United States · United States Congress · 23 May 1977
Directs the Secretary of the Interior to make a comprehensive study of the wolf for the purpose of developing adequate conservation measures to conserve such mammals and to insure humane treatment in all cases. Requires that the results of such study be reported to Congress no later than January 1, 1980. Establishes a moratorium on the hunting of wolves from aircraft or other mechanized vehicles. Prohibits all killing of wolves except the killing of individual animals by hunters as game in areas where the wolf is not protected under the Endangered Species Act. Stipulates that such moratorium on the large-scale killing of wolves shall remain in effect pending completion of the study and implementation of legislative recommendations by Congress. Authorizes appropriations of $50,000 for fiscal years 1978, 1979, and 1980 to carry out the purposes of this Act.
United States · United States Congress · 23 May 1977
Industrial Energy Conservation Act - Directs the Administrator of Energy Research and Development to establish and maintain a comprehensive program for research, development, and demonstration of industrial energy conserving technologies. Specifies criteria that the Administrator is required to apply in reaching decisions regarding the directions, priorities activities, and operations of the industrial energy conservation program. Authorizes the Administrator to make loans and loan guarantees for the purchase, construction, operation, or maintenance of energy-efficient equipment or facilities. Directs the Administrator to give special priority to loan recipients in depressed industrial areas. Establishes limits on the amount of outstanding indebtedness to be guaranteed under this Act. Stipulates that no guarantee or commitment to guarantee shall be undertaken after September 30, 1977. Details procedures in the event of a default on guaranteed obligations. Authorizes the appropriation of the following amounts for research and development programs authorized by this Act: (1) $35,000,000 for fiscal year 1976; and (2) $50,000,000 for fiscal year 1979. Authorizes the appropriation of the following amounts for the purpose of making loans under this Act: (1) $30,000,000 for fiscal year 1978; and (2) $45,000,000 for fiscal year 1979. Authorizes the appropriation of up to $500,000,000 to be paid in the event of a default on obligations guaranteed under this Act.
United States · United States Congress · 23 May 1977
Directs that any alien who is a national of Chile and is not in the United States be issued a nonimmigrant visa and be admitted to the United States as a nonimmigrant if the consular officer involved determines that such alien: (1) is being persecuted or is in danger of persecution in Chile on account of his political opinions; (2) is not otherwise excludable from the United States; and (3) has applied for such admission during the one year period following the enactment of this Act. States that admission under this Act shall be for a period of two years during which the aliens shall be allowed to accept employment. Directs the Attorney General to examine the case of the alien before the expiration of the two-year period and to grant permanent resident status to such eligible alien. Directs that any alien who: (1) is a national of Chile; (2) is in the United States on the date of enactment of this Act; and (3) would be persecuted or be in danger of persecution in Chile on account of his political opinions, be placed in the custody of the Immigration and Naturalization Service. Requires that such alien be inspected and examined for admission into the United States according to the applicable provisions of the Immigration and Nationality Act. Regards such resident aliens, as lawfully if found to be admissible after such examination, admitted to the United States for permanent residence as of the date of their arrival. Allows the spouse, child, or parents of a national of Chile who has been admitted to the United States pursuant to this Act, to be issued a nonimmigrant visa, admitted to the United States as a nonimmigrant, and treated as other aliens issued nonimmigrant visas under this Act. Declares that aliens who acquire permanent residence status under this Act shall not be charged against the quota of immigrants allotted to Chile under the Immigration and Nationality Act. Directs the Attorney General to inform any alien who is a national of Chile or the spouse, child, or parent of a national of Chile of the treatment which may be applied for under this Act before such alien is excluded from admission into or deported from the United States.
United States · United States Congress · 18 May 1977
Authorizes the Clerk of the House of Representatives to withhold charitable contributions from the pay of House employees for transmittal to the Combined Federal Campaign, if the employee requests the Clerk to do so.
United States · United States Congress · 17 May 1977
National Agricultural Land Policy Act -- Title I: Objectives -- Declares the policy of the Federal Government, in cooperation with State and local governments, to use all practicable methods to retain, protect and improve agricultural land, to reduce its conversion to nonagricultural uses, and to limit the encroachment of industrial activities. Title II: Research Program -- Establishes a three-year Agricultural Land Review Commission to study: (1) agricultural land in the United States; (2) the effects of industrial development climate and other factors on the productivity of such land; (3) the acquisition of such land by persons not engaged in agricultural activities; and (4) methods of protecting and improving such land, and of reducing the amount of it being converted to nonagricultural uses. Authorizes the Commission to make grants to public and private organizations to do research pursuant to its study. Requires the Commission to report its findings, conclusions and recommendations to the President and to Congress. Title III: Demonstration Programs -- Authorizes the Secretary of Agriculture to pay up to 75 percent of the cost and to provide technical assistance to any State pilot project undertaken to demonstrate and test methods of reducing the amount of agricultural land being converted to nonagricultural uses. Requires all such projects to be completed within five years after enactment of this Act. Directs the Secretary to report his findings, conclusions and recommendations to the President and to Congress. Title IV: Funding -- Authorizes for Title II programs the appropriation of $15,000,000. Authorizes for Title III programs the appropriation of $50,000,000 for each of fiscal years 1978 through 1982.
United States · United States Congress · 16 May 1977
Contract Disputes Reform Act - Authorizes an executive agency to settle any claim arising out of any express or implied contract of such agency. Requires an agency contracting officer to settle disputes which cannot be resolved by mutual agreement. Permits any contractor to request an informal administrative conference with the appropriate agency to review the decision of the contracting officer. Declares the decision of the contracting officer to be final unless the contractor sues or appeals as provided in this Act. Permits each agency to establish an agency Board of Contract Appeals if the volume of procurement of such agency justifies a Board of at least three full-time members. Requires appeals to be made to such Board within 90 days of receipt of the contracting officer's decision. Provides for an appeal to the Board of another agency in the event that the party agency does not have its own Board. Requires the rules of each board to provide for a simplified procedure for small claims of $25,000 or less which can be invoked at the option of the contractor. Permits suits in any U.S. district court or the Court of Claims in lieu of an appeal by the contractor to an agency Board. Permits the agency or the contractor to appeal any decision of an agency Board to such Courts. States that in the event the agency appeals a Board decision, that decision shall not be overturned unless arbitrary, capricious, or so clearly erroneous as to imply bad faith. (Amends 28 U.S.C. 2401; 2517)
United States · United States Congress · 16 May 1977
Authorizes and requests the President to designate 1979 as "Thomas A. Edison Centennial Year. Establishes the Thomas A. Edison Centennial Commission. Stipulates that such Commission shall terminate on September 30, 1980.
United States · United States Congress · 13 May 1977
Declares it the sense of the Congress that the United States Delegation to the Belgrade Conference concerning the Final Act of the Conference on Security and Cooperation in Europe should (1) reiterate the American commitment to human rights, (2) insist on a full conference agenda including discussion of all violations of the Final Act, and (3) include at least seven permanent seats for members of the Commission on Security and Cooperation in Europe.
United States · United States Congress · 10 May 1977
Amends Title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act to extend coverage to include expenses incurred in providing a Papanicolaou test for the diagnosis of uterine cancer, if the individual receiving the test has not had such a test on a routine basis during the preceding six months.
United States · United States Congress · 9 May 1977
Amends the Federal Election Campaign Act of 1971 to (1) prohibit all political committees, other than National, State, or local committees of national political parties from making contributions to candidates or their committees and (2) forbid all political committees from making contributions to other political committees, with the exception of transfers between and among National, State, and local party committees.
United States · United States Congress · 9 May 1977
Amends rule III of the Rules of the House of Representatives to require each employee of the House to file an annual statement disclosing the name of each Member who is a relative of such employee.
United States · United States Congress · 9 May 1977
Amends rule XI of the Rules of the House of Representatives to prohibit the consideration of any report from the Committee on Rules, relating to the consideration of any bill or resolution, which does not allow for the offering of germane amendments under the five-minute rule. Prohibits the consideration of specified resolutions reported from the Committee on Rules which do not allow for the offering of germane amendments under the five-minute rule.
United States · United States Congress · 9 May 1977
Amends the Supplemental Appropriations Act, 1972 to require that the fixing or adjustment of any allowance payable out of the House contingency fund for Members, officers, and committees of the House of Representatives be submitted to the entire House for approval by resolution. Repeals certain appropriations made by the Supplemental Appropriations Act, 1972 and the Legislative Branch Appropriation Act, 1977.
United States · United States Congress · 9 May 1977
Amends rule III of the Rules of the House of Representatives to require the Clerk to make available for public inspection all records under the Clerk's control respecting expenditures incurred on or after January 5, 1977, by any Member or committee of the House.
United States · United States Congress · 5 May 1977
Radiation Health and Safety Act - Amends the Public Health Service Act to direct the Secretary of Health, Education, and Welfare to develop and issue to the States criteria and minimum standards for the accreditation of educational institutions conducting programs for the training of radiologic technologists and medical and dental practitioners. Directs the Secretary to develop and issue to the States criteria and minimum standards for licensure of radiologic technologists. Directs that State and local governments be encouraged to minimize exposure of the public to ionizing radiation from all sources, and establishes procedures for the adoption of appropriate standards. Allows the Secretary to make grants to States in an amount up to two-thirds of the first year and one-third of the second year costs of planning, developing, or establishing programs to carry out the provisions of this Act. Prohibits conducting activities contrary to this Act and subjects violators to a civil penalty of not more than $1,000. Requires the Secretary to submit to Congress every fifth year a report evaluating the implementation of this Act and making recommendations for legislation. States that whenever a performance standard for a class of X-ray system in prescribed, the Secretary shall by regulation prescribe a performance standard applicable to systems of such class prior to the effective date of such standard. Directs the Secretary to carry out a program of inspection of all X-ray systems to which standards apply and which are in actual use in the United States. Authorizes officers or employees duly designated by the Secretary to enter at reasonable times any establishment in which an X-ray system is located and to inspect such system. Directs the Secretary to publish guidelines for the use of X-ray examinations in the diagnosis and treatment of disease.
United States · United States Congress · 4 May 1977
Plutonium Licensing Control Act - Amends the Atomic Energy Act of 1954 to prohibit the issuance of commercial licenses for (1) operation of nuclear power reactors utilizing recovered plutonium as a fuel source or (2) nuclear reactor fuel processing designed to recover plutonium. Stipulates that such prohibition shall not apply to activities necessary for United States military defense.
United States · United States Congress · 3 May 1977
Public Disclosure of Lobbying Act - Requires organizations which expend more than $1,250 per quarter year or which employ at least one or more individuals who spend a specified amount of time engaged in lobbying activities to register with the Comptroller General and to update such registration annually. Requires the identification of any persons retained for lobbying purposes and the source and amounts of income of such organization as a part of such registration. Requires such organization to file quarterly reports concerning such lobbying activities including: (1) listing of total lobbying expenditures including each expenditure over $35 made to or for the benefit of any Federal officer, congressional employee, or Member of Congress; (2) expenditures made for dinners or receptions; and (3) the issue for which lobbying was carried out identified by bill number or agency involved. Requires the Comptroller General to make copies of each registration and report required by this Act available for public inspection and copying. Requires the Comptroller General to render written advisory opinions upon request of any individual or organization with respect to the requirements of this Act. States that anyone who acts in good faith reliance upon such advisory opinion shall be presumed to be in compliance with this Act. Requires the Comptroller General to enforce this Act using informal methods of conference or conciliation or, if necessary, by referring apparent violations to the Attorney General. Sets forth civil and criminal sanctions for violation of this Act. Repeals the Federal Regulation of Lobbying Act.
United States · United States Congress · 29 April 1977
Indo-Chinese Refugee Status Adjustment Act - Permits the Attorney General to adjust the status of any alien who is a native or citizen of Vietnam, Cambodia, or Laos from that of parolee to that of an alien lawfully admitted for permanent residence without regard to immigration quotas or lack of possession by such alien of required immigration documents. Makes this Act applicable to the children and spouse of such alien who are residing with the alien in the United States.
United States · United States Congress · 28 April 1977
Exempts courses which lead to a standard college degree from the "85-15" rule under which the Administrator of Veterans' Affairs is required to disapprove enrollment of any eligible veteran, not already enrolled, in any course where more than 85 percent of the students enrolled have their fees paid by either the Federal Government or the educational institution itself.
United States · United States Congress · 28 April 1977
Requires States receiving financial assistance under the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 which are operating a program designed to insure reading readiness for educationally deprived preschool children or children in grades 1, 2, or 3 to continue such programs at their present level. Prohibits the exclusion of children enrolled in such program from further participation on the ground that such child has achieved a reading aptitude equal to or greater than the normal reading aptitude for the grade in which the child is enrolled.
United States · United States Congress · 27 April 1977
Transfers from the Secretary of the Army to the Secretary of the Interior the authority, real property, project authorization, and unexpended appropriations for the Tocks Island Reservoir Project, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, and New York. Terminates authorization of the project as part of the Delaware River Basin project under the Flood Control Act of 1962. Stipulates the priorities of the Secretary of the Interior in administration of the project.
United States · United States Congress · 26 April 1977
Housing and Community Development Act - Title I: Community Development Amendments - Amends the Housing and Community Development Act of 1974 to include the alleviation of physical and economic distress through private investment and community revitalization among the objectives of such Act. Defines additional terms including "age of housing" and "extent of growth lag." Authorizes funds to be appropriated for the purpose of making grants to States and units of local governments to help finance community development programs, not to exceed: $3,500,000,000 for fiscal year 1978; $3,650,000,000 for fiscal year 1979; and $3,800,000,000 for fiscal year 1980. Limits amounts of appropriated funds which may be used to aid metropolitan cities, urban counties, and other units of local government within metropolitan areas to meet their hold-harmless needs. Authorizes funds not to exceed $400,000,000, to be appropriated for each of the fiscal years 1978, 1979, and 1980 for the purpose of assisting severely distressed cities that require supplemental grant assistance in order to alleviate excessive deterioration through neighborhood reclamation and community revitalization. Changes specified application and review requirements for such grants. Includes among activities eligible for assistance under this Act: (1) the financing of public or private acquisition for purposes or rehabilitation; and (2) activities carried out by public or private nonprofit entities which are necessary or appropriate to meeting the needs and objectives of approved community development plans. Sets forth the formulae which the Secretary of Housing and Urban Development must follow in order to determine the amount to be allocated to each metropolitan city and urban county and the distribution of remaining funds. Extends, by three years, the period during which funds will be reserved for use by the Secretary to make grants at his discretion. Increases, by one percent, the amount of funds to be reserved from the total amount appropriated for Community Development Programs. Removes the Secretary's authority to guarantee loans for acquisition of property with respect to grants to States and units of local government to help finance Community Development Programs. Authorizes the Secretary to make urban development action grants to severely distressed cities to help alleviate physical and economic deterioration through community revitalization in areas of population out-migration or stagnating or declining tax base. Reserves urban development action grants only to those cities that have demonstrated results in providing housing for persons of low- and moderate-income and in providing equal opportunity in housing and employment for low- and moderate-income persons and members of minority groups. Lists information to be included in applications for such grants, including a description of a concentrated Urban Development Action Program. Directs the Secretary to establish criteria to be followed in selecting cities to be recipients of such grants. Requires annual reviews and audits of grant recipients. Amends the Housing Act of 1964 to extend the rehabilitation loan program through fiscal year 1979. Authorizes $60,000,000 to be appropriated for fiscal year 1978. Authorizes appropriations for fiscal year 1978 for comprehensive planning under the Housing Act of 1954, of which funds 20 percent shall be made available for planning grants. Title II: Housing Authorizations - Amends the United States Housing Act of 1937 to increase the limit on funds that are authorized to be appropriated for contracts for annual contributions to low-income housing projects in 1977. Sets forth the limitation on funds authorized to be appropriated for the purpose of providing annual contributions for the operation of such projects. Prohibits the Secretary from entering into contracts for specified dwelling units after the enactment of this Act. Makes provisions for the assumption of maintenance responsibilities of existing units. Amends the National Housing Act to increase the maximum mortgage amounts under the Federal Housing Administration's multifamily mortgage insurance programs including the homeownership program. Changes the eligibility requirements for mortgage insurance under the National Housing Act by decreasing downpayment requirements. Permits the Secretary to increase mortgage insurance premiums for cooperative housing projects. Extends additional assistance payments for low-income rental projects which achieve 50 percent occupancy. Permits the Secretary of Housing and Urban Development to insure, on a permanent basis, mortgages and loans with provisions of varying rates of amortization. States that the principal obligation of such mortgages insured may not exceed 97 percent of the appraised value of the property covered by the mortgage. Exempts such insured mortgages from State laws limiting the amount of interest which may be charged. Amends the National Housing Act to increase the allowable maximum mortgage amount and the term of maturity for mortgage credit assistance. Amends the Housing and Community Development Act of 1974 to increase the amount authorized to be appropriated to reimburse the housing loan funds for properties transferred under the urban homesteading program. Amends the National Flood Insurance Act of 1968 to authorize funds, not to exceed $108,000,000 for fiscal year 1978 and such sums as are necessary for each fiscal year thereafter, for flood insurance studies. Amends the Housing and Urban Development Act of 1970 to authorize funds not to exceed $65,000,000 for fiscal year 1978 for specified research and demonstration projects. Increases the limits on amounts of conventional mortgages which may be purchased by the Federal National Mortgage Association and the Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corporation pursuant to the National Housing Act. Amends the Housing and Community Development Act of 1974 to prohibit the Secretary from applying new administrative policies in derogation of the rights (including the right of renewal) of an owner under specified leases. Amends the Housing Act of 1959 to direct the Secretary to issue and implement regulations for the efficient coordination of application processing for specified loans for housing for elderly and handicapped families. Amends the National Housing Act to authorize the Secretary to insure mortgages in any community where the Secretary determines among, other things that: (1) temporary adverse economic conditions exist throughout the community as a direct and primary result of outstanding claims to ownership of land in the community by an American Indian tribe, band, or Nation; (2) as a direct result of the community's temporarily impaired economic condition, owner occupants of homes in the community have been involuntarily unemployed or underemployed and have thus incurred substantial reductions in income which significantly impair their ability to continue timely payment of their mortgages; and (3) as a result, widespread mortgage foreclosures and distress sales of homes are likely in the community. Title III: Program Extensions - Amends the National Housing Act to extend specified Federal Housing Administration insurance programs including the following: (1) housing renovation and modernization; (2) general insurance authorization; (3) housing for moderate income and displaced families; (4) membership in cooperative associations for lower income families; (5) rental housing for low-income families; (6) coinsurance of mortgages; (7) experimental housing; (8) armed services housing; (9) group practice facilities and medical practice facilities; and (10) new communities. Extends the authority of the Secretary of Housing and Urban Development to grant flexible interest rates for specified mortgage insurance programs. Amends the National Flood Insurance Act of 1968 to extend the national flood insurance program until September 30, 1978. Extends, by one year, the Emergency Home Purchase Assistance Act and the new community program. Title IV: Lending Powers in Federal Savings and Loan Association - Amends the Home Owners' Loan Act of 1933 to extend the lending authority of Federal Savings and Loan Associations for the following: (1) construction loans; (2) single family dwelling loans; (3) property improvement loans; and (4) multifamily dwelling loans. Makes conforming amendments to the Federal Home Loan Bank Act. Title V: National Urban Policy - National Urban Policy and New Community Development Act- Amends the Urban Growth and New Community Development Act of 1970 to change its emphasis from urban "growth" to "development and redevelopment." Makes changes in the contents of the President's national urban policy report. Title VI: Rural Housing - Authorizes appropriations for specified rural housing programs. Amends the Housing Act of 1949 to make changes in the guaranteed housing loan program. Authorizes prepayment of taxes and insurance by Farmers Home Administration borrowers without requiring that such funds are held in escrow. Authorizes the Secretary of Agriculture to make expenditures from the Rural Housing Insurance Fund in order to correct construction defects or to pay claims of the owner of property arising from such defects. Redefines the term "domestic farm labor" for purposes of farm housing loans and grants to include specified laborers in Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands. Sets forth eligibility requirements for farm housing assistance for elderly or handicapped persons or families. Extends the program for rural housing loans for elderly and handicapped families to include congregate housing facilities for families who require some supervision and central services. Requires that at least 60 percent of insured rural housing loans shall benefit persons of low income. Authorizes the Farmers Home Administration to undertake rural housing research with any public or private body. Makes it mandatory for the Secretary of Agriculture to provide rural rental assistance.
United States · United States Congress · 26 April 1977
New Jersey Pine Barrens National Ecological Reserve Act - Directs the Secretary of the Interior to provide grants to the State of New Jersey for the development of a plan for the conservation of natural resources in the Pine Barrens area in New Jersey. Sets requirements for such grants, including the establishment of a management commission. Requires the Secretary to publish specified guidelines for the contents of such plan. Authorizes the Secretary, upon approval of the New Jersey plan, to establish the Pine Barrens National Ecological Reserve, to acquire lands within the reserve and to transfer such lands and other Federal lands to the State, and to make grants to the management commission for the acquisition of land in the reserve, compensation to landowners, and payments in lieu of taxes to local governments. Allows the Secretary to retain a reversionary right in such transferred lands and authorizes him to establish a federally-managed National Ecological Reserve upon the failure or nonsubmission of the plan. Requires the establishment of a Pinelands Citizens Advisory Committee, prior to approval of the State plan, to consult with the management commission established under such plan.
United States · United States Congress · 26 April 1977
Stipulates that any increase in the rate of pay for Members of Congress, and the adoption of a increase in any other financial benefit specifically applicable to such individuals shall not take effect unless established by statute or approved by resolution. Prohibits any such increase or benefit from taking effect before the beginning of the following Congress.
United States · United States Congress · 22 April 1977
Alaskan Oil Distribution and Export Plan - Amends the Mineral Leasing Act of 1920 to prohibit exports of domestically produced crude oil transported by pipeline over rights-of-way granted pursuant to such Act. Authorizes exemptions from such prohibition where required for convenience or increased efficiency of transportation.
United States · United States Congress · 21 April 1977
Revises the Fair Packaging and Labeling Act to require retail distributors selling packaged consumer commodities to mark the total selling price on the package of the commodity.
United States · United States Congress · 21 April 1977
Provides, under the Consolidated Farm and Rural Development Act, that emergency loans shall be made available in any area of the United States, Puerto Rico, or the Virgin Islands which the Secretary of Agriculture has designated an emergency area due to a labor dispute, in which farmers are not participants, but which has prevented the production, processing or sale of products produced by farming, ranching or aquaculture operations. Requires that an applicant for an emergency loan has sustained at least a 20 percent loss of normal per acre or per animal production or sales as a result of the dispute.
United States · United States Congress · 21 April 1977
Unvouchered Expenditure Control Act - Prohibits the expenditure of Federal moneys, not otherwise provided for by law, which are not made pursuant to procedures providing for a voucher describing the payee and items or services for which payment is being made. Requires all appropriations, not made under a law which provides otherwise, to provide for voucher requirements for expending such moneys appropriated. Requires the Comptroller General to audit all programs subject to this Act.
United States · United States Congress · 21 April 1977
Title I: Small Business Act Amendments - Amends the Small Business Act to authorize the Small Business Administration to make loans to assist small business concerns in financing plant construction and the acquisition of equipment and supplies for the producing of solar energy or other energy conserving equipment. Authorizes the appropriation of $75,000,000 for such purpose. Authorizes the Administration to provide additional assistance to small businesses in the area of training seminars and technical manuals on the design, installation, and maintenance of solar energy equipment. Title II: Federal Nonnuclear Energy Research and Development Act of 1974 Amendments - Amends the Federal Nonnuclear Energy Research and Development Act of 1974 to establish an Office of Invention and Innovation in the Energy Research and Development Administration. Authorizes the Office to evaluate proposals for the development of energy-related inventions and to provide financial assistance for the development of such inventions. Stipulates that not less than 20 percent of the funds appropriated to the Energy Research and Development Administration for solar energy programs shall be expended for the benefit of small business concerns and individual inventors. Directs the Administrator of the Energy Research and Development Administration to encourage the participation of individuals and small businesses in the research, development, and advancement of energy-conserving technologies.
United States · United States Congress · 20 April 1977
Amends the Export-Import Bank Act of 1945 to require the Board of Directors of the Export-Import Bank to consider the observance of human rights in the extension of loans and guarantees. Directs the Bank to seek an agreement with other government agencies to reduce and eliminate government-supported export financing. Prohibits any loan or guarantee by such bank for certain nuclear exports, without certain reports to Congress. Specifies reporting requirements for nuclear exports. Requires the Secretary of State to report to the appropriate Congressional committees and to the Bank upon a determination by the Secretary that a country has violated (1) the nuclear safeguards of the International Atomic Energy Agency, or (2) a safeguard agreement with the United States concerning civil use of nuclear energy, or (3) that a non-nuclear state has detonated a nuclear explosive device. Prohibits the Bank to approve credit to such country or for any liquid metal fast breeder nuclear reactor or any nuclear fuel processing facility, unless the President determines that such credit approval is in the national interest and reports this determination to Congress. Extends the authority of the Export-Import Bank to September 30, 1978.
United States · United States Congress · 20 April 1977
Amends the Internal Revenue Code to allow taxpayers to credit against the income tax specified higher education expenses, including tuition, fees, books, and supplies, incurred by the taxpayer for himself or any other individual. Limits the credit to 100 percent of the first $300 for any individual, 50 percent of the next $300, and 10 percent of the next $400. Limits the credit to expenses incurred by full time students at institutions of vocational and higher education, minus scholarships and veterans' benefits. Limits the total credit allowed the taxpayer to his income tax liability minus the sum of all other credits applied thereto. Disallows any deduction of educational expenses used to determine the amount of the credit allowed by this Act.
United States · United States Congress · 19 April 1977
Amends the Internal Revenue Code to repeal the taxpayer's age requirement (65 years) and the dollar limitation on the adjusted sales price ($35,000) for the exclusion from gross income of gain realized on the sale of the taxpayer's principal residence.
United States · United States Congress · 6 April 1977
Congressional Campaign Financing Act - Entitles to campaign payments congressional candidates who agree to certain reporting and recordkeeping procedures and certify that (1) they and their authorized committees will not incur campaign expenses in excess of certain limitations and (2) they have received contributions in excess of a certain sum and no person has given more than $100 toward the amount so certified. Sets the amount of payments to an eligible candidate at the amount of contributions received up to a specified maximum. Stipulates that sums given by any one contributor totalling over $100 shall be disregarded for purposes of matching grants. Restricts use of funds forwarded under this Act to defraying campaign expenses either directly or through repayment of campaign loans. Amends the Federal Election Campaign Act of 1971 to specify spending limits for candidates receiving payments under this Act. Waives such limits for sums in excess of the limit imposed for candidates receiving payments. Directs the Secretary of the Treasury to establish a separate Congressional Election Payment Account in the Presidential Election Campaign Fund and to deposit certain sums in such account in accordance with specified guidelines. Requires repayment of excess payments and unexpended payments. Penalizes use of funds for other than campaign purposes. Authorizes the Federal Election Commission to institute repayment actions in district courts. Specifies the administrative authority of the Commission in carrying out this Act.
United States · United States Congress · 6 April 1977
Sludge Management Act - Directs the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency to study the environmental, health, and economic effects of subsurface landfilling sludge on soils and ground water, and alternate methods of sludge disposal. Directs the Administrator to develop guidelines for sludge disposal and land-spreading in order to protect the public health and welfare. Authorizes the Administrator to make grants to States and localities of up to 40 percent of the cost of removal of sludge from navigable waters of the United States or any adjacent shoreline. Directs the Administrator to establish an Environmental Protection Agency Task Force on sludge removal. Authorizes the establishment of programs of training, demonstration, and surveys relating to the restoration of water quality where degraded by sludge. Amends the Federal Water Pollution Control Act to prohibit grants for treatment works, after September 30, 1976, unless the applicant demonstrates that adequate confined disposal methods will be provided.
United States · United States Congress · 6 April 1977
Establishes, in the city of Lowell, Massachusetts, the Lowell National Cultural Park consisting of a preservation zone and an intensive use zone. Requires the Secretary of the Interior to establish the boundaries of such zones. Permits the Secretary to either enter into cooperative agreements with property owners to preserve and maintain property within the park or to acquire such property within the intensive use zone by purchase or condemnation if the parties have failed to reach an agreement through negotiation. Permits the Secretary to enter into agreements with Federal agencies or the Commonwealth of Massachusetts for firefighting, law enforcement or other specified assistance. Directs the Secretary to submit to Congress a park management plan and to establish standards applicable to the construction and use of properties within the intensive use zone. Requires any Federal agency conducting activities affecting the park to conform to such standards. Establishes the Lowell National Cultural Park Advisory Commission to advise the Secretary on the boundaries of the park and the development and use of properties and activities within the park.
United States · United States Congress · 6 April 1977
Civil Rights Amendments - Amends the Civil Rights Act of 1964 to prohibit discrimination on the basis of marital status in: (1) public accommodations; (2) public facilities; (3) public education; and (4) federally assisted opportunities. Prohibits such discrimination in housing. Amends the Education Amendments of 1972 to prohibit such discrimination in federally assisted education.
United States · United States Congress · 6 April 1977
National Historic Preservation Policy Act - Title I: Declaration of National Historic Preservation Policy - Declares that it is the duty of the Federal Government, in cooperation with other nations, the States, and local communities, and private organizations and individuals, to promote the preservation and conservation of the historic, architectural, archeological, and cultural properties of the United States and of the international community of Nations. Title II: National Historic Preservation Program - Renames the Advisory Council on Historic Preservation as the Council on Historic Preservation. States that such Council is to administer specified Acts which relate to the historic preservation responsibilities of the Secretary of the Interior and the National Park Service. Requires the Council, in furtherance of the Convention Concerning the Protection of the World Cultural and Natural Heritage, to establish a program to nominate historic and cultural properties of universal significance to the World Heritage Committee. Directs the Council to promote nominations to the National Register of Historic Places of any properties proposed for sale, transfer, demolition or substantial alteration as a result of any Federal agency action, to provide training, information and advice concerning techniques for the preservation of historic and cultural properties, to establish a program for the emergency acquisition of property included in the National Register and threatened with immediate demolition, and to report to Congress on the national historic preservation program. Requires all Federal agencies, in cooperation with the appropriate State historic preservation officer, to nominate to the National Register all eligible districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects under the jurisdiction or control of such agency or that may be affected by agency action, and to assume responsibility for the preservation of such properties included or eligible to be included in the National Register. Allows the transference of control of such properties to the Secretary of the Interior. Title III: Administrative Provisions - Provides for the administration of the Historic Preservation Fund for fiscal years 1978 through 1981. Requires each Federal agency to expend appropriated funds for the maintenance of properties included in the National Register under its jurisdiction or control.
United States · United States Congress · 6 April 1977
Voting Rights for the Elderly and the Handicapped Act - Directs the Attorney General in consultation with the Secretary for Health, Education, and Welfare to prescribe standards for polling and registration facilities which will assure ready access by the handicapped and the aged. Permits designation of facilities for Federal elections which do not comply with such standards only where conforming facilities are unavailable. Requires States to provide alternative registration and voting methods for aged and handicapped persons assigned to inaccessible registration facilities or polling places. Requires that a paper ballot be made available or a voting assistant be permitted to a person unable to operate a voting machine.
United States · United States Congress · 6 April 1977
Makes it a Federal crime to discharge a firearm or in any manner propel any object at or upon any railroad car engine used by any common carrier engaged in interstate or foreign commerce. Expands the Federal prohibition against entering a train in any Territory, District, or other place within exclusive Federal jurisdiction with an intent to commit robbery, murder, or other violent crime to encompass entry upon any railroad car used by any common carrier engaged in interstate or foreign commerce.
United States · United States Congress · 5 April 1977
Amends the Civil Rights Act of 1964 to define sex discrimination for employment purposes to include discrimination on the basis of pregnancy. Prohibits an employer providing benefits under a fringe benefit program which is in violation of this Act from reducing benefits or compensation in order to comply with this Act.
United States · United States Congress · 4 April 1977
Repeals all the price support and marketing provisions relating to tobacco of the Agricultural Act of 1949, the Agricultural Adjustment Act of 1938, and related laws. Prohibits the Commodity Credit Corporation, under its Charter Act, from exercising any of its specified powers with respect to tobacco.
United States · United States Congress · 31 March 1977
Renewable Energy and Energy Conservation Act - Allows an income tax credit for 30 percent of the expenditures not exceeding $750 which the taxpayer paid or incurred during the taxable year for installation of insulation or energy-conserving components which improve heating plant efficiency in his principal residence. Limits the application of this credit to expenditures paid or incurred for installations made between 1976 and 1982 in pre-existing dwellings. Reduces the allowable credit, on a graduated scale, for individuals with adjusted gross incomes greater than $10,000. Allows an income tax credit for 40 percent of the first $1,500, and a secondary credit for 25 percent of the next $7,600 paid or incurred by the taxpayer during the taxable year for the installation of qualified solar, wind and geothermal energy equipment in his principal residence. Allows an income tax credit for 20 percent of the first $1,500, and a secondary credit for 12.5 percent of the next $7,600 paid or incurred for the installation of wood stove, heat pump, or burner equipment in connection with new solar, wind or geothermal energy equipment which will be the principal source of space heat in the taxpayer's principal residence. Reduces these limitations in subsequent tax years by subtracting the amounts taken into account for these credits in previous tax years. Limits these credits to equipment installed between 1976 and 1982. Prorates each of the above credits for residential improvements among joint owners and cooperative shareholders according to their proportionate interests in the residential property. Provides for the carryover of any allowable credit which exceeds the taxpayer's current income tax liability. Reduces the allowable credits, on a graduated scale for and Conservation Act. persons with adjusted gross incomes greater than $15,000. Allows an investment tax credit for 25 percent of the qualified investment cost of depreciable geothermal, solar or wind energy equipment placed in service. Allows such a credit for 12 percent of the qualified costs of ventilation, heating, water and other components primarily designed to reduce the heat loss or gain of a structure, and origin ally used by the taxpayer. Prohibits these credits for property originally funded with Federal grants, or located in States which take these energy conserving measures into account for property assessment, or which don't enforce the thermal design requirements of the Energy Policy
United States · United States Congress · 31 March 1977
Federal Firearms Act - Amends the Gun Control Act of 1968 to define "handgun", "pistol", "revolver", and "concealable handgun. Makes it unlawful to manufacture or transfer any handgun not meeting certain specifications or to modify any handgun if such modification results in the handgun no longer meeting such specifications. Imposes mandatory prison terms for using, offering to use, carrying, or displaying a handgun during the commission of a Federal felony of 10 years for a first offense and 25 years for subsequent offenses. Revises certain exceptions to prohibitions against commerce in firearms by repealing the generally suitable for sporting purposes test and permitting commerce in circumstances otherwise complying with such exceptions so long as the firearms involved are not concealable handguns or handguns not meeting specifications.
![Official portrait of Rep. Fenwick, Millicent H. [R-NJ-5]](https://www.congress.gov/img/member/f000078_200.jpg)