United States · United States Congress · 17 February 1983
Immigration Reform and Control Act of 1983 - Title I: Control of Illegal Immigration - Part A: Employment - Amends the Immigration and Nationality Act to make it unlawful for a person to knowingly hire, maintain in his or her employment, or refer or recruit for a fee any alien not authorized to work. Makes it unlawful for an employer of four or more persons to hire anyone without complying with the verification procedure set forth in this Act. Makes following such procedure an affirmative defense for an employer so charged. Sets forth such verification procedure which requires an employer (of four or more persons) to attest, under penalty of perjury, that he has examined an employee's identification papers, and requires an employee to attest to his or her citizenship or legal work status. Requires employers to keep such records for three years or one year after an employee leaves, whichever is longer. Requires the President to implement a secure verification system within three years. Prohibits the use of this system or any required identification document for other law enforcement purposes. Sets forth graduated civil and criminal penalties for verification violations. Authorizes the Attorney General to bring a civil action to enjoin persons systematically violating such hiring provisions. Subjects employers to a $500 civil penalty for verification and recordkeeping violations. Requires the Attorney General to provide notice and hearing opportunity before assessing any civil penalties. Permits the Attorney General to sue in U.S. district court to collect outstanding penalties. States that the provisions of this Part preempt State and local sanctions regarding employment of unauthorized aliens. Authorizes FY 1984 appropriations for verification system implementation and monitoring. Requires the President to report to Congress every six months. Directs the Civil Rights Commission, the Attorney General, the Secretary of Labor, and the Chairman of the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission to monitor such program and investigate allegations of abuse. Directs the Commission to report to the appropriate congressional committees within 18 months. Directs the Attorney General, in cooperation with the Secretaries of Commerce, Labor, and Agriculture, and the Administrator of the Small Business Administration, to inform employers, employment agencies, unions, and the public about these requirements. Authorizes FY 1984 appropriations for such purposes. States that no penalties shall be imposed for the first six months after enactment of this Act. Amends the Farm Labor Contractor Registration Act to subject farm labor contractors to the requirements of this Act, beginning seven months after enactment. Makes it illegal to fraudulently misuse or manufacture entry or work documents (up to $5,000 fine or two years' imprisonment or both). Part B: Enforcement and Fees - Expresses the sense of Congress that: (1) Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS) enforcement activities should be increased; and (2) such increase shall be provided for, and monitored through, the annual authorization of appropriations process. Eliminates the provisions preventing employment from being considered as harboring an alien. Makes it unlawful to knowingly, or in reckless disregard of the fact that an alien is not authorized to enter the United States, bring such person into the country (up to $5,000 fine or one year's imprisonment with additional penalties for a subsequent offense). Requires the Attorney General to impose maintenance fees for an alien's use of border or other INS facilities. Part C: Adjudication Procedures and Asylum - Directs immigration officers to exclude without hearing or further inquiry aliens without proper documents or without any reasonable basis for legal entry or asylum. Requires that such aliens be informed of their right to an expedited redetermination proceeding. Directs the Attorney General after consulting with the congressional judiciary committees to establish procedures to assure that aliens are not excluded without an inquiry into their reasons for seeking U.S. entry. States that if an alien claims asylum, the exclusion hearing shall be limited to the asylum issue. Establishes in the Department of Justice a United States Immigration Board to hear appeals from final decisions of immigration judges. States that the Board's determination shall be binding on all immigration judges, immigration officers, and consular officers unless modified by a court. Requires deportation or exclusion appeals to the Board to be filed within 20 days. Sets forth administrative and operating provisions. Replaces the existing special inquiry officer system with a system of immigration judges. Provides for the appointment of up to 70 judges. Grants such judges responsibility for exclusion, deportation, asylum, and status rescission cases, as well as penalty assessments. Provides for judicial review of exclusion cases and those asylum cases encompassed within deportation or exclusion orders. States that such final orders shall be reviewed in U.S. appeals courts. Reduces the period for filing such appeals from six months to 30 days. Restricts judicial review of asylum determinations to questions of: (1) jurisdiction; (2) compliance with laws and regulations; (3) constitutionality; and (4) arbitrary decisionmaking. Prohibits judicial review decisions from reopening: (1) exclusion, deportation, or asylum determinations; (2) denials of stays of exclusion or deportation; or (3) expedited exclusions. States that such restrictions and prohibitions should not be construed as limiting habeas corpus. Revises asylum provisions to: (1) require an alien under an exclusion or deportation order to apply for asylum within 14 days and to complete such application within 30 days after notice of such order unless changed circumstances in the alien's country cause a change in asylum eligibility; (2) prohibit an alien from reapplying for asylum after having been denied such status unless such changes have occurred; (3) require asylum applications to be heard before administrative law judges having special training in international law; (4) permit legal counsel at asylum hearings; (5) require an alien to be an admissible refugee in order to be granted asylum; (6) place the burden of proof on the applicant; (7) prohibit the reopening of an application proceeding unless changed circumstances in the alien's country cause a change in asylum eligibility; (8) require application determinations to be made within 30 days after the hearing (which shall be held within 45 days of the application's filing); and (9) make asylum hearings open to the public unless the alien requests otherwise. Requires the President to nominate Board members within 45 days. Sets forth other administrative and operating provisions for the transfer of asylum proceedings from the existing special inquiry system to the administrative law judge system. Authorizes appropriations for such purposes for FY 1984. Part D: Adjustment of Status - Prohibits adjustment of status to permanent resident for violators of (nonimmigrant) visa terms. Title II: Reform of Legal Immigration - Part A: Immigrants - Revises labor certification provisions to: (1) require the Secretary of Labor to consider national, rather than local, employment and wage data; (2) include a finding that sufficient American workers could not be trained within a reasonable time period; and (3) prohibit courts from overturning certifications without compelling evidence that the decision was arbitrary. Makes such changes effective October 1, 1984. Includes within the definition of "special immigrant" unmarried sons and daughters and surviving spouses of employees of certain international organizations ("J" status). Grants nonimmigrant status to: (1) parents of children receiving "J" status while they are minors; and (2) other children of such parents or a surviving "J" status spouse. Includes the relationship between an illegitimate child and its natural father within the definition of "child" for purposes of status, benefit, or privilege under such Act. Amends the Immigration and Nationality Act Amendments of 1981 to: (1) extend the numerical limitation waiver to certain self-supporting retirees; and (2) permit certain aliens already in the United States with labor certificates and priority dates up to October 1, 1984, to work at their jobs until their visas are available. Part B: Nonimmigrants - Separates temporary agricultural labor from other temporary labor for purposes of nonimmigrant worker provisions. Requires the Secretary of Labor to determine the duration of admissions for temporary agricultural workers. Prohibits entry to workers who have violated entry conditions within the past five years. Requires an employer H-2 visa petition to certify that: (1) there are not enough local U.S. workers for the job; and (2) similarly employed U.S. workers' wages will not be adversely affected. Permits the Secretary to charge application fees. Prohibits the Secretary from approving such petition if: (1) the job is open because of a strike or lock-out; or (2) the employer violated temporary worker admissions terms within the past two years. Provides with regard to temporary agricultural workers that: (1) employers need not submit such petition more than 50 days in advance of need; (2) the Secretary must decide on a petition within 20 days of need; (3) producer associations may file such petitions; and (4) the Secretary shall establish expedited procedures for review of denied petitions or de novo administrative hearings. Requires the Secretary, in consultation with the Attorney General and the Secretary of Agriculture, to report annually to the Congress. Authorizes appropriations beginning with FY 1984 to recruit domestic workers and monitor the nonimmigrant work program. Requires a program improvement report within 18 months. Expresses the sense of Congress that the President should establish an advisory commission to consult with Mexico and advise the Attorney General regarding such tempory worker program. Requires foreign students to return to their home country for two years before being eligible to apply for U.S. permanent residence. Permits waiver of such requirement where a student: (1) is an immediate relative of a U.S. citizen; or (2) has an American degree or job offer in certain high technology areas. (Permits such students also to change their nonimmigrant classification to "trainees".) Prohibits other foreign students and visitors admitted under the visa waiver program from adjusting to permanent resident status. States that time spent in student or trainee status shall not count for purposes of eligibility for suspension of deportation. Authorizes the Attorney General and the Secretary of State to establish a three-year pilot visa waiver program for up to five countries providing a similar benefit to the United States. Sets forth program provisions. Authorizes a visa waiver program for Guam. Title III: Legalization - Provides for the status adjustment of certain aliens who entered the United States before January 1, 1980. Authorizes the Attorney General to adjust to permanent resident status those aliens who: (1) entered the United States illegally before January 1, 1977; (2) have since resided continuously in the country; (3) are otherwise admissible; and (4) apply between October 1, 1983 and September 30, 1984. Authorizes similar status adjustment for specified aliens who entered legally as nonimmigrants but whose period of authorized stay ended before January 1, 1977. (Stipulates that in the case of exchange visitors the two-year foreign residence requirement must have been met or waived.) Authorizes the Attorney General to adjust to temporary resident status Cuban/Haitian entrants and specified undocumented aliens who have resided in the United States since January 1, 1980. Requires such applications to be filed between October 1, 1983 and September 30, 1984.. Permits such temporary resident aliens to: (1) work in the United States; (2) apply for permanent resident status after three years; and (3) travel abroad. Prohibits the legalization of persons: (1) convicted of a felony or three or more misdemeanors in the United States; or (2) who have taken part in political, religious, or racial persecution. Authorizes the Attorney General to terminate temporary resident status if an alien has not filed for adjustment to permanent status within three and one-half years. Directs the Attorney General, in cooperation with designated voluntary agencies, to disseminate information about such status legalization program. Waives numerical limitations, labor certification, and other specified entry violations for such aliens. Permits the Attorney General to waive other grounds for exclusion (except criminal, most drug-related, and security grounds) to assure family unity or when otherwise in the national interest. Requires the Attorney General to: (1) issue implementing regulations by October 1, 1983; and (2) provide an alien otherwise eligible but unregistered who is apprehended before October 1, 1983, an opportunity to apply for the legalization program before deportation or exclusion proceedings are begun. Makes temporary residents (other than Cuban/Haitian entrants) and (for their first three years) permanent residents ineligible for Federal public assistance (other than medical care, aid to the aged, blind, or disabled, and public health). Authorizes appropriations for such programs for FY 1984. Requires the President to report to Congress within 18 months on the impact of such program. Repeals Public Law 89-732 regarding status adjustment for certain Cubans who entered the United States before April 21, 1980. Updates the registry date for permanent entry admissions records from June 30, 1948 to January 1, 1973. Authorizes appropriations for FY 1984 through 1987 for State legalization assistance. Requires the Secretary of Health and Human Services, subject to available appropriations, to provide full reimbursement to States for costs incurred in providing specified services to aliens during the period they were ineligible for Federal assistance. Requires the Secretary of Education, subject to available appropriations, to assist States in meeting such aliens' added educational costs. Bases such assistance on the number of legalized aliens in a State's school system within the past three years.
United States · United States Congress · 8 February 1983
Science and Mathematics Teacher Development Act of 1983 - Authorizes appropriations to carry out this Act for FY 1984 through 1987. Authorizes the Secretary of Education to reserve up to one percent of such funds for grants to insular areas, apportioned according to need. Directs the Secretary, from the remainder of such funds, to make allotments to States based on relative numbers of residents aged 14 through 17. Sets forth provisions for reallotments, from States which do not submit proposed use reports or do not need their full allotment, to States with a current need for additional funds. Directs the Secretary to allot to each Indian tribe which submits a proposed use report that meets specified requirements an amount based on the number of members of the tribe aged 14 through 17, and to subtract such Indian allotment from the State allotment of the State or States in which such tribal members reside. Requires States desiring to receive grants under this Act to submit to the Secretary an annual proposed use report for such funds. Sets forth requirements for such reports including publication to facilitate comment from interested agencies, groups, and individuals prior to submission. Provides that only specified provisions of the General Education Provisions Act shall apply to programs and activities under this Act. Sets forth audit provisions. Requires each State to use its grant, either directly or through local educational agencies, to increase the number of teachers who are qualified to teach science or mathematics at the secondary level in public or private schools by awarding scholarships for necessary instruction at institutions of higher education. Authorizes a State to use such funds to pay a portion of the total amount of the scholarship (including tuition and stipend) to enable the recipient to acquire the necessary qualifications to teach science or mathematics at the secondary level. Limits such portion of scholarship aid to a recipient to one period of twelve consecutive months or $5,000 toward the total amount of the scholarship. Authorizes a State to select as a scholarship recipient only a person who: (1) has at least a bachelor's degree; and (2) lacks the qualifications to teach science or mathematics at the secondary level in public or private schools in that State, but can become qualified within one year. Requires that selection as a scholarship recipient be conditioned upon the recipient's agreement to teach science or mathematics at the secondary level for a reasonable period in a public or private school determined by the State or the local educational agency to have a need for such a teacher. Permits waiver or modification of such agreements under prescribed circumstances. Authorizes a State to require a local educational agency or private school at which a scholarship recipient will teach to contribute a portion of the total amount of the scholarship. Provides that nothing in this Act shall be construed to require a scholarship recipient to become certified under State law. Requires each State to provide to secondary level students attending private schools opportunities to benefit from its program under this Act that are equitable compared to the opportunities offered to secondary level students attending public schools, taking into account the relative numbers and needs of those student populations. Prohibits use of funds under this Act for any religious worship, instruction, or proselytization, or any activity of a school or department of divinity.
United States · United States Congress · 3 February 1983
Authorizes expenditures by the Subcommittee on Labor Management Relations of the Committee on Education and Labor for the first session of the 98th Congress, including the procurement of consultant services.
United States · United States Congress · 3 February 1983
Authorizes expenditures by the Committee on Education and Labor for the first session of the 98th Congress, including the procurement of consultant services and the provision of specialized training for its professional staff.
United States · United States Congress · 2 February 1983
Residential Mortgage Pension Investment Act of 1983 - Amends the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 and the Internal Revenue Code to exempt from specified prohibited transaction provisions any qualified mortgage transaction engaged in by an employee benefit plan, provided such transaction is at "arm's length" (i.e. if the terms of the transaction are at least as favorable to the plan as those of similar transactions involving unrelated parties).
United States · United States Congress · 27 January 1983
Semiconductor Chip Protection Act of 1983 - Extends copyright protection to mask works. Defines a mask work as a series of related images: (1) having the predetermined, three- dimensional pattern of metallic, insulating, or semiconductor material present or removed from the layers of a semiconductor chip product; and (2) in which the relation of the images to one another is that each image has the pattern of the surface of one form of the chip product. Excludes masks and mask works from the pictorial, graphic, or sculptural works categories. Sets forth the exclusive rights the owner of copyright holds, including the right to: (1) embody the mask work in a mask, a two-dimensional partially transparent and opaque sheet; (2) distribute a mask embodying the mask work; (3) reproduce such work on material intended to be part of the semiconductor chip product; and (4) manufacture and distribute semiconductor chip products incorporating such masks. Sets forth limitations on such exclusive rights, including compulsory licensing, as specified. Sets the copyright term for masks at ten years from first authorized distribution, use, or manufacture. Excludes an innocent purchaser in good faith of a semiconductor chip product from infringement liability. Permits the impoundment and seizure of masks made or used in violation of the copyright owner's exclusive rights.
United States · United States Congress · 6 January 1983
Soviet-Eastern European Research and Training Act of 1983 - Establishes the Soviet-Eastern European Research and Training Trust Fund in the Treasury. Appropriates a specified amount for the Fund. Requires that the interest on any obligations held in the Fund shall be available for payments to the National Council for Soviet and East European Research. Requires the Council to use parts of the payments made in each fiscal year to: (1) develop and publicize a research agenda at the postdoctoral level in the field of Soviet and Eastern European studies and to award contracts for appropriate research projects; (2) establish and publish the findings of a fellowship program for advanced training in Soviet studies; (3) make payments to the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars to provide fellowship support and research facilities in Washington, D.C., for American specialists to conduct advanced research and to conduct workshops designed to facilitate research collaboration between Government and private specialists; and (4) make payments to the International Research and Exchanges Board to conduct specialized reciprocal programs in advanced training and research in the Soviet Union and Eastern Europe to facilitate access for American specialists to research resources in the Soviet Union and Eastern Europe. Sets forth the method of submitting applications to the Secretary of the Treasury for payments from the Fund. Provides that the Secretary shall manage the Fund. Requires the Council to report annually to the President and the Congress on the activities supported by this Act of the Council, the Board, and the Wilson Center.
United States · United States Congress · 6 January 1983
Education Reorganization Act of 1983 - Title I: Establishment of the Department - Establishes an executive department to be known as the Department of Health, Education, and Welfare (HEW), to be administered by a Secretary, appointed by the President with the advice and consent of the Senate. Sets forth provisions for the principal officers of such Department. Title II: Transfer of Agencies and Functions - Transfers to the Secretary all functions of the Secretary of Health and Human Services. Transfers to the Department all offices of the Department of Health and Human Services. Transfers to the Secretary and to the Department all functions and all offices of the Secretary of Education and of the Department of Education, except for specified functions and offices relating to the operation of overseas schools for military dependents, which are transferred to the Secretary of Defense and the Department of Defense. Title III: Administrative Provisions - Authorizes the Secretary to: (1) appoint offices and employees to carry out the functions of the Secretary and the Department; and (2) obtain, as provided in appropriation Acts, the services of experts and consultants. Directs the Secretary, by the end of the first fiscal year beginning after the enactment of this Act, to submit to the President and the Congress legislative recommendations for redesignating or replacing HEW programs so that such programs can be administered by fewer personnel. Requires that the sum of the number of full-time permanent positions that perform functions to be transferred to the Department by this Act, plus the full-time equivalent of the number of experts and consultants hired, be reduced by one thousand by the end of the second such fiscal year and not increased thereafter. Sets forth general administrative provisions for the Department, including those relating to general authority, delegation, reorganization, rules, contracts, regional and field offices, acquisitions and maintenance of authority, facilities at remote locations, use of facilities, copyrights and patents, gifts and bequests, technical advice, working capital fund, funds transfer, seal of department, and annual report. Authorizes appropriations for the Department for FY 1982 and succeeding fiscal years. Title IV: Transitional, Savings, and Conforming Provisions - Sets forth provisions relating to the transfer and allocation of appropriations and personnel, the effect on personnel, agency terminations, and incidental transfers. Sets forth: (1) savings provisions; (2) provisions for separability; (3) conforming references, amendments, and redesignations; and (4) transition provisions. Title V: Effective Date and Interim Appointments - Sets forth the effective date for the provisions of this Act. Provides for interim appointments under specified conditions.
United States · United States Congress · 6 January 1983
Constitutional Amendment - Defines "person" to include the unborn for the purpose of the right to life guarantee. Makes such amendment inapplicable to laws permitting medical procedures required to prevent the death of the mother.
United States · United States Congress · 6 January 1983
Expresses the sense of Congress that the age for drinking and purchasing alcoholic beverages should be raised to 21 in all States where the drinking age is lower.
United States · United States Congress · 3 January 1983
Hobbs Act Amendment of 1983 - Amends the Hobbs Act to establish penalties for obstructing, affecting, or interfering with commerce by willfully injuring, damaging, burning, or destroying to the value of $2,000 or more any real or personal property of any person at or near any place where work or business of an employer or owner is carried on or where such employer or owner transports, stores, or maintains property for business or other purposes. States that such violation, as well as the offense of interfering with commerce by extortion, shall not be nullified or mitigated even if committed in the course of a legitimate labor dispute.
United States · United States Congress · 3 January 1983
Establishes a Commission on More Effective Government to study and recommend ways of promoting economy, efficiency, and improved service within the executive branch of Government. Directs the Commission to recommend methods to improve the relationship between Federal, State, and local governments. Directs the Commission to submit a final report to the Congress ten days after the Ninety-eighth Congress convenes. Terminates the Commission 90 days after such date. Authorizes appropriations.
United States · United States Congress · 30 November 1982
Expresses the sense of Congress that the age for drinking and purchasing alcoholic beverages should be raised to 21 in all States where the drinking age is lower.
United States · United States Congress · 14 September 1982
Migrant and Seasonal Agricultural Worker Protection Act - Declares the purpose of this Act to be to: (1) remove restraints on commerce caused by activities detrimental to migrant and seasonal agricultural workers; (2) require farm labor contractors to register under this Act; and (3) assure necessary protections for migrant and seasonal agricultural workers, agricultural associations, and agricultural employers. Sets forth definitions under this Act. Distinguishes between "agricultural employer" and "farm labor contractor." Distinguishes between "migrant agricultural worker" and "seasonal agricultural worker." Sets forth a definition of a "day-haul operation." Uses the same definition of "employ" as under specified provisions of the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938. Sets forth exemptions from coverage by this Act for specified types of family business, small business, labor organizations and other entities or persons. Provides that title I of this Act does not apply to any agricultural employer or agricultural association or to any employee of such employer or association. Title I: Farm Labor Contractors - Requires any person engaged in farm labor contracting activities to have a certificate of registration from the Secretary of Labor specifying which activities such person is authorized to perform. Prohibits a farm labor contractor from hiring, employing or using any individual to perform such activities unless such individual has a certificate of registration or a certificate of registration as a contractor employee. Holds the contractor responsible for contractor employee violations of this Act or regulations under this Act. Requires each registered contractor and contractor employee to carry, and exhibit on request, such certificates while engaging in such activities. Denies State employment service system facilities and services under the Wagner-Peyser Act to any contractor who refuses or fails to produce a certificate upon request. Directs the Secretary, after appropriate investigation and approval, to issue certificates to persons who file applications containing specified items, including documentation of compliance with requirements under this Act vehicles used to transport migrant or seasonal workers and housing for migrant workers. Authorizes the Secretary to refuse to issue or renew, or to suspend or revoke, certificates if applicants or holders commit specified violations, fail to meet specified requirements, or have been convicted within the preceding five years of specified offenses. Provides for hearings on an appeals of such refusals, suspensions, or revocations. Prohibits transfer or assignment of certificates. Sets forth provisions relating to expiration and renewal of certificates and to notice of address change and amendment of certificates. Prohibits farm labor contractors from recruiting, hiring, or using, with knowledge, the services of any individual who is an alien not lawfully admitted for permanent residence or who has not been authorized by the Attorney General to accept employment. Title II: Migrant Agricultural Worker Protections - Requires each farm labor contractor, agricultural employer, and agricultural association which recruits any migrant agricultural worker to: (1) disclose specified information to such worker; (2) post a statement of worker rights and protections and a statement of the terms and conditions of occupancy of worker housing; and (3) keep specified records with respect to each such worker. Requires each farm labor contractor to supply copies of such records to any agricultural employer and association to which such contractor has furnished such workers. Prohibits knowingly providing false or misleading information to any worker concerning such required information, statements, and records. Requires that specified information and statements be provided in written English or, as necessary and reasonable, in Spanish or other language common to migrant agricultural workers not fluent or literate in English. Requires the Department of Labor to make forms available for use in providing such information. Requires such contractors, employers, and associations to pay the wages owed to migrant agricultural workers when due. Prohibits contractors, employers, and associations from: (1) requiring such workers to purchase any goods or services solely from such contractors, employers, or associations; or (2) violating, without justification, the terms of any working arrangement with such workers. Makes each person who owns or controls a facility or real property which is used as housing for migrant agricultural workers responsible for ensuring compliance with substantive Federal and State safety and health standards applicable to that housing. Prohibits such persons from permitting any such facility or property from being occupied by such workers unless there is posted at the site a copy of the certification by a State or local health authority or other appropriate agency that applicable safety and health standards are met. Permits such occupancy in cases in which a request for such inspection has been made to the appropriate agency at least forty-five days earlier. Exempts from such requirements any person who, in the ordinary course of that person's business, regularly provides housing on a commercial basis to the general public and who provides housing of the same character and on the same or comparable terms or conditions to migrant agricultural workers. Title III: Seasonal Agricultural Worker Protections - Requires each farm labor contractor, agricultural employer, and agricultural association which recruits any seasonal agricultural worker to: (1) disclose specified information to such worker, upon request, when an offer of employment is made (but to disclose such information to day-haul workers at the place of recruitment); (2) post a statement of worker rights and protections; and (3) keep specified records with respect to each such worker. Requires each farm labor contractor to supply copies of such records to any agricultural employer and association to which such contractor has furnished such workers. Prohibits knowingly providing false or misleading information to any worker concerning such required information, statements, and records. Requires that specified information and statements be provided to seasonal agricultural workers in written English or, as necessary and reasonable, in Spanish or other language common to migrant and agricultural workers not fluent or literate in English. Requires the Department of Labor to make forms available for use in providing such information. Requires such contractors, employers, and associations to pay the wages owed to seasonal agricultural workers when due. Prohibits contractors, employers, and associations from: (1) requiring such workers to purchase any goods or services solely from such contractors, employers, or associations; or (2) violating, without justification, the terms of any working arrangement with such workers. Title IV: Further Protections for Migrant and Seasonal Agricultural Workers - Sets forth provisions for motor vehicle safety in the transportation of any migrant or seasonal agricultural worker (except on agricultural machinery and equipment while actually engaged in the planting, cultivating, or harvesting any agricultural commodity or the care of livestock or poultry). Requires each agricultural employer, agricultural association, and farm labor contractor, while using or causing to be used any vehicle for such transportation, to: (1) ensure that such vehicle conforms to standards prescribed by the Secretary under this Act and to other applicable Federal and State safety standards; (2) ensure that each driver has a valid and appropriate State license to operate such vehicle; and (3) have a specified type of insurance policy or a liability bond in effect. Directs the Secretary to consider specified factors in prescribing such motor vehicle safety regulations. Provides that such regulations, shall be in addition to, and shall not supersede or modify, any standard or regulation under the Interstate Commerce Act or successor provisions of Federal law which is independently applicable to such transportation. Makes any violation of such standards a violation under this Act. Provides that standards prescribed under the Interstate Commerce Act for the transportation of migrant workers shall be deemed to be standards under this Act if the Secretary fails to prescribe such standards. Requires that the required level of insurance be at least the amount currently required for common carriers of passengers under the Interstate Commerce Act and any successor provisions of Federal law. Provides that, if the employer, association, or contractor provides State workers' compensation coverage for such migrant or seasonal agricultural workers, an insurance policy or liability bond shall be required under this Act only for circumstances under which coverage for transportation of such workers is not provided under State law. Directs the Secretary to prescribe and revise such motor vehicle safety standards by specified regulations. Prohibits any person from utilizing the services of any farm labor contractor to supply any migrant or seasonal agricultural worker unless the person first takes reasonable steps to determine that the contractor has a valid registration certificate authorizing such activity. Permits reliance upon either possession of such certificate or confirmation of registration by the Department. Directs the Secretary to maintain a central public registry of all persons issued such certificates. Requires each farm labor contractor to obtain at each place of employment and make available for inspection to every worker such contractor furnishes for employment a written statement of the conditions of such employment. Prohibits any farm labor contractor from violating, without justification, the terms of any written agreement made with an agricultural employer or an agricultural association pertaining to any contracting activity or worker protection under this Act. Provides that such written agreements do not relieve a person of any responsibility under this Act. Title V: General Provisions - Part A: Enforcement Provisions - Sets forth provisions relating to criminal sanctions, judicial enforcement, and administrative actions. Provides for a private right of action for any person aggrieved by a violation of this Act or any regulation under this Act. Limits the amount of damages which may be awarded in cases of multiple infractions or in class actions. Prohibits discrimination against any migrant or seasonal worker because of complaints filed, proceedings instituted, testimony, or exercise of rights or protections under this Act. Declares agreements by employees purporting to waive or modify their rights under this Act to be void as contrary to public policy, but provides that a waiver or modification of rights in favor of the Secretary shall be valid for enforcement purposes. Part B: Administrative Provisions - Authorizes the Secretary to: (1) issue rules and regulations necessary to carry out this Act; (2) use specified investigative powers to obtain information; and (3) make specified agreements with Federal and State agencies. Part C: Miscellaneous Provisions - Declares that this Act is intended to supplement State law and that compliance with this Act shall not excuse any person from compliance with appropriate State law and regulation. Sets forth a transition provision authorizing the Secretary to deny a certificate of registration to any farm labor contractor, as defined in this Act, against whom there is a judgment outstanding under the Farm Labor Contractor Registration Act of 1963 or who is subject to a final order of the Secretary under such Act assessing a civil penalty which has not been paid. Provides that any findings under such Act may also be applicable to determinations of willful and knowing violations under this Act. Repeals the Farm Labor Contractor Registration Act of 1963.
United States · United States Congress · 19 August 1982
Amends the Higher Education Act of 1965 to limit the maximum Pell Grant a student may receive for academic year 1983-1984 to $1,800 or 50 percent of the cost of attendance (as defined for academic year 1982-1983). Directs the Secretary of Education to approve separate (from the Pell Grant family contribution schedule) systems of need analysis for academic years 1983-1984 and 1984-1985 for the campus-based programs of supplemental education opportunity grants, work-study, and direct loans. Carries over for academic years 1983-1984 and 1984-1985 the Pell Grant cost of attendance criteria in effect for academic year 1982-1983. Carries over the academic year 1982-1983 Pell Grant family contribution schedule into academic year 1983-1984, with specified modifications to be published within 15 days of enactment of this Act. Provides that the academic year 1984-1985 Pell Grant family contribution schedule shall be the same as for academic year 1983-1984, with specified modifications, unless the Secretary of Education publishes in the Federal Register and submits to the Congress a proposed schedule by April 1, 1983, and a final schedule by May 15, 1983. Provides that such final schedule shall take effect unless either House of the Congress adopts a resolution of disapproval by a specified date. Provides for a new proposed schedule to take effect unless another resolution of disapproval is adopted. Directs the Secretary to publish in the Federal Register: (1) changes in amounts allowed as an offset for family size as a consequence of specified modifications of the Pell Grant family contribution schedule for academic year 1984-1985, immediately after publication of the Consumer Price Index for September, 1983; and (2) the modified family contribution schedule for academic year 1984-1985, by July 15,1983, under specified conditions. Replaces the ratable reduction formula effective for academic year 1983-1984 and succeeding academic years, under which when there are insufficient appropriations, awards for those with lesser need would be cut by a larger percentage than awards for those with greater need.
United States · United States Congress · 29 July 1982
Disapproves regulations submitted to the Congress on July 29, 1982, by the Secretary of Education which revised certain parts of the Code of Federal Regulations with respect to the Education Consolidation and Improvement Act of 1981.
United States · United States Congress · 23 July 1982
Prohibits the appointment of any person as a page of the House of Representatives. Requires the assignment of page duties to college students over 17 years of age employed as messengers under the supervision of the Doorkeeper.
United States · United States Congress · 15 July 1982
Expresses the support of the Congress for beginning strategic arms reductions talks. Urges the Soviet Union to join with the United States in concluding an equitable and verifiable agreement which freezes strategic nuclear forces at equal and substantially reduced levels. Reaffirms congressional support for the position that the United States should not enter into an arms agreement which provides for force levels inferior to those of the Soviet Union. Declares that the United States should propose practical measures to: (1) reduce the danger of accidental nuclear war; (2) prevent the use of nuclear weapons by third parties, including terrorists; and (3) halt the worldwide proliferation of nuclear weapons. Insists that any arms control agreement must be fully verifiable.
United States · United States Congress · 13 July 1982
Authorizes the Secretary of the Army to convey specified land to Illinois for National Guard purposes. Requires that the conveyance be made at the appraised market value of the land and authorizes the Secretary to give the State credit for costs previously incurred in improving the property.
United States · United States Congress · 23 June 1982
Authorizes the erection of a memorial on public grounds in the District of Columbia, or its environs, in honor and commemoration of members of the armed forces who served in the Korean war. Directs the Secretary of the Interior to select, with the approval of the National Commisson of Fine Arts and the National Capital Planning Commission, a suitable site on public grounds for such memorial. Subjects the design and any plans for the memorial to the approval of the Secretary, the National Commission of Fine Arts, and the National Capital Planning Commission. Declares that no moneys belonging to the United States or the District of Columbia shall be expended for the erection of such memorial.
United States · United States Congress · 22 June 1982
Expresses the sense of Congress that legislation should be proposed and enacted to: (1) establish parity between the compensation of Government Printing Office (GPO) employees and the compensation of other Federal employees performing similar work; (2) fix the wages of GPO employees in accordance with the prevailing wage rate system applicable to executive branch employees; and (3) strengthen the Public Printer's ability to manage without infringing on the oversight responsibilities of the Joint Committee on Printing.
United States · United States Congress · 16 June 1982
Amends the Higher Education Act of 1965 to make permanent the waiver of priority of the United States over the indebtedness of the Student Loan Marketing Association.
United States · United States Congress · 10 June 1982
Amends the Federal Water Pollution Control Act to declare that nothing in such Act shall be construed to displace, restrict, limit, affect, or modify in any way the obligations or liabilities of any person, or the right to seek abatement or damages under other Federal or State law, including Federal or State common law.
United States · United States Congress · 26 May 1982
Handicapped Infants Protection Act of 1982 - Amends the Child Abuse Prevention and Treatment Act to require the National Center on Child Abuse and Neglect to conduct a study of child abuse or neglect in federally assisted or operated health care facilities. Directs the Secretary of Health and Human Services to: (1) report the results of this study to the Congress within three months; and (2) give priority to information about adoption and foster care of handicapped infants. Prohibits doctors or other health care facility personnel from withholding nutrition or medical treatment from a handicapped infant. Provides a private right of action for violations of this Act. States that any punitive damage awards shall be used for the benefit of the infant involved in the suit, or if deceased, for research and treatment of handicapped infants. Directs the Center to establish and disseminate violations reporting procedures. Provides civil and criminal immunity and job protection for persons reporting such violations. Requires health care facilities to provide parents or guardians of handicapped infants with information about agency assistance for these infants.
United States · United States Congress · 21 May 1982
Multiple Employer Welfare Arrangement Act of 1982 - Amends the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA) to provide for certification by the Secretary of Labor of multiple employer welfare arrangements which are not collectively bargained and not fully insured. Defines the extent to which State laws are preempted by ERISA with respect to multiple employer welfare arrangements.
United States · United States Congress · 12 May 1982
Expresses the sense of the Congress that: (1) the President should direct the appropriate agencies to pursue vigorously and conclude promptly the countervailing duty and antidumping investigations being conducted under the Tariff Act of 1930 and the Trade Act of 1974 concerning foreign trade practices involving carbon steel mill products and specialty steel mill products; and (2) the Congress should consider legislation to strengthen U.S. trade laws if necessary.
United States · United States Congress · 11 May 1982
Amends the Bankruptcy Code to provide that educational loans which are not dischargeable in bankruptcy liquidation shall not be dischargeable in an adjustment of debts in a bankruptcy of an individual with regular income.
United States · United States Congress · 11 May 1982
Amends the Internal Revenue Code to provide for the collection of defaulted Federal student loans by offset against income tax refunds of those individuals found to be in default on such loans. Defines "Federal student loan" for purposes of this Act. Sets forth special rules with respect to joint returns and fiscal year taxpayers. Requires the Secretary of the Treasury to: (1) notify the Secretary of Education of the amounts collected with respect to any loan to any individual; and (2) transfer such amounts to the Secretary of Education as is necessary to reimburse the entity or fund to which such loan is repayable. Requires that such notification and transfer be made not less often than monthly.
United States · United States Congress · 10 May 1982
Amends the Freedom of Information Act to allow either House of Congress or any congressional committee to request certain information or the presence of an officer or employee from an executive agency, an independent regulatory agency, or the President of the United States to give testimony regarding certain matters. Requires compliance with such request as soon as practical or no later than 30 days after its receipt, unless the information is withheld by the President in a signed statement setting forth the grounds for such denial. Provides for the filing of a civil action where an agency head, the President, or a witness declines to furnish information or testimony. Grants the United States District Court for the District of Columbia exclusive jurisdiction in this matter. Establishes a procedure for the court to follow in resolving such a dispute. Allows for an appeal in the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia.
United States · United States Congress · 31 March 1982
Expresses the sense of the House of Representatives that: (1) graduate and professional students should remain eligible for guaranteed student loans under the Higher Education Act of 1965; (2) Congress should provide Pell grant assistance for academic year 1982 through 1983 that fully funds the need analysis criteria of January 6, 1982, in order to provide assistance to 2,600,000 needy students; and (3) Congress should not further reduce the amount of funds available for campus-based student assistance programs under the Higher Education Act of 1965 below the levels established by the Omnibus Reconciliation Act of 1981.
United States · United States Congress · 29 March 1982
Declares that the United States should propose to the Soviet Union: (1) a long-term, mutual, and verifiable nuclear forces freeze at equal and sharply reduced levels of forces; and (2) practical measures to reduce the danger of an accidental nuclear war and to prevent the use of nuclear weapons by third parties. States that the United States and the Soviet Union should channel their resources away from nuclear armaments and towards fighting poverty, hunger, and disease. Declares that the United States should continue to work for balanced arms reductions.
United States · United States Congress · 18 March 1982
National Defense Port System Act of 1982 - Title I: Establishment of National System of User Taxes for Deep-Draft Channels and Harbors - Directs the Secretary of the Treasury, not later than three months after recommendations have been made by the Deep-Draft Port Task Force established by this Act, to develop a nationally uniform system of user taxes to be imposed on the use of ports with deep-draft channels or harbors by any vessel which is in: (1) the business of transporting property or passengers for compensation or hire; or (2) transporting property or passengers in the business of the owner, lessee, or operator of the vessel. Requires such taxes to be imposed with respect to commodities, classes of commodities, and passengers. Prohibits any such tax from being levied on any item with respect to which such a tax has been previously paid. Allows the Secretary to increase or decrease such user tax under certain circumstances. Requires the master of any vessel with respect to which a tax is imposed to deliver to the Customs Service a manifest of the cargo and a declaration of the passengers upon arrival in a port having a deep-draft channel or harbor. Establishes the Deep-Draft Commercial Port Task Force to make specific recommendations to the Secretary of the Treasury concerning the classifications and amounts of tax which should be established for commodities. Directs the Secretary to impose a tax on the use of any deep-draft channel or harbor by any vessel transporting property which is to be unloaded at a privately owned port which is not open to public navigation and is not operated and maintained by the United States. Grants the consent of Congress, subject to certain conditions, to the imposition of certain State user fees at deep-draft channels or harbors. Requires the net produce of such fees to be transferred to, and for the use of, the United States Treasury. Prohibits the use of funds from the Port System Trust Fund or the general fund of the Treasury for any approved navigation improvement project, the operation or maintenance of any deep-draft channel or harbor, or any other civil works project of the Secretary of the Army in any State unless such State has port user fees in effect not later than two years after enactment of this Act. Directs the Secretary of the Treasury to collect and enforce such State port user fees. Establishes the Port System Trust Fund within the Treasury. Directs the Secretary to report annually to Congress on Trust Fund operations. Makes amounts in the Trust Fund available for: (1) navigation improvement projects; and (2) operation and maintenance of specified channels and harbors, including those in the Saint Lawrence Seaway, Great Lakes, or their connecting waters. Sets the Federal share of any approved navigation improvement project at 90 percent. Revises financing procedures of the Saint Lawrence Seaway Development Corporation. Terminates Corporation obligations outstanding on the effective date of this Act. Title II: Construction and Financing of Navigation Improvement Projects to Increase the Depth of Deep-Draft Channels and Harbors to More Than Forty-Five Feet - Directs the Secretary of the Army, acting through the Chief of Engineers, to expedite construction of approved navigation improvement projects if the appropriate State port authority enters into a specified agreement with the Secretary. Requires such port authority to reimburse the United States for 100 percent of construction, operation, and maintenance costs. Allows State port authorities to construct approved navigation improvement projects at their own expense and to finance such construction through the adoption of duties of tonnage. Grants the consent of Congress, subject to certain conditions, to the levying by the States of such duties of tonnage. Directs the Comptroller General to audit the operations of such State port authorities and to report to Congress thereon. Sets forth enforcement procedures concerning such duties of tonnage. Title III: Expedited Procedure for Approval of Navigation Improvement Projects and Related Landside Facilities Projects - Directs the Secretary to establish a project schedule for all agency decisions relating to navigation improvements and landside facilities projects. Authorizes the Secretary to modify the project schedule at any time. Describes procedures concerning judicial review of final agency decisions covered by a project schedule.
United States · United States Congress · 17 March 1982
Immigration Reform and Control Act of 1982 - Title I: Control of Illegal Immigration - Part A: Employment - Amends the Immigration and Nationality Act to make it unlawful for a person to knowingly hire, recruit, or refer any alien not authorized to work. Makes following the appropriate verification procedures an affirmative defense for an employer so charged. Sets forth a transitional verification procedure (for the first three years) under which an employer must attest that he or she has examined the alien's identity and work eligibility papers (passport, social security card, etc.). Requires the President to implement a secure verification system within three years. Prohibits the use of this system or any required identification document for other law enforcement purposes. Sets forth graduated civil and criminal penalties for verification violations. Directs the Attorney General, in cooperation with the Secretaries of Commerce, Labor, and Agriculture, and the Administrator of the Small Business Administration, to inform employers, employment agencies, unions, and the public about these requirements. Authorizes appropriations for FY 1983. Makes it illegal to fraudulently misuse or manufacture entry or work documents (up to $5,000 fine or five years' imprisonment or both). Part B: Enforcement and Fees - Makes it unlawful for a person to knowingly, or in reckless disregard of the fact that an alien is not authorized to enter the United States, bring such person into the country (up to $2,500 or one year's imprisonment or both). Expresses the sense of Congress that: (1) Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS) enforcement activities and resources should be increased; and (2) the Attorney General should use his existing authority under such Act to impose maintenance and operating fees for an alien's use of INS border facilities and services. Part C: Adjudication Procedures and Asylum Inspection and Exclusion - Establishes in the Department of Justice a United States Immigration Board to hear appeals from final decisions of administrative law judges under such Act. Provides that the Chairman of such Board shall appoint these administrative law judges. Grants such judges responsibility over cases of exclusion, deportation, status rescission, and asylum. Requires exclusion appeals to be filed with the Board (rather than the Attorney General) within 15 days. Limits judicial review in exclusion and asylum cases to the question of habeas corpus. Reduces the period for filing a petition for judicial review of final orders of exclusion, deportation, and asylum from six months to 30 days. Revises asylum provisions to: (1) require an alien under an exclusion or deportation order to apply for asylum within 14 days after notice of such order unless changed circumstances in the alien's country cause a change in asylum eligibility; (2) prohibit an alien from reapplying for asylum after having been denied such status unless such changes have occurred; (3) require asylum applications to be heard before administrative law judges having special training in international law; (4) permit legal counsel at asylum hearings; (5) require an alien to be an admissible refugee in order to be granted asylum; (6) place the burden of proof on the applicant; and (7) prohibit the reopening of an application proceeding unless changed circumstances in the alien's county cause a change in asylum eligibility. Requires the President to nominate members of the Board within 45 days. Sets forth administrative and operating provisions for the transfer of asylum proceedings from the existing special inquiry system to the administrative law judge system. Authorizes appropriations for such purpose for FY 1983. Part D: Adjustment of Status - Prohibits adjustment of status to permanent resident for violators of (nonimmigrant) visa terms. Title II: Reform of Legal Immigration - Part A: Immigrants - Revises numerical limitation provisions to: (1) establish a "family reunification" category of 325,000 (minus the number of prior-year immediate relatives); (2) establish an "independent" category of 100,000 (minus the number of prior-year special immigrants); and (3) permit 40,000 annual entrants each from Mexico and Canada, with each country entitled to the other's unused visas. Sets forth family reunification preference allocations as follows: (1) unmarried sons and daughters of U.S. citizens; (2) spouses and children of permanent residents; (3) married sons and daughters of U.S. citizens; and (4) brothers and sisters of U.S. citizens with already approved visas. Sets forth "independent" preference allocations as follows: (1) aliens of exceptional ability; (2) skilled workers; (3) investors; (4) unskilled workers; and (5) nonpreference workers. Sets forth an interpreference allocation guide. Provides that labor certifications will be granted on the basis of national job market data, and requires a finding that U.S. workers could not be trained (or be presently available) within a reasonable period of time. Includes within the definition of "special immigrant" Amerasian children who: (1) are unmarried and between 14 and 21 years old; (2) were fathered by a U.S. citizen on active duty in Korea, Vietnam, Cambodia, or Laos, and subject to discrimination in such countries; (3) are orphans or have been put up for adoption; and (4) are coming to the United States to be adopted by a U.S. citizen or citizens. Limits such annual entrants to 2,000. Terminates such category after five years. Includes within the definition of "special immigrant" unmarried sons and daughters and surviving spouses of employees of certain international organizations. Part B: Nonimmigrants - Limits (H-2 visa) temporary workers to a maximum stay of eight months per year unless the Secretary of Labor extends such period. Requires an employer petition (to bring in such workers) to certify that: (1) there are not enough U.S. workers for the job; and (2) similarly employed U.S. workers' wages will not be adversely affected. Provides that: (1) employers need not submit such petition more than 80 days in advance of need; and (2) the Secretary must take a decision on a petition within 20 days of need, or else the petition is considered approved. Provides for a seven-day expedited certification. Requires the Secretary, in consultation with the Attorney General and the Secretary of Agriculture, to report annually to the Congress. Authorizes appropriations beginning with FY 1983 to recruit domestic workers and monitor the nonimmigrant worker program. Directs the Secretary of Labor to report on the H-2 worker program to Congress within six months. Prohibits foreign students from adjusting their status to permanent resident unless they are immediate relatives of U.S. citizens. Requires foreign students to return to their home country for two years before being eligible to apply for a U.S. permanent resident visa. Authorizes the Attorney General and the Secretary of State to establish a three-year pilot visa waiver program for up to five countries providing a similar benefit to the United States. Sets forth program provisions. Title III: Legalization - Authorizes adjustment of status to permanent resident for specified undocumented aliens who have resided in the United States since January 1, 1978. Authorizes a temporary resident status for Cuban/Haitian entrants and for specified undocumented aliens who have resided in the United States since January 1, 1980. Permits such temporary resident aliens to: (1) work in the United States; and (2) apply for permanent resident status after two years. Makes temporary residents (other than Cuban/Haitian entrants) ineligible for Federal public assistance (other than medical care, aid to the aged, blind, or disabled, and public health). Prohibits the legalization of persons: (1) convicted of a felony or three or more misdemeanors in the United States; or (2) who have taken part in political, religious, or racial persecution. Directs the Attorney General, in cooperation with designated voluntary agencies and the Secretary of Labor, to disseminate information about such status legalization program. Authorizes appropriations for such program for FY 1983.
United States · United States Congress · 17 March 1982
States that the United States and the Soviet Union should begin the strategic arms reduction talks (START) with the following objectives: (1) preserving present controls on current nuclear weapons and nuclear delivery systems while pursuing substantial, equitable, and verifiable reductions; (2) seeking methods of avoiding the testing and deployment of destabilizing nuclear weapons; and (3) incorporating the ongoing negotiations on land-based intermediate-range nuclear missiles into the START negotiations.
United States · United States Congress · 3 February 1982
Amends the Internal Revenue Code to limit the tax deduction for the living expenses of Members of Congress to days on which legislation is scheduled for consideration and such Member's physical presence is recorded by roll call vote.
United States · United States Congress · 2 February 1982
Extends congratulations from the Congress to the Italian Government and its antiterrorist police forces for the successful rescue of Brigadier General James L. Dozier. Extends to General Dozier and his family best wishes for a quick recovery and return to normal life.
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 · 25 January 1982
Authorizes expenditures for investigations and studies of welfare and pension plans by the Subcommittee on Labor Management Relations of the House Committee on Education and Labor from January 3, 1982, until January 3, 1983. Limits the amount spent for procurement of consultant services.
United States · United States Congress · 20 November 1981
Requests the President to designate February 22, 1982, as a day of national celebration in honor of the two hundred and fiftieth anniversary of the birth of George Washington.
United States · United States Congress · 19 November 1981
Amends the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 to permit employers, without prior or special certification by the Secretary of Labor, to pay 85 percent of the minimum wage: (1) to a persons under age 19, for a 180 day period; and (2) to certain full-time students for part-time work up to 20 hours per week or full-time work during vacation periods. Directs the Secretary to insure against specified violations of requirements for such special minimum wages for youths and students. Makes employers liable for unpaid wages and overtime compensation for such violations.
United States · United States Congress · 10 November 1981
Public Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1981 - Establishes Federal reporting and disclosure requirements and fiduciary standards for certain State and local government retirement plans. Extends the requirements of this Act to all public employee pension plans except: (1) those covered and not exempted under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA); (2) unfunded plans maintained by the employer primarily to provide deferred compensation for select management or highly compensated employees; (3) severance pay plans; (4) certain coverage agreements entered into under the Social Security Act; (5) certain individual retirement accounts or annuities, annuity plans, State deferred compensation plans, and other plans under specified provisions of the Internal Revenue Code; and (6) plans maintained solely to comply with applicable workers' compensation or disability insurance laws. Title I: Reporting and Disclosure - Requires that plan administrators submit, within a specified period, registration statements to the Secretary of Labor, unless registration statements filed for a plan under Internal Revenue Code provisions still accurately reflect the status of the plan. Exempts a plan from the requirements of this Act if the Secretary determines that such plan is subject to State law imposing substantially equivalent requirements, with adequate provision for State administration and for collection of annual reports to be provided to the Board. Requires that a summary plan description apprising participants and their beneficiaries of their rights and obligations be published with respect to each plan. Specifies the content of such description. Requires that a summary plan description be updated at least once every ten years. Requires that an annual report be published with respect to each plan. Requires that each annual report include specified general information and a financial statement. Requires that annual reports for specified types of plans include actuarial statements and/or reports of insurance organizations. Requires actuarial valuations of plans at least once every three plan years, and more often if necessary. Directs plan administrators to provide the following information to participants and beneficiaries: (1) the summary plan description; (2) a summary description of any material modification in the terms of the plan; and (3) updated summary plan descriptions (for those whose future benefits may be affected by plan amendments). Directs plan administrators to furnish to any participant or beneficiary, upon written request, a statement indicating: (1) total accumulated plan benefits; (2) the extent to which, and the expected earliest date on which, such benefits are or will become vested pension benefits; and (3) the total accumulated contributions made by the participant. Directs plan administrators to provide to any participant or beneficiary who requests withdrawal of contributions, payment of benefits, or a benefit election, a written explanation of the effects of such action on remaining plan benefits. Requires plan administrators to file with the Secretary: (1) the annual report, within a specified period; (2) a copy of the summary plan description; and (3) upon request, any other plan-related document. Sets forth: (1) conditions under which such filings may be provided to the public; and (2) penalties for violations of such conditions. Authorizes the Secretary to: (1) reject such filings, under specified conditions; and (2) take specified appropriate actions if a revised and satisfactory filing is not submitted within 45 days. Sets forth requirements for retention of plan records. Requires plans covered by this Act to establish claims procedures that provide participants with adequate written notice and explanation of benefit denials and reasonable opportunity for full and fair review. Authorizes the Secretary to: (1) prescribe alternative methods of plan compliance with any requirement of this title; and (2) exempt any plan or class of plans from any such requirement (if necessary, in the public interest, and consistent with the purposes of this Act). Directs the Secretary to consider recommendations of the Advisory Council on Governmental Plans, established under this Act, before issuing such exemptions or prescribing such alternative compliance methods. Title II: Requirements Relating to Fiduciary Functions - Requires plans covered by this Act to provide for one or more fiduciaries and to include: (1) any funding policy which has been established; (2) procedures for amendment and for the allocation of responsibility for the plan's operation and administration; and (3) specification of the benefit provisions. States that all assets shall be held in trust by one or more trustees, with certain exceptions. Requires a fiduciary to discharge his or her duties for the exclusive purpose of providing benefits to participants and their beneficiaries and defraying reasonable expenses of administering the plan, with the care, skill, prudence, and diligence that a prudent man would exercise in like circumstances. Directs a fiduciary to diversify the investments of the plan so as to minimize the risk of large losses, unless under the circumstances it is clearly prudent not to do so. Sets forth the circumstances under which a fiduciary is liable for the breach of a co-fiduciary with respect to the same plan. Requires trustees holding assets of a plan to use reasonable care to prevent a co-trustee from committing a breach and to manage and control jointly the assets, unless allocation of responsibility is authorized by the trust agreement. Prohibits specified types of transactions involving plan property and parties-in-interest. Limits acquisition by a plan of qualifying employer securities, other employer obligations, and employer real property to five percent of the fair market value of the assets of the plan. Provides for exemptions from prohibited transactions. Makes a fiduciary personally liable for the breach of any of the responsibilities, obligations, or duties imposed upon fiduciaries by this Act. Prohibits relieving fiduciaries from requirements of this Act, but permits purchases of fiduciary insurance. Prohibits persons who have been convicted of specified crimes from serving in certain capacities, including fiduciary and trustee, for specified periods. Sets forth bonding requirements for every fiduciary of a plan, with specified exceptions. Provides for a limitation on actions against fiduciaries. Provides that no legislator or government official shall be a fiduciary or co-fiduciary with respect to actions taken in an official capacity. Title III: Administration and Enforcement - Authorizes civil actions to be brought by specified persons to enjoin or redress violations or otherwise enforce provisions of this Act. Provides that a plan administrator may be held personally liable for failure to comply with a request for information required under the Act. Grants to the Federal district courts exclusive jurisdiction of civil actions brought under this Act, but provides for concurrent jurisdiction of Federal and State courts with respect to certain actions. Permits attorney's fees to be awarded to a prevailing plaintiff or defendant under specified circumstances. Grants the Secretary the power to investigate violations of this Act and of any regulations the Secretary may prescribe to carry out this Act. Directs the Secretary to cooperate with State and local governments in exchanging information on plans. Provides that specified Federal laws relating to administrative procedure shall be applicable to this Act. Prohibits any employee of the Secretary from administering or enforcing this Act with respect to: (1) any plan under which the employee is a participant or beneficiary; or (2) any employee organization of which the employee is a member. Prohibits persons from taking retaliatory action against either a plan participant or a beneficiary for exercising any right under this Act, or from interfering with or preventing the exercise of such rights. Establishes an 11-member Advisory Council on Governmental Plans, to be appointed by the President, to advise and make recommendations to the Secretary with respect to its functions under this Act. Authorizes the Secretary to undertake research and compile information relating to pension plans. Directs the Secretary to: (1) report annually to Congress on the administration of this Act; and (2) publish at least annually specified information relating to pension plans. Provides that the fiduciary provisions of this Act preempt all State laws relating to the same subject matter. Sets forth other provisions relating to the effect of specified provisions of this Act on State and local laws. Authorizes appropriations to enable the Secretary to carry out functions and duties under this Act. Sets forth severability provisions and effective dates.
United States · United States Congress · 10 November 1981
Title I: Public Employee Retirement Income Security - Public Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1981 - Establishes Federal reporting and disclosure requirements and fiduciary standards for certain State and local government retirement plans. Extends the requirements of this Act to all public employee pension plans except: (1) those covered and not exempted under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA); (2) unfunded plans maintained by the employer primarily to provide deferred compensation for select management or highly compensated employees; (3) severance pay plans; (4) certain coverage agreements entered into under the Social Security Act; (5) certain individual retirement accounts or annuities, annuity plans, State deferred compensation plans, and other plans under specified provisions of the Internal Revenue Code; and (6) plans maintained solely to comply with applicable workers' compensation or disability insurance laws. Subtitle A: Reporting and Disclosure - Requires that plan administrators submit, within a specified period, registration statements to the Board of Directors of the Employee Benefit Administration (established under title II), unless registration statements filed for a plan under Internal Revenue Code provisions still accurately reflect the status of the plan. Exempts a plan from the requirements of this Act if the Board determines that such plan is subject to State law imposing substantially equivalent requirements, with adequate provision for State administration and for collection of annual reports to be provided to the Board. Requires that a summary plan description apprising participants and their beneficiaries of their rights and obligations be published with respect to each plan. Specifies the content of such description. Requires that a summary plan description be updated at least once every ten years. Requires that an annual report be published with respect to each plan. Requires that each annual report include specified general information and a financial statement. Requires that annual reports for specified types of plans include actuarial statements and/or reports of insurance organizations. Requires actuarial valuations of plans at least once every three plan years, and more often if necessary. Directs plan administrators to provide the following information to participants and beneficiaries: (1) the summary plan description; (2) a summary description of any material modification in the terms of the plan; and (3) updated summary plan descriptions (for those whose future benefits may be affected by plan amendments). Directs plan administrators to furnish to any participant or beneficiary, upon written request, a statement indicating: (1) total accumulated plan benefits; (2) the extent to which, and the expected earliest date on which, such benefits are or will become vested pension benefits; and (3) the total accumulated contributions made by the participant. Directs plan administrators to provide to any participant or beneficiary who requests withdrawal of contributions, payment of benefits, or a benefit election, a written explanation of the effects of such action on remaining plan benefits. Requires plan administrators to file with the Board: (1) the annual report, within a specified period; and (2) upon request, any other plan-related document. Sets forth: (1) conditions under which such filings may be provided to the public; and (2) penalties for violations of such conditions. Authorizes the Board to: (1) reject such filings, under specified conditions; and (2) take specified appropriate actions if a revised and satisfactory filing is not submitted within 45 days. Sets forth requirements for retention of plan records. Requires plans covered by this Act to establish claims procedures that provide participants with adequate written notice and explanation of benefit denials and reasonable opportunity for full and fair review. Authorizes the Board to: (1) prescribe alternative methods of plan compliance with any requirement of this title; and (2) exempt any plan or class of plans from any such requirement (if necessary, in the public interest, and consistent with the purposes of this Act). Directs the Board to consider recommendations of the Advisory Council on Governmental Plans, established under this Act, before issuing such exemptions or prescribing such alternative compliance methods. Subtitle B: Fiduciary Responsibility - Requires plans covered by this Act to provide for one or more fiduciaries and to include: (1) any funding policy which has been established; (2) procedures for amendment and for the allocation of responsibility for the plan's operation and administration; and (3) specification of the benefit provisions. States that all assets shall be held in trust by one or more trustees, with certain exceptions. Requires a fiduciary to discharge his or her duties for the exclusive purpose of providing benefits to participants and their beneficiaries and defraying reasonable expenses of administering the plan, with the care, skill, prudence, and diligence that a prudent man would exercise in like circumstances. Directs a fiduciary to diversify the investments of the plan so as to minimize the risk of large losses, unless under the circumstances it is clearly prudent not to do so. Sets forth the circumstances under which a fiduciary is liable for the breach of a co-fiduciary with respect to the same plan. Requires trustees holding assets of a plan to use reasonable care to prevent a co-trustee from committing a breach and to manage and control jointly the assets, unless allocation of responsibility is authorized by the trust agreement. Prohibits specified types of transactions involving plan property and parties-in-interest. Limits acquisition by a plan of qualifying employer securities, other employer obligations, and employer real property to ten percent of the fair market value of the assets of the plan. Provides for exemptions from prohibited transactions. Makes a fiduciary personally liable for the breach of any of the responsibilities, obligations, or duties imposed upon fiduciaries by this Act. Prohibits relieving fiduciaries of responsibilities under this Act, but permits purchases of fiduciary insurance. Prohibits persons who have been convicted of specified crimes from serving in certain capacities, including fiduciary and trustee, for specified periods. Sets forth bonding requirements for every fiduciary of a plan, with specified exceptions. Provides for a limitation on actions against fiduciaries. Provides that no legislator or government official shall be a fiduciary or co-fiduciary with respect to actions taken in an official capacity. Subtitle C: Administration and Enforcement - Authorizes civil actions to be brought by specified persons to enjoin or redress violations or otherwise enforce provisions of this Act. Provides that a plan administrator may be held personally liable for failure to comply with a request for information required under the Act. Grants to the Federal district courts exclusive jurisdiction of civil actions brought under this Act, but provides for concurrent jurisdiction of Federal and State courts with respect to certain actions. Permits attorney's fees to be awarded to a prevailing plaintiff or defendant under specified circumstances. Grants the Board power to investigate violations of this title and of any regulations the Board may prescribe to carry out this title. Directs the Board to cooperate with State and local governments in exchanging information on plans. Provides that specified Federal laws relating to administrative procedure shall be applicable to this title. Prohibits any employee of the Board from administering or enforcing this title with respect to: (1) any plan under which the employee is a participant or beneficiary; or (2) any employee organization of which the employee is a member. Prohibits persons from taking retaliatory action against either a plan participant or a beneficiary for exercising any right under this Act, or from interfering with or preventing the exercise of such rights. Directs the Board to transmit specified information to the Secretary of Health and Human Services. Amends the Social Security Act to require the Secretary of Health and Human Services to transmit to an individual, upon request, specified information obtained under the Internal Revenue Code or under this Act (relating to deferred vested pension benefits). Establishes an 11-member Advisory Council on Governmental Plans, to be appointed by the President, to advise and make recommendations to the Board with respect to its functions under this Act. Authorizes the Board to undertake research and compile information relating to pension plans. Directs the Board to: (1) report annually to Congress on the administration of this Act; and (2) publish at least annually specified information relating to pension plans. Provides that the fiduciary provisions of this Act preempt all State laws relating to the same subject matter. Sets forth other provisions relating to the effect of specified provisions of this Act on State and local laws. Authorizes appropriations to enable the Board to carry out its functions and duties under this title. Amends the Internal Revenue Code to provide that any pension plan or trust forming part of a plan subject to this title shall be deemed to have met the requirements for a tax qualified plan or trust. Amends the Internal Revenue Code to add provisions for tax exemptions with respect to public employee pension benefit plans as defined under this title. Sets forth severability provisions and effective dates. Title II: Employee Benefit Administration - Employee Benefit Administration Act of 1981 - Amends the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA) to direct the President to establish, by the beginning of the second calendar year after enactment of this title, the Employee Benefit Administration (EBA) as an independent agency within the executive branch, to be headed by a three member Board of Directors. Creates two new positions, entitled special liaison officer to the EBA, one within the Department of Labor and one within the Department of the Treasury, to serve as directors. Provides for an Executive Director to serve as chairperson of the Board. Provides, in addition to the Executive Director, for four officers in the EBA, including one or more officers of the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation. Sets forth administrative provisions for the Board. Sets forth the functions of the Board, including transfers of specified functions (relating to employee benefit plans) of the Secretaries of Labor and the Treasury under ERISA, the Internal Revenue Code and the Welfare and Pension Plan Disclosure Act. Directs the President to transfer to the Board additional functions of any Federal agency which is necessary to effectuate the maximum feasible consolidation of administrative and related functions of the Government relating to employee benefit plans. Sets forth provisions for coordination between agencies. Authorizes appropriations (under ERISA) to the EBA to enable the Board to carry out its functions and duties. Sets forth transfers to the Board of specified administrative and enforcement functions and duties of the Secretaries of Labor and the Treasury under ERISA and the Internal Revenue Code. Redesignates the Joint Board for the Enrollment of Actuaries as the "Actuary Enrollment Board," and transfers it, as a distinct entity, to the EBA. Provides for effective dates of transfers of functions. Provides for transfers of officers and employees to the EBA. Sets forth transitional and savings provisions. Sets forth miscellaneous and conforming amendments.
United States · United States Congress · 5 November 1981
Declares that it is the sense of the House of Representatives that: (1) the United States must manage its assets in a manner more prudent and beneficial to the interests of the American people; (2) all executive branch agencies should inventory their assets, estimate the approximate value of each asset, and identify the uses to which each asset is put; (3) the President should then identify which assets are surplus to Federal needs and should be candidates for liquidation; (4) the President should submit recommendations to Congress on any legislative and administrative revisions that may be needed to carry out such a program of liquidation in an orderly manner; (5) the receipts of this program should be used only to restrain and ultimately reduce the national debt; and (6) the Comptroller General should investigate and recommend to Congress and each agency improved processes for managing Federal assets, estimating their value, and liquidating those which are unneeded.
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 · 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.
![Official portrait of Rep. Erlenborn, John N. [R-IL-13]](https://www.congress.gov/img/member/e000204_200.jpg)