The world's political record
Person
![Official portrait of Rep. Florio, James J. [D-NJ-1]](https://www.congress.gov/img/member/dfda094a48c87dccd97fd47288d44ac3_200.jpg)
United States · Official source
2,567 records where Rep. Florio, James J. [D-NJ-1] is listed as a sponsor, author, or other actor. Search with topics and years
United States · United States Congress · 3 October 1985
Directs the President to designate February 16, 1986, as Lithuanian Independence Day.
United States · United States Congress · 3 October 1985
Designates November 6, 1985, as Ignacy Jan Paderewski Day.
United States · United States Congress · 1 October 1985
Amends the copyright law to make permanent the prohibition against importing certain English language books not manufactured in the United States and Canada, denying copyright protection to books imported in violation of this restriction (the manufacturing clause).
United States · United States Congress · 20 September 1985
Expresses the sense of the House of Representatives that employee benefits should not be taxed.
United States · United States Congress · 18 September 1985
Amends the Petroleum Marketing Practices Act to make as a ground for nonrenewal of a franchise relationship the failure of the parties to agree to franchise changes which are fair and reasonable when evaluated in terms of their impact on the franchisee's operation of the marketing premises. Makes as an event relevant to the reasonable termination of a franchise relationship the non-exercise by the franchisor of an option to renew or purchase the underlying lease of the leased marketing premises (where timely notice and identification of the underlying owner or lessor have been provided). Prohibits a franchisor, when such an option has not been exercised, from terminating or failing to renew a franchise because the franchisee has agreed with the owner or lessor of the underlying lease to maintain possession of the leased premises. Requires the franchisor, if after a good faith effort the franchisee fails to obtain possession of the premises, to pay to the franchisee the reasonable value of the good will of the business attributable to the franchisee's efforts, if the franchise is terminated or not renewed.
United States · United States Congress · 11 September 1985
Designates March 25, 1986, and each March 25 thereafter, as Greek Independence Day: A National Day of Celebration of Greek and American Democracy.
United States · United States Congress · 5 September 1985
Designates a certain United States Post Office Building in Moorestown, New Jersey, as the Edwin B. Forsythe Post Office Building.
United States · United States Congress · 1 August 1985
Directs the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency to report to the Congress within one year an evaluation on the threat to human health of radon gas and radon daughters forming from naturally occurring deposits of uranium and collecting in residences. Directs the Administrator to conduct a demonstration program testing methods of reducing or eliminating the threat, reporting periodically to the Congress on the results. Authorizes appropriations. Amends the Disaster Relief Act of 1974 to include assistance for releases of radon gas.
United States · United States Congress · 1 August 1985
Higher Education Disclosure Act - Requires any institution of higher education which is a direct or indirect recipient of Federal financial assistance to disclose grants from or contracts with a foreign source when such grants and contracts total over $100,000 during any 12-month period. Sets forth procedures and requirements relating to the contents of such disclosure reports to the Secretary of Education. Makes such reports accessible to the public. Allows civil actions to be brought to request restraining orders or injunctions commanding compliance with the requirements of this Act. Requires institutions which knowingly or willfully fail to comply with such requirements to pay the full costs to the United States of obtaining compliance, including all associated costs of investigation and enforcement. Authorizes the Secretary of Education to promulgate regulations to carry out the ministerial duties imposed by this Act.
United States · United States Congress · 1 August 1985
Prohibits the Secretary of Health and Human Services from changing reimbursement levels or methodologies for home health services under title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act prior to the later of: (1) October 1, 1986; or (2) any freeze period beginning after June 30, 1985, and before October 1, 1986.
United States · United States Congress · 1 August 1985
Designates March 16, 1986, as Freedom of Information Day.
United States · United States Congress · 31 July 1985
Telecommunications Trade Act of 1985 - Directs the Secretary of Commerce to initiate an investigation to identify those countries denying the United States equivalent access to a potentially substantial telecommunications market. Provides for public notice of, and participation in, the decision to initiate an investigation, including a petition process whereby persons may request the Secretary to make a finding regarding certain countries. Requires the Secretary to decide, within 45 days of receiving a petition, whether to initiate an investigation on the basis of the petition. Directs the Secretary, within 60 days of the initiation of an investigation, to: (1) make and explain the preliminary finding; (2) if affirmative, preliminarily recommend enforcement actions; and (3) invite interested parties to comment. Directs the Secretary, within 120 days of the decision to initiate an investigation, to give the President and the public notice of the final finding and, if the final finding is affirmative, the final recommendations. Specifies the factors the Secretary must assess in deciding whether a country is denying equivalent telecommunications market access. Requires the President, within 60 days of a final affirmative finding, to determine appropriate enforcement actions and direct the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to implement them, unless the President takes one or more specified actions under the Trade Act of 1974. Directs the President to inform the Congress and give public notice of the enforcement actions he or she deems appropriate, including the reasons for any actions differing from those recommended by the Secretary. Directs the Secretary to determine annually whether the action taken effectuates the purposes of this Act and report to the President and the Congress. Authorizes the President to modify, suspend, or augment the enforcement actions. Directs the President to notify the Congress and the public of the results of the Secretary's review and explain steps taken regarding enforcement actions. Directs the Secretary to review annually the potential market for U.S. telecommunications in countries formerly excluded from investigation by their lack of a potentially substantial market. Amends the Communications Act of 1934 to authorize and direct the FCC to implement any enforcement actions which the President determines to be appropriate under this Act.
United States · United States Congress · 26 July 1985
Amends the Internal Revenue Code to provide that the amount of a qualified artistic charitable contribution shall be the fair market value of the property contributed (determined at the time of such contribution). Defines "qualified artistic charitable contribution" as the contribution of any literary, music, artistic, or scholarly composition, any letter or memorandum, or similar property, but only if: (1) such property was created by the personal efforts of the taxpayer making such contribution no less than one year prior to such contribution; (2) there is a written appraisal of the fair market value of the property included with the tax return; and (3) the use of such property by the donee is related to the purpose or function constituting the basis for the donee's tax exemption. Limits the amount of the qualified artistic charitable contributions for any taxable year to the artistic adjusted gross income for the taxpayer for such taxable year. Defines "artistic adjusted gross income." Prohibits public officials from taking a deduction for donation of their papers if the papers were produced while the officials were officers or employees of the United States or any State, or if the papers were created out of the performance of any duties as officers or employees of the government. Provides that alternative tax itemized deductions shall be determined without regard to the deduction for qualified artistic charitable contributions.
United States · United States Congress · 26 July 1985
Designates the week of December 15 through December 21, 1985, as National Drunk and Drugged Driving Awareness Week.
United States · United States Congress · 25 July 1985
Judicial Survivors' Annuities Amendments Act - Amends the Judicial Code to increase the amount that a judicial official has withheld from his or her salary for purposes of the Judicial Survivors' Annuities Fund. Requires funding in amounts necessary to reduce to zero the unfunded liability of such fund. Increases the amount of the annuity received by a surviving widow or widower with children. Increases the amount of the annuity received by the surviving children of a judicial official leaving no widow or widower. Revises the formula used to determine the amount of the annuity given a widow or widower of a judicial official. Makes survivors of the Deputy Director of the Administrative Office of the United States Courts eligible for annuities under such Act. Makes the benefits conferred by this Act available to any eligible individual. Permits a judicial officer who has participated in the present annuity program to withdraw, in writing, according to specified procedures. Allows such officer, if eligible, to subsequently join the judicial survivors' annuities program created by this Act.
United States · United States Congress · 24 July 1985
Designates the week of October 6 through October 13, 1985, as National Housing Week.
United States · United States Congress · 18 July 1985
Authorizes the President, on behalf of the Congress, to present a gold medal to Aaron Copland in recognition of his contributions to American musical composition. Authorizes the Secretary of the Treasury to provide for the sale of bronze duplicates of the medal. Authorizes appropriations.
United States · United States Congress · 18 July 1985
Dropout Prevention and Reentry Act of 1985 - Amends the Elementary and Secondary Act of 1965 (ESEA) to add a new title X, the Dropout Prevention and Reentry Act of 1985. (Redesignates the current title X as title XI.) Authorizes appropriations for FY 1987 through 1990 for such new title X. Directs the Secretary of Education, from such title X funds for any fiscal year, to allot 20 percent to each of five categories of local educational agencies (LEAs) (based on total elementary and secondary school student enrollments). Directs the Secretary, from the amounts allotted to such categories of LEAs, to award as many grants as practicable within each such category to LEAs whose applications: (1) have been approved; and (2) propose a program of sufficient size and scope to be of value as a demonstration. Limits an LEA to no more than one such grant in each of three fiscal years. Requires the amount of a grant to be, to the extent practicable, proportionate to the extent and severity of the local dropout problem. Limits the amount of a grant to 90 percent of the total cost of a project during its first fiscal year, 80 percent in the second, and 70 percent in the third. Sets forth grant application requirements (including plans for addressing the needs of pregnant minors and school-age parents). Directs the Secretary to give first priority within each category of LEA to applicants with either very high numbers or very high percentages of school dropouts. Sets forth requirements for review of LEA second or third year projects. Requires such grants to be used to carry out plans set forth in the applications. Lists activities such grants may also be used for, including counseling, remedial education, work-study, community-organization service, curriculum review, and school staff training. Requires at least 30 percent of each grant to be used for dropout prevention activities, and another 30 percent for dropout reentry activities (i.e. persuading dropouts to return to school and assisting former dropouts with specialized services once they return to school). Directs the Secretary, from amounts appropriated to the Secretary for FY 1986, to use a specified limited amount to conduct a one-year study of the nature and extent of the dropout program. Sets forth requirements for such study, (including development of a model dropout information collection and reporting system and minimum reporting system requirements). Sets forth general provisions for title X, including provisions relating to withholding payments, annual reports, and audits. Requires that title X grants supplement other funds.
United States · United States Congress · 18 July 1985
Trade Emergency and Export Promotion Act - Declares that actions by the President, the International Trade Commission (ITC), the Secretary of the Treasury, the Secretary of Agriculture, and the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) pursuant to this Act shall not be reviewable by any court, except for abuse of discretion. Title I: International Trade Actions and Agreements - Declares that a national emergency exists because of distortions and imbalances in trade and instability in exchange rates and that such emergency requires extraordinary measures, including action to: (1) restore the value of the dollar; and (2) either eliminate foreign unfair trade barriers or prohibit countries which employ such barriers from enjoying trade surpluses with the United States or increasing shares of world export markets. Authorizes the President to negotiate and enter into with any foreign country or entity agreements limiting the export from such country or entity, and the importation into the United States, of any article. Directs the USTR to initiate proceedings against Japan before appropriate international bodies in order to obtain authorization to take trade actions against Japan on the grounds that: (1) Japan has failed to comply with trade agreements entered into with the United States; and (2) Japan has adopted numerous domestic policies and practices that impair and violate such trade agreements and impede achievement of their objectives. Directs the USTR, with the cooperation of the Secretary of Agriculture, to initiate actions under all international trade agreements to which the United States is a party in order to take appropriate countermeasures against agricultural export subsidies provided by the European Communities and other countries which will be used to prevent: (1) injury to U.S. agricultural producers; (2) nullification or impairment of such trade agreements; and (3) serious prejudice to the United States. Authorizes the USTR to initiate actions against each foreign country (except Japan and the European Communities) or entity that was an excess worldwide trade surplus country or an excess bilateral trade surplus country for 1984 under all applicable U.S. laws and international agreements in order to: (1) enforce the rights of the United States under such international agreements; and (2) obtain the elimination of certain trade acts, policies, and practices of such countries or entities. Directs the USTR to explain in proceedings initiated under this title that the United States finds it necessary to take the actions provided in title II of this Act as interim measures pending the outcome of such proceedings in order to protect vital U.S. interests. Directs the Secretary of the Treasury to develop a plan to reduce fluctuations between currencies on foreign currency exchange markets. Sets forth characteristics of such plan. Title II: Interim Domestic Trade Actions to Respond to the Trade Emergency - Subtitle A: Stand-by Duties - Directs the ITC to determine annually each major exporting country's: (1) worldwide nonpetroleum export percentage; (2) bilateral nonpetroleum export percentage; (3) worldwide nonpetroleum trade surplus; (4) bilateral nonpetroleum trade surplus; (5) worldwide trade surplus limitation; and (6) bilateral trade surplus limitation. Requires the ITC to report annually to the President on: (1) the determinations on the trade of such major exporting countries; (2) the identity of each foreign country which was an excess worldwide trade surplus country or excess bilateral trade surplus country during the preceding year; and (3) whether or not standby duties should be imposed on imports from such countries. Requires the President, within 15 days of receiving such report to determine, with respect to each country identified as an excess worldwide trade surplus country or excess bilateral trade surplus country: (1) whether such country unfairly restricts or limits the access of imports to its markets; and (2) if the President determines that such country does restrict access to its markets, whether such restriction contributes to that country's trade surplus. Requires the President, if both such determinations are positive, to impose stand-by duties on all imports from such countries. Prohibits making such determinations or imposing such duties if the U.S. trade deficit divided by the U.S. gross national product is less than one and one-half percent. Requires the President to report to the Congress, within 15 days of receiving the reports on worldwide and bilateral trade, on the determinations made with respect to imposing stand-by duties. Declares that the rate of a stand-by duty shall be 25 percent ad valorem and that such duty shall be in addition to any other duties. Provides for the implementation of such duties. Requires all revenues from such stand-by duties to be allocated to the Public Debt Reduction Account in the Treasury. Expresses the sense of the Congress that all funds in such Account be used only to reduce the Federal debt. Directs the Secretary of the Treasury to report annually to the Congress on the revenue derived from such stand-by duties. Prohibits imposing stand-by duties on articles imported after April 30, 1992. Prohibits requiring reports and determinations on trade surpluses after April 1991. Subtitle B: Reports - Directs the President to report annually to specified congressional committees on the operation of this Act. Title III: Trade Law Reform - Amends the Trade Act of 1974 to transfer to the USTR from the President the authority to order import relief and the authority to extend tariff preferences. Amends the Tariff Act of 1930 to transfer to the USTR from the President the authority to approve or disapprove ITC actions to prevent unfair practices in import trade.
United States · United States Congress · 16 July 1985
Children's Justice Act - Amends the Child Abuse Prevention and Treatment Act to authorize the Secretary of Health and Human Services to make additional grants to States for developing, operating, or implementing programs for: (1) handling child abuse cases in a manner to reduce trauma to the child (especially in sexual abuse cases); (2) successful prosecution or legal action against child abusers; and (3) protection of children from abuse. Makes a State eligible for such assistance if it establishes a multidisciplinary task force and adopts reforms recommended by such task force. Requires the task force to be comprised of professionals experienced in the criminal justice system. Requires a State to adopt reforms recommended by the task force in each of the three stipulated categories or submit a detailed explanation of the reasons for not carrying out such recommendations. Requires the Secretary, through the National Center on Child Abuse and Neglect, to: (1) compile, publish, and disseminate evaluations of the approaches utilized with respect to the investigation and prosecution of child abuse cases; (2) develop and disseminate model training materials and procedures to help insure that law enforcement, legal, judicial, and child welfare personnel are adequately trained to deal with child abuse victims; and (3) provide for support of research projects to assist in identifying effective approaches to achieving successful investigation and prosecution of child sexual abuse cases. Directs the Secretary, within two years, to review and evaluate the effectiveness of the activities carried out with the funds made available under this Act and report the results to the Congress. Requires the evaluation to be made available to State officials within 180 days after enactment of this Act. Authorizes appropriations. Directs the Attorney General, the Secretary of Health and Human Services, the Secretary of Education, and any other agency or department head designated by the President, to meet regularly to coordinate and prevent the overlap of programs that address child abuse. Requires the Secretary of Health and Human Services to report to the Congress on the coordination of Federal programs. Requires the Attorney General to modify the classification system used by the National Crime Information Center in its Interstate Identification Index, and by the Identification Division of the Federal Bureau of Investigation in its Criminal File and its Uniform Crime Reporting System, with respect to offenses involving the sexual exploitation of children. Amends the Public Health Service Act with regard to the confidentiality of patient records to provide that nothing in such section shall supersede any State or local requirement for the reporting of incidents of suspected child abuse to authorities.
United States · United States Congress · 16 July 1985
Designates September 2, 1985, the 40th anniversary of the surrender of Japan to the allied powers at the end of World War II, as V-J Day Commemoration Day.
United States · United States Congress · 9 July 1985
Designates the week beginning September 1, 1985, as National Buy American Week.
United States · United States Congress · 27 June 1985
Community and Family Living Amendments of 1985 - Amends title XIX (Medicaid) of the Social Security Act to require a State plan to provide a severely disabled individual who is entitled to medical assistance and who is residing in a family home or community living facility with an array of community and family support services which will provide for the health, safety, and effective habilitation or rehabilitation of such individual. Includes community and family support services for severely disabled individuals as "medical assistance" under Medicaid. Permits the inclusion of such services as medical assistance only if: (1) such services are provided to a severely disabled individual residing in a family home or in a community living facility; (2) such services are provided in accordance with an individually written habilitation or rehabilitation plan; and (3) the total amount of funds spent by the State from non-Federal funds for such services equals at least a specified base amount. Specifies services included and excluded as community and family living services. Requires a State, in order to receive payment for community or family support services provided, to: (1) enter into a community and family living implementation agreement with the Secretary of Health and Human Services; and (2) submit required reports to the Secretary. Requires a community and family living implementation agreement to include, among others, the following provisions: (1) community living facilities will not be unduly concentrated in any residential area; (2) all the staff of each facility must have appropriate training; (3) parents of the severely disabled will have training available; (4) case management; (5) an individual will reside as close to his or her family as possible; (6) hearing procedures for individuals who feel they have been inappropriately placed; and (7) suitable State supplementary payments as authorized under title XVI (Supplemental Security Income) of the Social Security Act. Requires such agreement to include other specified provisions with respect to severely disabled individuals living in residential facilities which are not family homes or community living facilities. Requires the agreement to include descriptions of methods to be used to achieve the following objectives: (1) to advise severely disabled individuals of alternative arrangements and services available to them, of their right to choose providers, and of their right to a fair hearing; (2) to assure fair and equitable provisions to protect the interests of public employees who will be affected by the transfer of severely disabled individuals from public institutions to community or family living facilities under the agreement; (3) to assure application of fair employment standards and equitable compensation to workers in facilities offering care and services for which payments are made under this Act; and (4) to assure timely submission of any reports required by the Secretary; and (5) to assure opportunities for participation by interested citizens in the development of the implementation plan or agreement. Sets forth provisions providing for: (1) auditing a State's compliance with this Act; (2) noncompliance; and (3) review by the Comptroller General. Includes, under Medicaid, within the definition of "intermediate care facilities" services in an institution for mentally retarded persons or persons with related conditions if: (1) the individual needs of each newly admitted individual are ascertained by an interdisciplinary team within 30 days; (2) the institution, if not operated by the State, has a written agreement with an appropriate State agency to cooperate in the implementation of the agreement. Limits, effective FY 2000, the amounts payable under Medicaid to any State for skilled nursing facility services and intermediate care facility services furnished to severely disabled individuals under age 65 in facilities having not more than 15 beds. Provides that such limitations shall not apply, if: (1) payments are for services for individuals in a facility which meets the size and location requirements for a community living facility; (2) payments are for services for individuals in a facility which was in operation on September 30, 1985, which has not increased the number of beds since September 30, 1985, and which has no more than 15 beds; (3) payments are for services for individuals in a cluster home; or (4) payments are for necessary therapeutic services which are not available in a family home or community living facility in the States. Reduces, effective FY 1988, the Federal medical assistance percentage for skilled nursing facility services and intermediate care facility services furnished to any severely disabled individual under age 65. Requires a State, in order to receive any payments for furnishing community and family support services, to have in effect a system to protect and advocate the rights of eligible severely disabled individuals which is in addition to any provided by the Federal Government as of September 1985. Permits an individual injured or adversely affected or aggrieved by a violation of the Community and Family Living Amendments of 1985 to bring an action to enjoin such violation. Requires a State's Medicaid plan to provide for the payment of community and family support services for severely disabled individuals through the use of rates which are reasonable and adequate to assure the provision of services of adequate quality. Permits a State to provide for the eligibility of any severely disabled individual for community and family support services if such individual spends at least five percent of his or her adjusted gross income for necessary medical care and for community and family support services. Provides that whenever an individual is receiving benefits under title II (Old Age, Survivors and Disability Insurance) of the Social Security Act on the basis of a disability which began before such individual attained the age of 22, and but for those benefits would be eligible under title XVI (Supplemental Security Income) of such Act for either SSI or State supplementary payments then such individual shall be deemed, for Medicaid purposes only, to be receiving SSI or State supplementary payments. Provides for the Medicaid eligibility of a severely disabled individual under age 65 who would otherwise be denied assistance because of earnings if termination of such eligibility would seriously inhibit the individual's ability to continue employment or effectively limit the individual's ability to live in a family home or community living facility and such earnings are not sufficient to provide benefits equivalent to SSI and Medicaid. Directs the Secretary to: (1) make assessments, conduct a study, and report to the Congress; and (2) issue regulations. Sets forth the effective date.
United States · United States Congress · 27 June 1985
Designates the week beginning on November 10, 1985, as National Blood Pressure Awareness Week.
United States · United States Congress · 27 June 1985
Designates the Week of October 6 through October 12, 1985, as Myasthenia Gravis Awareness Week.
United States · United States Congress · 26 June 1985
Amends the Federal Aviation Act of 1958 to prohibit the purchase, lease, or acquisition of control in any manner of a substantial portion of an air carrier by the following persons: (1) any air carrier which is a debtor; (2) any person who is a debtor and controls an air carrier; (3) any person controlling an air carrier which is a debtor; or (4) any person who is a debtor and is substantially engaged in the business of aeronautics.
United States · United States Congress · 26 June 1985
Consumer Products Energy Efficiency Amendments of 1985 - Amends the Energy Policy and Conservation Act to provide that the labeling rules regarding consumer product energy efficiency standards shall require disclosure of such standards at the point of sale and in any advertising of the product. Directs the Secretary of Energy (the Secretary) to: (1) publish and make available comparative guides of the energy efficiency and annual operating cost of certain consumer products; (2) prescribe an energy efficiency standard for certain consumer products; (3) include in the Secretary's annual report on consumer product energy efficiency standards the percentage of covered products or components which are imported. Requires the Secretary, before determining whether a standard is economically justified, to weigh its effect on domestic production, reduction of unemployment, electric utilities, and the human environment. Authorizes the Secretary to prescribe an energy efficiency standard for certain consumer products if it is determined that improvement of 20 percent or more is feasible. Delineates the criteria to be considered by the Secretary in determining whether a performance-related feature justifies the establishment of either a higher or a lower energy efficiency standard. Directs the Secretary to: (1) issue energy efficiency improvement guidelines for each of the following five years if no standard for a covered consumer product is prescribed; (2) monitor the improvements in efficiency; and (3) prescribe an energy efficiency standard whenever a certain type of consumer product type fails for three consecutive years to achieve at least half of the improvement under such guideline.
United States · United States Congress · 25 June 1985
Extends adverse action provisions (concerning removal, suspension for more than 14 days, reduction in grade or pay, or furlough for 30 days or less) to Postal Service employees who: (1) are preference eligibles, except to the extent of inconsistency with a collective bargaining agreement; (2) are supervisors or employees engaged in confidential personnel work; and (3) have completed two years of continuous service in the same or similar positions.
United States · United States Congress · 25 June 1985
Child Care Opportunities for Families Act - Title I: Increasing the Supply of Child Care - Amends title XX (Block Grants to States for Social Services) of the Social Security Act to increase the amount of appropriations authorized for FY 1985 through 1988 and succeeding fiscal years for title XX allotments to States. Reserves specified amounts from such title XX funds for FY 1986 through 1988 and succeeding fiscal years for use only for the provision of qualified child day care services. Directs the Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS) to allot such reserved funds in the same proportions as regular title XX allotments. Defines qualified child day care services, for such purposes, as child day care services which are provided to: (1) children who are abused or neglected children, or at risk of being abused or neglected, or in families receiving child protective services; (2) children of eligible families who are recipients of aid to families with dependent children (AFDC); and (3) children (handicapped or nonhandicapped) of low-income parents (including legal guardians or primary caretakers) who are adolescents, or working, or enrolled in education or training programs, or seeking employment. Provides that such child day care services funds shall be: (1) only supplementary to funds from other sources (including other title XX funds); (2) separately accounted for in reports and audits; and (3) not transferable for purposes of other Federal block grant programs. Requires States, as a condition of eligibility for title XX block grants, to provide a State share of the total expenditures made by the State during any fiscal year (in cash or kind) for the provision of services directed at the goals set forth under title XX. Sets such State share to be provided from non-Federal public or private sources, at 25 percent of such total expenditures. Establishes a school-based early childhood education and child care services pilot program. Directs the Secretary of Education to make grants to States to assist local educational agencies (LEAs) to establish and expand such education and services for children aged four and five. Permits such pilot program funds to be used to: (1) extend half-day kindergarten to a full school day or typical working day to meet the needs of working parents; (2) contract with community-based child care organizations to provide part-day child day care to complement existing half-day or full school day school-based kindergarten or early childhood education programs; and (3) establish, or contract with community-based child care organizations to provide, pre-kindergarten or early childhood education programs and child day care services for children four years of age for a typical working day. Sets forth provisions for State applications for such pilot program grants, including requirements for: (1) State and LEA advisory panels; (2) encouragement of participation of severely handicapped children; and (3) priority consideration to programs serving substantial proportions of children from low-income families. Directs the Secretary of Education, in considering such applications to: (1) give preference to applicants whose programs provide services for the typical working day; and (2) ensure an equitable distribution of grants among States. Sets forth requirements for such pilot programs, including parent involvement, sliding scale fee scales, and no fees charged to families with incomes less than 150 percent of the poverty level. Sets forth matching requirements for such pilot programs. Limits the Federal share to 75 percent in the first year of assistance, 60 percent in the second year, and 40 percent in the third and any subsequent year. Limits administrative costs to five percent of the grant to the State or five percent of assistance to any LEA. Requires that at least ten percent of the total enrollment opportunities in each LEA in such pilot programs shall be available for handicapped children, with services to meet their special needs. Sets forth requirements for reports on, and evaluation of, such pilot programs. Defines community-based child care organization, for purposes of such pilot program provisions, as a private organization which is representative of the community and which has experience in providing child care services to low-income families. Authorizes appropriations for FY 1986 through 1988 for such pilot program of school-based early childhood education and child care services. Title II: Upgrading State Child Care Standards - Amends title XX (Block Grants to States for Social Services) of the Social Security Act to add a further increase (above that already provided under title I of this Act) in the amount of appropriations authorized for Fy 1986 through 1988 and succeeding fiscal years for title XX allotments to States. Reserves specified amounts from such title XX funds for FY 1986 through 1988 and succeeding fiscal years for incentive grants to States for improvements in their child care licensing, regulatory, and monitoring systems. Directs the Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS) to initially allot such reserved funds in the same proportions as regular title XX allotments. Requires that any remaining part of such reserved funds be used for making further grants to States which require additional assistance to carry out their State plans for such purpose. Requires that, for years after FY 1986, priority be given in distributing such additional funds to those States which have developed plans that will lead to their meeting or exceeding the recommended standards established by the National Advisory Committee on Child Care Standards pursuant to this Act. Requires the Governor of each State, as a condition of the State's eligibility for receiving title XX Federal payments, to establish or designate a State Advisory Committee on Child Care Standards which shall: (1) examine, investigate, and study the State's laws, regulations, and procedures for licensing, regulating, and monitoring child care services and programs within the State; and (2) prepare a report outlining the committee's findings and recommendations, including a description of the current status of child care licensing, regulating, or monitoring within the State to be submitted to each State's Governor for transmittal, along with the Governor's comments, to the Secretary of HHS. Establishes a National Advisory Committee on Child Care Standards in order to assist and provide guidance to the States in improving the quality of child care services. Requires each State Advisory Committee and the National Advisory Committee to review the options for child care standards published by the Department of HHS in January 1985 and the final 1980 HEW Day Care Regulations. Directs the National Advisory Committee to issue recommended standards for child care programs, after first publishing proposed standards and receiving comments. Terminates the National Advisory Committee 90 days after the publication of the final recommended standards. Directs the Secretary of HHS, from the title XX funds reserved and allotted to the States for such purpose, to make incentive grants to assist States in carrying out their plans to correct deficiences in, or otherwise improving, the licensing, regulating, and monitoring of their child care programs. Requires that State applications for such grants include such plans. Requires a detailed explanation if the State plan omits carrying out any recommendation contained in the State advisory committee's report. Title III: Expanding Private Sector Initiatives - Directs the Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS) to establish a demonstration program of grants to local private nonprofit organizations to improve and expand child care services in the community by establishing and administering community funds for child care, in partnership with private for-profit businesses. Requires that such grants be used to provide: (1) child care scholarships on a sliding fee scale for low-income families through vouchers or by purchasing slots in child care programs; (2) partial scholarships of such sort to families ineligible for child care under title XX of the Social Security Act and whose income does not exceed $30,000; and (3) loans and grants to local nonprofit organizations (especially those serving significant proportions of low-income children) for start-up or renovation costs for community child day care services. Sets the maximum Federal share of the cost of expenditures from such community funds at 50 percent in the first year of Federal assistance, 40 percent in the second year, and 25 percent in the third and any subsequent year. Sets forth grant application requirements, including: (1) establishment of local advisory boards; and (2) obtaining of at least half of the local share of such community funds from for-profit private businesses. Directs the Secretary of HHS, in considering such applications, to: (1) ensure an equitable distribution of assistance among States and among urban and rural areas; and (2) give preference to organizations that have received such assistance in the previous year. Sets forth requirements for annual reports, evaluations, and audits of such community child care funds. Authorizes appropriations for FY 1986 through 1988 for such community child care funds program. Title IV: Training Child Care Personnel - Amends title XX (Block Grants to States for Social Services) of the Social Security Act to add a further increase (above that already provided under titles I and II of this Act) in the amount of appropriations authorized for FY 1986 through 1988 and succeeding fiscal years for title XX allotments to States. Reserves specified amounts from such title XX funds for FY 1986 through 1988 and succeeding fiscal years for use by States in providing child care personnel training and retraining (including training in child development and in prevention of child abuse in day care settings). Provides that such training may be given to: (1) providers of licensed or registered child care services; (2) operators and staffs of facilities where such services are provided; (3) State licensing and enforcement officials; and (4) parents. Gives priority in such training to infant care providers, family day care providers, and providers of care for children with handicapping conditions. Directs the Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS) to initially allot such reserved funds in the same proportions as regular title XX allotments. Requires that any remaining part of such reserved funds be used for making further payments to States on the basis of their respective needs and other factors which the Secretary of HHS considers appropriate. Establishes a program of scholarships for low-income individuals who are candidates for the Child Development Associate (CDA) credential. Directs the Secretary of HHS to make grants to States to provide such scholarships. Requires that preference be given to scholarship applicants who are candidates for the CDA credential for work in: (1) a family day care setting with children who are not more than five years of age; or (2) a center-based setting with children who are not more than three years of age. Requires State grant applications to assure that: (1) each scholarship will cover all necessary costs incidental to receiving the CDA credential; and (2) the State will not expend more than five percent of the grant for administrative costs. Defines low-income individual, for such purposes, as one whose income does not exceed 185 percent of a specified poverty line. Amends title V (Teacher Corps and Teacher Training Programs) of the Higher Education Act of 1965 (HEA) to add a new part G, Training Personnel for Early Childhood Education. Authorizes the Secretary of Education to make grants to institutions of higher education to: (1) train personnel for careers in early childhood education and development; and (2) prepare professional personnel to provide such training. Directs the Secretary to ensure that such part G grant funds are equitably distributed by geographic region and between four-year and two-year institutions. Permits such grants to be used by the institutions: (1) to cover the cost of such courses of training or study; and (2) for scholarships to individuals who agree to be providers of early childhood education or child day care services for at least two years after completion of their academic program. Requires that such scholarships be awarded on the basis of need to full- or part-time students, with preference to be given to those preparing to work with children three years of age or younger or children with handicapping conditions. Sets forth reporting requirements for grant or contract recipients under part G. Authorizes appropriations for FY 1986 through 1988 to carry out such HEA title V part G grants program for training personnel in early childhood education. Authorizes appropriations for FY 1986 through 1988 to carry out such program. Amends the Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1981 to revise provisions for grants to States for planning and development of dependent care programs. Adds an authorization of appropriations for FY 1986 for allotments to States to carry out the family day care training and technical assistance grants program added by this Act. Prohibits a project under such program from duplicating any services already provided by the State or locality to be served. Permits such program funds for FY 1986 to be used for grants to eligible nonprofit community-based organizations to provide: (1) training to family day care providers and individuals involved in training such providers (including child development and infant care training); and (2) technical assistance to family day care sponsors, providers, and individuals involved in training such providers, on laws and regulations applicable to the provision of family day care services. Allows training and technical assistance relating to the provision of family day care for handicapped children to be included under such grants. Makes nonprofit community-based organizations eligible for such grants if they: (1) have experience with working with such providers; and (2) agree to give training and technical assistance to such providers serving low-income families. Defines family day care as the care of children provided outside their residences, for a fee and on a part-day basis, by an individual in that individual's residence. Title V: Child Care Services for Special Groups - Part A: Child Care Services for Low-Income Postsecondary Students - Amends title IV (Student Assistance) of the Higher Education Act of 1965 to add a new part D, Higher Education Institution-Based Child Care Program. Authorizes appropriations for such new part D program for FY 1986 through 1990. Directs the Secretary of Education to use such part D funds to make grants to institutions of higher education to provide child care services to low-income students. Sets forth grant application requirements, including provision of assurances that: (1) at least two-thirds of program participants are low-income individuals who are first-generation college students; (2) the remaining participants are either low-income individuals or first-generation college students; (3) the participants require the services to pursue a successful education beyond secondary school; (4) participants are enrolled at the grant recipient institution; and (5) the institution will provide to participants market rate vouchers for child care in licensed or registered programs or purchase slots in such programs for use by participants. Limits institutional administrative costs to five percent of the program grant. Defines low-income individual as one from a family whose taxable income for the preceding year did not exceed 150 percent of a specified poverty level amount. Part B: Respite Care Demonstration Grants for Families with Special Needs - Directs the Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS) to establish a demonstration program of grants to States to assist public and private agencies to provide in-home or out-of-home respite care for handicapped children and children with chronic or terminal illnesses. Requires that such care be provided on a sliding fee scale with hourly and daily rates. Directs the Secretary of HHS to establish a demonstration program of grants to States to assist public and private agencies to provide crisis nurseries (i.e. centers providing temporary emergency services and care) for children who are abused and neglected, at high risk of abuse and neglect, or in families receiving child protective services. Requires crisis nurseries to: (1) provide such services and care without fee for a maximum of 30 days; (2) provide referral to support services. Sets forth administrative provisions for applications and awards of grants for the demonstration programs under this part. Requires States receiving such grants to submit annual funded program evaluation reports to the Secretary of HHS. Part C: Comprehensive Service Centers - Directs the Secretary of HHS to establish a program of grants to State and local health departments and nonprofit agencies to establish and operate school-located comprehensive health service centers. Requires such programs to be administered through the health resources and services administration of the Department of HHS. Requires such centers to provide, or arrange for the provision of, comprehensive health care services, child care sufficient to enable a student to continue education or enter employment, family life and parenting education, and academic and employment counseling and placement. Makes such services available to any student, but requires that priority attention be given the needs of any student who is an adolescent parent, pregnant, or a potential dropout. Requires such programs to provide or arrange provision of: (1) such services on school campuses, to the extent practicable; and (2) transportation of students to and from agencies supplying such services, and of eligible adolescent parents and their children to and from child care services. Sets forth provisions for fee schedules for such services. Prohibits discrimination on the basis of inability to provide full payment for such services. Requires grant recipients to collect reimbursement, where possible, for the Medicaid and title XX child care services programs under the Social Security Act. Limits State or local administrative costs to ten percent, and Federal administrative costs to one percent, of program funds. Sets forth grant application requirements. Directs the Secretary of HHS, in reviewing such applications, to: (1) consider the equitable geographic distribution of grants among States, and among urban and rural areas; and (2) give preference to recipients who will provide services in schools with the highest adolescent birth rate and the highest concentrations of low-income students and potential dropouts. Requires that Federal funds for such programs be supplementary to State and local funds, and that such programs provide services which are in addition to, rather than in substitution for, comparable services previously provided without Federal assistance. Sets the maximum Federal share of assistance to a center at 100 percent in the first year, 75 percent in the second year, and 50 percent in the third and any subsequent year of assistance. Sets forth annual reporting requirements for grant recipients. Directs the Secretary of HHS, after the second year of such assistance, to provide for an independent evaluation of a representative sample of such programs. Defines comprehensive health care services to include: (1) primary and preventive health services, including prenatal, delivery, and postpartum care; (2) pregnancy testing and maternity counseling; (3) nutrition counseling and referral; (4) screening and treatment of sexually transmitted diseases; (5) appropriate pediatric care; (6) pediatric services for infants born to adolescents; (7) mental health services and referral; (8) family planning services; (9) dental services and referral; and (10) such other services as the Secretary of HHS provides by regulation. Defines child care services,for purposes of this part, as services that: (1) are provided by a school-based or community-based child care organization (2) at a minimum include the provision of child care services to any child of an adolescent parent from birth through age 30 months; and (3) meet applicable State licensing standards. Authorizes appropriations for FY 1986 through 1988 for the grants program for school-located comprehensive health service centers under this part. Part D: Child Care Expenses for AFDC Recipients - Amends Social Security Act provisions relating to aid to families with dependent children (AFDC) to allow an increased amount of child care expenses to be taken into consideration in determinations of AFDC eligibility.
United States · United States Congress · 21 June 1985
School Excellence and Reform Act - Authorizes appropriations for FY 1987 through 1991 to make payments for programs of: (1) general improvement and excellence in education; and (2) reform and equity in education. Sets forth (after reserving specified amounts for certain U.S. territories and possessions) formulas for State and local allocation of payments for general improvement and excellence in education. Provides, under such local allocation formula, for certain increases in the amount of such payments on the basis of numbers of children eligible to be counted for purposes of special needs funding under specified provisions of subpart 1 (Basic Grants), part A (Programs Operated by Local Educational Agencies) of title I (Financial Assistance to Meet Special Educational Needs of Children) of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (ESEA). Sets forth (after reserving specified amounts for payments to certain U.S. territories and possessions) formulas for State and local allocation for reform and equity in education. Provides, under such State allocation formula, for certain increases in payments based on numbers of children eligible to be counted under the aforementioned ESEA provisions for special educational needs funding. Authorizes the State educational agency to establish the relative weights of factors under such local allocation formula, but requires that such formula be composed of only the following factors: (1) the number of children aged five to 17, inclusive, who are eligible to be counted under the aforementioned ESEA provisions for special educational needs funding; (2) the graduation rate; (3) the absentee rate; and (4) the number of low-achieving students. Permits those general improvement and excellence funds which are allocated to local educational agencies to be used for: (1) pursuit of general educational excellence and improvement of instruction in mathematics, the sciences, communications skills, foreign languages, and technology; and (2) where necessary, for guidance and counseling. Permits those reform and equity funds which are retained by a State under specified provisions of this Act to be used to administer and carry out categorical programs and projects. Permits those reform and equity funds which are allocated to local educational agencies (LEAs) to be used for the development, expansion, or improvement of any of the following categorical programs and projects: (1) early childhood education; (2) school day care; (3) in-service teacher training; (4) dropout prevention; (5) effective schools; and (6) improvement of secondary schools basic skills instruction. Requires State applications for allocations of general improvement and excellence payments and reform and equity payments for any fiscal year under this Act to: (1) meet specified requirements under the General Education Provisions Act; and (2) in the case of reform and equity payment allocations, describe the intended use of funds to be retained by the State to enhance State reform efforts. Allows a local educational agency, in any fiscal year, to submit a single application for an allocation of general improvement and excellence funds or an allocation of reform and equity funds, or both. Permits two or more local educational agencies that propose to conduct joint programs and projects from funds for general improvement and excellence to file such application as a consortium or other combination. Prohibits a local educational agency from applying for an allocation of reform and equity funds unless the total number of children age five to 17, inclusive, in the schools of such agency who are eligible to be counted under the aforementioned ESEA provisions for special educational needs funding exceeds the lesser of 5,000 or 20 percent of the total enrollment of such schools. Requires local educational agencies, in order to receive either general improvement and excellence or reform and equity allocations, to have on file with the State educational agency an application which includes description of the programs and projects to be funded and a plan for the improvement of the selected educational areas covered by such programs and projects. Requires such local educational agency or consortium applications, or application renewals, to also contain assurances that: (1) the programs and projects are designed and implemented in consultation with the parents and classroom teachers of the children to be served; (2) the funds received under this Act will supplement and not supplant non-Federal funding; and (3) the local educational agency will comply with specified maintenance of effort requirements which the State educational agency must enforce. Requires each local educational agency receiving an allocation under this Act for any fiscal year to submit to the State educational agency evidence of progress in particular areas for which funds were expended or evidence of general improvement in the educational system, such as: (1) reductions in, or maintenance of acceptable levels of, absenteeism, discipline problems, and dropouts at the secondary level; (2) more instructional time; and (3) smaller class size. Authorizes the State educational agency, at the State's discretion, to conduct audits on a sampling basis to verify the accuracy of such submissions. Terminates a local educational agency's eligibility to obtain an allocation under this Act for more than three fiscal years, unless the evidence submitted demonstrates progress as verified by the State. Authorizes the Secretary, from specified amounts reserved from reform and equity funds, to make business involvement matching grants to local educational agencies. Sets the maximum amount of any such grant at 50 percent of the fair market value of any donation by local business concerns to the local educational agency for the conduct of programs and projects under this Act. Allows such donations to be in cash or in kind, and to consist of equipment, the services of business personnel, or training provided to the local educational agency.
United States · United States Congress · 20 June 1985
University Research Facilities Revitalization Act of 1985 - Requires each of the major Federal research and development agencies to establish and carry out a new university research laboratory modernization program, under which an amount equal to a specified portion of the funds available to the agency involved for research and development awards to institutions of higher education will be reserved for the replacement or modernization of such institutions' obsolete laboratories and other research facilities. Requires that funds under such program be awarded in response to specific proposals submitted by universities and colleges, in accordance with regulations prescribed by the head of the agency involved. Requires that such regulations provide that funds to carry out the program be awarded on a competitive basis and in an amount not exceeding 50 percent of the cost of the replacement or modernization involved. Sets forth required criteria for the award of such funds. Defines the "major Federal research and development agencies" as: (1) the National Science Foundation; (2) the Department of Health and Human Services; (3) the Department of Defense; (4) the Department of Energy; (5) the National Aeronautics and Space Administration; and (6) the Department of Agriculture. Title I: Identification and Assessment of University and College Research Facility Needs; Funding for the University Research Laboratory Modernization Program in the National Science Foundation - Authorizes the National Science Foundation (NSF) to design, establish, and maintain a data collection and analysis capability to identify and assess the research facilities needs of universities and colleges. Directs NSF, in conjunction with other appropriate Federal agencies, to: (1) conduct biennial surveys for such identification and assessment purposes; and (2) report the results to the Congress, with the first such report to be due on September 1, 1986. Directs the NSF, when conducting such surveys and reporting to the Congress, to also collect and assess data on the implementation of the university research laboratory modernization programs being carried out under this Act. Sets forth provisions for the funding for the university research laboratory modernization program in NSF. (Note: The following provisions are similar to those for such program funding in the other "major Federal research and development agencies" which are set forth in titles II, III, IV, V, and VI of this Act.) Authorizes appropriations for FY 1987 to NSF to implement and carry out the new university research laboratory modernization program. Requires that a specified minimum amount (equal to a portion, as determined by certain formulas, of the total amount which is appropriated to NSF for FY 1988 through 1996 and which is available for obligation by NSF for research and development awards to universities and colleges) be reserved for purposes of this Act and used only to carry out NSF's university research modernization program. Permits such funds to be used for such program either as a part of awards made to universities and colleges involved for activities carried out under the authority of other laws or through separate awards made for purposes of this Act. Requires that such funds be used only on the basis of proposals submitted by such universities and colleges. Requires that a specified minimum portion of such funds be available only for awards to universities and colleges that received less than $10,000,000 in total Federal obligations for research and development in each of the two preceding years. Title II: Funding for the University Research Laboratory Modernization Program in the Department of Health and Human Services - Sets forth provisions for the funding for the university research laboratory modernization program in the Department of Health and Human Services. (Note: These provisions are similar to the program funding provisions under title I.) Title III: Funding for the University Research Laboratory Modernization Program in the Department of Defense - Sets forth provisions for the funding for the university research laboratory modernization program in the Department of Defense. (Note: These provisions are similar to the program funding provisions under title I.) Title IV: Funding for the University Research Laboratory Modernization Program in the Department of Energy - Sets forth provisions for the funding for the university research laboratory modernization program in the Department of Energy. (Note: These provisions are similar to the program funding provisions under title I.) Title V: Funding for the University Research Laboratory Modernization Program in the National Aeronautics and Space Administration - Sets forth provisions for the funding for the university research laboratory modernization program in the National Aeronautics and Space Administration. (Note: these provisions are similar to the program funding provisions under title I.) Title VI; Funding for the University Research Laboratory Modernization Program in the Department of Agriculture - Sets forth provisions for the funding for the university research laboratory modernization program in the Department of Agriculture. (Note: these provisions are similar to the program funding provision under title I.)
United States · United States Congress · 18 June 1985
Superfund Amendments of 1985 - Title I: Provisions Relating Primarily to Response and Liability - Amends the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act of 1980 (CERCLA)(Superfund) to direct the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to establish reportable quantities for all hazardous substances by December 31, 1986. Directs the Administrator to give primary attention to releases which may present a threat to public health. Confirms the President's discretion to decide when responsible parties are authorized to conduct cleanup actions in lieu of Superfund-financed responses. Requires short-term removal actions undertaken by the Administrator to contribute to the highest degree possible to the efficient performance of any long-term action. Increases the maximum time and funding limit on short-term response actions when appropriate. Limits the 50 percent State cleanup obligation to those facilities which are both owned and operated by the State. Credits States with expenditures made at National Priorities List (NPL) sites on cost-eligible response actions. Revises other State cost-sharing measures. Grants EPA employees of contractors the necessary access to facilities and information to determine if the need for a response action exists. Prescribes a cleanup schedule for Superfund, requiring an evaluation within two years of sites on the Emergency Response and Remedial Investigation System (ERRIS) list for possible inclusion on the NPL. Sets a schedule for the conduct of remedial investigations and feasibility studies (RIFS) for NPL sites, requiring the commencement of remedial action at a minimum of 90 percent of such facilities within one year of the RIFS completion. Directs the Administrator to revise the National Contingency Plan (NCP) within 18 months to reflect this Act's amendments. Requires the review of the hazard ranking system within one year. Permits individuals to petition the Administrator for a preliminary hazard assessment at a site. Includes contamination of the ambient air as a criterion for ranking a hazard. Eliminates the requirement that the NPL contain at least 400 sites. Prohibits the Administrator from taking abatement action against any release resulting from an applied pesticide registered under the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act. Makes liability for releases or threatened releases of hazardous substances requiring abatement actions strict, joint, and several. Includes all vessels releasing hazardous substances within the jurisdiction of the United States under the liability provisions of CERCLA. Makes certain investigatory and assessment costs recoverable from the responsible party. Exempts from liability for all but negligent actions government agencies responding to a hazardous substance emergency. Directs the Administrator and each Governor to appoint Federal and State trustees, respectively, for natural resources, creating a rebuttable presumption that their assessment of damages to such resources is valid. States that cleanup costs incurred in a response action constitute a Federal lien against the property of a responsible party. Sets forth evidentiary requirements for establishing financial responsibility. Permits direct action against a financial guarantor if the person liable is financially or physically unavailable for redress. Entitles such a guarantor to all rights and defenses available to the liable party. Limits the liability of such guarantor to its financial responsibility to the responsible party. Increases criminal penalties and adds certain civil penalties for violations of this Act, including failure to provide accurate information at specified times. Directs the Administrator to establish a program for alternative or innovative treatment technologies which can be used in remedial actions through research contracts and grants, information exchange, and demonstrations at NPL sites in each of the EPA regions. Requires the Administrator to revise the NCP to include the use of such technologies in remedial actions. Authorizes the use of Superfund monies for such research. Directs the Administrator to report to the Congress an evaluation of the demonstration projects. Esablishes a total fund level of $2,020,000,000 for each of five years, through FY 1990. Authorizes the use of Superfund monies for the authorities created by this Act. Eliminates the use of Superfund for payment of natural resource damage claims. Revises auditing procedures to require annual audits and reports to the Congress by the Inspector General. Authorizes appropriations for Superfund for FY 1986 through 1990 at a level of $250,000,000 per year. Establishes within Superfund the Underground Storage Tank Account to clean up petroleum leaks from underground storage tanks. Establishes a six-year statute of limitations for Superfund claims, setting forth special rules for minors and incompetents. Authorizes nationwide service of process under CERCLA. Establishes a three-year statute of limitations for the initiation of actions for contribution for response costs of damages and for recovery claims for damages to natural resources. Establishes a six-year statute of limitations for cost recovery actions. Authorizes a State to require contributions to a fund to pay the costs of hazardous substance response actions or damages. Establishes within the Public Health Service the Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry (ATSDR), headed by an Administrator. Requires ATSDR to implement the health-related authorities of this Act. Directs such Administrator to establish and maintain a listing of areas closed to the public or otherwise restricted in use because of contamination by hazardous substances or pollutants or contaminants. Directs the Administrator of EPA to list and periodically revise a list of hazardous substances or pollutants or contaminants which pose the most significant potential threat to human health. Directs the Administrator of ATSDR to establish and maintain an inventory of information on the health effects of each listed substance. Requires such Administrator to also develop toxicological profiles for each such substance, assessing the current state of knowledge of their deleterious effects, and revising such profiles at least every three years. Requires the Administrator to initiate research where inadequate information on a substance is available. Requires Federal coordination of research efforts. Requires the Administrator of ATSDR to perform a health assessment for each NPL facility where a significant possibility exists that a human population has been exposed to hazardous substances existing at such facility and a significant threat of adverse health effects exists. Bases the selection of such facilities on criteria developed by the Administrator of EPA. Permits the Administrator of ATSDR to conduct health assessments at other facilities as well. Authorizes individuals to petition the Administrator of EPA for a health assessment of a site where evidence of human exposure to hazardous substances exists. Requires the completion of health assessments before the completion of remedial investigation and feasibility studies (RIFS) whenever possible. Grants priority to those sites where the potential risk to human health appears highest. Requires State or local officials conducting a health assessment to report the results and recommendations to the Administrators. Requires the Administrator of ATSDR to provide the affected State and the Administrator of EPA with the results and recommendations of any ATSDR assessment. Includes the costs of an assessment among recoverable cleanup costs whenever such assessment reveals human exposure to a hazardous substance, pollutant, or contaminant. Directs the Administrator of ATSDR to conduct a pilot study of health effects of exposure whenever justified by an assessment to determine if full scale epidemiological studies are appropriate. Requires the Administrator to establish a registry of exposed persons if appropriate. Directs the Administrator to initiate a health surveillance program for an exposed population if justified by an epidemiological study or exposure registry. Requires the Administrator to report biennially to the Administrator of EPA and ATSDR's activities under this Act. Directs the Administrator of EPA to abate significant risks to the human population through exposure by providing alternate household water or relocation of individuals. Requires peer review of all ATSDR studies and research. Requires the Administrator of ATSDR to provide States and health professionals with educational materials on exposure-related issues. Requires the Administrator of EPA to provide a reasonable opportunity for public comment on any proposed plan for remedial action before it is implemented. Requires the Administrator to publish an explanation of any divergences from such plan or public comments. Authorizes the Administrator to make assistance available to affected individuals to help them evaluate and assess technical information and data. Prohibits the Administrator from taking a response action to certain types of releases unless such releases constitute a public health or environmental emergency. Prohibits response to releases: (1) of naturally occurring substances; (2) of building products; (3) into drinking water supply systems due to expected deterioration; and (4) from coal mining sites. Grants highest cleanup priority to releases which have contaminated or closed a sole or principal drinking water source. Requires the consideration of certain factors when adopting offsite remedies, including the long-term risks and uncertainties of land disposal. Exempts response-action contractors from liability for nonnegligent cleanup activities if they would not otherwise have been liable. Requires Federal agencies to notify buyers or transferees of Federal land where hazardous substances were disposed of or stored. Requires the Administrator to select appropriate cost-effective remedial actions in accordance with the NCP. Requires remedial actions selected to provide sufficient control or amelioration of the hazardous substance so as to protect human health and the environment. Requires such measures to take into account the long-term effectiveness of the solution and the alternative technologies available to the maximum extent possible. Requires a standard of control at least as strict as that provided by any other applicable Federal environmental law such as the Safe Drinking Water Act. Requires offsite disposal to be in compliance with the relevant provisions of the Solid Waste Disposal Act. Permits the waiver of such requirements as specified. Authorizes the Administrator to enter into agreements whereby the releasor or any potentially responsible person conducts the remedial response. Permits the Administrator to fund part of such response. Limits the liability of the cleaning up party to that specified in the agreement. Permits the Administrator to take action against any person not a party to such agreement. Enters such agreements in the appropriate U.S. district court as consent agreements, enforceable as such. Directs the Administrator to notify potentially responsible parties of each other's identities and of the seriousness of the necessary cleanup, providing a moratorium on the commencement of remedial action for a specified period after such notice has been given. Grants notified persons an opportunity to submit a proposal to the Administrator for the undertaking or financing of remedial action. Permits the Administrator to commence remedial action if no good faith proposal is forthcoming within a specified period. Authorizes the Administrator to proceed on remedial actions where a significant public health threat exists regardless of the status of negotiations. Authorizes the Administrator to agree to refrain from pursuing any future liability of a person if an approved response action would be expedited and the person is in full compliance with the consent decree. Permits such an agreement only in the public interest after an evaluation of the effectiveness of the remedy and the nature of the remaining risks. Places premiums from such agreements into a contingency fund for future remedial actions at other facilities. Permits the Administrator to settle with persons whose share of response costs is not substantial. Title II: Miscellaneous Provisions - Terminates the Post-closure Liability Fund's responsibility to fund the cleanup of already closed sites where hazardous waste was stored in compliance with the Solid Waste Disposal Act. Requires the promulgation of natural resource assessment damage claims regulations within six months of this Act's enactment. Requires the Department of Transportation to promulgate regulations requiring shippers to notify transporters whenever hazardous substances are offered for transportation. Holds responsible parties strictly, jointly, and severally liable in State court actions for personal damages caused by exposure to any hazardous substance released. Establishes a federally-required commencement date for the running of State statutes of limitations for injury or damages caused by exposure to a hazardous substance, pollutant, or contaminant. Makes such date the time a plaintiff should reasonably have known exposure to such a substance caused or contributed to a personal injury. Directs the Administrator to provide for the cleanup of leaking underground storage tanks, establishing a separate Tank Priorities List under the NCP. Requires the Administrator to use funds in the Underground Storage Tank Account of Superfund for such purposes. Authorizes the Administrator to utilize the response authorities available under CERCLA. Directs the Administrator to promulgate interim financial responsibility regulations which permit owners or operators or others to assume financial responsibility for leaks. Authorizes the Administrator to issue corrective action orders when a release or threatened release presents an imminent and substantial endangerment. Establishes a one-year moratorium on liability and abatement action coverage for leaks, but subjects owners and operators to such provision afterwards to the extent they have agreed to assume financial responsibility and have complied with specified provisions of the Solid Waste Disposal Act. Authorizes citizen suits against violators of this Act, including the Administrator and other government officials who have failed to perform nondiscretionary duties. Permits citizen suits against nongovernment officials in the Federal district court in which the violation occurred. Permits citizen suits against any Federal official only in U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia. Empowers such courts to impose civil penalties and to order the performance of required acts. Requires plaintiffs to give notice to the Administrator, the alleged violator, and the State in which the violation occurred before commencing proceedings. Prohibits citizen suits where the Administrator has commenced and is pursuing an enforcement action. Permits the awarding of court costs to the substantially prevailing party. States that the United States may intervene as a matter of right in all citizen suits to which it is not otherwise a party. Requires the Federal Government to provide the assurances that it will pay a share of the remedial action and maintenance costs of a cleanup on Indian lands that is otherwise required to be made by a State. Authorizes Indian tribes to recover damages for injury to natural resources from hazardous substance releases, except as specified. Includes Indian tribes on the same basis as States under certain provisions of CERCLA. Requires the Administrator to commence a study on the adverse effects of drilling fluids, produced waters, and other wastes associated with the production of crude oil or natural gas on human health and the environment within six months of this Act's enactment. Title III: Community Right to Know and Emergency Planning - Amends the Toxic Substances Control Act by adding a new title II concerning the communities' right-to-know, emergency planning, and liability. Requires each covered manufacturer, distributor, user, and importer of a covered hazardous substance (potential releasors) to prepare and update a fact sheet for such substance for distribution to local police, fire, and health officials. Requires the fact sheet to include the name, physical properties of, and hazards posed by the substance, including potential routes of human exposure to such substance, symptoms of such exposure, and appropriate emergency and first aid procedures. Requires status sheets on the same basis as fact sheets, with each status sheet to include the maximum inventory and method of storage of the substance, the quantity of its emission into the environment, and the quantity and method of disposal. Requires the releasor of a covered hazardous substance in an emergency situation to provide an emergency bulletin to the State and local police and other local officials. Requires the bulletin to identify the name and amount of the substance released and the response actions taken. Requires fact and status sheets and emergency bulletins to be made available for public inspection with public notice of such availability at the facility of the potential releasor. Requires the Administrator to publish a uniform format for fact and status sheets. Authorizes a State's Governor to identify local officials to receive covered hazardous substance release information, with the Administrator doing so in the absence of the Governor's identification. Requires the potential releasors to maintain records of information required by this Act. Requires manufacturers or importers to transmit fact sheets to covered distributors or users upon shipping of a covered hazardous substance. Provides protection for trade secrets while continuing to make necessary information available to the appropriate persons. Excludes listed or possible carcinogens from such protection. Sets forth application and substantiation procedures for trade secret claims. Permits affected citizens or government officials to compel disclosure of nonsubstantiated trade secrets through the Federal courts. Authorizes the Administrator to grant exemptions from the basic notification requirements of this Act through specified procedures open to the public based upon a cost-benefits analysis where there is no reasonable likelihood of harm. Directs each covered major manufacturer to develop within two years of the enactment of this Act a comprehensive evacuation and emergency response plan which addresses the health and safety issues applicable to such manufacturer's particular situation. Requires the plan to include designations of the appropriate government officials to be notified, mitigation measures, evacuation routes, notification plans, and evaluation of community support services. Authorizes each Governor to designate emergency response districts within 18 months of the enactment of this Act or the Administrator will do so. Permits each Governor to appoint an Emergency Response Committee per district or the Administrator will be treated as such Committee. Requires such Committees to review the manufacturers' plans, revising them where necessary. Directs the Administrator, within 18 months of the enactment of this Act, to develop uniform national mandatory labeling requirements for pipes, storage tanks, or containers not otherwise required to be labeled which could reasonably be presumed to release a covered hazardous substance. Requires the label to indicate the appropriate response to a release. Directs the Administrator to designate covered major manufacturers for emergency response purposes within one year of the enactment of this Act. Limits the designation to those whose substances would pose an imminent and substantial danger to health and the environment if released in significant quantities. Includes all persons covered under this Act in lieu of such designations. Includes Federal departments as potential covered major manufacturers. Exempts those whose emergency activities are sufficiently covered under other Federal or State law. Sets forth categories of substances to be considered covered hazardous substances and procedures for adding additional substances. Directs the Administrator of the Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry to compile and update a digest of all such substances. Exempts certain substances for this Act's purposes, based upon the form, amount, and other regulation of such substances. Establishes civil and criminal penalties, limiting criminal penalties to the knowing violation of emergency requirements. Authorizes citizens' suits to enforce this Act. Permits States to adopt more stringent right-to-know standards in the workplace context and emergency response requirements. Permits State and local governments to impose fees upon potential releasors to cover administrative costs. Title IV: Internal Revenue Code Provisions - Imposes taxes of $1,770,000,000 for each of FY 1986 through 1990 for deposit in the Hazardous Substance Response Trust Fund.
United States · United States Congress · 18 June 1985
Superfund Clean-up Technology Research and Demonstration Act of 1985 - Amends the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act of 1980 (CERCLA) to direct the President to establish in the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) an alternative or innovative treatment technology research program. Requires such program to: (1) focus on technologies with potential for use in remedial actions; (2) establish a central reference library to make information related to such technologies available to the public; and (3) provide for assistance to and participation by public and nonprofit entities in the evaluation of technologies. Requires the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency to designate a national priority site in each of the EPA regions as a national technology demonstration site. Directs the Administrator to revise and republish the national contingency plan to include standards for the use of these technologies in remedial actions. Requires the President to include such technologies in any selection of cost-effective permanent solutions. Authorizes the use of funds from the Hazardous Substance Response Trust Fund (Superfund) for such research program. Requires the President to report to the Congress within one year of this Act's effective date on a study of the effects of the standards of liability and financial responsibility requirements imposed by CERCLA on the cost of and incentives for developing such technologies. Requires the President to submit to the Congress within 18 months of the national technology demonstration sites' designations an evaluation of the demonstration projects undertaken.
United States · United States Congress · 18 June 1985
Designates July 20, 1985, as Space Exploration Day.
United States · United States Congress · 17 June 1985
Amends the Federal Trade Commission Act to prohibit final approval of an acquisition of a substantial energy reserve holder until the Federal Trade Commission or the court approves any required divestiture of stock or assets relating to the energy business of the holder or the acquiring person. Authorizes the Commission or the court to: (1) rescind a consent agreement, consent decree, or order if a required divestiture is not approved within the specified period; and (2) initiate an action or proceeding to obtain appropriate relief, which may include requiring the acquiring person to sell the holder as a single entity to approved persons. Sets forth requirements concerning hold separate orders with respect to the parties to such an acquisition. Declares that these provisions do not apply to an action brought by a private party or local government. Amends the Clayton Act to eliminate the 15-day waiting period (and thus require a 30-day waiting period) following notification of a proposed acquisition in the case of a cash tender offer. Provides for the extension of the waiting period for an additional 60 days if, as a result of an acquisition, the acquiring person would hold more than $2,000,000,000 of the voting securities or assets of the acquired person. Permits disclosure to Federal and State law enforcement agencies of information or documentary material included in an acquisition notification filed with the Commission or the Assistant Attorney General, provided an agency officer certifies that such information or material will be maintained in confidence and used only for official law enforcement purposes.
United States · United States Congress · 17 June 1985
Designates the square dance as the national folk dance for 1985 and 1986.
United States · United States Congress · 13 June 1985
Expresses the sense of the Congress that procurement of the new U.S. weather radar system, NEXRAD, continue on schedule and according to the established minimum requirements agreed to by the National Weather Service, the Federal Aviation Administration, and the Department of Defense.
United States · United States Congress · 12 June 1985
Fair Insurance Coverage Act - Prohibits any insurer from discriminating in an insurance contract against any person because of blindness. Includes within the prohibition refusing to make or negotiate a contract for insurance or giving different treatment with respect to terms, conditions, rates, or benefits because of blindness. Establishes a preference for State actions prior to judicial enforcement under this Act. Authorizes any aggrieved person, in the absence of State actions or jurisdiction, to bring an action under this Act for individual relief. Authorizes the Attorney General of the United States to bring an action for injunctive relief whenever there is reasonable cause to believe a person is engaged in a pattern or practice of discrimination or when an individual is aggrieved and an issue of general public importance is raised. Grants the Federal district courts jurisdiction of such actions regardless of the amount in controversy. Allows a court to order monetary, equitable, or other appropriate relief, including punitive damages.
United States · United States Congress · 12 June 1985
Atomic Energy Accountability Act - Requires the Nuclear Regulatory Commission to hold any meeting in accordance with specified regulations. Requires the Commission to maintain a complete transcript (or other recording) to fully record the proceedings of any closed meeting.
United States · United States Congress · 12 June 1985
Designates the month of November 1985 as National Diabetes Month.
United States · United States Congress · 10 June 1985
Expresses the sense of the House of Representatives that the United States: (1) should not sell advanced weapons to Jordan; (2) should ensure that Israel retains its qualitative military edge in the Middle East; and (3) should focus its efforts on bringing Jordan into direct peace negotiations with Israel.
United States · United States Congress · 6 June 1985
Home Respiratory Care Act of 1985 - Amends title XVIII (Medicare) and XIX (Medicaid) of the Social Security Act to provide coverage for respiratory care furnished as part of extended care services and as part of home health services for an individual who is medically dependent on a ventilator for life support for at least six hours a day and who meets certain other requirements.
United States · United States Congress · 6 June 1985
Older Workers' Pension Rights Protection Act of 1985 - Amends the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 and the Internal Revenue Code to require pension plans to allow: (1) participation by employees nearing retirement age; and (2) benefit accrual by participants to continue past normal retirement age.
United States · United States Congress · 6 June 1985
Designates the week beginning on October 20, 1985, as Benign Essential Blepharospasm Awareness Week.
United States · United States Congress · 5 June 1985
Acid Deposition Control Act of 1985 - Title I: Acid Deposition Control Program - Amends the Clean Air Act to establish an interstate transport and acid precursor reduction program. Designates an acid deposition impact region comprising a long-range transport corridor of 31 States east of the Mississippi and the District of Columbia. Sets forth sulfur dioxide emission reduction standards for such region of ten million tons below 1980 levels by the beginning of 1996. Requires such reduction to be accomplished in two phases, half the reductions to be made by the start of 1991. Directs the Acid Precipitation Task Force to conduct an accelerated research program during the first phase, examining the pattern of effects of atmospheric loading of pollutants such as sulfur dioxide and nitrogen oxides. Authorizes appropriations through FY 1990, the program itself to be completed by the start of 1990. Directs the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to evaluate the results by the start of FY 1991. Authorizes the Administrator to change the second phase of the reduction program, based upon first-phase research, in any of the following areas: (1) excluding or including States; (2) restricting reallotment of reductions among States; (3) altering individual State targets; and (4) requiring reduction of nitrogen oxide emissions. Requires alterations to be made through public rule-making and after notice to the Congress, demonstrating increased protection. Requires impact region States to reduce their sulfur dioxide emissions in two phases to achieve a rate of no more than 1.2 pounds of sulfur dioxide per million British thermal units (Btus). Grants credits for reductions achieved after 1980 and permits States to reallot reductions among themselves unless otherwise prohibited. Requires State Governors to submit to the Administrator for approval two-phase reduction plans and compliance schedules. Directs the Administrator to establish reduction standards for any major source in noncompliance with its own plan or in a State without an acceptable emissions reduction plan. Requires owners or operators of major sources of sulfur dioxide emissions to submit to the Administrator reduction plans for such emissions if their State does not have an approved plan. States that failure to do so constitutes an emissions violation. Sets forth alternative methods of maintaining emissions limitations in addition to enforceable continuous emission reduction measures if such measures are enforceable by entities and persons other than the State in which the emissions occur: (1) least emissions dispatch to meet electric generating demand at existing generating capacity; (2) retirement of major stationary sources at an earlier than provided for date; (3) investments in energy conservation where emission reductions can be identified with such investments; (4) trading of emission reduction requirements and actual reductions through emission reduction banks or brokerage institutions; (5) precombustion cleaning of fuels; and (6) fuel substitution. Directs the President and the Secretary of State to negotiate emissions reductions with the Governments of Canada and Mexico to protect U.S. air from pollution from foreign sources. Directs the President to report periodically to the Congress on progress made. Directs the Administrator to report to the Congress within four years on a study of long-range transport of pollutant problems in the remaining States. Authorizes appropriations for FY 1986 through 1989. Directs the Administrator to report to the Congress on the emission limitation and enforceable measures adopted by the States or major stationary sources and approved by the Administrator. Directs the Administrator to develop and report to the Congress within four years on an inventory of sources of oxides of nitrogen in the impact region, control methods, and recommendations for emissions standards.
United States · United States Congress · 4 June 1985
Designates August 14, 1985, as Social Security Day and the week of August 11 through August 17, 1985, as Social Security Week. Authorizes and requests the President to commemorate August 14, 1985, as the 50th anniversary of the Social Security Act.
United States · United States Congress · 4 June 1985
Expresses the sense of the Congress that the United States, in its endeavor to help developing countries to preserve the health of environmental systems and to promote global peace and security, should maintain the level of its contribution to the United Nations Environment Program at no less than the amount of its 1973 contribution.
United States · United States Congress · 23 May 1985
Designates the week beginning July 27, 1986, as National Nuclear Medicine Week.
United States · United States Congress · 23 May 1985
Designates the week beginning May 18, 1986, as National Tourism Week.
United States · United States Congress · 22 May 1985
Foreign Investment Disclosure and Reciprocity Act - Requires registration of an investment by a foreign person if the investment results in acquisition, ownership, or control by the foreign person of a cumulative interest of: (1) five percent or more in a U.S. person or in other property in the United States; (2) $10,000 or more in a bank deposit; or (3) $10,000 or more in U.S. securities. Prohibits a foreign person from making such an investment unless the foreign person first registers the investment with the Secretary of Commerce. Sets forth information to be provided in the registration, including a certification by the foreign person that it would be possible for the Federal Government, a U.S. citizen or a U.S. resident to make an investment of the same type and size in the same industry in the country or countries where the owners of the foreign person are located. Requires foreign persons who, at the time of enactment of this Act, hold such investments in the United States to register those investments within 180 days and to include the date on which such investments were made. Declares that certification need not be made for such investments, but prohibits increasing the cumulative interest of such investments unless the foreign person makes such certification. Requires foreign persons to report certain information to the Secretary if they transfer interest in such investments. Requires a foreign persons who have investments in the United States to report certain information to the Secretary if another person acquires a cumulative interest of five percent or more in such foreign person. Requires registration if they have certain investments in the United States, by persons who become foreign persons and by foreign persons who become foreign persons of other countries. Requires foreign persons to give annual updates of their registration information to the Secretary. Sets forth the method of determining whether a person acquires indirectly a cumulative interest of five percent or more in another person. Authorizes a person who is unable to make the required certification to make an investment in the United States only if: (1) the President determines that the investment is in the national interest; (2) the President submits a report containing specified information on the investment and investor to the Congress; and (3) the proposed investment is approved by an enactment of the Congress. Sets forth civil and criminal penalties for violations of this Act. Authorizes the Secretary to monitor compliance with this Act. Directs the Secretary to issue regulations to carry out this Act. Directs the Secretary to report annually to the Congress and the President on: (1) the extent and effects of foreign investment in the United States; (2) the effectiveness and efficiency of the registration and reporting requirements of this Act; and (3) the progress in removing the restrictions imposed by foreign countries on investments made by U.S. persons in those countries. Directs the Secretary to compile an inventory of foreign investments in the United States which shall be available to the public.