United States · United States Congress · 21 February 1985
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 · 21 February 1985
Expresses the sense of the Congress that the President should: (1) enter into discussions to secure the withdrawal of Soviet personnel and the release of political prisoners from Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania; (2) instruct the U.S. delegation to present the illegal Soviet actions in such countries at the meeting of the Conference on Security and Cooperation in Europe; and (3) gain the cooperation of other nations in achieving such objectives.
United States · United States Congress · 21 February 1985
Declares the sense of the Congress that the President and the Secretary of State should take all necessary steps to: (1) bring the Baltic States question before the United Nations; (2) urge the United Nations to request the Soviet Union to withdraw all non-native troops, agents, colonists, and controls from the Republics of Lithuania, Latvia, and Estonia; and (3) return all Baltic exiles from Siberia, prisons, and labor camps in the Soviet Union. Requires the Secretary of State to do his utmost to bring the matter of the Baltic States to the attention of all nations by means of special radio programs and publications. Declares that the United States should not agree to the recognition of the Soviet Union's annexation of Lithuania, Latvia, and Estonia. Directs the President to take steps to provide that all maps of Europe show the Republics of Lithuania, Latvia, and Estonia as independent states. Calls for a return of self-determination to Lithuania, Latvia, and Estonia through free elections conducted under the auspices of the United Nations.
United States · United States Congress · 19 February 1985
Provides that any legal public holiday declared by Federal statute or executive order that would result in the number of such holidays in a calendar year exceeding ten shall be treated as a regular workday.
United States · United States Congress · 19 February 1985
Military Real Property Disposal Act of 1985 - Alters the criteria for triggering the notice requirements before a proposed closure or realignment of any military installation may take place. Repeals the current criterion regarding any closure and any realignment involving a reduction of more than 1,000 or more than 50 percent of the civilian personnel authorized at the installation in question. Establishes as a new criterion any closure or realignment which increases the rate of unemployment in the economic region in question by one percent or more. Requires the Secretary of Defense or the military department concerned to include a socio-economic impact statement in any justification to the Armed Services Committees concerning a closing or realignment. Reduces the waiting period following the justification from 60 to 30 days. Removes from the Federal courts jurisdiction to review the actions of Federal officers and employees with respect to such closures or realignments.
United States · United States Congress · 19 February 1985
Liberty Double-Eagle Bullion Coin Act - Requires the Secretary of the Treasury to mint and issue gold double-eagle coins. Sets forth specifications for and the design of such coins. Makes such coins legal tender. Permits the sale of such coins at a price equal to the cost of minting and issuing such coins plus a surcharge equal to the amount by which the fair market value of gold bullion held by the United States and used in the minting of the coins exceeds the statutory maximum value of any gold certificates outstanding against the bullion. Requires the revenue from such surcharges to be used to reduce the national debt. Authorizes appropriations.
United States · United States Congress · 19 February 1985
Amends the Federal Election Campaign Act of 1971 to establish as a special fund in the Treasury the Multicandidate Political Committee Trust Fund. Directs that all contributions by non-party multicandidate political committees to congressional candidates be deposited in the Treasury general fund. Directs the Secretary of the Treasury to transfer specified amounts to the Trust Fund. Appropriates to the Fund for each fiscal year amounts equal to the total deposited in it during each fiscal year. States that upon certification from the Federal Election Commission the Secretary shall pay such contributions to the appropriate candidate. Prohibits the Secretary, when making payments, from: (1) identifying any committee; or (2) disclosing specific amounts contributed by particular committees. Directs the Commission to make public at specified times: (1) the identity of each committee making contributions and of each candidate receiving contributions; and (2) the total amounts contributed by each committee and received by each candidate. Prohibits the Commission or any other party from either making public or disclosing to candidates the specific amounts contributed to such candidates. Sets guidelines for periodic payments of such contributions.
United States · United States Congress · 19 February 1985
Amends rule X of the Rules of the House of Representatives to require each standing committee to review, on a continuing basis and when considering public bills or resolutions, those portions of the President's Private Sector Survey on Cost Control (Grace Commission report) pertaining to such committee's jurisdiction. Amends rule XI to require each committee report on a public bill or resolution to contain: (1) an identification of each recommendation of the Survey to be implemented and the resulting estimated program cost savings or revenue enhancement; and (2) a statement setting forth the disposition of each recommendation pertaining to such bill or resolution.
United States · United States Congress · 7 February 1985
Declares that the House of Representatives deplores the denial of the rights of Hungarians and people of other nationalities in Transylvania by the Romanian Government. Requests the President and the Secretary of State to discuss the human rights of the Hungarians in Transylvania with the Government of Romania.
United States · United States Congress · 7 February 1985
Expresses the sense of the Congress that the Board of Trustees of Amherst College should reconsider their decision to cease operations of the Folger Theatre.
United States · United States Congress · 6 February 1985
Amends the Internal Revenue Code to provide that tax-exempt interest shall not be taken into account in determining the amount of social security benefits subject to tax.
United States · United States Congress · 6 February 1985
Prohibits the issuance of any regulations by the Internal Revenue Service concerning the inclusion in income of employee fringe benefits after January 3, 1985.
United States · United States Congress · 6 February 1985
Requires that funds be made available from appropriations under the Departments of Labor, Health and Human Services, and Education and Related Agencies Appropriation Act, 1985 to enable the National Institutes of Health to award 6,500 new and competing research grants in FY 1985.
United States · United States Congress · 4 February 1985
Synthetic Fuels Corporation Fiscal Responsibility Act - Amends the United States Synthetic Fuels Corporation Act of 1980 to terminate the authority of the United States Synthetic Fuels Corporation (the Corporation) to enter into any awards or commitments for financial assistance. Directs the Corporation's Board of Directors to submit a final report to the Congress regarding the status of the Corporation within 60 days after enactment of this Act. Prohibits the Corporation from expending any funds or acting in furtherance of any commitment made after February 5, 1985, unless a joint resolution approving such transaction is enacted. Requires the Secretaries of Energy and of the Treasury and the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency to agree on a Memorandum of Understanding which includes a plan for: (1) the abolition of the Corporation; and (2) for the administration of synthetic fuels projects which will continue after the abolition of the Corporation.
United States · United States Congress · 31 January 1985
Establishes a presumption of service-connection for disability purposes for former prisoners of war suffering from the following conditions, manifest to a degree of ten percent or more after active service: (1) chronic liver disease; (2) organic residuals of hypothermia; (3) gastro-intestinal disorders; (4) arthritis; (5) cardiovascular conditions; (6) peripheral neuropathy; (7) immunological dysfunctions; or (8) chronic pulmonary disease. Decreases from six months to 30 days the amount of time a former prisoner of war must have been incarcerated to be eligible for outpatient dental services.
United States · United States Congress · 30 January 1985
Fair and Simple Tax Act of 1985 - Title I: Reduction of Individual and Corporate Tax Rates - Subtitle A: Reduction of Rates - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to revise the tax rates for individuals, estates, and trusts. Imposes a tax rate of 24 percent on the taxable income of every individual, estate, and trust. Imposes a tax rate of 15 percent on corporate income which does not exceed $50,000, a tax rate of 25 percent on corporate income between $50,000 and $100,000 and a tax rate of 35 percent on corporate income exceeding $100,000. Subtitle B: Increase in Amount of Personal Exemption and Zero Bracket Amount - Increases the amount of the personal exemption to $2,000. Increases the "zero bracket amount" to $2,600 for single taxpayers and $3,300 for a joint return or surviving spouse. Provides for an annual adjustment in the "zero bracket amount" by a cost-of-living adjustment based on the Consumer Price Index. Subtitle C: Employment Income Exclusion Established - Allows an individual taxpayer to exclude 20 percent of the amount received during the taxable year by such individual as employment income. Provides that the exclusion is phased out when the individual's wages and salaries exceed the Federal Insurance Compensation Act's maximum wage base for the calendar year. Excludes all of an individual's employment income where the employment income for the taxable year is $10,000 or less ($15,000 or less in the case of a joint return). Subtitle D: Repeals Related to Reduction in Rates - Repeals provisions relating to: (1) tax tables for individuals; (2) special averaging rules for lump-sum distributions; (3) accumulated corporate surplus; (4) personal holding companies; (5) income averaging; and (6) graduated corporate tax rates. Applies the trust throwback rules only to amounts distributed from a foreign trust. Title II: Base Broadening - Subtitle A: Credits - Repeals the general tax credit, the investment tax credit, and provisions relating to: (1) the credit for household and dependent care services; (2) the credit for the elderly and the permanently and totally disabled; (3) the residential energy credit; (4) contributions to candidates for public office; (5) clinical testing expenses for certain drugs; (6) producing fuel from a nonconventional source; (7) increasing research activities; (8) the investment credit, the targeted jobs credit, the alcohol fuels credit, and the employee stock ownership credit; (9) alcohol used as fuel; (10) rules for determining the amount of employee stock ownership credit; (11) the general tax credit; (12) rules for determining credit for investment in certain depreciable property; and (13) the credit for employment of certain new employees. Subtitle B: Exclusions - Repeals the tax exclusion for: (1) compensation for injuries or sickness; (2) partial exclusion of dividends received by individuals; (3) amounts received under qualified group legal service plans; (4) qualified transportation furnished by the employer; (5) dividend reinvestment in public utilities; and (6) payments to encourage exploration, development, and mining for defense purposes. Reduces the maximum amount of the earned income credit from $5,000 to $4,000. Provides an inflation adjustment for the value of the earned income credit. Treats as taxable income: (1) unemployment compensation; (2) the annual increase in the cash surrender value of life insurance policies; and (3) interest on industrial development bonds and mortgage subsidy bonds. Provides that the transfer of a corporation's stock in satisfaction of indebtedness will be treated as having satisfied the indebtedness with money equal to the fair market value of the stock. Provides a limited exclusion from income for scholarships and fellowships. Amends the Merchant Marine Act to repeal the tax exemption for deposits into, and withdrawals from, a capital construction fund. Reduces the amount of social security benefits and railroad retirement benefits included in gross income from one-half to one-quarter of the amount. Subtitle C: Deductions - Repeals the tax deductions for: (1) the additional exemption for the elderly and the blind; (2) unused investment credits; and (3) two-earner married couples. Repeals the deductions for State and local income tax, sales, and personal property tax. Increases the floor in the deduction for medical and dental expenses from five to ten percent. Repeals the deduction for consumer interest. Subtitle D: Adjustment to Basis; Changes in Certain Special Capital Gains Treatment Provisions - Allows an inflation adjustment, based on the gross national product deflator, to the adjusted basis of capital assets which have been held for more than one year at the time of sale or exchange solely for the purpose of determining gain or loss on such assets. Excludes from such treatment: (1) creditor's interest; (2) options; (3) net lease property in the case of the lessor; (4) preferred stock with fixed dividends; and (5) stock in small business corporations and certain foreign corporations. Provides an exception to the exclusionary treatment of foreign corporation stock which is regularly traded on a national or regional stock exchange. Sets forth certain percentages to be applied in determining the adjusted basis for disposition of recovery property. Allows the Secretary of the Treasury to disallow all or part of an adjustment where there was a transfer to increase the inflation adjustment depreciation allowance. Reduces the alternative tax rate for corporations from 28 to 20 percent. Provides that the alternative tax on indexed assets shall be: (1) 15 percent of so much of the net capital gain as does not exceed $50,000; (2) 25 percent of so much of the net capital gain as exceeds $50,000 but not in excess of $100,000; and (3) 35 percent of so much of the net capital gain as exceeds $100,000. Excludes 40 percent of the net capital gain from income of an individual where: (1) the gain is derived from a non-indexed asset; or (2) the individual elected to disregard the indexed basis of indexed assets in determining the capital gain or loss for the year. Repeals the limitation on the deduction of capital losses by individuals. Permits the carryover of the excess of capital losses over gross income reduced by deductions by individuals. Title III: Capital Cost Recovery - Subtitle A: Neutral Cost Recovery System for Depreciable Property - Modifies the accelerated cost recovery system to establish the following classes of property: (1) 4-year property; (2) 6-year property; (3) 15-year property; (4) 20-year public utility property; (5) 25-year real property; (6) low income housing property; and (7) theme parks. Provides that the accelerated cost recovery deduction shall be determined by multiplying the applicable percentage of the unadjusted basis of the recovery property by the applicable inflation ratio. Treats research and experimental expenditures and intangible drilling or development costs of oil, gas, or geothermal wells as recovery property. Subtitle B: Other Changes - Repeals the income tax deductions for: (1) research and experimental expenditures; (2) soil and water conservation expenditures; (3) depreciation or amortization of improvements made by a lessee on a lessor's property; (4) expenditures by farmers for clearing land; (5) amortization of reforestation expenditures; (6) intangible drilling and development costs in the case of oil and gas wells and geothermal wells; (7) percentage depletion; (8) development expenditures; and (9) deduction and recapture of certain mining exploration expenditures. Allows a ten year period for the amortization of construction period interest and taxes. Allows a deduction for circulation expenses for a newspaper, magazine, or other periodical ratably over a five-year period. Excludes amounts chargeable to a capital account from such treatment. Repeals the depletion deduction for timber. Title IV: Miscellaneous Provisions - Subtitle A: Foreign Income - Repeals the domestic international sales corporations (DISC) provisions for taxable years beginning after December 31, 1985. Subtitle B: Other Miscellaneous Provisions - Requires farmers to compute their taxable income using the accrual method of accounting with the capitalization of preproduction expenses. Exempts taxpayers who do not have gross receipts of $1,000,000. Requires farming syndicates to use the accrual method of accounting without regard to gross receipts. Requires the recognition of the gain or loss on distributions of property by corporations. Eliminates the special bad debt reserves of financial institutions. Amends the Social Security Act to provide that benefits will be reduced by 25 cents rather than 50 cents for every dollar earned above a certain amount. Repeals the reduction for earnings for years after 1989. Directs the Secretary of the Treasury to modify the withholding tables to reflect the broadening of the tax base made by the provisions of this Act. Title V: Effective Dates - Sets forth the effective dates for the provisions of this Act.
United States · United States Congress · 28 January 1985
Biennial Budgeting Act of 1985 - Amends the Congressional Budget Act of 1974 to establish a two-year cycle for the presidential and congressional budget process. Requires each standing committee of Congress to review the laws and programs under its jurisdiction every other year and to consider the desirability of new legislation in such areas. Eliminates provisions requiring a second concurrent resolution on the budget. Permits revisions only in new spending authority, revenues, and the public debt limit through the reconciliation process.
United States · United States Congress · 24 January 1985
Congressional and Judicial Equal Employment Opportunity Act of 1985 - Amends the Civil Rights Act of 1964 to require that personnel actions affecting employees or applicants in the legislative and judicial branches of the Government be free from any discrimination based on race, color, national origin, religion, sex, handicap, or age. Allows Members of Congress to take into consideration an individual's domicile and political affiliation. Establishes within the judicial branch an Employment Review Board. Provides that members of the board be appointed from the retired judges of the Supreme Court and Courts of Appeals. Authorizes an aggrieved individual to file a written complaint with the Board. Establishes procedures for the Board to investigate, settle, hear, and determine the claims alleged. Provides that if a violation is found an order for relief may compel the defendant to: (1) employ or reinstate such individual on such terms and conditions as may be appropriate; (2) pay compensatory damages; (3) pay punitive damages; and (4) pay fees and allowances of witnesses and reasonable attorneys' fees. Authorizes the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit to review, enjoin, set aside, suspend, modify, or enforce orders of the Board. Requires members of the Board to submit written reports to the Committee on Standards of Official Conduct of the House of Representatives and the Senate Select Committee on Ethics describing complaints during the reporting period involved.
United States · United States Congress · 24 January 1985
Amends the Internal Revenue Code to allow married individuals filing separate income tax returns to elect to be taxed at rates applicable to unmarried individuals.
United States · United States Congress · 24 January 1985
States that the Congress supports the President's commitment to arms control policies that provide for substantial reductions in strategic nuclear weapons and their delivery systems; the elimination of such weapons; and the development and deployment of nonnuclear defensive technologies that would ensure the safety of the United States and its allies and that would neutralize a terrorist nuclear missile attack. States that the Congress supports the President in the negotiation of new arms control agreements with the Soviet Union under which compliance is verifiable, which offset reductions in offensive weapons with sufficient defensive weapons, and which eliminate nuclear weapons from the arsenals of all nations.
United States · United States Congress · 24 January 1985
Expresses the sense of the Congress that the President should: (1) ensure that U.S. officials carry out the pledge to resolve the issue of the Americans still missing and unaccounted for in Indochina; (2) work for the immediate release of any Americans still held captive and the return of the remains of those who died in Southeast Asia; and (3) make every effort to secure the further cooperation of Laos and Vietnam in resolving this issue.
United States · United States Congress · 22 January 1985
Veterans' Administration Adjudication Procedure and Judicial Review Act - Title I: Adjudication Procedures - Codifies for Veterans Administration (VA) adjudication purposes the burden of proof and reasonable doubt standards currently provided for by VA regulation. States that a claimant has the burden of submitting sufficient evidence to justify his or her claim, and that if an approximate balance of positive and negative evidence exists regarding the merits of a claim, the VA is to resolve such doubt in favor of the claimant. States that VA subpoenas may be served either by personal delivery or by registered or certified mail. Requires the chairman of the Board of Veterans' Appeals to submit an annual report to the appropriate congressional committees concerning the Board's current handling of cases and projections for the subsequent fiscal year. Requires the Board to: (1) provide notice to a claimant and an opportunity for a hearing before a decision may be based on "additional official information" received after a Board decision has previously been made; and (2) make its decision exclusively on evidence and material of record in the proceeding. Removes the requirement that new material sufficient to allow the Board to reopen a previously disallowed claim be in the form of official reports. Provides that the Board's discretionary authority to reopen a claim will not be diminished by a judicial decision following an appeal as provided for by this Act. Requires the Board to mail to the claimant notice of its decision and the reasons for such decision. Provides that, upon the request of a claimant, the Board shall provide an independent advisory medical opinion when there exists substantial medical disagreement with respect to a material issue in a veteran's appeal. Sets forth new procedural rules for adjudication hearings regarding: (1) oaths, affirmations, and witness examination; (2) admissibility of evidence; (3) procedural rights of claimants; (4) disqualification of a hearing officer; (5) the record of the proceedings and the claimant's right to examine and obtain a copy of such record; and (6) the exclusiveness of veterans' adjudication procedures and rights prescribed by the Administrator. Requires the Administrator to provide at each stage of the appeal proceedings written notice to a claimant of the claimant's procedural rights. Directs the Administrator to conduct a study of two alternative claims resolution methods: one a new intermediate-level adjudication process; the other an enhanced schedule of formal Appeals Board hearings. Directs the Administrator to report to the Congress on such studies. Title II: Veterans Administration Rule Making - Includes the VA's rulemaking procedures under the relevant provisions of the Administrative Procedure Act. Title III: Judicial Review - Provides for judicial review of VA decisions in the Federal court system. States with regard to jurisdiction: (1) the definition of final decision; (2) that judicial review of a final decision in a claim for benefits may be obtained in a civil action brought within 180 days of the Board's mailing of notice of its decision, and that such action shall be brought in Federal district court; (3) that the VA shall file the various materials constituting the record in a case together with its answer to the claimant's complaint; (4) that the court may render a decision on the pleadings; and (5) that the judicial review procedures established under this Act shall not apply to insurance and home loans. States, with regard to the reviewing court's scope of review, that such court: (1) shall decide questions of law and interpret constitutional, statutory, and regulatory provisions, but that questions of fact (unless unsupported by substantial evidence) will not be subject to a trial de novo; and (2) in reviewing a final decision of the VA which is adverse to a party solely because such party failed to comply with VA procedures, may only review questions concerning such procedures. Sets out provisions regarding remand, survival of actions, and appellate review. Title IV: Attorneys' Fees - Authorizes the Administrator to allow attorneys' fees above the present $10 maximum if the appealing party's claim is allowed by the VA after an initial denial. States that such fee shall be the lesser of: (1) the fee agreed upon by the party and attorney; (2) $500, unless the Administrator approves a greater amount; or (3) if the party and attorney have entered into a contingent-fee agreement, not more than 25 percent of the total of any past-due benefits awarded on the basis of such party's claim. Provides for the approval of attorneys' fees in successful veterans' claims brought before a court as provided for under this Act. States that such fees shall be determined by such court, and in contingent-fee agreements such fees shall not exceed 25 percent of the total of any past-due benefits awarded on the basis of such claim. Authorizes attorneys' fees of up to $750 in certain unsuccessful veterans' claims. Prohibits the VA from authorizing payment to a claimant's attorney based on past-due benefits unless such benefits are owed as of the date of the VA's or a court's award. States that such provisions regarding attorneys' fees shall only apply to claims for benefits under the laws administered by the VA and shall not apply in cases in which the VA is the plaintiff or in which other attorneys' fees statutes are otherwise controlling. Title V: Effective Dates - Sets forth the effective dates for this Act.
United States · United States Congress · 22 January 1985
Repeals the requirement added by the Tax Reform Act of 1984 relating to the maintenance of contemporaneous records with respect to: (1) business travel expenses, including automobile expenses; (2) business entertainment expenses; and (3) expenses for gifts.
United States · United States Congress · 22 January 1985
Expresses the sense of the Congress that the Federal Home Loan Bank Board should delay until June 30, 1985, the effective date of its proposed regulations regarding limitations on direct investment in real estate, service corporations, and equity securities by federally insured savings and loan associations. Directs the Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs of the Senate and the Committee on Banking, Finance, and Urban Affairs of the House of Representatives to examine alternatives to the proposed regulations which will ensure safety and sound investment activities.
United States · United States Congress · 7 January 1985
Alzheimer's Disease and Related Disorders Treatment Act of 1985 - Directs the Secretary of Health and Human Services to designate 20 centers for the treatment of Alzheimer's disease and related disorders. Requires such centers to: (1) provide a central facility for diagnosis, evaluation, and counseling; (2) develop standards of treatment and methods of delivering cost-effective services; (3) train professionals and nonprofessionals in diagnosing and treating such disorders; and (4) develop a comprehensive acute and long-term treatment program. Authorizes FY 1986 through 1990 appropriations. Directs the Secretary to make $1,000,000 available to each center for each of at least five years for teaching, training, research, and staffing. Permits eligible persons to elect to receive benefits as provided for by this Act rather than under titles XVIII (Medicare), XIX (Medicaid), or XX (Grants to States for Service) of the Social Security Act, or under the Older Americans Act of 1965.
United States · United States Congress · 3 January 1985
Biennial Budgeting Act of 1985 - Amends the Congressional Budget Act of 1974 to establish a two-year cycle for the presidential and congressional budget process. Requires each standing committee of the Congress to review the laws and programs under its jurisdiction every other year and to consider the desirability of new legislation in such areas. Eliminates provisions requiring a second concurrent resolution on the budget. Permits revisions only in new spending authority, revenues, and the public debt limit through the reconciliation process.
United States · United States Congress · 3 January 1985
Amends the Board for International Broadcasting Act of 1973 to direct the Board for International Broadcasting to require Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, Incorporated, to establish a Russian language program, to be known as Radio Maccabee, for the Jewish population of the Soviet Union. Authorizes appropriations for FY 1986 and 1987 for such program.
United States · United States Congress · 3 January 1985
Electric Consumers Protection Act of 1985 - Amends the Federal Power Act to require the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission to issue a new license to an existing licensee for a hydroelectric project authorized under such Act if the United States does not, upon the expiration of the existing license, exercise its right to take over, maintain, and operate such licensee's project, unless the Commission determines that such licensee's project will not meet the licensing standards under such Act. Provides that if the Commission determines that such licensee's project does not meet such standards, the Commission is authorized to issue a new license to a new licensee which may cover the existing licensee's project provided that the new licensee pays just compensation determined by the Commission and enters into any contracts required under the Federal Power Act. (Under current law, the Commission is authorized to issue a new license to the original licensee or a new license to a new licensee if the United States does not exercise its rights with respect to an expired license.)
United States · United States Congress · 3 January 1985
Constitutional Amendment - Allows the President an item veto of appropriations bills. Requires the President, in signing such a bill, to designate the provisions disapproved and return the bill to the House in which it originated. Subjects such bills to the same proceedings as other bills disapproved by the President.
United States · United States Congress · 3 January 1985
Constitutional Amendment - Requires the Congress, prior to each fiscal year, to adopt a statement of receipts and outlays for that year in which total outlays are not greater than total receipts. Permits the Congress in such statement to provide for a specific excess of outlays over receipts by a three-fifths vote directed solely to that subject. Requires the President and the Congress to ensure that actual outlays do not exceed the outlays set forth in such statement. Prohibits total receipts for any fiscal year set forth in such statement from increasing by a rate greater than the rate of increase in national income in the last calendar year ending before such fiscal year, unless the Congress passes by a three-fifths vote a bill directed solely to approving specific additional receipts and such bill has become law. Requires the President, prior to each fiscal year, to transmit to the Congress a proposed statement of receipts and outlays for that year consistent with the provisions of this article. Permits the Congress to waive the provisions of this Act with respect to any fiscal year in which a declaration of war is in effect. Declares that total receipts shall include all receipts of the United States, except those derived from borrowing and total outlays shall include all outlays of the United States except those for repayment of debt principal.
United States · United States Congress · 3 January 1985
Constitutional Amendment - Provides for the appointment of electors to represent the insular areas constituting the Virgin Islands, American Samoa, Guam, and the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands.
![Official portrait of Rep. Courter, Jim [R-NJ-12]](https://www.congress.gov/img/member/c000809_200.jpg)