United States · United States Congress · 22 August 1974
Establishes a Commission on Medical Malpractice Awards for the purpose of studying and making recommendations concerning the feasibility of establishing maximum limits on the amount of damages that may be granted in any medical malpractice suit brought against any physician, dentist, or practitioner of the healing arts. Specifies the membership composition of such commission and its administrative powers.
United States · United States Congress · 22 August 1974
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; (3) a concerted effort should be made to insure that 1975 is a year not only of stock-taking but also a time for the launching of new programs and the forming of new attitudes toward the role of women; and (4) women in more than token numbers should be included on all United States delegations to international conferences or other meetings, and on national commissions and other bodies where positions are filled by Federal appointment.
United States · United States Congress · 21 August 1974
Internal Revenue Commission Act - Establishes an independent commission to be known as the Internal Revenue Commission, the principal office of which shall be in the District of Columbia. Provides that all the functions with respect to the administration and enforcement of the Internal Revenue Code of 1954 which, immediately prior to the date that this Act takes effect, were performed by the Secretary of the Treasury, the Commissioner of Internal Revenue, or any other officer or employee of the Department of the Treasury are transferred to the Internal Revenue Commission. Provides that the transfer of functions under this Act shall not affect any act done or any right accruing or accrued before such transfer. States that so much of the positions, personnel, assets, liabilities, contracts, property, and records of the Department of the Treasury which, as determined by the Director of the Office of Management and Budget, were employed, held, used, or available or to be made available in connection with the functions transferred by this Act shall be transferred to the Internal Revenue Commission.
United States · United States Congress · 21 August 1974
Expresses the sense of the House that the prevention of widespread famine requires immediate and substantial public investments in agricultural research and technology for the express purpose of increasing food production which would: (1) insure a ready supply of food at reasonable consumer food costs; (2) aid in the maintenance of a favorable United States trade balance; and (3) reduce the risk of food shortages in years of adverse weather.
United States · United States Congress · 20 August 1974
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) ensure 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 · 20 August 1974
Authorizes the Administrator of Veterans' Affairs to provide financial assistance in the form of grants to the States for the establishment and maintenance of State veterans cemeteries. Defines the terms used in this Act. Sets forth procedures for the application requirements to be met by the States under this Act. Limits grants under this Act to 75 percent of the cost of the cemetery for which the grant is made. Authorizes the apporpriation of such sums as are necessary to carry out the purposes of this Act.
United States · United States Congress · 20 August 1974
Constitutional Amendment - Provides that whenever there is a vacancy in the office of the Vice President by reason of the succession to the office of President of a Vice President who was nominated and confirmed under the twenty-fifth article of amendment, electors appointed under section 1 of article II shall choose a Vice President in accordance with the provisions of the twelfth article of amendment.
United States · United States Congress · 19 August 1974
Equal Opportunity and Full Employment Act - Directs the President, with the assistance of the Council of Economic Advisors, to transmit annually a full employment and production program to the Congress. Sets forth a summary of the content to be contained in such annual report. Provides for annual Labor Reports of the President. Requires the Labor Reports to provide detailed attention on a continuing and progressively analytical basis to the changing volume and composition of the American labor supply. Renames the United States Employment Service as the United States Full Employment Service. Creates a Job Guarantee Office in the United States Full Employment Office headed by a Job Guarantee Officer whose responsibility is to provide useful and rewarding employment for any American, able and willing to work but not yet working, unable otherwise to obtain work, and applying to such office for assistance. Directs the Job Guarantee Office to carry out responsibilities under this Act upon the recommendation and approval of the local planning councils. Requires that each Job Guarantee Office in carrying out its responsibilities shall insure that among projects planned that adequate consideration be given to such individuals and groups as may face special obstacles in finding and holding useful and rewarding employment and shall provide or have provided through the coordination of existing programs special assistance including but not limited to counseling, training, and, where necessary, transportation and migration assistance. Provides that such individuals and groups shall include (1) those suffering from past or present discrimination or bias on the basis of sex, age, race, color, religion, or national origin; (2) older workers and retirees; (3) the physically or mentally handicapped; (4) youths to age 21; (5) potentially employable recipients of public assistance; (6) the inhabitants of depressed areas, urban and rural; (7) veterans of the Armed Forces; (8) people unemployed because of the relocation, closing, or reduced operations in industrial or military facilities; and (9) such other groups as the President or the Congress may designate from time to time. Directs that each Job Guarantee Office may, subject to the limitations specified in this Act, enter into agreements with public agencies and private organizations operating on a profit, nonprofit, or limited-profit basis. Requires such agreements to contain assurances that the agency or organization will: (1) provide an annual independent audit to the Job Guarantee Office; and (2) not discriminate on the grounds of sex, age, race, color, religion, or national origin in the administration of any program encompassed within the agreement. Directs the Job Guarantee Office to: (1) refer jobseekers to the private sector and general public sector employment placement facilities of the Full Employment Service (other than as supplemented by this Act); and (2) directly refer jobseekers for placement in positions on projects drawn from the reservoir of public service and private employment projects. Provides that any who presents himself or herself in person at the full Employment Office shall be considered prima facie "willing and able" to work. Provides that this stipulation specifically shall include persons with impairments of sight, hearing, movement, coordination, mental retardation, or other handicaps. Directs that this stipulation be implemented by the Job Guarantee Officer, prusuant to regulations issued by the Secretary. Establishes a Standby Job Corps which shall consist of jobseekers registered pursuant to this Act. Provides that such Corps shall be available for public service work upon projects and activities that are approved as a part of community public service work reservoirs established by community boards pursuant to this Act. Directs the Secretary, by regulation, to provide for: (1) a requirement that jobseekers registered in the Standby Job Corps maintain a status of good standing, which status shall include attendance and performance standards; and (2) a system of compensation for Corps members. Provides that no Standby Job Corps members shall be paid less than the minimum wage in effect in the area. Directs the Joint Economic Committee to: (1) annually review the activities of the executive branch under all sections of this Act; (2) regularly conduct on its own behalf, or in cooperation with or through the facilities of the appropriate legislative committees or subcommittees of the Senate and the House, public hearings in as many labor market areas as feasible; and (3) annually report upon, with its own conclusions and recommendations, the development and administration of the policies and programs mandated by this Act. Establishes a National Institute for Full Employment within the Department of Labor, under a director to be appointed by the Secretary of Labor, and to operate in continuing consultation with a National Commission for Full Employment Policy Studies. Authorizes and directs the Institute to make, or have made through grants to or contracts with individual researchers and private or public research organizations, universities, and other Government agencies, studies that shall include, but need not be limited to, such subjects as: (1) the policies and programs needed to reduce whatever inflationary pressures may result from full employment to manage any such inflationary pressures through appropriate fiscal policies and indirect and direct controls, and to protect the weaker groups in society from whatever inflationary trends cannot be avoided or controlled; (2) the identification of human potentialities that are hidden, undeveloped, or underdeveloped because of the lack of suitable job opportunities, encouragement, education, or training and of various ways of releasing such potentialities; (3) the forms of education and training needed to help provide people with the skills, knowledge, and values required by existing employment opportunities and technologies and needed to assist in developing such new types of goods, services, technologies, and employment opportunities as may better meet human needs; and (4) the policies and programs needed to substantially eliminate substandard employment, wages, and working conditions and the techniques for establishing standards for employment, wages, and working conditions in accordance with changing levels of national output and resources, and regional variations in output. Authorizes the appropriation for the fiscal year ending on June 30, 1977, and for each succeeding fiscal year of such sums as may be needed to carry out this Act.
United States · United States Congress · 19 August 1974
Expresses the sense of the House of Representatives that: (1) all military, economic, or other assistance, all sales of defense articles and services, all sales of agricultural commodities and services, and all licenses with respect to the transportation of arms, ammunitions, and implements of war (including technical data relating thereto) to the Government of Turkey should be suspended on the date of adoption of this resolution; and (2) the provisions of this resolution should cease to apply when the President reports to the Congress that the Government of Turkey has withdrawn all of its armed forces from Cyprus.
United States · United States Congress · 14 August 1974
Expresses the findings of Congress and declares that it is the purpose of this Act to promote the efficient use of energy by directing the Secretary of Commerce, acting through the Director of the National Bureau of Standards, to prepare building insulation standards to be used by those interested in establishing energy conservation requirements for new construction. Specifies the types of standards to be set. Provides for the dissemination of such building insulation standards.
United States · United States Congress · 14 August 1974
Youth Camp Safety Act - Makes it the purpose of this Act to protect and safeguard the health and well-being of youth attending day camps, resident camps, and travel camps by providing for the establishment of Federal standards for the safe operation of youth camps. Establishes in the Office of the Secretary of Health, Education, and Welfare an Office of Youth Camp Safety to be headed by a Director of Youth Camp Safety. Confers upon the Director the primary responsibility for the promulgation and enforcement of Federal and State youth camp safety regulations. Requires any State which desires to assume responsibility for the development and modification of youth camp safety standards to submit a State plan to the Director for his approval. Allows a State whose plan has been rejected to obtain review of the decision in the United States Court of Appeals. Authorizes the Director to make grants to States which have in effect approved State plans, such grants not to exceed eighty percent of the cost of carrying out the State plan. Authorizes to be appropriated $7,500,000 for fiscal year 1975, and for each succeeding fiscal year, to make the grants provided for in this Act. Authorizes the Director to enter and inspect youth camps and their records. Directs the Director to establish within the Department of Health, Education, and Welfare an Advisory Council on Youth Camp Safety and to submit to Congress at least once a year a comprehensive and detailed report on his administration under this Act. Prescribes penalties for each violation by youth camp operators of the standards promulgated pursuant to this Act. Authorizes the Director to request directly from any department or agency of the Federal Government information, suggestions, estimates, and statistics needed to carry out his functions under this Act; and such department or agency is authorized to furnish such information, suggestions, estimates, and statistics directly to the Director.
United States · United States Congress · 13 August 1974
National Commission on Epilepsy and Its Consequences Act - Directs the Secretary of Health, Education, and Welfare to appoint a National Commission to determine the most effective means of finding the cause and cures and treatments for epilepsy. Directs that such Commission shall develop a national plan for the control of epilepsy and its consequences. Provides for the membership of such Commission. Sets forth the duties of such Commission. Requires that it shall be a duty of the Commission to develop a comprehensive national plan for the control of epilepsy and its consequences based on the most thorough, complete, and accurate data available on the disorder. Requires the Commission to make recommendations concerning the proper roles of the Federal and State governments, and the national and local public and private agencies in research, prevention, identification and rehabilitation of persons with epilepsy. Requires the transmittal to the President and to the Congress of a final report under this Act.
United States · United States Congress · 13 August 1974
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 · 13 August 1974
Expresses the sense of Congress that the President of the United States should direct the Secretary of State: (1) to bring to the immediate attention of the Government of the Soviet Union the deep and growing concern among citizens of the United States over the plight of Simas Kudirka as a United States citizen; and (2) to urge that the Soviet Government release him from imprisonment and permit him and his immediate family to emigrate freely to the country of his choice. Expresses the sense of the Congress that the President of the United States forward a copy of this concurrent resolution to the United States Representative to the United Nations for transmission to the Commission on Human Rights or the Division of Human Rights of the United Nations.
United States · United States Congress · 12 August 1974
Declares that all foreign troops currently involved in Cyprus be withdrawn immediately so that the United Nations may be permitted to restore peace to the island and the Cypriot people guaranteed the right to determine their own destiny.
United States · United States Congress · 7 August 1974
Solar Energy Research, Development and Demonstration Act - Expresses the findings of Congress and declares that it is the policy of the United States to pursue a vigorous and adequately funded program with the objective of utilizing solar energy as a major source for our national energy needs. Defines the terms used in this Act. Establishes the Solar Energy Coordination and Management Project to have responsibility for management and coordination of a national solar energy research, development and demonstration program. Directs the Project to carry out its duties in cooperation with specified Federal agencies, including the Atomic Energy Commission and the Federal Power Commission. Makes conforming amendments to the National Science Foundation Act and the National Aeronautics and Space Act. Instructs the Project to initiate a solar energy resource determination and assessment program, emphasizing identification of promising areas for commercial exploitation and development. Enumerates the specific goals of the determination and assessment program. Directs the Project: (1) to initiate a research and development program for resolving the major technical problems inhibiting commercial utilization of solar energy in the United States; (2) to implement a research and development program to demonstrate the technical means for securing and utilizing the resource base; and (3) to initiate a program to design and construct facilities to demonstrate the feasibility of utilizing the various forms of solar energy. Details the goals of each such program. Authorizes the National Science Foundation to support, coordinate, and encourage the development of policies set forth in this Act. Establishes a Solar Energy Research Institute to perform research functions in connection with the Project's activities under this Act. Calls for the creation of a Solar Energy Information Data Bank, specifying the content of data to be collected and compiled. Transfers specified functions, documents, and personnel to the Energy Research and Development Administration. Authorizes to be appropriated to the National Science Foundation for fiscal year 1975, $2,000,000 for use in the preparation of the comprehensive program. Authorizes to be appropriated to carry out this Act, for fiscal years beginning after 1975, such sums as the Congress may hereafter authorize.
United States · United States Congress · 6 August 1974
Authorizes the Administrator of Veterans' Affairs to provide financial assistance in the form of grants to the States for the establishment and maintenance of State veterans cemeteries. Defines the terms used in this Act. Sets forth procedures for the application requirements to be met by the States under this Act. Limits grants under this Act to 75 percent of the cost of the cemetery for which the grant is made. Authorizes the apporpriation of such sums as are necessary to carry out the purposes of this Act.
United States · United States Congress · 5 August 1974
Expresses the sense of the Congress that the leadership of the Nation responsible for our economic well-being meet together immediately in a spirit of unity to design a set of policy actions to achieve the common goal of restoring stability and growth to the American economy and confidence and prosperity to the American people. States that it is in imperative as in previous moments of great national need that the two political parties, the Congress and the President, labor and management, put aside their domestic and political differences and work together in a spirit of discipline, compromise, and sacrifice for the common good. Expresses the sense of the Congress that this domestic summit be convened forthwith comprised of the President, the majority and minority leadership of both Houses of the Congress, the chairman and ranking minority members of the Appropriations Committee of both Houses, the chairmen and ranking minority members of the Senate Finance Committee and the House Ways and Means Committee, and the chairman of the Federal Reserve Board, together with leaders of labor and business, and such other participants as they may agree upon. Stipulates that they shall meet and devote such time as necessary until a plan of action is decided upon which, by its demonstration of renewed unity, direction, and purpose, will gain the public support and confidence necessary to be effective in overcoming these difficulties. States that the Congress stands ready to cooperate fully in the spirit of commitment and unity which the solution of this truly national problem will require of all elements of American society.
United States · United States Congress · 1 August 1974
Permits employees in an executive agency and individuals employed by the government of the District of Columbia to take an active part in political management or in political campaigns in their role as private citizens under conditions set forth in this Act. Defines the term "an active part in political management or in political campaigns" as including: (1) candidacy for or service as delegate, alternate, or proxy in any political convention or service as an officer or employee thereof; (2) participation in the deliberations of any primary meeting, mass convention, or caucus, addressing the meeting, making motions, preparing or assisting in preparing resolutions before the meeting, or taking a prominent part in such meeting; (3) preparing for, or organizing or conducting a political meeting or rally, addressing such a meeting on any partisan political matter, or taking any part in any such meeting or rally; (4) membership in political clubs and organizing of such a club; (5) distributing campaign literature and distributing or wearing campaign badges and buttons; (6) publishing or having editorial or managerial connection with any newspaper; (7) organizing or participating in any political parade; (8) initiating or signing nominating petitions on behalf of a partisan candidate, including canvassing for signatures of others; and (9) candidacy for nomination or election to any National, State, county, or municipal office.
United States · United States Congress · 31 July 1974
Requests that each of the several States, the District of Columbia, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, Guam, the Virgin Islands, the Canal Zone, American Samoa, and the Trust Territory of the Pacific Islands conduct a survey or study to determine the views of their citizens with respect to abortion laws.
United States · United States Congress · 25 July 1974
Provides that each Member of the House of Representatives, the Resident Commissioner from Puerto Rico, and the Delegates from the District of Columbia, Guam, and the Virgin Islands may hire not more than two additional employees who shall be known as John W. McCormack Senior Interns in honor of the former Speaker of the House of Representatives. States that such interns may be hired for not more than two weeks during the period May 1 through May 31 of each year and shall serve within the District of Columbia. Stipulates that for this purpose each such Member, Resident Commissioner, or Delegate shall have available annually for payment of compensation to such interns a total allowance of $500, to be payable to such interns at a rate not to exceed $125 per week, out of the contingent fund of the House. Requires that no person shall be paid compensation as a John W. McCormack Senior Intern who does not have on file with the Clerk of the House of Representatives, at all times during the period of employment as such intern, an appropriate certificate that such intern is sixty years of age or older and a resident of the district which the employing Member, Commissioner, or Delegate represents.
United States · United States Congress · 23 July 1974
Requires the Joint Committee on Atomic Energy to make continuing studies of the development, use, and control of Atomic Energy. Require the Atomic Energy Commission and the Department of Defense to keep the Committee fully informed of their activities with respect to the development and application of atomic energy. States that through members of the Joint Committee who are members of each respective House of Congress, the Joint Committee, twice in each session of Congress, shall cause to be made to the House and Senate a report on the development, use, and control of atomic energy for the common defense and security and for peaceful purposes.
United States · United States Congress · 22 July 1974
Provides, under title XVIII of the Social Security Act, for payment under the hospital insurance program for care and treatment furnished at a central radiation therapy treatment facility. Provides full payment under the supplementary medical insurance program for radiation therapy services furnished by physicians to inpatients or outpatients of any hospital or any such facility. Defines the terms used in this Act.
United States · United States Congress · 18 July 1974
Office of Congressional Polling Act - Establishes in the House of Representatives an Office of Congressional Polling. States that the Office shall conduct research into the drafting of public opinion questionnaires and methods of tabulating and analyzing the responses to such questionnaires; and provide technical assistance to any Member of the House of Representatives to assist in the planning and conducting of public opinion polls within his district. Directs the Office to make available to the public, upon request and at cost of reproduction and mailing, all information developed from such research and the results of the public opinion polls conducted by Members of the House of Representatives with the assistance of the Office.
United States · United States Congress · 18 July 1974
Requires, under the Communications Act of 1934, that radio receivers be technically equipped to receive and amplify both amplitude modulated (AM) and frequency modulated (FM) broadcasts.
United States · United States Congress · 16 July 1974
Prohibits the extension of credit to Turkey under the Export-Import Bank Act of 1945 until the President reports to the Congress that Turkey is cooperating with the United States in the curtailment of heroin traffic.
United States · United States Congress · 16 July 1974
Expresses the sense of Congress that any plan to provide nuclear energy capability to either Egypt or Israel, or any foreign government, shall not be agreed to without the expressed consent of a majority of both Houses of Congress.
United States · United States Congress · 11 July 1974
Child and Family Service Act - Title I: Child and Family Service Programs - Provides that the Secretary shall take all necessary action to coordinate child and family service programs under his jurisdiction and that, to this end, he shall establish and maintain within the Office of the Secretary of the Department of Health, Education, and Welfare an Office of Child and Family Services administered by a Director appointed by the President with the advise and consent of the Senate. Provides that such office shall assume the responsibility of the Office of Child Development and shall be the principal agency of the Department for the administration of this Act. Establishes a Child and Family Services Coordinating Council, consisting of the Director of the Office of Child and Family Services (who shall serve as chairperson), and representatives from the Federal agencies administering the Social Security Act and the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 and from the appropriate Federal agencies. Requires the Department of Labor, and other appropriate agencies, to meet on a regular basis, as they may deem necessary, in order to assure coordination of child and family service activities under their respective jurisdictions so as to assure maximum use of available resources through the prevention of duplication of activities; and to structure the activities related to the purposes of this Act. States that funds available for this title may be used (in accordance with approved applications and plans) for planning and developing child and family service programs; establishing, maintaining, and operating child and family service programs, which may include: (1) part-day or full-day child care programs, which provide educational, health, nutritional, and social services directed toward enabling participating children to attain their maximum potential; (2) other health, social, recreational, and educational programs designed to meet the special needs of children and families including before- and after- school and summer programs; (3) school services, and education, and consultation for parents, other family members functioning in the capacity of parents, youth, and prospective and expectant parents who request assistance in meeting the needs of their children; (4) social services to help families determine the appropriateness of child and family services and the possibility of alternative plans; (5) prenatal, post partum and other medical care, including services to expectant mothers who cannot afford such services, designed to help reduce handicapping conditions among the newborn; (6) programs designed to meet the special needs of ethnic groups and to meet the needs of all children to understand the history and cultural backgrounds of ethnic groups and the role of members of such groups in the histroy and cultural development of the Nation and the region in which they reside; (7) food and nutritional services; (8) diagnosis, identification, and treatment, and special activities designed to ameliorate physiological, mental, psychological, and emotional barriers to full participation in child and family service programs; (9) programs designed to extend child and family service gains (particularly parent participation) into the kindergarten and early primary grades, in cooperation with local educational agencies; (10) other such services and activities as the Secretary deems appropriate in furtherance of the purposes of this Act; (11) rental, lease or lease-purchase, mortgage amortization payments, renovation, acquisition and maintenance of necessary equipment and supplies, and to the extent authorized by this Act, construction or acquisition of facilities, including mobile facilities; (12) preservice and inservice education and training for professional and paraprofessional personnel, including parents and volunteers, especially education and training for career development and advancement; (13) staff and other administrative expenses of child and family service councils and of project policy committees established and operated in accordance with the provisions of this Act; and (14) dissemination of information in the functional language of those to be served to assure that parents are well informed of child and family service programs available to them and may participate in such programs. Provides that a State, locality, or combination of localities may be designated by the Secretary as a prime sponsor for the purpose of entering into arrangements to carryout programs under this title. Enumerates the requirements which must be met by States and localities submitting prime sponsorship applications. States that each prime sponsor shall establsih and maintain a Child and Family Service Council of specified composition. States that such Council shall be responsible for approving child and family service plans, basic goal, policies, procedures, overall budget policies and project funding, and the selection or establishment and annual renewal of an administering agency or agencies and will be responsible for annual and ongoing evaluation of child and family service programs according to criteria established by the Secretary. States that financial assistance under this title may be provided by the Secretary for fiscal year 1975 and any subsequent fiscal year to a prime sponsor only pursuant to a child and family service plan which is submitted by such prime sponsor and approved by the Secretary in accordance with the provisions of this title. Specifies the elements to be contained in such plans, and the procedure including opportunity for airing of views with respect to such plan, for approval or disapproval of the plan. States that funds may be provided by the prime sponsor for carrying out any program under such prime sponsor's comprehensive child and family service plan only to a qualified public or private agency or organization, including but not limited to an educational agency or institution, a community action agency, single-purpose Headstart agency, community development corporation, parent cooperative, organization of migrant agricultural workers, organization of Indians, organization interested in child care, employer or business organization, labor union, or employee or labor management organization, or by any other public or private agency whose project application is approved by the Child and Family Service Council of the prime sponsorship. Provides for special grants to States for necessary expenses incident to the operation of programs authorized by this Act in such States, and, in addition to the conditions which must be met for such grants, requires that grants for construction or acquisition of facilities may be made only if such construction or acquisition is essential to the provision of adequate child care services. Title II: Standards And Evaluations - Provides that, within six months after the enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall promulgate a common set of program standards which shall be applicable to all programs providing child care services under this or any other Federal Act, to be known as the Federal Standards for Child Care. Provides that the Secretary shall, within sixty days of the enactment of this Act, appoint a Special Committee on Federal Standards for Child Care to participate in the development of Federal Standards for child care and modifications thereof. Provides for the development of a minimum code for child and family service facilities to be addressed to the health, safety, and physical comfort of the children participating in such programs. Title III: Facilities and Research for Child and Family Services Programs - States that it is the purpose of this title to assist and encourage the provision of urgently needed facilities for child care and comprehensive child services programs. States that the Secretary of Health, Education, and Welfare is authorized to insure any mortgage (including advances on such mortgage during construction) in accordance with the provisions of this title upon such terms and conditions as he may prescribe and make commitments for insurance of such mortgage prior to the date of its execution or disbursement thereon. Provides that the mortgage shall be executed by a mortgagor approved by the Secretary, and that such mortgages shall involve in principal obligation of up to $250,000 and not to exceed 90 percent of the estimated replacement costs of properties or projects when the proposed improvements are completed. Creates a Child and Family Services Facility Insurance Fund which shall be used by the Secretary as a revolving fund for carrying out all the insurance provisions of this title, including mortgage insurance. Authorizes the Secretary to make grants, contracts, or other arrangements to carry out a program of research and demonstration projects, which shall include but not be limited to: (1) research to develop techniques to measure and evaluate child and family services, and to develop standards to evaluate professional and paraprofessional child and family service personnel; (2) research to test preschool programs emphasizing reading and reading readiness; (3) preventive medicine, techniques, and technology to improve the early diagnosis and treatment of diseases and learning disabilities of pre-school children; (4) research to test alternative methods of providing child and family service; (5) evaluation of research findings and the development of these findings and the effective application thereof; (6) dissemination and application of research and development efforts and demonstration projects to early childhood education programs; (7) production of informational systems and other resources necessary to support the activities authorized by this Act; (8) developing methods of determining the needs of individual children in particular areas such as education, nutrition, and medical services, so as to permit the modification of programs to fit the needs of individual children; and (9) a study of the need on a nationwide basis for child and family services programs and of the resources, including personnel, which are available to meet this need. Title IV: Training of Personnel for Child and Family Services - Authorizes the Secretary of Health, Education, and Welfare to make grants to or enter into contracts with institutions of higher education, State and local agencies, State and local educational agencies, private organizations and agencies engaged in teacher training, teacher training institutions, national child care organizations, and producers of television programing, for the purpose of establishing, developing, or upgrading early childhood personnel training programs to respond to the demonstrated need for child services personnel in the 1970's; and by stimulating the development of sufficient training and educational programs in every State and region of the United States to assure an adequate supply of personnel to meet staffing requirements. Authorizes appropriations for fiscal years 1975, 1976 and 1977 to carry out this title. Title V: General Provisions - Defines the terms used in this Act. Provides for nutrition services to be provided to child and family service programs under the National School Lunch Act of 1946 and the Child Nutrition Act of 1966.
United States · United States Congress · 11 July 1974
Eastern Wilderness Areas Act - Designates specified lands in Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Tennessee, Kentucky, Michigan, Missouri, New Hampshire, North Carolina, South Carolina, Vermont, Virginia, West Virginia and Wisconsin for inclusion in the National Wilderness Preservation System. Provides for a study of specified additional lands in eighteen states and Puerto Rico for such inclusion. Authorizes appropriations of such sums as may be necessary to carry out the purposes of this Act.
United States · United States Congress · 11 July 1974
Strip Mining Abolition Act - Requires public participation in the development and enforcement of regulations and standards promulgated and permits issued under this Act pertaining to strip mining. Empowers the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency to: (1) investigate and inspect to insure compliance with this Act; (2) hold public hearings; (3) issue cease-and-desist orders; and (4) order the revocation, suspension or modification of permits. Title I: Environmental Protection Coal Mining Limitations - Prohibits development of any new or previously mined and abandoned site for coal surface mining and, within 6 months, contour surface coal mining. Allows continuation of non-contour coal mining if a permit is obtained containing provisions for a reduction of mining production in three years to 50 percent of the 1973 level. Prohibits surface coal mining after 6 months unless a permit is obtained containing provisions for land stabilization and postmining land use. Prohibits the issuance of permits for mining within 300 feet of dwellings of public buildings or that will interrupt watercourses. Sets forth requirements for permit applications, including submission of ownership statements, mining maps, a hydrologic effect statement, and results of test borings and core samplings. Sets forth requirements for mining and stabilization plans (required or permit applicants), including identification of the entire mining area over the time of the operations, a statement of land uses prior to mining, a detailed description of mining and land stabilization methods, and a time schedule of operations. Requires public liability insurance on such operations for resulting personal and property damage. Requires surface coal mining operators to: (1) restore land to a condition capable of supporting prior uses; (2) carry on stabilization along with mining operations; (3) preserve topsoil; (4) restore the original contour of the land; (5) revegetate the land; (6) maintain hydrologic balance in the area; and (7) meet certain requirements in the use of explosives. Requires underground mine operators to: (1) backfill mine wastes in mine voids for mines opened after enactment of this Act where possible; (2) provide for adequate ground support; (3) seal all portals; and (4) refrain from use of water impoundments. Allows local, State, and Federal agencies to file objections to surface mining and stabilization plans and request and receive hearings at which the permit applicant must establish that his plans comply with applicable law. Requires the Administrator to make a decision within 30 days of such hearings of issuing a permit. Requires permit applicants whose permits have been approved to file a performance bond sufficient to assure stabilization in the event of forfeiture. Allows release of such bond upon satisfactory completion of mining and stablization work. Prohibits suspension or revocation of a permit without notice of violations to the permittee and 10 days to take corrective action, and after a public hearing (if requested), unless a significant threat to public health, private or public property, land or air exists. Provides for a written statement of reasons of any such action to a permittee and the right to appeal to United States district courts. Requires mine operators to keep specified records and use monitoring equipment. Requires inspection of surface mining sites once a month without notice and public disclosure of reports on such inspections. Provides that the Attorney General, at the Administrators request, may institute civil action to enforce this Act. Requires civil penalties for violations of permits or of this Act. Allows citizen suits against any alleged violators of the Act. Authorizes necessary appropriations to carry out this title. Prohibits Government procurement from mines in violation of this Act. States that where the surface owner is not the owner of the mineral estate proposed to be surface mined, the permit application shall include the written consent of the owner of such surface land, including lessees. Title II: Abandoned Mine Stabilization - Creates the Abandoned Coal Mine Stabilization Fund and authorizes appropriations to it of $100,000,000 and such other sums thereafter as Congress may appropriate. Directs the fund to be used for acquisition and stabilization of mined lands, acquistion and filling of voids and sealing of tunnels and shafts, and for use by the Secretary of Agriculture to combat erosion caused by mining effects. Limits the use of the fund to lands affected by mining prior to enactment of this Act. Provides for the condemation of land when the Chief of the Corps of Engineers cannot otherwise acquire land for stabilization purposes. Authorizes bidding for stabilization work contracts, with preference to be given to former employees. Authorizes matching grants to States which require and transfer land to the Chief of the Corps for such purposes, of surface coal mines. Provides for resale of such stabilized land.
United States · United States Congress · 2 July 1974
Requires, under the Export Administration Act of 1969, that all proposed agreements between the United States and any foreign nations providing for the transfer or distribution of nuclear materials or technology be subject to congressional approval.
United States · United States Congress · 2 July 1974
Directs the President of the United States to furnish to the House of Representatives, within ten days after the adoption of this resolution, full and complete information on the following: (1) the steps being taken, in the negotiation of the Agreement for Cooperation with Egypt and in the negotiation of the Agreement for Cooperation with Israel for the sale of nuclear reactors and fuel; (2) whether or not the United States has required a commitment by Egypt and/or Israel not to construct chemical separation plants to extract weapons-grade plutonium from the fuel elements of such nuclear reactors; (3) whether or not any distribution of nuclear materials or of classified nuclear technology will be made to Egypt or to Israel prior to the conclusion of such Agreements for Cooperation; (4) what steps, if any, the United States has taken to require, as a condition of such agreements, that Egypt and Israel sign the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty; and (5) the safeguard provisions, beyond those prescribed in the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty, which the United States has imposed to prevent the diversion of plutonium from fuel to weaponry purposes or to prevent terrorist acquisition of radioactive materials.
United States · United States Congress · 1 July 1974
National Commission on the Economy Act - Establishes the National Commission on the Economy to conduct a comprehensive study to determine: (1) the causes of (a) price instability; (b) erosion of consumer purchasing power; (c) the high rate of unemployment and serious problems of underemployment; (d) severe inflationary pressures; (e) shortages in certain essential commodities, raw materials, and finished products; (f) problems relating to productivity; and (g) such other economic problems as the Commission determines to have a significant impact on consumers; (2) the effectiveness of existing organizational and institutional arrangements in the Federal Government for establishing sound economic policies; (3) the impact on the economy of the major regulatory agencies of the Federal Government; (4) the adequacy of the data collection practices of the Federal Government as they relate to the formulation of economic policy; and (5) the impact on the economy of the fiscal and monetary policies of the Federal Government. Provides that, in determining the causes of the current economic problems listed above, the Commission shall consider the impact of industrial concentration, international economic conditions, the activities of major multinational business firms, and the policies and programs of the Federal Government relating to such matters. Requires the Commission to submit to the President and to the Congress a progress report (to be submitted one year after the date of the enactment of the first Act appropriating funds for the Commission) and a final report (to be submitted not later than two years after the date of the enactment of the first Act appropriating funds for the Commission) containing: (1) a detailed statement of the findings and conclusions of the Commission; and (2) the recommendations of the Commission formulated pursuant to this Act. States that the Commission shall be composed of specified numbers of individuals representing the private sector and the legislative and executive branches of the Federal Government.
United States · United States Congress · 27 June 1974
Harry S. Truman Memorial Scholarship Act - Expresses the findings of Congress and declares that it is especially appropriate to honor former President Harry S. Truman through the creation of a perpetual educational scholarship program to develop increased opportunities for young Americans to prepare and pursue careers in public service. Establishes as an independent establishment of the executive branch of the United States Government, the Harry S. Truman Scholarship Foundation, to be subject to the supervision and direction of the Board of Trustees. Authorizes the Foundation to award fifty-one scholarships in any fiscal year beginning after June 30, 1973, for undergraduate study for persons who plan to pursue a career in public service. States that each recipient shall be knows as a Truman scholar. Sets forth provisions governing: (1) the scholarship requirements; (2) the procedures for selection of Truman scholars; (3) stipends and institutional allowances; and (4) the scholarship conditions. Establishes in the Treasury of the United States a trust fund to be known as the Harry S. Truman Memorial Scholarship Trust Fund. Prescribes the procedures for expenditures from the fund. Directs that there shall be an Executive Secretary of the Foundation, appointed by the Board, who shall be the chief executive officer and shall carry out the functions of the Foundation subject to the supervision and direction of the Board. Authorizes to be appropriated $30,000,000 to the fund. Authorizes to be appropriated such sums as may be necessary for administrative expenses incident to carrying out the provisions of this Act.
United States · United States Congress · 26 June 1974
Provides that the increase in supplemental security income benefits under the provisions relating to grants to the States for benefits for the aged, blind, or disabled of title XVI of the Social Security Act which was enacted (effective July 1, 1974) by Public Law 93-233 shall not be taken into account in determining the minimum level of required State supplementation of such benefits, in any State, until the legislature of the State has had an opportunity to consider such supplementation.
United States · United States Congress · 25 June 1974
Prohibits the military departments from using dogs in connection with any research or other activities relating to biological or chemical warfare agents.
United States · United States Congress · 20 June 1974
Revises the special pay structure relating to the following group of health professionals of the uniformed services: physicians, dentists, optometrists, veterinarians, and podiatrists.
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 · 20 June 1974
National Health Action Corps Act - States that the purpose of this Act is to increase the number of trained professional personnel in the allied health field by providing young Americans training and practical work experience in the allied health field. Establishes within the executive branch an independent agency to be known as the Health Action Corps. Provides that the Corps shall be headed by a Board of Directors which shall consist of the Secretary of Health, Education, and Welfare, the Secretary of Housing and Urban Development, the Secretary of Labor, the Secretary of Commerce, and the Director of the Office of Management and Budget, or their respective designees. States that it shall be the duty of the Corps to provide opportunities for young Americans to participate in programs which provide training and practical work experience in the allied health field. Provides that such programs shall include career counseling, exposure to various health-related occupations, and training and work experience in clinical settings. Stipulates that the Corps shall be composed of volunteers selected by the Administrator in accordance with policies and procedures established by the Board. States that the Administrator, in accordance with policies and procedures prescribed by the Board, may provide to any volunteer who has completed his period of enlistment: (1) a scholarship of $3,000 if such volunteer is a full-time student at a junior college, college, or university; or (2) a bonus of $3,000, if such volunteer works for one year in an area which (as determined by the Administrator) has a critical shortage of trained professional personnel in the allied health field. Stipulates that the Board shall establish a National Advisory Committee to advise, consult with, and make recommendations to the Board on matters relating to the following: (1) policies for the recruitment of Corps volunteers; (2) evaluation of the quality of the training provided to the Corps volunteers; (3) the projected future demand for trained professionals in the allied health field; and (4) innovations in the utilization of trained professional personnel in the allied health field.
United States · United States Congress · 18 June 1974
Prohibits a petroleum refiner or distributor from cancelling, failing to renew, or otherwise terminating a franchise unless he furnishes notification in writing to each affected distributor or retailer by certified mail not less than ninety days prior to the date on which such franchise will be canceled, together with a statement of the reasons of such cancellation and of the remedies available. Provides that a petroleum refiner or distributor shall not cancel, fail to renew, or otherwise terminate a franchise unless the retailer or distributor whose franchise is terminated failed to comply substantially with any essential and reasonable requirement of such franchise or failed to act in good faith in carrying out the terms of such franchise. States that if a refiner or distributor engages in conduct prohibited under this Act, a retailer or distributor may maintain a suit against such refiner or distributor.
United States · United States Congress · 18 June 1974
Requires, under the Mutual Security Act of 1954, specific accounting requirements for foreign currency expenditures in connection with congressional travel outside the United States. Requires the publication of such travel costs in the Congressional Record. (Amends 22 U.S.C. 1754(b))
United States · United States Congress · 14 June 1974
Provides under title II of the Social Security Act that the special procedure for expediting benefit payments (where such payments are not regularly made when due) shall apply to benefits based on disability in the same way it applies to other benefits under such title if entitlement has already been established and the benefits involved have been paid for one or more months.
United States · United States Congress · 14 June 1974
Provides for the termination of the Airlines Mutual Aid Agreement as being adverse to the public interest. Provides that such termination shall be effective as of February 1, 1973. (Amends 49 U.S.C. 1382).
United States · United States Congress · 14 June 1974
Expresses the sense of Congress that the United States delegation to the European Security Conference should not agree to the recognition by the European Security Conference of the Soviet Union's annexation of Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania and it should remain the policy of the United States not to recognize in any way the annexation of the Baltic nations by the Soviet Union.
United States · United States Congress · 13 June 1974
Provides hospital and medical care to members of the armed forces of Poland or Czechoslovakia who participated in armed conflict with an enemy of the United States during World War I or World War II, and who has been a citizen of the United States for not less than 10 years. Provides that such hospital and medical care shall be available to the same extent as if such service had been performed in the Armed Forces of the United States.
United States · United States Congress · 11 June 1974
Provides, under provisions of the Internal Revenue Code relating to scholarship and fellowship grants, that no amount shall be included in gross income by reason of the discharge of the indebtedness of an individual under a student loan if such discharge was pursuant to a provision of the loan under which the indebtedness would be discharged if the individual worked for a certain period of time in certain professions or certain geographical areas or for certain classes of employers. Defines "student loan" for purposes of this Act.