United States · United States Congress · 26 January 1982
Amends the Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1981 to extend by two months (until June 30, 1982) the period within which an individual must have become a full-time student at a postsecondary educational institution in order to continue to receive, after July 1982, child's insurance benefits on the basis of student status under title II (Old Age, Survivors and Disability Insurance) of the Social Security Act.
United States · United States Congress · 26 January 1982
Designates January 30, 1982, as A National Day of Solidarity With the Polish People. Expresses the sense of the Congress with respect to the state of martial law in Poland.
United States · United States Congress · 26 January 1982
Expresses the sense of the Congress that the President should commemorate the contributions of the pilots of the United States Air Force Aerial Demonstration Squadron, known as the Thunderbirds, who have lost their lives in the course of duty. Expresses congressional support for the continuation of the Thunderbird program.
United States · United States Congress · 16 December 1981
Broadcast Licensing, Renewal, and Deregulation Act of 1981 - Amends the Communications Act of 1934 to establish new procedures for reviewing petitions to deny broadcast license applications. Requires the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to grant a license renewal application by a radio or television broadcast station licensee unless the actions of the licensee evidence such serious disregard for the Communications Act and for the rules and policies of the FCC that denial of the application is justified. Prohibits the FCC from considering the applications of other persons for a broadcast station's facilities when the FCC is acting upon a license renewal application by a radio or television broadcast station. Permits persons holding construction permits or station licenses to transfer the permit or license without first obtaining an FCC finding that the transfer serves the public interest. Requires the FCC to be notified of such transfer. Provides for public notice of the transfer. Provides for disposition by the FCC of objections to such transfer. Prohibits the FCC from considering whether the public interest would be served by the transfer of the permit or license involved to a different person. Repeals certain provisions relating to the application of the antitrust laws. Prohibits the FCC from imposing requirements on radio or television licensees relating to: (1) programs; (2) programming formats; (3) ascertainment; (4) commercialization; and (5) maintenance of program logs.
United States · United States Congress · 11 December 1981
Amends title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act to permit an individual to elect hospice care, in lieu of certain other benefits, during two periods of 180 days each during the individual's lifetime. Provides for full reimbursement of reasonable costs to a hospice program, subject to a ceiling. Directs the Comptroller General to conduct a study of the hospice reimbursement method. Defines hospice care as including items and services furnished to the terminally ill in their homes, on an outpatient basis, and on a short term inpatient basis.
United States · United States Congress · 11 December 1981
Expands the membership of the Advisory Commission on Intergovernmental Relations to include three elected school board officials from different States.
United States · United States Congress · 9 December 1981
Establishes the Veterans Administration as an executive department redesignated as the Department of Veterans' Affairs. Makes technical and conforming changes, including the redesignation of the Administrator as the Secretary of Veterans' Affairs.
United States · United States Congress · 18 November 1981
Small Business Contract Payment Procedures Act - Amends the Federal Property and Administrative Services Act of 1949 to require that whenever an executive agency makes progress payments under a contract for property or services, the contracting officer authorize payment in full without retention of any percentage of the contract price if: (1) satisfactory progess toward complete performance of the contract was made during any period for which a progress payment is required; and (2) the party performing the contract is a small business which has furnished an adequate performance bond.
United States · United States Congress · 17 November 1981
Revises provisions concerning conservation and management of U.S. fisheries. Allows foreign fishing vessels to engage in recreational fishing within specified U.S. waters and in compliance with restrictions set forth by the Secretary of Commerce and others. Makes certain reporting requirements of the Regional Fishery Management Councils discretionary. Declares that specified guidelines established by the Secretary shall not have the force of law. Revises the organization of the eight Regional Fishery Management Councils. Describes changes in the contents and implementation of fishery management plans prepared by the Councils.
United States · United States Congress · 5 November 1981
Expresses the sense of the Congress that no limitation should be placed on the Federal income tax deduction for interest paid on a residential mortgage.
United States · United States Congress · 29 October 1981
Prohibits recovery of damages for the injury or death of a foreign seaman if the incident occurred while such seaman was engaged in certain activities.
United States · United States Congress · 29 October 1981
Constitutional Amendment - Requires Congress, prior to each fiscal year, to adopt a statement of receipts and outlays for that year in which total outlays are no greater than total receipts. Permits Congress in such statement to provide for a specific excess of outlays over receipts by a three-fifths vote directed solely to that subject. Prohibits total receipts for any fiscal year set forth in such statement from increasing by a rate greater than the rate of increase in national income in the last calendar year ending before such fiscal year, unless Congress passes a bill directed solely to approving specific additional receipts and such bill has become law. Permits Congress to waive the provisions of this Act with respect to any fiscal year in which a declaration of war is in effect. Prohibits the Congress from requiring that the States engage in additional activities without compensation equal to the additional costs. Declares that total receipts shall include all receipts of the United States, except those derived from borrowing and total outlays shall include all outlays of the United States except those for repayment of debt principal.
United States · United States Congress · 28 October 1981
Establishes a permanent boundary for the portion of Acadia National Park which lies within the town of Isle au Haut, Maine. Requires the Secretary of the Interior to convey to the town all Federal interests in lands outside the park boundary and within the town, subject to certain covenants. Provides for management of the park on a limited entry, minimal impact basis.
United States · United States Congress · 26 October 1981
Authorizes the President to present, on behalf of the Congress, a specially struck gold medal to Queen Beatrix of the Netherlands in recognition of the bicentennial anniversary of diplomatic and trade relations between the Netherlands and the United States. Authorizes the Secretary of the Treasury to coin and sell bronze duplicates of such medal. Authorizes appropriations.
United States · United States Congress · 22 October 1981
Requires the Maritime Administration to set aside specified surplus government ships for the use of LIFE International, a private nonprofit organization, to provide humanitarian services to developing countries. States that such set aside authority shall not apply when the ships are needed for national security purposes.
United States · United States Congress · 22 October 1981
Acid Deposition Control Act - Amends title I (Air Pollution Prevention and Control) of the Clean Air Act to establish a new program entitled "Interstate Transport and Acid Precursor Reduction." Establishes an "acid deposition region" consisting of 31 States (east of or bordering the Mississippi River) and the District of Columbia. Directs the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to: (1) study air pollution problems associated with long-range transport of pollutants in the portions of the continental United States not included in the acid deposition region; and (2) report the results to Congress within two years. Establishes an acid deposition regional target providing for a ten-year phased schedule of reductions to achieve an annual average emission level that is 10,000,000 tons of sulfur dioxide below the 1980 baseline level. Directs the Administrator, within six months, to compute and publish a target and a schedule for each affected State. Permits two or more States to agree to change their share of the sulfur dioxide emissions reduction ("reduction"). Requires that State reduction schedules begin within five years, be substantially complete within eight years, and reach the State target within ten years of enactment of this Act. Sets forth formulas for: (1) State reduction fractions (based on 1980 emissions from electric utility steam generating units); and (2) the 1980 baseline level for the region or any State within the region. Requires States within the region to prepare, publish, and submit to the Administrator, within two years of enactment of this Act, State programs of reduction in accordance with the State schedules. Directs the Administrator to approve State programs, within four months of submission, if such programs: (1) were adopted after public notice, opportunity for hearing, and submission to Governors of the other States in the region; and (2) contain enforceable reduction measures, including emission limitations, monitoring requirements, and compliance schedules. Requires State programs to include enforceable continuous emission reduction measures. Lists some measures that State programs may include. Permits a State or any person subject to State program requirements to substitute a reduction of twice as many units of oxides of nitrogen emissions for each unit of required reductions of sulfur dioxide emissions. Provides for an EPA alternative program if a State program: (1) has not been adopted by a State within two years; or (2) has not been approved by the Administrator within two years and four months. Requires, in such cases, that any owner or operator of an electric utility steam generating unit in such State submit, within three years of enactment of this Act, a unit plan and schedule for reductions. Requires unit plans and schedules only from units which: (1) are major stationary sources; (2) are not subject to new source performance standards; and (3) actually emitted, or were permitted to emit, sulfur dioxide during 1980 in excess of a specified rate. Requires that unit plans and schedules provide for a reduction to a specified rate of emissions, according to a phased schedule (beginning within five years, substantially complete within eight years, and finally complete within ten years of the enactment of this Act). Sets forth provisions for approval of unit plans and schedules. Provides that any unit for which a plan has not been submitted and approved must comply with the specified emission limitation within five years of the enactment of this Act. Directs the Administrator to establish a program of purchase and sale of emission reduction credits among stationary sources of sulfur dioxide in five emission reduction credit regions within the acid deposition region. Provides that specified requirements under this Act shall be treated as emission limitation requirements of applicable State implementation plans. Sets forth procedures for petitions for determination that programs or plans will not meet deadlines and for petitions for review of such determinations or denials.
United States · United States Congress · 21 October 1981
Amends the Legislative Reorganization Act of 1946 to provide that any adjustment in the rate of pay for Members of Congress proposed during any Congress shall not take effect earlier than the beginning of the next Congress. States that any such pay adjustment proposed in an even-numbered year of any Congress after the congressional elections and before the beginning of the following Congress shall be considered as occurring during the first session of the following Congress for the purposes of this Act.
United States · United States Congress · 21 October 1981
Commitment to the Clean Air Act resolution of the Ninety-seventh Congress - Expresses the sense of the House of Representatives that: (1) clean air is fundamentally important for the health and well-being of the citizens, economy, and environment of the United States; and (2) the existing Clean Air Act should be maintained and strengthened subject only to changes that will improve its administration and effectiveness.
United States · United States Congress · 20 October 1981
Bankruptcy Improvements Act of 1981 - Amends title 11 of the United States Code (Bankruptcy) to establish an eligibility test for liquidation bankruptcy relief based on the individual petitioner's ability to pay a reasonable portion of his debts out of future income. Permits the court to dismiss a bankruptcy case under chapter 7 (liquidation) upon the motion of any party in interest filed not later than 30 days after the meeting of creditors, and after notice and a hearing, if the debtor is ineligible for relief under such title. Requires the bankruptcy judge to preside at any meeting of creditors and to perform such additional judicial duties any may be required. Declares that the value of the creditor's interest in the estate's interest in such property shall be determined in light of the purpose of the valuation and of the proposed disposition or use of such property, and in conjunction with any hearing on such disposition or use or on a plan affecting such creditor's interest. Declares that the value of consumer goods which the debtor seeks to redeem in liquidation shall be presumed to be the established resale market price, if such market exists. Requires the debtor in bankruptcy cases to file a statement of income and expenses. Requires the debtor, if the debtor's schedule of assets and liabilities includes consumer debts which are secured by property of the estate, to file and serve upon each creditor holding such security and the trustee, a statement expressing the debtor's intention with respect to retention or surrender of the collateral. Requires the debtor, at or before the meeting of creditors provided for by such title, to perform his intention with regard to such secured creditors. Repeals the provisions concerning exempt property and makes the States responsible for establishing exemptions to bankruptcy proceedings. Makes any debt which was incurred on or within 90 days before the date of the filing of a petition under such title nondischargeable. Allows creditors to enforce liens which have not been voided in bankruptcy. Permits reaffirmation of consumer debts subject to the debtor's right to rescind any such agreement within 60 days or until a discharge is received, whichever occurs later, by giving a written notice of rescission to the creditor. Declares that at the meeting of creditors the court shall inform the debtor of the nature and effect of a discharge. Eliminates the trustee's power to avoid liens or recover payments made within 90 days of filing petition in bankruptcy (within one year in the case of an insider) unless the creditor had reasonable cause to believe the debtor was insolvent. Permits the court, upon notice and hearing, to require a creditor to accept payments in redemption of the value of a claim secured by a nonpossessory, nonpurchase money security interest in tangible personal property, over a reasonable period not to exceed five years, if such tangible personal property consists of specified objects. Allows a creditor, upon 10 days notice to the debtor and codebtor, to collect any portion of a debt from the codebtor which is not being paid by the debtor through the adjustment of debts of such debtor with a regular income. Requires payments under an adjustment of debts payment plan to commence at the time of the filing of the plan. Provides for the return of such funds after deducting the costs of administration if no plan is confirmed. Provides for the separate classification of co-debtor claims and non-dischargeable claims and authorizes payment of them under an adjustment of debts payment plan. Allows a debtor to choose such a repayment plan of up to five years. Bases such repayment upon the debtor's ability to repay out of future income after taking into account the basic living necessities for the debtor and dependents. Provides for an early discharge of debts where at least 70 percent of all allowed unsecured claims are paid. Permits a hardship discharge of otherwise non-dischargeable debts to the extent the debtor attempted to pay such debts under an adjustment of debts payment plan.
United States · United States Congress · 15 October 1981
Requires all security and protective functions at the Portsmouth Naval Shipyard at Kittery, Maine, to be performed by United States Government personnel and not by contract employees.
United States · United States Congress · 7 October 1981
Prompt Payment Act of 1981 - Requires Federal agencies to pay interest on overdue payments to businesses for property or services. Requires the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) to prescribe required payment dates. Specifies the procedures for computing such interest. Requires an agency to pay any interest charges out of funds made available for administration of its programs. Authorizes Federal grant recipients to provide for the payment of interest on overdue payments on their procurement contracts. Directs each agency to report to OMB annually on interest payments made during the fiscal year. Requires OMB to report to specified congressional committees on agency compliance with this Act. Requires the Director of OMB to delegate responsibility for OMB functions under this Act to the Office of Federal Procurement Policy.
United States · United States Congress · 7 October 1981
Expresses the sense of the House of Representatives that the provisions of the Internal Revenue Code which provide incentives for energy conservation and development of renewable energy sources should not be repealed or amended to reduce such incentives.
United States · United States Congress · 5 October 1981
Allows individuals who voluntarily leave military service to receive unemployment compensation based on such service. Increases from 365 to 730 days the length of continuous military service needed to qualify as employment for purposes of unemployment compensation. Delays an ex-service member's entitlement until the fifth week after discharge or release from the service. Limits an ex-service member's total entitlement to no more than 13 weeks of benefits.
United States · United States Congress · 5 October 1981
Expresses the sense of the House of Representatives that the President, with the advice and consent of the Senate on the favorable recommendation of the Senate Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs, should select individuals for appointment to vacancies on the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System in accordance with the provisions of the Federal Reserve Act so that agricultural and commercial interests, including small businesses, will no longer be underrepresented on the Board.
United States · United States Congress · 2 October 1981
Amends the Internal Revenue Code to exempt from the manufacturers excise tax on firearms any individual who does not produce more than 50 firearms during the calendar year.
United States · United States Congress · 30 September 1981
Repeals provisions in the Economic Recovery Tax Act of 1981 regarding the windfall profit tax which: (1) increase the credit for royalty owners for 1981 and exempt royalty oil for 1982 and thereafter; (2) reduces the tax imposed on newly discovered oil; and (3) exempts independent producer stripper well oil.
United States · United States Congress · 24 September 1981
Hunger Prevention and African Food Security Act - Amends the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 to require the President to use at least half of the funds available for development assistance to provide assistance for persons living in absolute poverty as defined by specified standards. Requires special emphasis to be placed on alleviating hunger in Sub-Saharan Africa and particularly on facilitating the participation of women in food production in that region. Amends the Agricultural Trade Development and Assistance Act of 1954 to specify a minimum aggregate value of all famine relief agreements. Requires famine relief agreements to provide that at least one-fifth of the commodities made available for famine relief or funds generated from the sale of those commodities in participating countries shall be used to strengthen food distribution systems in famine-prone countries, especially those in Sub-Saharan Africa. Requires each such agreement to specify the measures taken to ensure that such commodities and funds benefit primarily the poor.
United States · United States Congress · 24 September 1981
Provides that a named church shall not be deemed to have waived its exemption under the Internal Revenue Code from payment of old-age, survivors and disability insurance taxes because it erroneously paid such taxes due to the employment of one individual.
United States · United States Congress · 23 September 1981
Rural Enterprise Zone Development Act of 1981 - Title I: Declares the purpose of this Act to be to provide financial and technical assistance and tax incentives to help restore distressed rural areas. Amends the Agricultural Act of 1961 to define "rural enterprise zone" (zone) as an area under at least one local government's jurisdiction with a population density of less than 200 people per square mile and a total population of between 5,000 and 50,000 people. Requires a local entity to submit a zone plan to the Secretary of Agriculture for approval. Authorizes the Secretary to make: (1) development facility grants; (2) vocational education and agricultural extension service center loans; and (3) industrial and commercial activity loans and loan guarantees. Limits the number of annual zone designations. Authorizes appropriations for fiscal years 1983-1984. Authorizes the Secretary of Commerce to make technical assistance grants and provide related aid to rural enterprise zones. Authorizes appropriations for fiscal years 1983-1984. Title II: Tax Incentives for Small Businesses Located in Rural Enterprise Zones - Small Rural Business Program Tax Act of 1981 - Subtitle A: Designation of Eligible Areas and Businesses - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to add a new subchapter which sets forth criteria for the designation of rural enterprise zones and defines qualified small rural businesses for purposes of providing tax incentives for such businesses. Empowers the Secretary of Agriculture to approve the designation of an area as a rural enterprise zone if a local government submits to the Secretary a plan which meets specified requirements for the establishment of such zones. Limits the number of zones which the Secretary may designate in any calendar year. Sets forth criteria relating to population, poverty, unemployment, and per capital income growth which the Secretary must consider in approving the designation of a rural enterprise zone. Defines a "qualified small rural business" (small rural business) as an actively conducted trade or business which employs individuals who perform a specified number of hours of service for the business in a rural enterprise zone. Disqualifies any business which has had gross receipts in excess of $2,000,000 for any of the three preceding taxable years. Subtitle B: Tax Incentives for Qualified Small Rural Businesses - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to reduce the capital gains tax rates of small rural businesses and investors in rural enterprise zones. Exempts the capital gains of small rural businesses from the minimum tax. Excludes from gross income 50 percent of the total of small rural business income for a taxable year and interest on loans made to such businesses to finance business activity in a rural enterprise zone. Allows small rural businesses a five percent tax credit for interest paid on loans used to finance business activity in a rural enterprise zone. Allows a targeted jobs income tax credit for the hiring of employees for a small rural business. Allows a small rural businesses and their employees a refundable income tax credit for training designed to improve the technical and managerial skills of such employees. Allows a small rural business to elect to use the cash method of accounting. Authorizes accelerated depreciation for small rural business property. Increases by ten percent the investment tax credit for the rehabilitation expenditures of a small rural business.
United States · United States Congress · 22 September 1981
Provides that Revenue Ruling 81-216 which denies a tax exclusion of the interest on multiple lots of $1,000,000 each of industrial development bonds that are pooled and issued as one bond shall not apply to obligations sold after August 23, 1981.
United States · United States Congress · 15 September 1981
Directs the President to award the Purple Heart to any individual wounded or killed while held as a prisoner of war during World War I, World War II, or the Korean conflict.
United States · United States Congress · 10 September 1981
Amends the Magnuson Fishery Conservation and Management Act to declare that the United States shall assume exclusive fishery management authority over all fish within a specified fishery conservation zone (currently excludes highly migratory species).
United States · United States Congress · 9 September 1981
Gun Control Act of 1968 Enforcement and Prosecution Review Commission Act of 1981 - Establishes the Review Commission on Enforcement and Prosecution under the Gun Control Act of 1968 to: (1) review claims submitted to the Commission relating to treatment by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms; (2) recommend appropriate remedies, including Presidential pardon and reprieve, with respect to particular claimants; and (3) make recommendations to the President concerning the enforcement practices of the Bureau.
United States · United States Congress · 4 August 1981
Amends the Internal Revenue Code to exempt from the manufacturers excise tax on firearms: (1) any individual who does not produce more than 50 articles during the calendar year; and (2) any individual who handloads shells or cartridges solely for personal use.
![Official portrait of Rep. Emery, David F. [R-ME-1]](https://www.congress.gov/img/member/e000175_200.jpg)