United States · United States Congress · 25 March 1981
Authorizes the Secretary of Health and Human Services to provide, through demonstration projects payments to eligible individuals who do not require 24-hour nursing care and who desire to establish a medical, noninstitutional living arrangement: (1) post-hospital extended care services under title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act; or (2) intermediate care facility services or skilled nursing facility services under title XIX (Medicaid) of such Act. Requires payments received to be used to finance appropriate medical, noninstitutional living arrangements. Provides that such payments shall not be includable in gross income under the Internal Revenue Code. Requires the Secretary to design the demonstration projects to determine: (1) the feasibility of transferring inpatients of skilled nursing and intermediate care facilities to noninstitutional living arrangements; (2) the types and percentage of such inpatients who could live effectively in a noninstitutional living arrangement; and (3) the types and percentages of such inpatients who would benefit economically and qualitatively from a noninstitutional living arrangement. Directs that funds for such payments be made from the Federal Hospital Insurance Fund established under the Social Security Act and from funds appropriated for Medicaid.
United States · United States Congress · 25 March 1981
Arts and Humanities Tax Reform Act of 1981 - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to permit the executor of an estate, in calculating the value of the gross estate, to disregard that portion of the value of any copyright, or literary, musical, or artistic work created by the decedent which would have been ordinary income if such work had been sold by the decedent at its fair market value. Allows an income tax deduction for the current fair market value of a literary, musical, or artistic composition created by the taxpayer and contributed to a charitable organization. Disallows such estate tax valuation and charitable contribution deduction if the property was produced while the taxpayer was a Government officer or employee and arose out of the performance of the taxpayer's duties. Permits a tax deduction for the business use of a home if such dwelling unit is used to a substantial extent (rather than exclusively) for the taxpayer's trade or business. Requires the Secretary of the Treasury to submit to the appropriate Congressional committees legislative recommendations with respect to such deduction.
United States · United States Congress · 25 March 1981
Expresses the sense of the Congress that the President should: (1) express to the Soviet Union the United States' deep concern about the Soviet Union's depriving the Vashchenko and Chmykhalov families of religious freedom and refusing them permission to emigrate; (2) ensure that such families may reside in the U.S. embassy in Moscow until the Soviet Union authorizes their emigration; and (3) ensure provision of assistance for such families during their residence in the embassy.
United States · United States Congress · 19 March 1981
Amends the Controlled Substances Act to permit specified practitioners to register to dispense heroin for an inpatient who has been diagnosed as being terminally ill with cancer.
United States · United States Congress · 19 March 1981
Expresses the sense of the Congress that U.S. policy should promote the conservation and protection of the world's whales and that the United States should work for the adoption by the International Whaling Commission of an indefinite moratorium on commercial killing of whales. Recognizes proposals to: (1) strengthen the management procedures of the Commission to ensure that risks of extinction to individual stocks of whales are not seriously increased by exploitation; and (2) extend the commission's ban on the use of the cold (nonexplosive) harpoon and implement other measures to ensure the humane taking of all whales. Urges the Commission to continue to collect and study information relating to aboriginal/subsistence whaling. Reaffirms the U.S. position that the Commission possesses regulatory authority with respect to specified types of whales. Declares the United States should make use of all available means in promoting conservation and protection of whales.
United States · United States Congress · 17 March 1981
Debt Collection Improvement Act of 1981 - Title I: Information Practices: Use of Consumer Reporting Agencies - Amends the Privacy Act of 1974 to permit a Federal agency to disclose records pertaining to an individual to a consumer reporting agency. Authorizes a Federal agency attempting to collect a claim under the Federal Claims Collection Act of 1966 to notify a consumer reporting agency that a person is responsible for a claim if: (1) the agency has sent a written notice informing the person that a consumer reporting agency will be contacted, describing the information to be disclosed, and explaining the person's right to dispute the agency's claim; (2) the person has not agreed to repay the claim or filed for review of the claim; (3) the agency has reviewed the claim, if requested; and (4) the agency has obtained assurances that the consumer reporting agency complies with Federal laws governing the provision of consumer credit information. Requires the Director of the Office of Management and Budget to establish regulations requiring each agency with outstanding debts to submit annual reports on the amount and number of such debts, the interest charged on such debts, the cost to the agency of collecting debts, and other information on the agency's debt collection activities. Requires the Director to report annually to Congress on the management of agency debt collection activities. Title II: Collection Practices for Defaulted Student Loans - Amends the Higher Education Act of 1954 to require the Secretary of Education to analyze, quarterly, the collection status of defaulted Federal, federally-guaranteed, and federally-insured student loans. Directs the Secretary: (1) to notify the borrower of a defaulted loan of the consequences of not repaying the loan; (2) to attempt to enter into a repayment agreement with the borrower; and (3) if such attempt is not successful within 180 days of the loan becoming defaulted, to engage a nonprofit collection agency to service the loan. Directs the Secretary to refer any loan which is not under a repayment agreement within one year after being placed with a collection agency, to: (1) the Attorney General if the projected outstanding balance exceeds $600; or (2) the Secretary of the Treasury for collection. Requires the Attorney General to establish procedures for the efficient collection of such loans. Amends the Internal Revenue Code of 1954 to require any borrower of a defaulted loan referred to the Secretary of the Treasury to pay the amount owed: (1) with income tax imposed for the year of the referral; or (2) by other methods prescribed by the Secretary of the Treasury. Grants the Secretary of the Treasury the same powers to assess and collect such defaulted loans as if such amounts were imposed income taxes, the collection of which would be jeopardized by delay. Exempts any such collection or assessment from review by a Federal court. Directs the Comptroller General to analyze the systems for collecting student loans established under this Act, and to submit to Congress recommendations for the application of these systems to the collection of other loans made, insured, or guaranteed by the Government. Title III: Collection of Child-Support Obligations - Directs the Secretary of Health and Human Services to certify the amount of child support obligations assigned to a State for collection by the Secretary of the Treasury without regard to whether a State agrees to reimburse the United States for collection costs. Shortens the period that collection of such an obligation is stayed after service of the notice and demand for payment in the case of the first delinquency assessment against an individual. Title VI: Higher Interest Charges During Periods of Default for All Federal Loan Programs - Requires each agency which administers a program providing direct Federal loans to include in any such loan a provision stating that the interest rate on the loan for each month during which the loan is in default may be increased to a rate equal to the Federal borrowing cost. Directs the Secretary of the Treasury to promulgate regulations for the uniform implementation of this title. Title V: Other Provisions Relating to the Collection of Federal Claims - Amends the Internal Revenue Code of 1954 to direct the Secretary of the Treasury, by January 15 of each year, to notify any person owing a debt (excluding student loans) to a Federal agency for the preceding year of the amount and method of payment of such debt. Requires such person to pay the debt with his or her income taxes or as prescribed by the Secretary. Grants the Secretary the same powers to assess and collect such debts as if such amounts were imposed income taxes, the collection of which would be jeopardized by delay. Permits the head of an agency to garnish an employee's wages to pay any debt owed to the United States because of an erroneous payment to the individual by another agency. Declares that the statute of limitations for actions brought by the United States for money damages shall not bar the Government from collecting money payable to an individual by administrative offset if the individual is provided with an opportunity for an administrative hearing subject to judicial review. Authorizes the Secretary to disclose a taxpayer's address to an agency or an agency contractor engaged in a proceeding to collect a Federal claim. Permits such agency or contractor to redisclose such information. Authorizes appropriations for the employment in the Internal Revenue Service of sufficient personnel to collect all Federal tax liabilities.
United States · United States Congress · 13 March 1981
Expresses the sense of Congress that agricultural resources are of strategic importance to the United States' future. Calls for Federal cooperation with State and local governments and assistance to persons engaged in agriculture.
United States · United States Congress · 12 March 1981
Interest Rate Deregulation Act of 1981 - Title I: Business and Agricultural Loans - Amends the Depository Institutions Deregulation and Monetary Control Act of 1980 to prohibit State limitations on interest or other charges with regard to the extension of business or agricultural loans credit. Makes the provisions of this Act effective with respect to business and agricultural loans made on or after April 1, 1980. States that the provisions of this Act shall not apply to any such loan made in any State after the date on which a State adopts a law or votes in favor of a referendum rejecting the application of this Act to loans made in such State. Provides for application of this Act to loans made in such a State during the eligibility period but before the adoption of such a law or the passage of such a referendum. Title II: Consumer Loans - Amends the Depository Institution Deregulation and Monetary Control Act of 1980 to prohibit State limitations on interest or other charges with regard to the extension of consumer credit. Permits States to adopt legislation explicitly exempting themselves from such prohibition. Permits any such adopted legislation to specify that portion of the extensions of consumer credit made in such State to which the prohibitions of this Act will not apply. Authorizes the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System to issue rules and regulations and to publish interpretations governing the implementation of this title. Title III: Effective Date - Makes this Act effective on the date of its enactment.
United States · United States Congress · 12 March 1981
Nuclear Powerplant Property Damage Insurance Act of 1981 - Establishes the National Nuclear Property Insurance Corporation. Sets forth the membership and powers of the Corporation. Exempts the Corporation and its assets, except for its real property and tangible personal property other than cash and securities, from Federal, State, and local taxation. Establishes in the Treasury a Nuclear Property Insurance Fund to be used by the Corporation. Authorizes the Corporation to request investments of excess moneys in the Fund and to issue obligations to cover specified costs. Authorizes the Corporation to provide insurance to licensees of nuclear powerplants to supplement insurance available from private sources. Requires that the Corporation pay for cleanup and rehabilitation costs associated with onsite property damage following any nuclear incident or damage to an insured powerplant to the extent such costs exceed the greater of two specified amounts. Sets a ceiling on such insurance payments. Prohibits the issuance of an operating license by the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) for a nuclear powerplant unless the licensee is insured by the Corporation. Permits the Corporation to require proof of loss or damage before paying any insurance claim. Directs the Corporation to prescribe insurance premium rates and coverage schedules to provide sufficient revenue to the Fund. Sets a minimum aggregate amount of premiums to be paid by all licensees insured under this Act. Requires the Corporation to maintain an actuarially sound reserve comprised of such premiums in the Fund. Requires insured licensees to pay additional assessments if the Corporation becomes obligated under any insurance agreement for any claim in excess of the amount in the Fund. Establishes a Federal interagency task force to: (1) foster and expedite effective communications among the Federal agencies involved with Three Mile Island Unit 2; and (2) insure preparation of a contingency plan to protect public health and safety and maintain service continuity if the General Public Utilities Corporation cannot carry out its responsibilities in connection with Three Mile Island Unit 2. Directs the Corporation to reimburse the General Public Utilities Corporation from the Fund for 75 percent of the uninsured costs incurred by such Corporation after enactment of this Act for cleanup associated with onsite property damage at Three Mile Island Unit 2 if: (1) there is a joint Pennsylvania-New Jersey Utility Commission plan to insure service continuity and economic stability for the General Public Utilities Corporation; and (2) the General Public Utilities Corporation agrees to pay a premium surcharge to recover 50 percent of the Corporation's costs. Authorizes the Secretary of Energy to: (1) provide technical assistance to the NRC to expedite licensing and regulatory procedures for the cleanup and repair of Three Mile Island facilities; (2) provide technical and planning assistance to the joint Pennsylvania-New Jersey Utility Commission plan; and (3) arrange with the General Public Utilities Corporation to use data valuable in understanding and enhancing nuclear reactor safety. Subrogates the Corporation to all rights and claims of an insured licensee against a third party for costs for which the Corporation provides insurance coverage.
United States · United States Congress · 11 March 1981
Amends the Export Administration Act of 1979 to prohibit the export of goods the sales of which are prohibited or restricted in the United States by specified public health and safety laws, unless specified conditions are met. Authorizes the Secretary of Commerce to issue export licenses permitting the export of such goods if: (1) all statutory requirements are met; (2) the Secretary and the head of the agency regulating the sale of such goods in the United States concur that: (A) the country has requested such export and has been fully informed of any U.S. restrictions and possible hazards; and (B) the potential benefits outweigh the possible hazards; and (3) the sale in the importing country would be subject to restrictions comparable to those imposed in the United States. Requires such exported goods to include all information required by U.S. law. Prohibits the export of such goods if such information is likely to be ineffective. Prohibits the export of any goods to be used in manufacturing prohibited goods.
United States · United States Congress · 11 March 1981
Amends the Legislative Reorganization Act of 1970 to require House of Representatives committee reports on proposed legislation of a public character to contain statements estimating the reporting and recordkeeping requirements imposed on individuals, private industry, and State and local governments as a result of the enactment of such legislation. Prohibits the House of Representatives from considering any legislation reported in the House unless it contains such a statement. Declares that the requirements of this Act shall be considered as part of the rules of the House.
United States · United States Congress · 9 March 1981
Federal Lending Oversight and Control Act - Declares that the purpose of this Act is to provide a statutory basis for controlling loans and loan guarantees under Federal credit programs through the congressional budget process. Title I: Reports Regarding Federal Credit Activity - Requires the Secretary of the Treasury, not later than February 1 and August 1 of each year, in consultation with the Council of Economic Advisors, to transmit a report to both Houses of Congress regarding Federal credit activity during the previous six month period. Requires each such report to examine the relationship between Federal credit activity during the previous six-month period and: (1) the condition of the economy; (2) the availability and cost of credit in the private sector; and (3) the exercise of monetary and fiscal policy by the Federal Government. Amends the Federal Reserve Act to direct the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System, in their biannual reports to Congress concerning recent developments affecting economic trends in the Nation, to examine the effects of Federal credit activity on the availability and cost of credit in the private sector and on the exercise of monetary policy by the Board and the Federal Open Market Committee. Amends the Budget and Accounting Act of 1921 to require the President, in his annual budget statement to the Congress, to include all essential facts regarding direct lending by the Government and guarantees by the Government of the repayment of indebtedness incurred by another person or government. Title II: Changes in Congressional Budget Procedures - Amends the Congressional Budget Act of 1974 to require the first concurrent resolution on the budget for each fiscal year to set forth the appropriate level of total gross obligations for the principal amount of direct loans and the appropriate level of total commitments to guarantee loans and to allocate such totals among the major functional categories of the budget. Directs each standing committee of the House and Senate to submit its estimates of direct loan obligations and loan guarantee commitments provided for in legislation under its jurisdiction by March 15 of each year for consideration of the Budget Committee in formulating the budget resolution. Directs the House and Senate Banking Committees to submit recommendations to the Budget Committees for the aggregate levels of direct loans and loan guarantees in each fiscal year. Requires the joint explanatory statement accompanying a conference report on the concurrent resolution on the budget to include an estimate allocation of the total levels of direct loan obligations and loan guarantee commitments among the committees of the House and Senate. Directs the Committees on Appropriations to provide such an allocation among their subcommittees as soon as practicable after a budget resolution has been agreed to. Requires the House Committee on Appropriations, before reporting any regular appropriations bills, to submit a summary report to the House comparing the credit authority contained in such bills to the levels agreed to in the budget resolution. Requires any report accompanying legislation conferring new budget authority or increasing tax expenditures to include information on direct loan obligations and loan guarantee commitments. Establishes a deadline for the completion of action on legislation providing credit authority. Requires the second concurrent resolution on the budget in any fiscal year and the reconciliation process to take into account Federal obligations and commitments on loans and loan guarantees. Declares out of order any measure brought up for consideration in either House which would increase the level of loan obligations and guarantee commitments agreed to in the budget process. Requires any authority to guarantee the payment of any indebtedness to be contingent on provisions in appropriation Acts. Title III: Amendments to House Rules - Amends rule X of the Rules of the House of Representatives to require each standing committee (other than the Committee on Appropriations and the Committee on the Budget) to review and make appropriate recommendations with respect to the consistency and uniformity of the different definitions, default provisions, policies, interest rates, and other terms and conditions relating to direct loan, loan insurance, and loan guarantee activities included in any laws of which the subject matter is within the jurisdiction of that committee. Title IV: Construction and Effective Dates - Sets forth the effective dates of the titles of this Act.
United States · United States Congress · 5 March 1981
Directs the Secretary of the Treasury to take full possession of all Czechoslovak gold located in the United States and to sell such gold in a manner which will create the largest amount of proceeds for investment. Authorizes the Secretary to offer Czechoslovakia the right to purchase such gold at the price at which it would otherwise be sold. Directs the Secretary to invest the proceeds of such sale in safe U.S. or foreign securities the income from which will be used to pay the claims against Czechoslovakia of U.S. nationals and of the U.S. Government. Directs the Secretary to put the income from such investments into the Czechoslovakian Claims Fund. Directs the Secretary to distribute the balance in the Fund at least once every six months. Sets forth the priority of the recipients as follows: (1) to U.S. nationals holding awards against Czechoslovakia certified under the International Claims Settlement Act of 1949 or holding awards certified under this Act for property nationalized or taken between January 1, 1945, and February 26, 1948; (2) to U.S. nationals holding awards certified under this Act for property nationalized or taken after August 8, 1958; (3) to U.S. nationals for the unpaid balance on the defaulted bonds issued or guaranteed by Czechoslovakia; and (4) to the U.S. Treasury for the value of a specified debt and two U.S. bank accounts in Czechoslovakia. Requires the U.S. Foreign Claims Settlement Commission, upon application, to reopen and redetermine the validity and amount of specified claims against Czechoslovakia. Provides for the payment to Czechoslovakia of all the proceeds from such gold sale and any balance remaining in such Fund after all such awards have been paid and Treasury Department expenses are recovered. Denies jurisdiction to any court over any claim against the United States for actions taken under this Act.
United States · United States Congress · 4 March 1981
Committee Improvement Amendments of 1981 - Amends the Rules of the House of Representatives to require each standing committee, not later than 60 days after the Congress convenes, to submit an oversight agenda to the Committee on Government Operations. Directs such committee to hold hearings at which the chairman and ranking minority member of each standing committee shall testify on the oversight accomplishments of the preceding Congress and the proposed oversight agenda for the new Congress. Requires the Committee on Government Operations, not later than 90 days after the Congress convenes, to report to the House an oversight agenda resolution which incorporates such agendas of all standing committees, and additional recommendations of the committee. Directs the House to complete action on such resolution not later than 90 days after the Congress convenes, to report to the House an oversight agenda resolution which incorporates such agendas of all standing committees, and additional recommendations of the committee. Directs the House to complete action on such resolution not later than 180 days after the Congress convenes. Directs the Speaker of the House to initially refer each bill, resolution, or other matter to one committee of principal jurisdiction. Eliminates the authority of the Speaker to refer any such matter to two or more committees for concurrent consideration. Requires the membership of each committee, select committee, and conference committee (and each subcommittee, task force, or subunit thereof) to reflect the ratio of majority to minority Members. Provides that such ratio be reflected for standing committees at the beginning of each Congress, and for select and conference committees at the time of appointment. Prohibits any standing committee to establish more than six subcommittees, and any Member to serve at any one time on more than four subcommittees. Defines subcommittee as any subunit of a standing committee established for a period of more than six months. Prohibits the vote by any member of any committee or subcommittee to be cast by proxy. Provides that a majority of members of each committee or subcommittee shall constitute a quorum for the transaction of any business. Prohibits the House to consider any primary expense resolution until the Committee on House Administration has reported and the House has adopted a resolution establishing committee staff personnel ceilings for that year. Requires such committee to specify in any primary or supplemental expense resolution the number of staff positions authorized therein. Authorizes the House to consider any supplemental expense resolution in excess of such ceiling by a vote of two-thirds of the Members present.
United States · United States Congress · 4 March 1981
Limits the aggregate amount of all expense resolution authorization levels for the committees of the House of Representatives for the first session of the 97th Congress to no more than 90 percent of the aggregate expenditure levels of such committees for the second session of the 96th Congress.
United States · United States Congress · 3 March 1981
Amends the Internal Revenue Code with respect to reduce the rate of tax on the taxable income of a corporation below $500,000. Reduces the income tax rate and the alternative tax on mutual insurance companies.
United States · United States Congress · 3 March 1981
Directs the Secretary of Agriculture to: (1) investigate using the protein byproduct resulting from the production of fuel alcohol from agricultural commodities to meet the food needs of developing countries through the Food for Peace programs and the Export Credit Sales Program; (2) investigate using such protein byproduct in the distribution of food products under a specified commodity donation program; (3) report to Congress on the results of such investigations; and (4) provide Congress annually with a description of the efforts being made to make such protein byproduct available as part of the Food for Peace programs, the Export Credit Sales Program, and the commodity donation program. Authorizes the Commodity Credit Corporation to purchase such protein byproduct for donation for certain domestic and foreign purposes despite the fact that the byproduct does not meet the otherwise mandatory percentage of grain in products donated.
United States · United States Congress · 25 February 1981
Amends the Communications Act of 1934, with respect to the assignment of VHF commercial television broadcasting station licenses, to direct the Federal Communications Commission to give priority to any State which does not have at least one such station.
United States · United States Congress · 25 February 1981
Expresses the sense of Congress that the Secretary of the Army should construct and place in Arlington National Cemetery a plaque honoring members of the United States Armed Forces who died attempting to rescue the American hostages in Iran.
United States · United States Congress · 24 February 1981
Amends the Communications Act of 1934, with respect to the assignment of VHF commercial television broadcasting station licenses, to direct the Federal Communications Commission to give priority to any State which does not have at least one such station.
United States · United States Congress · 19 February 1981
Amends the Internal Revenue Code to provide homebuilders with an income tax credit for the construction of residences which incorporate a passive solar energy system. Directs the Secretary of the Treasury, after consultation with the Secretaries of Energy and Housing and Urban Development, to prescribe regulations setting forth a solar construction credit table for purposes of determining the amount of the credit for which the incorporator of the solar energy system is eligible. Limits the dollar amount of such credit to $2,000 for calendar years prior to 1987 and phases out the amount of the credit by $500 decrements until 1990 when such credit terminates. Defines a "passive solar energy system" as a system which contains a solar collection area, an absorber, a storage mass, a heat distribution method, and heat regulation devices. Requires such system to be installed in a new residence after September 30, 1981, and before January 1, 1990.
United States · United States Congress · 18 February 1981
Patent Term Restoration Act of 1981 - Amends the patent law to extend the terms of patents which encompass specified products or a method for using a product any of which are subject to certain nonpatent regulatory review periods. Sets forth the terms and conditions of such extension, including a seven year limitation. Directs the Commissioner of Patents to issue to the owner of record of a patent a certificate of extension stating the fact and length of the extension and identifying the product and the use and the claim to which such extension is applicable. Makes such certificate a part of the original patent. Limits the application of such patent term extension to patents for products subject to regulation under the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act, the Public Health Service Act, the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act, the Toxic Substances Control Act, and the Act of March 4, 1913 (relating to virus, serum, toxin, and analogous products).
United States · United States Congress · 18 February 1981
World War I Veterans Service Pension Act of 1981 - Requires the Administrator of Veterans' Affairs to pay (in addition to any pension already paid) a monthly pension of $150: (1) to each veteran of World War I who meets specified service requirements; (2) to the surviving spouse of each such veteran; or (3) when there is no surviving spouse, to the child or children of each such veteran.
United States · United States Congress · 17 February 1981
Amends the Internal Revenue Code to increase the amount of interest and dividend income which may be excluded from gross income to $1,000 for individuals under age 62 and to $4,000 for individuals over age 62. Amends the Crude Oil Windfall Profit Tax Act of 1980 to repeal the termination date for such exclusion.
United States · United States Congress · 17 February 1981
Prohibits the Secretary of the Treasury from excepting Iranian pistache nuts from the requirement that the country of origin of imported articles be clearly marked on the articles.
United States · United States Congress · 6 February 1981
Export Trading Company Act of 1981 - Establishes within the Department of Commerce an office to: (1) promote the formation of export trade associations and export trading companies; (2) provide information; and (3) facilitate contacts between producers of exportable goods and firms offering export trade services. Title I: Export Trading Companies - Authorizes any banking organization to invest up to specified amounts in export trading companies upon notifying, but without obtaining the prior approval of, the appropriate Federal banking agency, if such investment does not cause an export trading company to become a subsidiary of such organization. Allows greater investment by Edge Act Corporations not engaged in banking. Permits any banking organization to invest beyond such limitations with the prior approval of the appropriate Federal banking agency. Requires prior notification of such agencies in specified circumstances. Sets forth further limitations on export trading companies and investments by banking organizations. Specifies factors to be taken into consideration by the banking agencies. Permits such agencies to impose conditions in approving applications to invest in export trading companies. Requires such agencies to report to the appropriate Congressional committees with their recommendations concerning implementation of this Act, related changes in U.S. law, and effects of ownership of U.S. banks by foreign banking organizations. Provides for judicial review of denial orders in the appropriate U.S. Court of Appeals. Sets forth the grounds for disapproval. Provides for remand for further consideration by the banking agency. Directs the Economic Development Administration and the Small Business Administration to give special weight to export-related benefits when considering applications for loans and guarantees by export trading companies. Authorizes appropriations for initial investments and operating expenses for fiscal years 1982 through 1985. Directs the Export-Import Bank of the United States to provide loan guarantees to export trading companies or exporters to be secured by accounts receivable or inventories when adequate financing is not otherwise available and such guarantees will facilitate expansion of exports. Title II: Antitrust Provisions - Amends the Webb-Pomerene Act to exempt the export trade, activities, and methods of operation of certified export trade associations and export trading companies from the antitrust laws. Sets forth the procedure to be followed by any association or trading company seeking certification under this Act and by the Secretary in issuing such certificates. Provides for appeal of the Secretary's denial of certification. Authorizes the Attorney General or the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) to bring an action to invalidate a certification. Requires the Secretary, in consultation with the Attorney General and the FTC, to publish guidelines for determining whether an association or export trading company will meet the certification requirements. Requires certified associations and export trading companies to submit annual reports to the Secretary. Requires, with specified exceptions, that all applications for certification be kept confidential. Authorizes the Secretary to require an association or trading company to modify its operation to be consistent with international obligations of the United States. Directs the President to appoint, with the Senate's advice and consent, a task force seven years after enactment to examine the effect of this Act and to make recommendations. Applies, with a specified exception, the antitrust laws in effect before enactment of this Act to any existing export trade association and its trading activities. Provides for automatic certification of existing associations. Title III: Taxation of Export Trading Companies - Amends the Internal Revenue Code of 1954 to make banking organizations which have invested in an export trading company eligible for treatment as domestic international sales corporations (DISC). Includes the gross receipts from the export of services produced in the United States and from export trade services as qualified export receipts, in the case of a DISC which is an export trading company. Directs the Secretary of Commerce, with the Secretary of the Treasury, to develop and distribute information concerning the utilization of the DISC provisions. Amends the Internal Revenue Code of 1954 to make export trading companies eligible for Subchapter S treatment if the shareholders of such companies are otherwise small business corporations. Exempts such companies from restrictions on the amount of foreign income they can receive and still be eligible for Subchapter S tax treatment.
United States · United States Congress · 6 February 1981
Amends the Atomic Energy Act of 1954 to require an electric utility licensed under the Act to obtain insurance to cover excess energy costs incurred when substitute electric energy is sold to consumers to replace nuclear energy which is unavailable to such utility because of a nuclear incident resulting in the shutdown of a commercial nuclear powerplant owned or operated by such utility. Directs the Nuclear Regulatory Commission to require each licensed electric utility to participate in an industry retrospective rating plan. Directs the Commission to enter into an agreement to pay to such utility the amount by which the excess energy costs associated with a nuclear incident exceed the insurance coverage of such utility. Requires an electric utility which suspends or terminates nuclear energy generation following a nuclear incident to calculate for each billing period its excess energy costs. Prohibits an electric utility which sells electric energy to consumers from receiving from such consumers any portion of the excess energy costs of providing substitute electric energy.
United States · United States Congress · 6 February 1981
Expresses the sense of the Congress that the United States should provide immediate humanitarian assistance to help Somalia cope with the massive influx of refugees. Urges Executive branch officials to call upon other nations to aid the Somali refugees.
United States · United States Congress · 5 February 1981
Administrative Rulemaking Reform Act - Directs a Federal agency preparing to hold a rulemaking session to make a reasonable effort to inform those likely to be affected by the proposed rulemaking. Requires the notice of rulemaking to include: (1) the projected effective date of the rules; (2) the purpose of the rulemaking; (3) the text of the proposed rules; and (4) the studies on which the agency intends to rely in the rulemaking proceedings. Requires public notice and public opportunity for comment on all rulemaking proceedings unless the agency finds that proposed rules are emergency rules or are of routine or insignificant impact. Requires Federal agencies to give interested persons at least 45 days to participate in the rulemaking. Provides for agency hearings to receive oral comments, and procedures to resolve significant controversies over factual issues. Requires each agency to maintain a public file of all relevant material and required statements for each rulemaking. Prohibits adoption of a proposed rule that has been revised substantially unless interested persons are provided an opportunity to comment on such revisions. Sets forth an expedited rulemaking procedure for rules to replace emergency rules. Directs each agency to submit a copy of each promulgated rule to each House of Congress. Declares that no rule, excluding an emergency rule, shall become effective if: (1) both Houses of Congress adopt a concurrent resolution disapproving it within 90 days of continuous session of Congress; or (2) one House adopts such a resolution within 60 such days and the other House does not disapprove such resolution within 30 days thereafter. Authorizes either House to adopt a resolution directing an agency to reconsider and repromulgate a newly promulgated rule or an existing rule within a specified period. Provides that if such agency fails to act such rule shall lapse. Directs the Administrative Conference of the United States to study and report on the effects on rulemaking of the Congressional review provisions of this Act. Authorizes appropriations for such study. Directs a court reviewing an agency rule to set aside any rule found to be unwarranted by material in the rulemaking file.
United States · United States Congress · 5 February 1981
Stipulates that the payment of retired or retainer pay which would otherwise be made to a member of the armed forces shall be paid by the Secretary concerned to another person to the extent provided for in the terms of any court decree of divorce, annulment, or legal separation.
United States · United States Congress · 5 February 1981
Petroleum Displacement Act of 1981 - Amends the Powerplant and Industrial Fuel Use Act of 1978 to repeal certain prohibitions and limitations on the use of natural gas as a primary energy source in electric powerplants. Repeals the authority of the Secretary of Energy to prohibit the use of petroleum or natural gas or both: (1) as a primary energy source in electric powerplants where coal or alternate fuel capability exists; and (2) in excess of a minimal amount in an electric powerplant in which it is feasible to use a mixture of petroleum or natural gas or an alternate fuel as a primary energy source.
United States · United States Congress · 5 February 1981
Directs the Secretary of Health and Human Services, acting through the National Institute of Arthritis, Metabolism, and Digestive Diseases, to: (1) conduct a clinical investigation of the safety and efficacy of dimethyl sulfoxide as a drug to be used by persons with arthritis; and (2) report to Congress within one year of enactment of this Act.
United States · United States Congress · 5 February 1981
Amends the Internal Revenue Code to permit married individuals filing separate income tax returns an election to be taxed at rates applicable to unmarried individuals.
United States · United States Congress · 5 February 1981
Requests the President to designate the week of May 10 to May 16, 1981, as "CARE Week" in observance of the thirty-fifth anniversary of CARE (the Cooperative for American Relief Everywhere, Inc.).
United States · United States Congress · 4 February 1981
Private Pension Reform Act of 1981 - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to allow to a married individual whose compensation is less than that of his or her spouse the same deduction for retirement savings. Includes as compensation, for purposes of calculating such deduction, alimony and separate maintenance payments. Amends the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA) and the Internal Revenue Code to require pension plans which pay benefits in the form of an annuity to provide a survivor's annuity for the spouse of a participant who dies before the annuity starting date. Specifies that such annuity shall not be less than the payment to which the surviving spouse would be entitled if the participant had died after the annuity starting date. Requires, for the election by a participant not to take a joint and survivor annuity, the written consent of the participant's spouse. Allows the assignment of pension plan benefits pursuant to a specific court order relating to child support, alimony, or marital property rights. Lowers from 25 to 21 the minimum age of participation by employees in a pension plan. Includes approved maternity or paternity leave in the determination of an employee's years of service with an employer, calculated according to a formula which grants 20 hours of service for each week of such leave.
United States · United States Congress · 3 February 1981
Presidential Nomination Commission Resolution - Establishes the Commission of Presidential Nominations to make an investigation regarding the presidential nominating process. Directs the Commission to report to the President and Congress respecting such investigation including recommendations for the 1984 presidential elections. Terminates the commission 60 days after submission of such report. Sets forth the powers of such Commission, and related administrative provisions. Authorizes necessary appropriations.
![Official portrait of Rep. Fenwick, Millicent H. [R-NJ-5]](https://www.congress.gov/img/member/f000078_200.jpg)