United States · United States Congress · 31 January 1975
Emergency Homeowners' Relief Act - Declares that the purpose of this Act is to prevent widespread mortgage defaults and the distress-sale of homes as a result of adverse economic conditions. Authorizes and directs the Secretary of Housing and Urban Development to make repayable emergency mortgage relief payments on behalf of distressed homeowners when he determines that such action is necessary and that there is a reasonable prospect that the homeowner will be able to make necessary adjustments for the full resumption of mortgage payments. Defines "distressed homeower" as one or more persons who own and occupy a dwelling as a principal residence and whose income has declined by more than 20 percent as the result of unemployment or other adverse economic conditions. Limits relief payments to a period not exceeding two years. Provides that payments be repaid on such terms as the Secretary prescribes. Empowers the Secretary to delegate any of his functions under this Act to other Federal agencies or private entities. Authorizes the Secretary to establish a revolving fund for mortgage relief payments and other specified purposes, including payment of obligations issued to the Secretary of the Treasury to enable the Secretary of Housing and Urban Development to carry out his functions under this Act. Provides for a payment expiration date of July 1, 1976.
United States · United States Congress · 31 January 1975
Requests the President to express the concern of the United States Government for the safety and freedom of Valentyn Moroz, historian, writer, and spokesman for the cultural integrity of the Ukranian people.
United States · United States Congress · 30 January 1975
National Huntington's Disease Control Act - States that it is the purpose of this Act to establish a national program for the diagnosis, prevention, and treatment of, and research in, Huntington's disease. Authorizes the Secretary of Health, Education, and Welfare to make grants for projects for the establishment and operation of Huntington's disease screening, treatment, and counseling programs. Authorizes the appropriation of $500,000 for fiscal year 1976 and for each each of the next two fiscal years for such grants. Authorizes the Secretary to make grants for research in the diagnosis, treatment, and prevention of Huntington's disease. Authorizes the appropriation of $1,500,000 for fiscal year 1976 and for each of the next two fiscal years for use for such grants. Directs the Secretary to carry out a program to develop information and educational materials relating to Huntington's disease and to disseminate such information and materials to persons providing health care and to the public in general. Authorizes the appropriation of $25,000 for fiscal year 1976, and for each of the next two fiscal years to carry out this information program. Sets forth the requirements for applications for grants under this Act and the administration of such grants. Directs the Secretary to establish a program within the Public Health Service to provide for voluntary Huntington's disease screening, counseling, and treatment.
United States · United States Congress · 30 January 1975
Reduces the rate of tax imposed under the Internal Revenue Code of 1954 on the self-employed, employees, and employers for the payment of the cost of the old-age, survivors and disability insurance and the hospital insurance programs of the Social Security Act. Increases the contribution and benefit base for tax determination purposes under the old-age, suriviors and disability insurance program. Increases by 50 percent the annual Federal contribution to the Federal Old-Age and Survivors Insurance Trust Fund.
United States · United States Congress · 30 January 1975
Freedom of Access for the Elderly and Handicapped Act - Authorizes, under the Internal Revenue Code, a taxpayer to deduct expenses incurred during the taxable year in removing architectural and transportational barriers to the elderly and handicapped.
United States · United States Congress · 30 January 1975
Provides that the charge to a household for its food stamp allotment under the Food Stamp Act of 1964 shall not exceed the lesser of (1) the level established as of January 1, 1975, or (2) 25 percent of the household's income. Provides that, effective July 1, 1975, households in which all members receive supplemental security income benefits under the Aid to the Aged, Blind, or Disabled program of the Social Security Act, or households in which all members are included in a federally aided public assistance or general assistance grant shall be certified for participation in the food stamp program under this Act. States that certification of all other households shall be based on the uniform national standards for eligibility required to be established under this Act.
United States · United States Congress · 29 January 1975
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 · 29 January 1975
Provides that the right of a citizen of the United States, who otherwise is qualified, to vote in any election for Federal office shall not be denied or abridged because he has committed a criminal offense unless such citizen is imprisoned in a correctional institution or facility at the time of such election. Sets forth penalties for violations of this Act.
United States · United States Congress · 29 January 1975
Public Energy Act - Title I: Declaration of Policy - Declares it unlawful after the date of enactment of this Act for any person engaged in commerce in the business of refining energy resource products to acquire any energy resource product extraction asset, energy pipeline asset, or energy marketing asset. States that the Attorney General of the United States and the Federal Trade Commission shall simulataneously and independently examine the relationship of persons now engaged in one or more branches of the energy industry. Requires the Attorney General and the Federal Trade Commission to institute suits in the district courts of the United States requesting the issuance of such relief as is appropriate under this Act. Provides that any person who knowingly violates any provision of this title shall, upon conviction, be punished, in the case of an individual, by a fine of not to exceed $500,000 or by imprisonment for a period not to exceed ten years, or both, or in the case of a corporation, by a fine of not to exceed $5,000,000 or by suspension of the right to do business in interstate commerce for a period not to exceed ten years, or both. Title II: Federal Energy Commission - Establishes an independent regulatory commission to be known as the Federal Energy Commission, consisting of five Commissioners who shall be appointed by the President, by and with the advice and consent of the Senate. Provides that for the purpose of assuring a sufficient supply of energy resource products throughout the United States with the greatest possible economy and with regard to the proper utilization and conservation of natural resources, the Commission shall divide the country into regional districts which shall be served by energy refinery assets designated by the Commission for such purpose. Provides that, beginning with the expiration of the three-year period which begins on the date of enactment of this Act, the Commission shall, by rule, prescribe all rates and charges (or the manner for determining all rates and charges) made, demanded, or received by any energy refinery asset for or in connection with the sale of any energy resource products. Requires the Commission to specify (or prescribe a manner for specifying) the price of energy resource products at all levels of sale if the Commission finds that such action is necessary to avoid excessive prices to the ultimate consumer of such products.
United States · United States Congress · 29 January 1975
Establishes within the Treasury an Offender Rehabilitation Fund to be available to the Attorney General as a revolving fund to make loans to releasees not to exceed $150 for any releasee during any calendar month, up to $600 in aggregate for any releasee. Specifies the factors to be taken into account by the Attorney General in determining whether a releasee is in need of loan assistance under this Act. Stipulates that, if the Attorney General determines that it is in the best interest of the releasee not to have money provided directly to him, a loan may be in the form of the purchase of essential needs of the releasee. Specifies the terms and conditions of loans to be made under this Act. Authorizes to be appropriated to the fund $1,500,000 for fiscal year 1975, to remain available until expended.
United States · United States Congress · 29 January 1975
Federal Correctional Ombudsman Act - Establishes an office of the United States Correctional Ombudsman. Provides that the Chief Ombudsman shall have the authority to investigate in such manner as he sees fit, either upon complaint or upon his own initiative, any administrative act of the Bureau of Prisons or the Board of Parole, pertaining to the treatment of any Federal prisoner or parolee, or the conditions in any Federal penal or correctional institution. Provides that if, after any investigation, the chief ombudsman finds that any administrative act is: (1) contrary to law; (2) unreasonable, unfair, oppresive, or unnecessarily discriminatory; (3) based on mistaken ascertainment of fact; (4) based on improper or irrelevant grounds; (5) performed in an inefficient manner; (6) unclear or inadequately explained when reasons should have been revealed; or (7) otherwise objectionable; he shall consult with the appropriate official or employee in order to make a satisfactory disposition of the matter. States that if the Chief Ombudsman believes that an administrative act has been dictated by laws whose results are unfair or otherwise objectionable, he shall notify the appropriate committees of the United States Senate and the United States House of Representatives. Provides that no information disclosed to any ombudsman or to any staff or employee of the Office in connection with an investigation under this Act shall be disclosed to any other person except to the extent the Chief Ombudsman determines necessary to carry out the purpose of this Act. Requires the Chief Ombudsman to report annually to the Congress on the operations of the Office.
United States · United States Congress · 29 January 1975
Parole Reorganization Act - Establishes, as an independent entity in the Department of Justice, a United States Parole Commission, to consist of a national office and five regional offices. States that the Commission shall have the power to establish general policies, guidelines, rules, and regulations for the Commission, including rules with respect to the factors to be taken into account in determining whether or not a prisoner should be released on parole. Provides that the Commission shall meet not less frequently than quarterly to establish its general policies and rules. States that, whenever confined and serving a definite term or terms of over one hundred and eighty days, a prisoner shall be eligible for release on parole after serving one-third of such term or terms or after serving ten years of a life sentence or of a sentence over thirty years. Stipulates that a prisoner shall be released on parole if his record shows that he has substantially observed the rules of the institution in which he is confined on the date of his eligibility for parole, unless it is determined by an examining panel that he should not be released on such date for one or more of the following reasons: (1) there is a reasonable probability that such prisoner will not live and remain at liberty without violating any criminal law; (2) there is a reasonable probability that such release would be incompatible with the welfare of society; or (3) the prisoner's release on such date would so deprecate the seriousness of his crime as to undermine respect for the law. Requires the regional offices to hold a hearing in making a determination of whether to release a prisoner on parole. Sets forth the procedure to be followed in such hearings. Authorizes the regional Commissions to impose such conditions of parole as are deemed reasonably necessary to insure that the parolee will lead a law-abiding life or to assist him in doing so. Provides, with certain exceptions, that the jurisdiction of the Commission over the parolee shall terminate no later than the date of the expiration of the maximum term or terms for which he was sentenced. States that if the regional commissioner believes that any parolee has violated a condition of his parole, or that there is reason to terminate any parolee's assignment to a center or similar facility, he may order such parolee to appear before him or before a hearing examiner, or issue a warrant and retake the parolee as provided in this Act. Requires that a hearing be held on such a matter. Authorizes the courts to fix eligibility for parole at the time of sentencing of an individual. States that nothing in this Act shall be construed to provide that any prisoner shall be eligible for release on parole if such prisoner is ineligible for such release under any other provision of law. Requires the Commission to report annually to each House of Congress on the activities of the Commission.
United States · United States Congress · 29 January 1975
States that every person, including a unit of government, who, under color of law, causes any inmate of a State or local correctional facility or jail to be deprived of any rights, privileges, or immunities secured by the Constitution and laws of the United States shall be liable to the inmate in an action for redress, including an application for a permanent or temporary injunction, restraining order, or other order for preventive relief. Authorizes the Attorney General to bring a civil action in any appropriate United States district court whenever he has reasonable cause to believe that any person or group of persons, including a unit of government, is engaged in a pattern or practice of resistance to the full enjoyment by an inmate of any rights guaranteed by the Constitution or laws of the United States, and that such denial of rights raises an issue of general public importance.
United States · United States Congress · 29 January 1975
Expresses the sense of Congress that: (1) the designation of 1975 as International Women's Year is welcomed and full support is expressed for the goals for the year as proclaimed by the Secretary General of the United Nations and the President of the United States; (2) cooperation in observance of the year is urged on the part of all concerned people, official and private, men and women, to insure that constructive measures are taken to advance the rights and responsibilities of women during 1975; and (3) a concerted effort should be made to insure that 1975 is a year for the launching of new programs and the forming of new attitudes toward the role of women.
United States · United States Congress · 28 January 1975
Removes under title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act limitations presently imposed upon the types of optometric services which are covered under the medicare program. Provides coverage under such program for all of the services normally provided by an optometrist.
United States · United States Congress · 28 January 1975
Authorizes all unmarried individuals to use the same tax tables when computing their tax as are presently applicable to married individuals filing joint returns and to surviving spouses. Authorizes married individuals filing separately to use such table so long as such individual reports all income earned by him or her on the return.
United States · United States Congress · 28 January 1975
Provides for an increase in the number of United States district court judges. Increases salaries for judges of the Federal Courts and referees in bankruptcy proceedings (Amends 28 U.S.C. 133, 135).
United States · United States Congress · 28 January 1975
Constitutional Amendment - Provides that neither the United States nor any State shall deprive any human being, from conception, of life without due process of law; nor deny to any human being, from conception, within its jurisdiction, the equal protection of the law. States that neither the United States nor any State shall deprive any human of life on account of age, illness, or incapacity.
United States · United States Congress · 23 January 1975
Allows a tax credit under the Internal Revenue Code for the ordinary and necessary expenses paid during the taxable year by a taxpayer for the improvement of the thermal design of the principal residence of the taxpayer, including that amount of the purchase price of a principal residence allocable to any storm door, storm window, or solar heating and cooling equipment (up to $1000 for the period during which such credit is available under the Internal Revenue Code, no more than $250 of which may be allowed as a credit for the purchase of conventional materials). Authorizes the taxpayer to elect a deduction of up to $4000 for the period during which the provisions of this Act are effective (no more than $1,000 of which may be allowed as a deduction for the purchase of conventional materials) in lieu of the credit provided by this Act. Directs the Secretary of the Treasury to report to the Federal Energy Administration an analysis of the energy savings achieved through the operation of this Act no later than September 15, 1978.
United States · United States Congress · 23 January 1975
Provides under the Social Security Act for a minimum annual income (subject to subsequent increases based on Bureau of Labor Statistics to reflect the cost of living) of $3,850 in the case of elderly (over 62) individuals and $5,200 in the case of elderly couples. Sets forth provisions governing the determination of annual income and payment of benefits. Authorizes to be appropriated for each fiscal year the sums necessary to carry out the provisions of this Act.
United States · United States Congress · 23 January 1975
Consumer Price Information Act - States that the Congress finds that during periods of severe inflation, consumers can minimize the effects of rapidly rising prices by avoiding the purchase of products that have experienced sharp price increases over a brief time span. Expresses the policy of Congress to provide consumers with point of sale information concerning the nature and extent of price variations for products offered for sale at retail in commerce. Provides that no person engaged in commerce may, in the course of such commerce, sell or offer for sale at retail any products, goods, wares, or merchandise unless there is conveniently available to consumers at the place of sale price information, in such form and manner as shall be prescribed by the Federal Trade Commission, which contains: (1) the retail price at which such item or article is currently being offered for sale at retail by such person; and (2) the price at which the item or article was usually sold at retail by such person in the course of business (A) immediately before and (B) twelve and eighteen months before such time as the price referred to in clause (1) was established as the current retail price, if such former retail prices and the current retail price differ. Sets forth criminal penalties for violations of the provisions of this Act. Exempts specified entities from the operation of the provisions of this Act.
United States · United States Congress · 23 January 1975
Intergovernmental Consumer Assistance Act (Intergovernmental Consumer Assistance and Protection Act) - Authorizes appropriations of $5,000,000 for fiscal year 1976, $7,500,000 for fiscal year 1977, and $9,000,000 for fiscal year 1978 for the establishment and strengthening of consumer protection offices of State and local governments. Requires the Advisory Commission on Intergovernmental Relations to assist the Secretary of Health, Education and Welfare in carrying out the purposes of this Act. Directs the Secretary to allot each possession $10,000 for the three fiscal years and to allot each State the sums of $50,000, $75,000, and $90,000 for each of the three fiscal years, respectively. Provides that allotments shall be made to each State and possession which has submitted an adequate consumer protection plan that has been approved by the Secretary. Requires each consumer plan to provide for consumer education; consumer research; representation of consumer interests; studying the problems of low income consumers; serving as consumer complaint centers; providing counseling including legal services to the consumer; mediating consumer-retailer disputes; investigating complaints; cooperating with Federal and State agencies; setting forth fiscal controls and providing that Federal funds be used only in carrying out this plan. Provides that the Federal share of the cost of carrying out a plan submitted by a consumer protection office shall not exceed 75 percent. Authorizes the Secretary to withhold Federal funds for failure to comply with the approved consumer plan. Requires the Secretary to submit a detailed report as part of the annual report of the Department of HEW on the administration of this Act.
United States · United States Congress · 23 January 1975
Performance Life Disclosure Act - Requires manufacturers of durable consumer products, including appliances and electronic items, to disclose on a conspicuous label or tag affixed to each item sold at retail to consumers the performance life, under normal operating conditions, of each manufactured durable product. Authorizes the National Bureau of Standards of the Department of Commerce to make regulations for this Act, and to determine the performance life of products and components of products covered by this Act. Directs the Federal Trade Commission to prevent any person from violating the provisions of this Act in the same manner and with the same jurisdiction as though all applicable terms and provisions of the Federal Trade Commission Act were incorporated into and made a part of this Act.
United States · United States Congress · 23 January 1975
Antifriction Bearing Orderly Trade Act - Provides that the Congress finds that increased imports of antifriction ball and roller bearings and parts thereof have resulted in such a reliance upon foreign sources for substantial segments of antifriction bearings requirements as to threaten to impair the national security. Declares it to be the policy of Congress that access to the United States market for foreign-produced antifriction bearings should be on a basis to insure orderly trade and to prevent the reduction of the potential of this essential industry to meet all national security emergencies. Permits the President to negotiate multilateral or bilateral agreements to establishing, for periods beginning on or after the date of the enactment of this Act, annual quantitative limitations on United States imports based on a percentage equal to the percentage of average annual consumption represented by imports during the years 1961-1966.
United States · United States Congress · 23 January 1975
Directs the Secretary of State, upon request, to grant to the personal representative of a citizen of the United States who dies outside the United States a loan to transport by commercial aircraft (or by train from Mexico or Canada) the citizen's remains from the location outside the United States where such remains are on the date of such request to the location in the United States that such representative shall indicate in such request. Provides that such representative shall repay such loan to the Secretary of State, without interest, within one year after he receives such loan; except that the Secretary may adjust the repayment period or cancel all of such repayment (before any such repayment is scheduled) if he determines that such representative would be placed in dire personal financial difficulties because of such repayment.
United States · United States Congress · 23 January 1975
Specifies that the provisions of the Strategic and Critical Materials Stocks Piling Act regarding the acquisition and development of strategic raw materials shall not apply to regulations or prohibitions pertaining to economic relations and/or communications with foreign nations or foreign nationals which are established under the authority of the United Nations Participation Act in response to sanctions imposed by the United Nations.
United States · United States Congress · 23 January 1975
Provides that the first 60,000 barrels of beer brewed by a brewery in the United States producing less than 2,000,000 barrels annually for consumption shall be taxable under the Internal Revenue Code at a rate of $7 per barrel (as opposed to the flat rate of $9 per barrel presently imposed).
United States · United States Congress · 23 January 1975
Authorizes payment under the supplementary medical insurance program, of title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act, for annual immunization against influenza.
United States · United States Congress · 23 January 1975
Cost-of-living Adjustment Act- Provides, under the Internal Revenue Code, for automatic cost-of-living adjustments, based on the Consumer Price Index, in: (1) the income tax rates; (2) the amount of standard deductions; (3) the amount of personal exemptions; (4) the amount of depreciation deductions; and (5) the adjusted basis for property. Makes cost-of- living adjustments in specified United States savings bonds and certificates and on other obligations of the United States.
United States · United States Congress · 23 January 1975
Provides, under the Omnibus Crime Control and Safe Streets Act, for a ten- year term for the appointment of the Director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation.
United States · United States Congress · 23 January 1975
Provides that whoever robs any pharmacy of any narcotic drug shall be fined not more than $5,000 or imprisoned for not more than twenty years or both. Provides that whoever, in commiting or attempting to commit any offense described above, assaults any person, or puts in jeopardy the life of any person by the use of a dangerous weapon or device, shall be fined not more than $10,000 or imprisoned for not more than twenty-five years or both. Provides that whoever, in committing or attempting to commit any such offense, kills any person shall be imprisoned for not less than ten years.
United States · United States Congress · 23 January 1975
Authorizes the Secretaty of the Army to: (1) establish a national cemetery in each State in which there is no national cemetery; and (2) provide for the maintenance and care of each such cemetery. Authorizes appropriation of such sums as are necessary to carry out the purposes of this Act. Provides, with respect to veterans' funeral expenses, for an additional burial allowance of $400 for veterans interred in other than a national cemetery. (Adds 38 U.S.C. 902(c)).
United States · United States Congress · 23 January 1975
Extends commissary and exchange privileges to disabled veterans with a 50 percent or more service-connected disability, and to the widows of veterans who died from a service-connected disability rated as permanently and totally disabling. (Adds 10 U.S.C. 4261(j), (k); 9261(j), (k); 7603(b), (c))
United States · United States Congress · 20 January 1975
Declares that for 90 days following enactment of this Act the President shall have no authority to adjust imports of petroleum or petroleum products under the Trade Expansion Act or any other Federal law. Provides that in the event of a declaration of war, an attack upon the United States, or other involvement in hostilities by the Armed Forces within the 90 day period, this provision shall not thereafter apply. Provides that any action taken by the President between January 15, 1975, and the date of enactment of this Act which results in the imposition of a duty tax or fee on petroleum or petroleum products shall cease to have effect on the date of enactment. Allows a rebate of any amount paid as a tax or fee on petroleum products which was imposed by the President after January 15, 1975, and before enactment of this Act.
United States · United States Congress · 20 January 1975
Provides, under the Coastal Zone Management Act, for the establishment of a national policy with respect to the Nation's beach resources. Defines the terms used in this Act and states that it is the declared intention of Congress to exercise its constitutional power to protect the public's right to use the beaches. Provides that no person shall construct or maintain any barrier which interferes with the public's right to use the public beaches. Authorizes the Attorney General or U.S. district attorneys (1) to establish and protect the public's right to the beaches; (2) to determine the existing status of title, ownership, and control; and (3) to condemn easements to accomplish the purposes of this Act. Declares that actions brought under this Act may be for injunctive, declaratory, or other suitable relief. States that nothing in this Act shall be held to impair specified State interests in the beaches. Delcares that it is desirable that the States and Federal Government act together to protect the rights and interests of the public in the beaches. Authorizes the Secretary of Transportation to provide financial assistance to any State or political subdivision for the development and maintenance of transportation facilities necessary in connection with the use of public beaches. Authorizes to be appropriated such sums, not to exceed $30,000,000 for each of the fiscal years 1976, 1977, and 1978, for grants to States to plan and develop projects designed to secure the right of the public to the beaches.
United States · United States Congress · 20 January 1975
Requires the Watergate Special Prosecution Force to make available to the public a report on all information it has concerning Richard M. Nixon on offenses against the United States.
United States · United States Congress · 20 January 1975
Expresses the sense of the Congress that the President should not impose any tariff or other import restriction on petroleum or petroleum products before April 1, 1975, so as to give the Congress a reasonable period of time in which to act legislatively on such matter if it determines such action is necessary.
United States · United States Congress · 17 January 1975
Provides for an increase in the amount of the personal exemption under the Internal Revenue Code for taxable years beginning after December 31, 1974, from $750 to $1000.
United States · United States Congress · 14 January 1975
States that the Airlines Mutual Aid Agreement approved by the Civil Aeronautics Board is adverse to the public interest and is hereby terminated. States that the effective date of this Act is February 1, 1975.
United States · United States Congress · 14 January 1975
Immigration and Nationality Authorization Act - Authorizes necessary appropriations to the Department of State to carry out its functions under the Immigration and Nationality Act. Requires that all authorizations of appropriations for the Departments of Justice and Labor for administering the Immigration and Nationality Act, in regard to any fiscal year after fiscal year 1975, shall be specifically made by Act of Congress.
United States · United States Congress · 14 January 1975
Grand Jury Reform Act - Provides that persons confined for refusal to testify or provide other information concerning any transaction or event before a grand jury may not be again confined under this Act for a subsequent refusal to testify or provide other information concerning the same transaction or event. States that whoever discloses any matter occurring before any grand jury impaneled before a court of the United States shall be fined not more than $500 or imprisoned not more than six months or both. Requires that upon impanelment of every grand jury before a district court, the court shall give adequate and reasonable notice to the grand jury of: (1) its duty to inquire into offenses against the criminal laws of the United States alleged to have been committed within that district; (2) its rights, authority, and powers with respect to an independent inquiry; (3) its right to call and interrogate witnesses; (4) its right to request the production of documents or other evidence; and (5) such other duties and rights as the court deems advisable. Stipulates that any grand jury impaneled before any district court may, after giving notice to the court, inquire upon its own initiative into offenses against the criminal laws of the United States alleged to have been committed within that district. Provides, that, upon the request of any grand jury impaneled before any district court (pursuant to the affirmative vote of a majority of its members), the court shall appoint a special attorney, in lieu of the attorney for the Government, to assist the jury in the conduct of any independent inquiry. Sets forth the rights of witnesses testifying before the grand jury. States that every witness called to testify or produce other information before a grand jury impaneled before a district court shall be entitled to the advice of an attorney who may be present and provide such advice while testimony or other information is being elicited from the witness by who may not perform any other function at the proceeding before the grand jury. Provides that witnesses may examine and copy the record of their own testimony under such conditions as the court deems reasonable.
United States · United States Congress · 14 January 1975
Opportunities for Adoption Act - Provides for adoption assistance programs under the provisions of the Public Health Service Act. Makes it the purpose of this Act, in order to promote the public health and welfare, to facilitate the elimination of obstacles to adoption, and to locate children in need of adoption and facilitate the placement in permanent adoptive homes of such children, particularly children with special needs, by: (1) promoting the establishment of uniform adoption regulations in the States and territories of the United States in order to eliminate jurisdictional and legal obstacles to adoption; (2) providing Federal financial assistance to States for the purpose of assisting certain public and private nonprofit agencies and adoptive and prospective adoptive parents in meeting certain costs of adoption in order to remove or alleviate the financial obstacles which present serious barriers to adoption by qualified persons; and (3) providing for the establishment of a National Office of Adoption Information and Services in the Department of Health, Education, and Welfare to (A) insure quality standards for adoption services (including pre-placement and post-placement and post-adoption counseling and standards to protect the rights of children in need of adoption) and (B) provide for a national adoption information exchange system. Directs the Secretary of Health, Education, and Welfare to appoint a Committee on Uniform Adoption Regulations to be composed of representatives of National, State, and local child welfare organizations and representatives of other groups interested in facilitating the objectives of adoption agencies, and the Chief of the Children's Bureau in the Office of Child Development, Department of Health, Education, and Welfare, or his designee. Directs such Committee to: (1) review current conditions, practices, and laws relating to adoption, with special reference to their effect on facilitating or impeding the finding of suitable adoptive homes for children and the completion of suitable adoptions; (2) propose to the Secretary uniform adoption regulations which would facilitate adoption; and (3) report its proposals to the Congress and the President not later than eighteen months after the date of enactment of this Act. Provides that following receipt of the Committee's proposals, but not later than twenty-four months after the date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall publish the proposed uniform adoption regulations in the Federal Register for comment and, after soliciting and giving due consideration to the comments of interested individuals, groups, and organizations and consulting further with the Committee, he shall issue and publish final uniform adoption regulations which shall apply in the administration of the grant program. Directs the Secretary, in accordance with regulations which he shall prescribe, to make matching grants to States for allocation, by State agencies principally responsible for services to families and children, to public and private nonprofit adoption agencies which meet standards of quality prescribed pursuant to this Act for the purpose of assisting: (1) such agencies in meeting the cost involved in the adoptive placement of children with special needs (including locating suitable homes and providing pre-placement and post-placement and post-adoptive counseling to children in need of adoption and to prospective and actual adoptive parents); (2) such agencies in meeting the cost of providing prenatal and postpartum services to mothers, voluntarily planning to place their children for adoption, who are unable to assume such costs, in order to protect the health and welfare of both the mother and child; but only to the extent that assistance under other Federal or State programs in the community in question is not readily available to provide adequately for such services; (3) such agencies in meeting the cost of providing for professional counseling and other social services to children in need of adoption, and to prospective and actual adoptive parents and foster parents to assist them in providing a supportive and healthful family environment; (4) adoptive parents in locating and, where appropriate, defraying the cost of post-placement and post-adoption special services to children requiring such services as a result of conditions which existed prior to their placement, up to an amount not exceeding the amount which similar services would cost the State in question were it to provide or secure such services as the guardian of such children; and (5) prospective adoptive parents, who would consider adoption but for their financial inability to meet a child's needs, in defraying the post-placement and post-adoption cost of supporting children with special needs, in amounts of assistance determined by the Secretary to be adequate to enable such adoptive parents to assume responsibility for raising such children. Provides for the establishment of a system in the States under which, with respect to a child who has been in foster care in a State for at least six months after such child is considered legally available for adoptive placement, the foster parents providing care to such child will be notified of the possibility of the financial assistance for adoptive placement authorized by this Act. Directs the Secretary to take such steps as he deems necessary to encourage and facilitate the consideration of comprehensive adoption assistance legislation by those States which have not enacted such legislation. Establishes within the Children's Bureau of the Office of Child Development of the Department of Health, Education, and Welfare a National Office of Adoption Information and Services which shall be headed by a Director appointed by the Secretary upon the joint recommendation of the Director of the Office of Child Development and the Chief of the Children's Bureau. Provides that the Office shall be the principal agency for carrying out the provisions of this Act. Directs the Director, in accordance with regulations which he shall prescribe, to; (1) conduct a continuous educational program on adoption and to prepare, publish, and disseminate to all interested parties, private and public agencies and organizations, and governmental bodies educational materials regarding adoption and adoption assistance programs; (2) measure and evaluate the impact of the programs authorized by this Act and, not later than ninety days after June 30 of each year, prepare and submit to the Secretary for transmittal to the President and the Congress a report on such evaluation, which shall include, but not be limited to (A) the number of children placed in adoptive homes under adoption assistance agreements during the year preceding the annual report and the major characteristics of such children; and (B) the number of children currently in foster care for six months or more, and the legal status of such children; (3) insure that adoption agencies receiving assistance authorized under this Act subscribe to standards of quality, which he shall prescribe, for adoption services (including pre-placement and post-placement and post-adoption counseling and standards to protect the rights of children in need of adoption) and comply with the requirements of title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964; and (4) notwithstanding any other provision of law, provide for the operation of a national adoption information system, utilizing computers and modern data processing methods, to assist in the location of children in need of adoption and in the placement in adoptive homes of children awaiting adoption, and for the promotion of cooperative efforts with any similar programs operated by or within any State or foreign country. Authorizes the appropriation for the fiscal year ending June 30, 1974, and the succeeding three fiscal years, of such sums as may be necessary to carry out the purposes and provisions of this Act.
United States · United States Congress · 14 January 1975
Authorizes the Secretary of the Interior to provide for the establishment in the State of Pennsylvania of the Edgar Allan Poe National Historical Park. Authorizes appropriations of such sums as may be necessary for such purposes.
United States · United States Congress · 14 January 1975
Provides that any executive agreement made on or after the date of enactment of this Act shall be transmitted to the Secretary of State who shall then transmit such agreement to the Congress. States that if, in the opinion of the President, the immediate disclosure of such an agreement would be prejudicial to the security of the United States, the agreement shall be transmitted to the Committee on Foreign Relations of the Senate and the Committee on Foreign Affairs of the House under an appropriate written injunction of secrecy to be removed only upon due notice from the President. Provides that any such agreement shall come into force with respect to the United States at the end of the first period of 60 calendar days after the date on which the executive agreement is transmitted to the Congress of such committees, as the case may be, unless both Houses pass a concurrent resolution stating in substance that both Houses do not approve the executive agreement.
![Official portrait of Rep. Eilberg, Joshua [D-PA-4]](https://www.congress.gov/img/member/e000096_200.jpg)