may be necessary for the exercise of the powers specifically conferred in this Act; (5) shall have the power to acquire or dispose of real property except for oil or gas exploration and development; (6) shall have the power to explore for oil shale on Federal lands, to develop and sell oil and gas and other oil shale products produced on Federal lands, and to build and operate all those facilities necessary for the development or sales of such resources, as authorized by this Act; (7) shall have the power to explore, develop, acquire or sell oil and gas and other oil shale products alone or on a joint or cooperative basis with any private or public entity; (8) shall have the power to engage in research directed toward the development and utilization of oil shale deposits on Federal lands, and may build, own, and operate research testing, or demonstration facilities, alone or on a joint or cooperative basis with any private or other public entity; (9) shall have the power to obtain and operate facilities necessary for the production, sale, transportation, or delivery of oil, gas, or other shale products; and (10) shall have the power to sell commercially valuable minerals which may be obtained incidental to the production of oil shale products on Federal lands. Authorizes the President of the United States to transfer to the Corporation the use, possession, and control of such other Federal land or personal property of the United States as he may from time to time deem necessary. Specifies, with respect to the Corporation, procedures for maintaining accounts, entering into contracts, and providing annual financial statements and reports. Provides for audit, by the Comptroller General, of the transactions of the Corporation. Authorizes the Corporation to lease, purchase, or construct transmission pipelines within transmission distance from the place where oil and gas products from oil shale on Federal lands are produced and to interconnect with other systems. Authorizes and directs the Board of Directors of the Corporation,, in order to render financial assistance to States and local governments within whose jurisdiction the Corporation has acquired properties previously subject to State and local taxation, to pay to such State and local governments percentages of the gross proceeds derived from the operation of the Corporation. Provides that such payments are in lieu of taxation and that the Corporation, its property, franchises, and income are expressly exempted from taxation in any manner by any State or local government. Authorizes the Corporation to issue and sell bonds, notes, and other evidences of indebtedness in order to assist in financing its oil shale resources exploration and development program and to fund such bonds. Provides criteria for setting of rates for sale of oil shale products by the Corporation. Provides that all net proceeds (over expenses) of the Corporation for each fiscal year shall be deposited in the American Indian Fund, such Fund to be created in the Treasury of the United States. Provides for the allocation of such Fund to eligible Indian tribes by the Secretary of Interior under the State and Local Fiscal Assistance Act. Directs that, prior to the initiation of any program of exploration or the construction of any major facility under this Act, the Corporation shall prepare an environmental impact statement pursuant to the National Environmental Policy Act, such statement to be made public. Provides that hearings be held to allow interested persons to submit comments on the statement. Prohibits the Corporation from using surface mining techniques for the exploration or development of oil shale resources. Authorizes the appropriation to the Corporation for each fiscal year of all sums necessary to carry out this Act.
United States · United States Congress · 6 May 1974
Combined Old-Age, Survivors, and Disability Insurance - Income Tax Reporting Amendments - Title I: Amendments to Title II of the Social Security Act - Directs the Secretary of the Treasury to make available specified tax returns to the Secretary of Health, Education, and Welfare. Empowers the Secretary of HEW and the Secretary of the Treasury to enter into an agreement for the processing of information contained in such returns. Requires the Secretary of the Treasury to provide to the Secretary of HEW any documents they agree are necessary for such processing. Directs the Managing Trustee of the Trust Funds, including the Federal Hospital Insurance Trust Fund and the Federal Supplementary Medical Insurance Trust Fund, to pay into the Treasury the amounts he and the Secretary of HEW estimate will be expended from the general fund of the Treasury by the Departments of HEW and Treasury for the administration of (1) titles II, and XVIII of the Social Security Act, and (2) specified chapters and subchapters of the Internal Revenue Code. Requires the Secretary of HEW to apportion (between each trust fund and the general fund in the Treasury) the costs of administrating titles II, XVI and XVIII of the Social Security Act and its costs in carrying out specified functions of this Act. Provides that average monthly wage, quarters of coverage, and coverage credits derived from self-employment income for taxable years beginning before 1974 are to be determined on a basis of income credited to calendar quarters. Limits quarters coverage to quarters occuring before 1974 and makes additional modification to taxation of self-employed persons. Allocates, under the Social Security Act, coverage credits for earnings before 1974 based on quarters of coverage and after 1973 on the basis of earnings during the calendar year. Provides that a person will satisfy the requirements prerequisite to a determination of disability if he has 20 or more coverage credits which were credited to the period ending on the day the disability arose and consisting of that part of the current calendar year up until the day the disability began and the nine prior calendar years. Redefines a "fully insured individual" in terms of coverage credits rather than quarters of coverage. States that any person upon attaining the age of 62 with the proper number of coverage credits is fully insured. Provides that specified benefits be paid to individuals not citizens of the United States who amassed sufficient coverage credits. Title II: Amendments Preserving Relationship Between Railroad Retirement and Old-Age, Survivors, and Disability Insurance - Provides, under the Railroad Retirement Act of 1937, that in the calucalation of an employee's "average monthly remumeration" after calendar year 1974 an individual employee shall obtain the benefit of full allowable coverage credits, irrespective of whether particular quarters of coverage were otherwise available for calculation purposes.
United States · United States Congress · 30 April 1974
Provides, under the Federal Trade Commission Act, that under specified circumstances exclusive territorial arrangements relating to the manufacture, distribution, or sale of food and beverage products shall be deemed lawful provided that substantial and effective competition between products and between vendors of those products is maintained, and the licensor retains control over the nature and quality of such product pursuant to the Trademark Act.
United States · United States Congress · 25 April 1974
Provides seminars to freshmen Members of the Congress. Requires the Librarian of Congress, acting through the Director of the Congressional Research Service in consultation with senior specialists and other staff of the Library of Congress, to prepare a curriculum for the series of siminars conducted under this Act. Provides for the reimbursement of expenses incurred in travel to, attendance at, and travel from such a series of seminars to those eligible for the seminars. Authorizes each freshman Member to employ an interim staff during the period beginning on the day such freshman Member is declared elected and ending on the first day of the next regular session of the House of Congress to which such freshman Member was elected in the last general election prior to such session. States that the total salaries paid such interim staff during such period shall not exceed one-half the clerk hire allowance to which such freshman Member would be entitled by law if such Member were a Member of the Congress. Authorizes expenditures for stationery in the interim period up to one-tenth of the allowance for a regular session of the Congress.
United States · United States Congress · 23 April 1974
States that in implementing any proposed program for the establishment of Agricultural Service Centers in any State, the Secretary of Agriculture shall provide for the establishment of such a center in each county of such State if, on the date of enactment of this Act, one or more local field offices of the Department of Agriculture were located within such county. Authorizes the Secretary to provide, in the Agricultural Service Center, as many services of the Department of Agriculture (applicable to such county) as practicable.
United States · United States Congress · 8 April 1974
Provides, under the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961, that whenever the President deems it to be in the national interest, he shall endeavor to insure that, to the maximum extent practicable, such assistance shall be furnished only pursuant to agreements which provide for the exchange of necessary strategic or critical raw materials for such assistance. Defines the term "necessary strategic or critical raw materials" to include petroleum, fossil fuels, metals, minerals, or other substances which: (1) are in short supply in the United States or (2) the United States requirements of which are not produced in the United States.
United States · United States Congress · 4 April 1974
Directs the Joint Committee on the Library to procure a bronze bust or statue of Martin Luther King, Junior, and to cause such sculpture to be placed in a suitable location in the Capitol as determined by the Joint Committee on the Library.
United States · United States Congress · 3 April 1974
Occupational Safety and Health Amendments - States that the Secretary of Health, Education, and Welfare shall not propose any rule promulgating a new occupational health or safety standard before he: (1) has, as part of each such proposal, reviewed and published in the Federal Register the financial impact of such proposed standard; and (2) has determined with due regard for that impact that the benefit to be derived from such standard justifies such proposal. Provides that no standard adopted or promulgated shall require any employer to phase out, change, or replace existing equipment or facilities before the normal useful life of that equipment or facility has expired unless failure to so phase out, change, or replace that equipment or facility prematurely would result in a serious violation. Directs the Secretary to prescribe, as soon as practicable after the date of enactment of this Act, as part of each existing standard adopted under the Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970: (1) the estimated average and maximum cost per unit to the average employer who is subject to that standard for compliance with the conditions, practices, means, methods, operation, or process used or proposed to be used by that employer under that standard; and (2) the period within which it is, in fact, possible for such employers to meet such standard including, but not limited to, availability of required devices, and possibility of performance of required procedures. Sets forth requirements with respect to notifying an employer of violations of the requirements prescribed pursuant to this Act. States that any employer who has been found to be not in compliance with any rule or standard adopted or promulgated under this Act shall not receive a notice for such violation if he is able to show: (1) that implementing such rule or standard would not materially affect the safety or health of his employees in the facility inspected; (2) that he has employed alternative procedures to protect his employees from the hazards contemplated by the rule or standard which are as effective in protecting the safety and health of his employees; or (3) that he has furnished adequate notice and exerted all reasonable efforts, pursuant to such regulations as the Secretary may prescribe, to obtain the compliance of his employees, that such violation was attributable to such employees, and that he could not otherwise have reasonably prevented such violation. Sets forth procedures for enforcement of these regulations. Authorizes the Secretary to enter into compliance agreements with an employer believed to be in violation of an occupational safety and health standard promulgated pursuant to this Act under which enforcement and penalty provisions are waived or deferred upon condition that the employer will voluntarily comply with the applicable standard upon such terms and conditions as the Secretary determines appropriate under the circumstances. States that failure of an employer to abide by such an agreement may be taken into account in resulting enforcement and penalty procedures. Directs the Secretary to provide technical advice, assistance, and consultation to employers with less than one hundred employees whenever it is necessary to assist them in complying with applicable standards.
United States · United States Congress · 1 April 1974
Occupational Safety and Health Act Amendments - Excludes from the coverage of the Occupational Health and Safety Act any farmer engaged in a contract with any person for the purpose of furnishing and operating farm machinery used in connection with farm activities. Requires safety and health rules proposed by the Secretary of Labor to be accompanied by a statement summarizing the economic impact on affected employers. States that no safety or health standard adopted shall require any employer to replace existing equipment or facilities before the normal useful life of that equipment or facility has expired unless failure to do so would result in a serious violation of the Act. Requires citations for violations of the Act to stipulate with particularity a suggested course or courses of action which if implemented would correct the violating condition or process. Provides for the suspension of all further proceedings concerning a citation pending final action on an application for variance from the Act's standards. States that the posting of a citation shall not be required after the violation has been abated, or a proceeding contesting the citation has been concluded by a final order. Provides that it shall be an affirmative defense to any proceeding under that Act that: (1) the employer furnished adequate notice and exerted all reasonable efforts to obtain the compliance of his employees and the violation of the Act was attributable to such employees; (2) the employer did not receive at least 30 days prior actual notice of a standard; and (3) the standard which is the subject of the violation charged would not have effectively constituted an improvement of occupational safety and health in the circumstances under which the charge is brought. Gives the Review Commission (previously the Secretary) final authority to affirm or modify abatement requirements in a citation. Assesses a civil penalty of up to $1000 for a series of non-serious violations of standards or orders under the Act, unless the employer voluntarily complies with the applicable standards upon such terms as the Secretary determines appropriate under the circumstances. (Amends 29 U.S.C. 653-66)
United States · United States Congress · 21 March 1974
Establishes the Wounded Knee Compensation Board in the Interior Department to compensate losses arising from the occupation of Wounded Knee, South Dakota between February 27, 1973, and May 8, 1973. Provides the payment of compensation: (1) for personal injury and property damage; (2) to designated persons in cases where other persons have died; and (3) for anticipated loss of future earnings or loss of support of the victim for 90 days or more, or child care payments. Requires claims for compensation to be filed within six months of enactment of this Act. Establishes a fund in the Treasury for such compensation and authorizes the appropriation of $2,000,000 and other necessary sums to the fund.
United States · United States Congress · 21 March 1974
Expresses the sense of the House that the Economic Stabilization Act of 1970 should not be extended beyond the present expiration date of April 30, 1974.
United States · United States Congress · 12 March 1974
Declares that it is the purpose of Congress to: (1) establish a national transportation rate policy for all recovered materials; and (2) eliminate discriminatory transportation rates charged by regulated carriers for the movement in commerce of recovered waste and recycled or recyclable materials. Directs the Interstate Commerce Commission and the Federal Maritime Commission to effect such lawful changes in the rate structure of the country as will promote the freedom of movement by common carriers of recovered materials at the lowest possible lawful rates compatible with the maintenance of adequate transportation service. Directs the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency to take such steps as are necessary to insure that the directives of this Act are carried out as expeditiously as possible, including the initiation of, and intervention in, proceedings before the Interstate Commerce Commission and the Federal Maritime Commission. Directs the Interstate Commerce Commission and the Federal Maritime Commission to undertake studies to be completed within two years of the enactment of this Act of the feasibility of establishing a transportation rate policy for all recoverable materials. Specifies areas to be covered in such study and requires that it be submitted to Congress. Directs the Interstate Commerce Commission, the Federal Maritime Commission, and the Federal Railroad Administration to establish a transportation research and demonstration program coordinated by the Secretary of Transportation with the objective of facilitating the most efficient movement of recycled materials in commerce. Prohibits any railroad, common carrier by water, or motor carrier in interstate or foreign commerce from charging, demanding or collecting any rate for the transportation of recovered materials which is unreasonable or unjustly discriminatory. Describes procedures for complaints with respect to such alleged discrimination. Provides civil penalties for violation of this Act.
United States · United States Congress · 12 March 1974
Declares it to be the sense of the House of Representatives that: (1) the Government of the United States should maintain and protect its sovereign rights and jurisdiction over the canal and zone, and should in no way cede, dilute, forfeit, negotiate, or transfer any of these sovereign rights, power, authority, jurisdiction, territory, or property that are indispensably necessary for the protection and security of the United States and the entire Western Hemisphere; (2) that there be no relinquishment or surrender of any presently vested United States sovereign right, power, or authority or property, tangible or intangible, except by treaty authorized by the Congress and duly ratified by the United States; and (3) that there be no recession to Panama, or other divestiture of any United States-owned property, tangible or intangible, without prior authorization by the Congress (House and Senate), as provided in article IV, section 3, clause 2 of the United States Constitution.
United States · United States Congress · 11 March 1974
Expresses the sense of the House that the Economic Stabilization Act of 1970 should not be extended beyond the present expiration date of April 30, 1974.
United States · United States Congress · 4 March 1974
Provides, under the Internal Revenue Code, for reductions in Social Security taxes relating to the rate of tax on self-employment income for purposes of old-age, survivors, and disability insurance. States that such reductions shall apply in the case of taxes imposed with respect to self-employment income for taxable years beginning after December 31, 1974, and with respect to wages paid or received during calendar years after 1974. Provides for Federal participation in the costs of the old-age, survivors, and disability insurance program under title II of the Social Security Act. Increases the earnings counted for benefit and tax purposes under the Social Security Act.
United States · United States Congress · 4 March 1974
Establishes as the penalty for kidnapping a term of imprisonment not less than ten years without opportunity for suspension of sentence, probation, or parole. Requires the death penalty where the victim is not returned physically unharmed. Provides that the unexplained disappearance of any person for more than 24 hours, if there is any evidence of a kidnap, shall create a rebuttable presumption that such person has been transported in interstate or foreign commerce. (Amends 18 U.S.C. 1201)
United States · United States Congress · 4 March 1974
Provides, under the provisions of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, that it shall be an unlawful employment practice to discriminate against individuals who are physically disabled because of such disability.
United States · United States Congress · 27 February 1974
Rape Prevention and Control Act - Directs the Secretary of Health, Education, and Welfare to establish, within the National Institute of Mental Health, the National Center for the Control and Prevention of Rape. Requires the Secretary, acting through the Center, to conduct a continuing study and investigation of specified areas, including: (1) the effectiveness of existing Federal, State and local laws dealing with rape; (2) the relationship, if any, between traditional legal and social attitutdes toward sexual roles, the act of rape, and the formulation of laws dealing with rape; (3) the treatment of the victims of rape by law enforcement agencies, hospitals, or other medical institutions, prosecutors, and the courts; (4) the causes of rape; and (5) sexual assaults in correctional institutions. Provides that the Center shall compile and publish annually a summary of its findings. Directs the Center to develop an information clearinghouse with regard to enumerated materials regarding rape and rehabilitation of offenders. Authorizes appropriations of such sums as may be necessary for carrying out the purposes of this Act. Provides that the Secretary, through the National Center for the Control and Prevention of Rape, shall make grants to community mental health centers, nonprofit private organizations, and public agencies for the purpose of conducting research and demonstration projects concerning the control and prevention of rape. Authorizes appropriations for such purposes. Requires the Secretary to establish an advisory committee to advise, consult with, and make recommendations to him on matters relating to rape prevention and control.
United States · United States Congress · 27 February 1974
Surface Coal Mining Reclamation Act - Title I: Findings and Purposes - Sets forth the findings of Congress and declares the purposes of this Act. Title II: Control of Environmental Impacts of Surface Coal Mining Operations - Provides, as an interim regulatory procedure, that on and after 90 days from the date of enactment of this Act, no person shall open or develop any new or previously mined or abandoned site for surface coal mining operations on lands on which such operations are regulated by a State regulatory authority unless such person has obtained a permit from such regulatory authority. States that within 60 days from the date of enactment of this Act the State regulatory authority shall review and amend all existing permits in order to incorporate in them the interim surface coal mining and reclamation performance standards of this Act. Sets forth the interim surface coal mining and reclamation performance standards that shall be applicable to surface coal mining operations on lands on which such operations are regulated by a State regulatory authority. Declares that not later than the end of the 180 day period immediately following the date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary of the Interior shall promulgate and publish in the Federal Register regulations covering a permanent regulatory procedure for surface coal mining and reclamation operations setting permanent surface coal mining and reclamation performance standards, and procedures and requirements for preparation, submission and approval of State programs, and the development and implementation of Federal programs under this title. Provides that each State in which surface coal mining operations are or may be conducted, and which proposes to assume State regulatory authority under this Act, shall submit to the Secretary, by the end of the twenty-four month period beginning on the date of enactment of this Act, a State program which demonstrates that such State has the capability of carrying out the provisions of this Act. Establishes the procedure which the Secretary shall follow before approving any State program submitted under this Act. Directs the Secretary to prepare, promulgate, and implement a Federal program for the regulation of surface coal mining operations in any State which fails to submit a State program covering surface coal mining and reclamation operations by the end of the twenty-four month period beginning on the date of enactment of this Act; resubmit an acceptable State program, or portion thereof, within sixty days of disapproval of a proposed State program, in whole or in part; or adequately implement, enforce, or maintain a State program approved pursuant to this Act. Declares that the Secretary, and, in the case of national forest lands, the Secretary of Agriculture, shall conduct a review of the Federal lands and determine areas or types of areas on Federal lands which cannot be reclaimed with existing techniques to satisfy applicable standards and requirements of law. States that permits for surface coal mining will not be issued to mine such areas unless it is determined, with respect to any such permit, that the technology is available to satisfy applicable performance standards. Provides that in no event is an area to be designated unsuitable for surface coal mining operations on which surface coal mining operations are being conducted on the date of enactment of this Act, or under a permit issued pursuant to this Act, or where substantial legal and financial commitments in such operations are in existence prior to the date of enactment of this Act. Enumerates the permit application requirements. Declares that each applicant for a permit shall be required to submit to the regulatory authority, as part of the permit application, a surface coal mining and reclamation plan. Directs the regulatory authority to notify the applicant for a surface coal mining and reclamation permit within a period of time established by law or regulation, not to exceed ninety days, that the application has been approved or disapproved. Provides that after a surface coal mining and reclamation permit application has been approved but before such a permit is issued, the applicant shall file with the regulatory authority, on a form prescribed and furnished by the regulatory authority, a bond for performance payable, as appropriate, to the United States or the State, under an approved State program, and conditioned that the applicant shall faithfully perform all the applicable requirements under this Act. Makes provisions for the release of performance bonds or deposits. States that during the term of the permit the permittee may submit an application, together with a revised surface coal mining and reclamation plan, to the regulatory authority for a revision of the permit. Provides that any permit issued under any approved State or Federal program pursuant to this Act to conduct surface coal mining operations shall require that such surface coal mining operations shall meet all applicable surface coal mining and reclamation performance standards of this Act. Lists the general surface coal mining and reclamation performance standards that shall be applicable to all surface coal mining and reclamation operations. Lists the mining and reclamation performance standards to be applicable to steep-slope surface coal mining in addition to the general performance standards required by this Act. Provides mining and reclamation performance standards for surface operations incident to underground coal mining. States that the Secretary shall cause to be made such inspections of any surface coal mining and reclamation operations as are necessary to evaluate the administration of approved State programs, or to develop or enforce any Federal program, and for such purposes authorized representatives of the Secretary shall have a right of entry to, upon, or through any surface coal mining and reclamation operations. Provides that if the State regulatory authority, if one exists, fails, within ten days after notification of a violation of this Act, to cause that violation to be corrected or to show good cause for such failure and transmit notification of its action to the Secretary, the Secretary shall immediately order Federal inspection of the surface coal mining operation at which the alleged violation is occurring (unless the information available to the Secretary is a result of a previous Federal inspection of such surface coal mining operation). Allows any person having an interest which is or may be adversely affected by a notice or order issued as a result of the above inspection to apply to the Secretary for review of the notice or order within thirty days of its receipt or within thirty days of its modification, vacation, or termination. Provides a maximum civil penalty of $10,000 for each violation of this Act, and a criminal penalty, for willful and knowing violations of this Act, of not more than a $10,000 fine or imprisonment for not more than one year, or both. Makes provisions for the applicability of this Act to Federal lands. Title III: General Provisions and Administration - Declares that in carrying out his responsibilities under this Act the Secretary shall: (1) administer the State grant-in-aid program for the development of State programs for surface coal mining and reclamation operations provided for in this title; (2) maintain a continuing study of surface coal mining and reclamation operations in the United States; (3) assist the States in the development of State programs for surface coal mining and reclamation operations which meet the requirements of this Act; (4) publish and promulgate such rules and regulations as may be necessary to carry out the purposes and provisions of this Act; and (5) conduct hearings, administer oaths, issue subpenas, and compel the attendance of witnesses and production of written or printed materials as are necessary to carry out his duties under this Act. Directs the Secretary to conduct a full and complete study and investigation of the practices of backfilling all coal mine wastes and coal processing plant wastes in mine voids or other equally effective disposal methods and the control of subsidence to maximize the stability, value, and use of lands overlying underground coal mines. States that the Secretary shall report to the Congress the results of such study and investigation no later than the end of the two-year period beginning on the date of enactment of this Act. Authorizes the Secretary to make annual grants to any State for the purpose of assisting such State in developing, administering and enforcing State programs under this Act.
United States · United States Congress · 27 February 1974
Directs the Secretary of State to keep the appropriate committees of Congress fully and currently imformed of the ongoing status of any negotiations with any foreign government, regarding the cancellation, renegotiation, rescheduling, or settlement of any debt owed to the United States Government by such foreign governments under any program.
United States · United States Congress · 21 February 1974
Broadcast License Renewal Act - Requires the Federal Communications Commission to establish procedures to be followed by licensees of broadcasting stations to ascertain the needs, views, and interests of their viewers. Sets the term of a broadcast station license or renewal, at four years and for any other class of station at five years. Provides that any license granted may upon its expiration be renewed, if the Commission finds that the public interest, convenience, and necessity would be served by the renewal of such license. Requires that in considering any application for renewal of a broadcast license the Commission shall not consider: (1) the ownership interests or official connections of the applicant in other stations or other communications media or other businesses, or (2) the participation of ownership in the management of the station for which such application has been filed, unless the Commission has adopted rules prohibiting such ownership interests or activities or prescribing management structures, as the case may be, and given the renewal applicant a reasonable opportunity to conform with such rules. Directs the Commission to prescribe procedures to encourage licensees of broadcasting stations and persons raising significant issues regarding the operations of such stations to conduct, during the term of the licenses for such stations, good faith negotiations to resolve such issues. Directs the Federal Communications Commission to conduct a study to determine how it might expedite the elimination of those regulations of broadcast licensees required by the Communications Act of 1934 which do not serve the public interest and shall make annual reports of the results of such study (including any recommendations for legislation) to the Committee on Commerce of the Senate and the Committee on Interstate and Foreign Commerce of the House of Representatives. Directs the Federal Communications Commission to conduct a study of the social, economic, political, or other consequences of the ownership of more than one broadcasting station by one person and the ownership by one person of one or more broadcasting stations and one or more newspapers or other communications media.
United States · United States Congress · 20 February 1974
States that the House of Representatives disapproves the recommendations of the President with respect to the rates of pay of Federal officials transmitted to the Congress in the budget for the fiscal year ending June 30, 1975.
United States · United States Congress · 7 February 1974
Declares it to be the sense of the House of Representatives that: (1) the Government of the United States should maintain and protect its sovereign rights and jurisdiction over the canal and zone, and should in no way cede, dilute, forfeit, negotiate, or transfer any of these sovereign rights, power, authority, jurisdiction, territory, or property that are indispensably necessary for the protection and security of the United States and the entire Western Hemisphere; (2) that there be no relinquishment or surrender of any presently vested United States sovereign right, power, or authority or property, tangible or intangible, except by treaty authorized by the Congress and duly ratified by the United States; and (3) that there be no recession to Panama, or other divestiture of any United States-owned property, tangible or intangible, without prior authorization by the Congress (House and Senate), as provided in article IV, section 3, clause 2 of the United States Constitution.
United States · United States Congress · 5 February 1974
Suspends emissions controls on motor vehicles and engines in the continental United States except vehicles registered to residents of designated air quality regions until June 30, 1977, or sixty days after the President determines there is no significant shortage of petroleum fuels, whichever is later. Directs the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency to designate, subject to the limitations of the Act, geographic areas of the United States in which there is significant auto emissions related air pollution. Provides that each State shall, not later than sixty days following enactment of this Act, submit to the Administrator a plan for implementing the Act. Provides that if a State fails to submit a plan under the Act or if the Administrator determines (after notice and opportunity for hearing) that such State is not adequately enforcing such a plan, then such State shall lose its entitlement to, and may not thereafter receive, any Federal grant or loan assistance under this Act or under the Federal Water Pollution Control Act. Declares that willful and deliberate violation of any provision of this Act shall be punishable by a fine of up to $1,000, or imprisonment for up to one year, or both.
United States · United States Congress · 5 February 1974
Foreign Drug Abuse Information Act - Directs the Attorney General, after consultation with the Secretary of State, to prepare a pamphlet which shall include: (1) a summary of the drug abuse laws of each major foreign country; and (2) an explanation of the assistance or lack of assistance that the United States Government can provide to a United States citizen arrested for a violation of the drug abuse laws of a foreign country. States that every water carrier, air carrier, and foreign air carrier shall distribute a copy of the pamphlet to each passenger boarding a plane or vessel operated by such carrier for transportation from a point within the United States or its territories or possessions to a point within a foreign country. Imposes civil penalties on carriers who violate the provisions of this Act.
United States · United States Congress · 31 January 1974
Expresses the sense of the Congress that the President of the United States direct the Secretary of the State to bring to the immediate attention of the Soviet Government the concern of U.S. citizens over the imprisonment of a Lithuanian seaman who unsuccessfully sought asylum aboard a United States Coast Guard ship and to urge his release from prison and return to his family.
United States · United States Congress · 29 January 1974
Food Allowance for Older Americans Act - Establishes, under the Social Security Act, a food allowance program under which qualified elderly persons shall be provided with an opportunity to obtain an adequate level of nutrition through the issuance to them, without charge or fee or condition of any kind, a food allowance of $50 for each month after December 1973 in the form of coupons that can be used only to purchase food from retail stores. States that an individual is eligible for a food allowance under this Act only if such individual is (1) sixty-five years of age or older, (2) the head of his or her own household, and (3) has an annual income which does not exceed $5,000. Provides for the issuance of coupons reduced in value to individuals whose annual income exceeds $5,000 by not more than $480 and who otherwise meet the conditions of eligibility. Authorizes appropriations of such sums as may be necessary to carry out the purposes of this Act.
United States · United States Congress · 23 January 1974
States that it is the purpose of this Act to provide for the immediate and future protection and administration of public lands in the California desert within the framework of a program of multiple use, sustained yield, and maintenance of environmental quality. Establishes the California Desert Advisory Commission which shall consist of Federal and State representatives, representatives of the academic community, representatives of residents of the desert, and representatives of groups which make use of the desert and its resources for recreational, study, or business purposes. States that it shall be the function of the Commission to advise the Secretary of the Interior with respect to the program for the desert under this Act. Establishes the National Conservation Area of the California Desert to carry out the purposes of the Act. Gives the Secretary of the Interior responsibility for the preparation of a long-range program for the management, development, and use of the California Desert. Provides that such program shall include a plan, to be completed and reported to Congress within seven years from the date of enactment of this Act. Requires consultation with the Advisory Commission and with State organizations concerning such plan. Provides for an interim program to manage and protect the desert resources now in danger of destruction, and to provide for the public use of the desert. Authorizes the Secretary to acquire such lands or interests therein as he deems necessary to provide access to the facilities of the desert, to facilitate efficient and beneficial management of the desert. Empowers the Secretary to issue such regulations as he deems necessary to carry out the provisions of this Act. Provides that all mining carried out within the conservation area shall be subject to such reasonable regulations as the Secretary may prescribe to carry out the purposes of this Act. States that such regulations shall provide for such measures as may be reasonable to protect the scenic, scientific, and environmental values of the California Desert against undue impairment.
United States · United States Congress · 21 January 1974
Federal Paperwork Burden Relief Act - Directs the Comptroller General to conduct a study of the reporting requirements of Federal regulatory programs to determine the extent to which these requirements may be revised to lessen the burden upon small and independent business establishments. Requires the Comptroller General to report the results of such study to the Congress one year from the date of enactment of this Act.
![Official portrait of Rep. Collins, James M. [R-TX-3]](https://www.congress.gov/img/member/c000638_200.jpg)