United States · United States Congress · 5 September 1979
Social Security Deposit Act of 1979 - Amends title II (Old Age, Survivors and Disability Insurance) of the Social Security Act to direct a State to pay to the Secretary of the Treasury, within 30 days following the end of each month, OASDI contributions related to the employment of State employees.
United States · United States Congress · 2 August 1979
Amends the Motor Vehicle Information and Cost Savings Act to stipulate that an automobile manufacturer's failure to comply with any average fuel economy standard shall not be deemed "unlawful conduct" under such Act unless the Secretary of Transportation has determined that: (1) any credits which the manufacturer may have received for exceeding such standards in any model year do not fully offset any penalty for failure to achieve such standards; and (2) the time for which such credits could be earned to offset such a penalty has expired. Allows such a credit to be used to offset any penalty which may have been assessed against the manufacturer in the three consecutive years prior to the model year in which the manufacturer exceeds such a standard.
United States · United States Congress · 2 August 1979
Amends the Internal Revenue Code to provide that excess business holdings of private foundations (more than 20 percent of a corporation's stock) which were grandfathered by the Tax Reform Act of 1969 will not be deemed to be increased through the operation of the constructive ownership rules governing the acquisition of corporate assets by a controlled corporation if: (1) the acquiring corporation is engaged in an active trade or business; (2) the acquiring corporation's assets are substantial in relationship to the acquired corporation; and (3) the acquiring corporation is not being used by a private foundation as a vehicle to increase its business holdings.
United States · United States Congress · 2 August 1979
Amends the Internal Revenue Code to prohibit any State, or political subdivision thereof, which imposes an income tax on a corporation from taking into account any amount of income belonging to, or attributable to, any foreign corporation which is also a member of an affiliated group to which the domestic corporation belongs, unless such amount is subject to Federal income tax. Prohibits any State, or political subdivision thereof, from taxing or otherwise taking into account a certain percentage (determined according to specified formulae) of any dividend received by a corporation from a foreign corporation (or by a domestic corporation treated as having received such a dividend). Allows such State, or political subdivision, to take into account only a tax for which a Federal foreign tax credit would be allowed.
United States · United States Congress · 2 August 1979
Sales Representatives Protection Act - Title I: Contracts Between Sales Representatives and Principals - Requires a principal to furnish specified information to a sales representative concerning orders placed through the representative's account and a monthly accounting of commissions due such representative. Enumerates items which must be set forth in any contract between a sales representative and a principal. Title II: Indemnification - Exempts principals conforming with such information requirements from the indemnification provisions set forth in this Act. Requires a principal who, without good cause, terminates a contract between such principal and a sales representative, or reduces the rate of commission for orders solicited on behalf of such principal, to indemnify the representative according to this Act. Requires a principal who reduces the size of the geographic territory assigned to a representative for a specified account, which results in a specified reduction in commissions, to indemnify such representative. Sets forth formulae for the indemnification of such representatives. Title III: Miscellaneous - Allows a plaintiff to bring an action to enforce any rights or liabilities created by this Act in a United States district court. Stipulates the procedure for such action.
United States · United States Congress · 2 August 1979
Food Additive Safety Amendments of 1979 - Amends the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act to deem any food additive safe if the Secretary of Health, Education, and Welfare: (1) makes a finding, based on recommendations of an advisory committee, that the public benefit from permitting the use of such additive would exceed the public risk which might result from such use; (2) gives notice in the Federal Register of such a finding and invites public comment thereon; and (3) issues a final order not earlier than 120 days after such publication in the Federal Register of such findings. Specifies factors the Secretary must take into consideration when evaluating a food additive or its proposed use. Authorize the Secretary to include in any food additive regulation a labelling requirement to identify the additive and its degree of risk. Prohibits the Secretary from denying a petition for a food additive regulation solely on the basis of evidence of tumors developed in test animals where the dosage levels used on such animals exceeds one hundred times the reasonably expected maximum human consumption of such additive. Amends the Saccharin Study and Labeling Act to extend from 18 to 36 months the period following enactment during which restrictions may not be imposed on the sale or distribution of saccharin, or any food, drug, or cosmetic containing it.
United States · United States Congress · 2 August 1979
Expresses the sense of Congress that the Soviet Union should, with regard to the 1980 summer Olympics: (1) permit full participation by athletes, spectators, and journalists; (2) issue visas, admission tickets, and hotel reservations on a nondiscriminatory basis; (3) not interfere with news coverage; and (4) not prevent or punish its citizens for communicating with participants.
United States · United States Congress · 1 August 1979
Employees Incentive Ownership Act of 1979 - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to remove restrictions on the use of restricted stock options and to eliminate the exercise of such stock options as an item of tax preference for purposes of the minimum tax.
United States · United States Congress · 1 August 1979
Amends the Tariff Schedules of the United States to permit the duty-free entry of color couplers and intermediates used in the manufacture of photographic sensitized material, until June 30, 1982.
United States · United States Congress · 1 August 1979
Declares eventual population stabilization to be a national goal. States that it is the continuing policy of Government to use all practicable means to stabilize the nation's population voluntarily at a level consistent with a high standard of living relative to available resources at the earliest possible time. Creates in the Executive Office of the President an Office of Population Policy (Office) to: (1) submit to the President and Congress studies on the current conditions and trends in changes affecting population; (2) review legislation and Government regulations to determine the extent to which they contribute to the population policy set forth in this Act; (3) recommend national policies to plan for population changes and to promote population stabilization; and (4) document, define, and analyze changes in the nation's population. Sets forth the powers of the Director of the Office who shall be appointed by the President, by and with the advice and consent of the Senate. Authorizes appropriations to carry out this Act. Requires the policies, regulations, and public laws of the United States to be interpreted and administered in accordance with the policies set forth in this Act. Directs each Federal agency to: (1) develop methods to ensure that population changes and the goal of population stabilization are considered in decisionmaking; (2) make available information which is useful to population planning; (3) assist the Office; (4) review its statutory authority; regulations, and current policies and procedures to determine whether they comply with the policies of this Act; and (5) propose to Congress and the President such measures as may be necessary to bring the agency into compliance. Requires the President to transmit to Congress annually a National Population Change and Planning Report. Specifies that such report set forth: (1) the status and trends of population changes; (2) the adequacy of available natural resources for fulfilling national requirements considering current and foreseeable population change; (3) a review of all legislation, regulations, programs, and activities affecting planning for population change and stabilization; and (4) a program for remedying the deficiencies of such legislation, regulations, programs, and activities.
United States · United States Congress · 1 August 1979
Tax Relief Act of 1979 - Title I: Individual Income Tax Reductions - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to reduce individual and estate and trust income tax rates for 1979 and to make permanent reductions for succeeding years. Provides for cost-of-living adjustments to individual income tax brackets and to the amount of the personal exemption. Provides that the amount of the personal exemption and the zero bracket amount applicable to a taxpayer shall determine whether such taxpayer is required to file an income tax return. Title II: Capital Cost Recovery - Revises the method for determining useful lives of business assets for purposes of computing allowable depreciation deductions. Replaces the asset depreciation range (ADR) method with a schedule of capital cost recovery periods for three classes of business property. Establishes capital cost recovery periods for the following classes of business property: (1) buildings and their structural components, ten years; (2) tangible property, five years; and (3) automobiles, taxis, and light-duty trucks (up to $100,000), three years. Allows a ten percent investment tax credit for buildings and tangible property, and a six percent credit for automobiles, taxis, and light duty trucks. Requires the recapture of depreciation amounts and investment tax credit amounts applicable to assets which are sold or otherwise disposed of prior to the expiration of the capital cost recovery period. Permits a taxpayer to deduct less than the full allowance for capital cost recovery in any taxable year. Permits a carryover to succeeding taxable years of any unused depreciation amounts. Disqualifies capital cost recovery property from the allowance for first year depreciation. Treats amounts claimed as the capital cost recovery of noncorporate lessors as an item of tax preference for purposes of the minimum tax. Adopts as an accounting practice the "half year convention" under which investments eligible for capital cost recovery treatment or the investment tax credit which are made at any time during the taxable year are deemed to be made in the middle of such year. Title III: Reduction of Payroll Taxes and Long-Range Financial Strengthening of the Social Security System - Amends title II (Old Age, Survivors and Disability Insurance) of the Social Security Act to repeal the special increases in the contribution and benefit base, for purposes of determining amount of tax liability, for 1979 through 1981. Limits contribution and benefit bases to a maximum $22,900 in 1979 and 1980. Makes reductions in the social security tax rate and sets forth the tax rate through year 2010. Provides for the partial funding of title XVIII (Medicare), part A (Hospital Insurance Benefits for the Aged and Disabled) of the Social Security Act from general revenues.
United States · United States Congress · 31 July 1979
Amends the Marine Protection, Research, and Sanctuaries Act of 1972 to repeal title III, with respect to the designation of marine sanctuaries, and renames such Act the Marine Protection and Research Act of 1972.
United States · United States Congress · 31 July 1979
Declares that it is the sense of the House of Representatives that the United States should establish and actively pursue a national energy plan that emphasizes and demands the use of domestic coal as a means of displacing current foreign energy imports. Declares that the President should establish a task force to examine modifications in the implementation of the Clean Air Act that could increase coal use without violating national ambient air quality standards. Declares that the appropriate House committee should review current regulations of the Office of Surface Mining of the Department of the Interior to insure that such regulations conform with the original intent of Congress in passing the Surface Mining and Reclamation Act of 1977. States that the President should submit to Congress within 60 days of enactment of a plan which will achieve the goals of this resolution.
United States · United States Congress · 30 July 1979
Federal Election Campaign Act Amendments of 1979 - Title I: Amendments to Federal Election Campaign Act of 1971 - Amends the Federal Election Campaign Act of 1971 to revise the definitional section. Changes the organizational structure of the political committees by eliminating the requirement that every committee have a chairman. Vests in the treasurer of each committee exclusive authority to authorize disbursements. Extends to ten days the time during which any person who receives a contribution for a political committee must forward to the treasurer of such committee certain information regarding the contribution. Revises the recordkeeping procedures to be followed by the treasurer with respect to contributions received by or on behalf of a political committee. Requires each candidate for Federal office (other than the office of Vice President) to authorize his or her principal campaign committee, together with any other political committees, to receive all contributions and make all expenditures on such candidate's behalf. Stipulates that no political committee which supports or has supported more than one candidate may be designated as an authorized committee. Requires that each designation, report, or statement of receipts received or disbursements made by an authorized committee be filed with the candidate's principal campaign committee. Directs each principal campaign committee to compile and file such reports in accordance with procedures set forth in this title. Requires each authorized campaign committee to file a statement of organization no later than ten days after designation. Requires all other committees to file such statement no later than ten days after becoming a political committee. Revises the content of the organization statement. Stipulates that a political committee may terminate only upon the filing of a written statement stating that it will no longer receive or disburse funds, and that such committee has no outstanding debts. Revises the section of the Act relating to the reporting of receipts and expenditures to require that each treasurer of a political committee file reports of receipts and disbursements with the Federal Elections Commission. Eliminates the requirement that each candidate must file such reports with the Commission. Revises the procedures for reporting data on receipts and expenditures by principal campaign committees, other political committees, and individuals. Amends Title III of the Act to strike out the sections dealing with: (1) regulation of campaign advertising; (2) preservation of financial reports; (3) reporting of pledges; (4) reports to the President; (5) use of the frank; and (6) penalties for violation of the Act. Requires any individual who at the time of his or her appointment to the Federal Election Commission is engaged in any other business, vocation, or employment to terminate or liquidate such activity no later than 90 days (previously one year) after such appointment. Prohibits any member of the Commission from delegating to any person his or her vote or any decisionmaking authority or duty vested in the Commission. Revises the procedures for the issuance of advisory opinions by the Commission. Sets forth revised enforcement procedures. Sets forth revised requirements relating to the filing of campaign expenditure and disbursement statements with State officers. Limits the amount of honorariums a person may accept while such person is an elected or appointed officer or employee of any branch of the Federal Government. Requires any communications expressly advocating the election or defeat of a candidate for Federal office, or soliciting any contributions for such candidate, to clearly state who financed the communication and that it was authorized by the political committee of such candidate. Prohibits any individual who sells space in a newspaper or magazine to a candidate from charging any amount for such space that exceeds the amount charged for comparable use of such space for other purposes. Sets forth amendments and technical changes to specified Federal laws. Increases to $3,000,000 (presently, $2,000,000) the aggregate amount of payments to which a national committee of a major party is entitled with respect to any presidential nominating convention.
United States · United States Congress · 27 July 1979
Consumer Checking Account Equity Act of 1979 - Amends the Federal Reserve Act and the Federal Deposit Insurance Act to authorize member banks in the Federal Reserve System and federally insured nonmember banks to make automatic funds transfers from a savings deposit to a demand deposit pursuant to the written authorization of the depositor to make such transfers in connection with checks or drafts drawn upon the bank. Authorizes federally insured banks and savings and loan associations, State banks and savings and loan associations, savings banks, and mutual savings banks to offer interest-bearing deposits or accounts upon which the depositor may make withdrawals by negotiable instrument for the purpose of making transfers to third parties (NOW accounts). Stipulates that such deposits or accounts may only be held by individuals or nonprofit organizations. Amends the Home Owners' Loan Act of 1933 to permit Federal savings and loan associations and Federal mutual savings banks to establish remote service units pursuant to regulations of the Federal Home Loan Bank Board. Authorizes such associations to extend loans directly related to negotiable order of withdrawal accounts. Amends the Federal Home Loan Bank Act to require any institution which has subscribed for the stock of a Federal Home Loan Bank to maintain reserves against its negotiable order of withdrawal accounts pursuant to regulations prescribed by the Board after consultation with the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System. Prescribes the required form of such balances. Amends the Federal Credit Union Act to permit insured credit unions to offer share draft deposits to individuals and nonprofit organizations in accordance with regulations prescribed by the National Credit Union Administration Board. Requires each Federal credit union to maintain reserves against such deposits in amounts and forms prescribed by the Board after consultation with the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System.
United States · United States Congress · 25 July 1979
Authorizes the President to present, on behalf of the Congress, a gold medal of appropriate design to Gerald F. Spiess, in recognition of his distinguished feat as a transatlantic sailor. Authorizes appropriations of up to $15,000 to strike such medal. Authorizes the Secretary of the Treasury to strike bronze duplicates of such medal for sale to the public.
United States · United States Congress · 25 July 1979
Prohibits any instrumentality of the United States from withholding Government contracts or applying any other sanction to enforce voluntary wage-price guidelines.
United States · United States Congress · 23 July 1979
Employee Stock Ownership Improvements Act of 1979 - Amends the Revenue Act of 1978 and the Internal Revenue Code to establish, without expiration dates, a credit against the corporate income tax for contributions by an employer to an employee stock ownership plan (ESOP). Sets the amount of such credit at a sum equal to the amount transferred to such a plan, not to exceed the taxpayer's income tax liability. Excludes certain taxes from the calculation of such liability. Provides for the carryover of any credit in excess of such liability. Denies such credit to certain regulated public utilities. Denies business expense, production of income expense, or contribution to deferred-payment plan deductions for amounts required to a tax credit ESOP. Provides for an additional tax credit for contributions to certain ESOPs. Allows an income tax deduction to an employer for any dividend paid with respect to employer securities held by a tax credit ESOP, if the dividend is distributed to the employees participating in the plan. Deems contributions, bequests, or similar transfers of employer securities, under certain conditions, to a tax credit ESOP as a deductible charitable contribution. Eliminates specified voting rights and stock distribution demand rights requirements for certain qualifying ESOPs. Allows a special income tax credit to a small business employer who establishes an ESOP in an amount equal to the actual cost of establishing the plan, not to exceed $5,000. Continues to allow a deduction for retirement savings to individuals, including certain married individuals, who also participate in tax credit ESOPs. Allows an employer unlimited deductions for qualified matching employee contributions on behalf of its employees made to a tax credit ESOP. Excludes from the gross income of a tax credit ESOP participant any lump-sum distribution of employer securities (not to exceed $5,000) made from a qualified trust which is part of a tax credit ESOP. Prescribes the use of nonvoting stock acquired by a tax credit ESOP. Eliminates limitations on deductions for employer contributions to a combination of one or more stock bonus and one or more profit-sharing plans. Requires one of the alternative benefits in a qualified cafeteria plan to be cash, property, or another currently taxable benefit. Defines a cafeteria plan to include deferred compensation plans which are part of a qualified profit-sharing or stock bonus plan.
United States · United States Congress · 20 July 1979
Amends the Walsh-Healey Act to permit government contractors to have their employees work a four-day workweek consisting of four ten-hour days. Amends the Contract Work Hours Standards Act to revise wage and overtime guidelines to accommodate such a workweek.
United States · United States Congress · 20 July 1979
Limousine Limitation Act of 1979 - Prohibits the purchase, hiring, or operation by the Government of a motor vehicle of a type not generally available on the date of the enactment of this Act in motorpools of the Federal Government. Prohibits the employment of chauffeurs and the use of Government motor vehicles for transporting any Government official between his dwellings and his place of employment. Exempts from the provisions of this Act: (1) medical officers on outpatient medical service; (2) an employee engaged in fieldwork; (3) the President and Vice President; (4) the head of each executive department; (5) the Chief Justice of the United States; (6) specified officers of Congress; and (7) the U.S. Representative of the United Nations. Prohibits the issuance of a Government motor vehicle for the exclusive use of any official or employee not mentioned in this Act.
United States · United States Congress · 17 July 1979
Nuclear Waste Terminal Storage and Technology Demonstration Act of 1979 - Directs the Secretary of Energy, after consultation with the heads of other appropriate Federal agencies and after reporting to Congress, to select a site from within three specified candidate areas to serve as the site for a Federal Technology Demonstration Repository for the disposal of nuclear waste. Directs the Secretary to authorize the design, site-specific geologic survey and subsequent construction of the repository. Sets forth procedures for the delivery of nuclear waste to such repository.
United States · United States Congress · 12 July 1979
Amends the Internal Revenue Code to allow a refundable income tax credit for amounts paid or incurred for television subtitle equipment for use by hearing-impaired individuals.
United States · United States Congress · 11 July 1979
Amends the Internal Revenue Code to repeal provisions which require tax-exempt private foundations with assets of $5,000 or more to make annual reports of their receipts and expenditures. Requires that information previously required by such annual reports be included in the foundation's annual tax return. Imposes the same reporting requirements on non tax-exempt charitable trusts and private foundations. Requires that such returns be opened to public inspection and imposes a fine for failure to do so. Permits private foundations to treat as confidential, and not to list on their tax returns, the name and address of any indigent or needy recipient of charitable gifts or grants amounting to $1,000 or less during the taxable year. Permits certain Government officials to accept payment from private foundations of limited traveling expenses between a point in the United States and a point outside the United States without being subject to the tax on self-dealing. Provides that charitable contributions attributable to charitable corporate trusts shall be treated as deductions from gross income for purposes of determining the minimum tax liability for adjusted itemized deductions. Permits the voluntary withholding of income taxes from sick pay under employer wage continuation plans. Excludes from gross income repayments of unemployment benefits, in the year of repayment, to a supplemental unemployment compensation trust which are required because of trade adjustment allowances under the Trade Act of 1974. Permits State taxing authorities which receive Federal tax return information to disclose such information to a State auditing agency for the purpose of auditing the tax authorities. Qualifies property used by the International Telecommunications Satellite Consortium, the International Maritime Satellite Organization, and any successor organizations, for the investment tax credit. Amends the Second Liberty Bond Act to allow the interest rates paid on United States retirement plan and individual retirement bonds to be increased so that the investment yield on such bonds is consistent with the yield on new offerings of such bonds.
United States · United States Congress · 11 July 1979
Amends the Internal Revenue Code to eliminate adjusted net income as a standard for determining the amount which a private foundation is required to distribute in a taxable year.
United States · United States Congress · 10 July 1979
Welcomes and congratulates the first directly elected Parliament of the European Community. Pledges congressional support for continued close relations with such Parliament.
United States · United States Congress · 28 June 1979
Amends the provisions of Federal law regarding educational assistance for federally-impacted areas to set forth a formula for establishing the number of children in a school district for purposes of computing certain local educational agencies' contribution rate.
United States · United States Congress · 28 June 1979
Amends rule XI of the Rules of the House of Representatives to require any Member or employee of a House committee to include with the required itemized report with respect to travel outside the United States or its territories or possessions an analysis of the extent to which the legislative objectives of such travel were realized. Prohibits local currencies owned by the United States or appropriated funds for travel expenses from being made available for use outside the United States for defraying the expenses of a committee Member for travel conducted after the date of the adjournment sine die of the second regular session of a Congress, if the travel occurs after: (1) the date of the general election in which the Member is a candidate to a Federal office but has not been elected to the office; or (2) in the case of a Member who is not a candidate for election to a Federal office, the date of such adjournment sine die or the date of the general election, whichever occurs earlier.
United States · United States Congress · 27 June 1979
Capital Cost Recovery Act of 1979 - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to revise the method for determining useful lives of business assets for purposes of computing allowable depreciation deductions. Replaces the asset depreciation range (ADR) method with a schedule of capital cost recovery periods for three classes of business property. Establishes capital cost recovery periods for the following classes of business property: (1) buildings and their structural components, ten years; (2) tangible property, five years; and (3) automobiles, taxis, and light-duty trucks (up to $100,000), three years. Allows a ten percent investment tax credit for buildings and tangible property, and a six percent credit for automobiles, taxis, and light duty trucks. Requires the recapture of depreciation amounts and investment tax credit amounts applicable to assets which are sold or otherwise disposed of prior to the expiration of the capital cost recovery period. Permits taxpayer to deduct less than the full allowance for capital cost recovery in any taxable year. Permits a carryover to succeeding taxable years of any unused depreciation amounts. Disqualifies capital cost recovery property from the allowance for first year depreciation. Treats amounts claimed as the capital cost recovery of noncorporate lessors as an item of tax preference for purposes of the minimum tax. Adopts as an accounting practice the "half year convention" under which investments eligible for capital cost recovery treatment or the investment tax credit which are made at any time during the taxable year are deemed to be made in the middle of such year.
United States · United States Congress · 27 June 1979
Animal Welfare Act Amendments of 1979 - Amends the Animal Welfare Act to prohibit coursing (the use of live animals as visual lures in dog racing and training). Sets forth the penalties for violation of this Act. Exempts any dog trained by the use of any live visual lure, or sponsored or exhibited in a coursing venture, or any animal used as a live visual lure in a coursing venture before the effective date of this Act from the provisions of this Act.
United States · United States Congress · 26 June 1979
Amends title XVI (Supplemental Security Income) of the Social Security Act to extend until October 1, 1982, the program of Federal payments to States for costs incurred in carrying out a State plan of services for disabled children who receive SSI benefits.
United States · United States Congress · 21 June 1979
Public Printing Reorganization Act of 1979 - Reestablishes the Government Printing Office (GPO) as an independent establishment of the Government. Abolishes the Joint Committee on Printing. Creates within the GPO a ten member Board of Directors composed of seven voting and three nonvoting members. Grants such Board overall responsibility for office policies and operations. Provides for the appointment of the voting members by the President with the advice and consent of the Senate. Lists the duties of the Board which include: (1) appointing and monitoring the performances of the Public Printer and the Superintendent of Documents; (2) furnishing GPO supplies to Government entities; and (3) setting standards for materials used to produce public documents. Specifies the composition, administrative procedures, and compensation of the Board. Requires the Board to prescribe and submit to specified committees of Congress such regulations as necessary to carry out its duties. States that such regulations shall take effect within ten legislative days after submission unless either committee adopts a resolution disapproving them. Authorizes the Chairman of the Board to appoint and fix the pay of necessary staff personnel, including special police officers, without regard to existing provisions governing appointments in the competitive service or classification and pay rates under the General Schedule. Requires labor-management relations in the GPO to be: (1) in accordance with provisions governing such relations for executive branch employees; and (2) based on principles of Federal law regarding collective bargaining over wages, hours, and working conditions for private sector employees. Prohibits GPO employees from striking. Requires the Board to submit any budget requests concurrently to the President, or the Office of Management and Budget, and to Congress. States that the Public Printer shall be under the supervision of the Board and that he or she shall be responsible for the provision of public printing services for the GPO. Eliminates provisions regarding a Deputy Public Printer. Requires that all public printing services for Government be provided through the GPO, with specified exceptions. Requires materials which are printed as permanent public documents or at Government expense, to bear notice of such information. States that the superintendent of Documents shall be: (1) responsible for the maintenance, distribution, and international exchange of public documents; and (2) under the Board's supervision. Requires that public documents be distributed through the GOP unless the Superintendent deems another method of distribution to be in the Government's interest. Declares that the price of a public document shall not be less than the cost of production and distribution of such document. Authorizes each Member of Congress to designate two libraries within the Member's congressional district for the deposit of public documents. Permits the head of each Government agency to designate a depository library within the agency. Designates specified libraries as depository libraries, and authorizes the Board to designate not over 100 other depository libraries. Authorizes the Committee on House Administration of the House of Representatives and the Committee on Rules and Administration of the Senate to regulate public printing services and the distribution of public documents for Congress. Stipulates that such documents shall be distributed through the GPO whenever practicable. Directs the GPO to prepare: (1) the Congressional Record in both daily and permanent form; and (2) the Congressional Directory. Requires the Board to prescribe regulations regarding the sale of the Congressional Record. Directs the head of each Government entity to designate one employee as an information resources manager to: (1) coordinate public printing services and the distribution of documents for such entity; (2) certify the legality and necessity of a requested public printing service; (3) furnish the Superintendent of Documents with information concerning the publications of such entity; and (4) oversee compliance with this Act. Prohibits the Public Printer from providing public printing services without receiving a certification of the need and legality of such service from an information resources manager. Eliminates specified provisions governing the public printing of particular reports and documents. States that this Act shall take effect on January 1, 1981.
United States · United States Congress · 21 June 1979
Shale Oil Production Tax Incentive Act of 1979 - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to allow a nonrefundable income tax credit equal to $3 for each barrel of shale oil produced by the taxpayer during the taxable year, plus the production credit carryovers and carrybacks for that year. Reduces the standard $3 per barrel credit proportionately by: (1) the amount of Federal grant funds, if any, used by the taxpayer in the production of shale oil; and (2) the amount by which the adjusted reference price (average refiner acquisition cost of a barrel of imported crude oil during the calendar year immediately preceding the calendar year in which the credit is claimed) exceeds $25. Authorizes the President to adjust the amount of the credit when such action is in the national interest. Requires, as a condition of eligibility for the credit, that the shale oil be produced within the United States or its possessions. Provides for a cost of living adjustment to the basic $3 credit amount. Requires the Secretary of Energy to publish the adjusted reference price, and an explanation of the method and data used in computing it.
United States · United States Congress · 21 June 1979
Department of Commerce and International Trade Organization Act - Title I: Findings and Purposes - Enumerates the following functions of the Department of Commerce: (1) the promotion of U.S. exports; (2) the analysis of information on commercial trends; (3) the provision of trade opportunities for U.S. businesses; (4) the coordination of Government programs having impact on international trade; (5) the administration of export controls; (6) the dissemination of information on imports; and (7) the assurance of adequate supplies of materials critical to national security or the nations economy. Vests in the Special Representative for Trade Negotiations the functions of directing trade negotiations, coordinating U.S. trade law and policy, implementing trade agreements, and monitoring international energy negotiations. Title II: Reorganization of International Trade Functions - Redesignates the Department of Commerce as the Department of Commerce and International Trade. Provides for the appointment within such Department of an Under Secretary for International Trade and an Under Secretary for Domestic Commerce. Redesignates the Secretary of Commerce as the Secretary of Commerce and International Trade. Directs the Secretary to: (1) oversee the collection and dissemination of information concerning domestic and international trade; (2) conduct a joint study with specified Federal agencies regarding international trade; and (3) consult and cooperate with State and local governments. Transfers to the Secretary specified functions of: (1) the Department of State; (2) the Department of the Treasury; (3) the Office of the Special Representative for Trade Negotiations; (4) the International Trade Commission; (5) the Secretary of Labor; and (6) the Secretary of the Interior. Transfers to and establishes within the Department: (1) the Export-Import Bank; (2) the Overseas Private Investment Corporation; and (3) the International Trade Commission. Transfers specified State Department functions to the Special Representative for Trade Negotiations. Title III: Miscellaneous Provisions - Sets forth administrative provisions concerning the appointment and transfer of personnel and the reorganization of the Department. Requires the Director of the Office of Management and Budget to do that which is necessary to carry out this Act. Requires the Secretary to report annually to the President for submission to Congress concerning the Department's activities. Authorizes appropriations as necessary to carry the functions of this Act.
United States · United States Congress · 20 June 1979
Amends the Internal Revenue Code to permit married individuals to compute the amount of the income tax deduction for payments into retirement savings on the basis of one-half of their combined income.
United States · United States Congress · 19 June 1979
Education for Exporting Act - Establishes the Federal Export Education Foundation. Directs such Foundation to enter into agreements with institutions of higher education, educational agencies, and business organizations to provide assistance in: (1) increasing awareness of international commerce in the United States; or (2) enhancing the ability of U.S. industry to engage in international commerce. Specifies various programs to be conducted by such Foundation, including: (1) work internships abroad; (2) cooperative activities to provide low-cost translation services and market research studies; (3) development of guides to commercial laws; (4) development of language and area studies courses; and (5) information regarding career opportunities for individuals with language, area studies, and international business backgrounds. Requires the accounts of such Foundation be audited annually and the results reported to the President and Congress. Establishes an Export Education Trust Fund in the U.S. Treasury consisting of appropriated sums and sums received as reimbursement for services provided under the Foundation's educational programs.
United States · United States Congress · 18 June 1979
Calls upon the President to urge: (1) the International Whaling Commission to adopt an indefinite moratorium on the commercial killing of whales; and (2) various countries to voluntarily comply with such moratorium.
United States · United States Congress · 14 June 1979
Omnibus Geothermal Energy Development Act of 1979 - Title I: Findings and Purposes - Declares that the purpose of this Act is to accelerate the development of geothermal energy in the United States. Title II: Amendments to the Geothermal Steam Act of 1970 -Geothermal Steam Act Amendments of 1979 - Amends the Geothermal Steam Act of 1970 to expand the acreage limitation on holders of geothermal leases to 51,200 acres, except as specified. Provides for an expedited bidding and leasing system for lands within any known geothermal resources area. Establishes the Interagency Geothermal Leasing Committee to review the activities of the several agencies and departments pursuant to this Act and to take such action as necessary to fully implement this Act. Directs such Committee to report to the Interagency Geothermal Coordinating Council in response to any requests for information or recommendations. Directs such Committee to commission a training and education program on geothermal leasing and operations for Federal surface management field managers in the appropriate departments and agencies. Directs the Secretary of the Interior to prescribe amendments to existing rules and regulations and to issue any necessary new rules and regulations to carry out this Act, and exempts such actions from being construed as a "major Federal action" for purposes of the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (NEPA). Directs the Secretary of Agriculture and the Secretary of the Interior, in consultation with the Secretary of Energy, to develop cooperative agreements with the Governor of each State in which are located lands subject to this Act for coordination of Federal, State, and local decisionmaking related to environmental analyses, permit approvals, and land use planning. Sets forth geothermal lease application and permits procedures. Directs the Secretary of Energy, in consultation with the Secretaries of Agriculture and Interior, to establish annual goals for the five future fiscal years for geothermal leasing. Requires the development of an expedited procedure for consideration and approval of permits for exploration and testing for geothermal resources. Stipulates that the establishment of such procedure shall be deemed to satisfy any requirements of NEPA applicable to any such exploration and testing activities. Permits any applicant for a geothermal lease to use a conditioned development lease with a phased environmental assessment and leasing procedure which shall limit the scope of consideration by the Secretary of the Interior as to compliance with the requirements of NEPA. Stipulates that any lessee seeks to conduct any operations of a developmental nature must prepare a detailed plan of development and utilization in accordance with requirements specified by the Secretary. Sets deadlines for review and final action on such plans. Permits exploration and testing activities on lands subject to this Act included in wilderness study areas pursuant to the Wilderness Act of 1974 and the Federal Land Management and Policy Act, so long as such activities are not conducted in a manner which would permanently impair wilderness values. Authorizes the Secretary to grant no-cost permits to specified surface owners or occupants of lands subject to this Act or to the Stock Raising Homestead Act for use of geothermal resources within such lands. Authorizes any Federal agency with an installation or facility located on or contiguous to lands subject to this Act to apply for a geothermal lease for use of geothermal resources by such installation or facility, provided that a determination has been made that such lease will not discourage or preclude commercial development of geothermal resources on such lands. Directs the Secretary to establish and implement orderly and expeditious procedures for the processing of all lease and permit applications pursuant to this Act. Title III: Amendments to the Geothermal Energy Research, Development, and Demonstration Act of 1974 - Geothermal Research, Development, and Demonstration Amendments of 1979 - Amends the Geothermal Energy Research, Development, and Demonstration Act of 1974 to establish the Interagency Geothermal Coordinating Council to be assisted by an Advisory Committee on Geothermal Energy. Extends the period of guaranties and interest assistance under the loan guaranty program of such Act to ten years beyond September 3, 1979. Authorizes guaranties of up to 90 percent of the aggregate cost of a geothermal resource project conducted by a publicly owned utility. Authorizes the Administrator of the Small Business Administration, the Administrator of the Rural Electric Administration, the Administrator of the Farmers Home Administration, and the Secretary of Housing and Urban Development, with the approval of the Secretary of Energy, to utilize funds in the Geothermal Resources Development Fund established by such Act for loan or loan guaranty assistance for geothermal energy development and directly related activity by means of loan and loan guarantee programs otherwise authorized by law in such agencies and departments. Limits the total amount of such fund available for such purposes to $50,000,000 per fiscal year. Authorizes the Secretary of Energy to establish a loan program for the accelerated development of geothermal resources for non-electric applications by geothermal utility districts, geothermal industrial development districts, and projects, and other persons. States that such loans shall be funded by the Geothermal Resources Development Fund. Authorizes the appropriation of $50,000,000 to such Fund for fiscal year 1980. Directs the Secretary to establish and implement expeditious procedures for the processing of loan guarantee applications under such Act. Directs the Secretary to conduct a complete review of all considerations associated with the accelerated development of geopressured methane in the United States and on the Outer Continental Shelf, addressing legal, institutional, and regulatory barriers to such development and the current status of technology development to support such accelerated development. Directs the Secretary and the Secretary of the Interior to conduct a similar review of accelerated development of the energy potential of hot dry rock systems in the United States. Directs the Secretary of Energy, in coordination with the Interagency Geothermal Coordinating Committee and the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency, to conduct a complete review of the need for environmental control technology, generic or specialized for a particular form of geothermal energy, to support the accelerated development of all forms of geothermal energy. Directs the Secretary to establish and implement a program in cooperation with the insurance and reinsurance industry to provide reservoir insurance to any qualified eligible applicant having a total direct investment of not less than $1,000,000 in the development and use of a geothermal resource associated with a reservoir. Authorizes the appropriation of necessary funds for the purposes of such program. Directs the Secretary to initiate a program for the utilization of geothermal energy in Federal buildings, facilities, and installations in the United States, to be developed in full coordination with existing programs for solar utilization and energy conservation. Title IV: Priority Geothermal Energy Project Act - Priority Geothermal Energy Project Act of 1979 - Declares that the purpose of this title is to provide for a coordinated, simplified, and expeditious process for Federal approval of geothermal energy facilities that are determined to be in the national interest. Directs the Secretary of Energy to designate priority geothermal energy projects based on specified criteria, and to publish a Project Decision Schedule containing deadlines for all Federal actions relating to such project. Directs the President to make any decisions or perform any actions in the event that an agency of department fails to meet its deadline. Limits environmental and judicial reviews to those of absolute necessity. Authorizes the Secretary to establish deadlines for Federal agency action which are shorter than the minimum period required under existing legislation in cases of exceptional national need. Provides for coordination of the actions of Federal, State, and local governments. Directs the Secretary to recommend to any State Governor and to the Congress actions to alleviate or prevent any delays in a priority energy project created or threatened by any State or local government. Sets time limits for filing claims arising out of actions pursuant to this title and bars any claims filed thereafter. Stipulates that such claims shall be brought in the United States court of appeals for the circuit where the project would be located, and grants exclusive original jurisdiction to such court in such matters. Directs such court to give precedence to such matters over all other matters on the court's docket to the greatest extent practicable. Authorizes the Supreme Court, exclusively, to review interlocutory judgments or orders of the court of appeals pursuant to this title, and directs the Supreme Court to give precedence to such matters to the greatest extent practicable. Prohibits the granting of injunctive relief against the issuance of any right-of-way, permit, lease, or other authorization pursuant to this title except in conjunction with a final judgment on a claim filed pursuant to this title. Establishes an Office for Priority Energy Projects within the Department of Energy to assist the Secretary with his duties under this title. Title V: Geothermal Amendments of 1979 to the National Energy Act of 1978 - Geothermal Amendments of 1979 - Amends the Energy Tax act of 1978 to: (1) qualify geothermal equipment for the investment tax credit; (2) provide that the time period during which geothermal equipment may qualify for such credit shall extend to December 31, 1989; (3) eliminate as an item of tax preference, for purposes of the minimum tax, the amount by which the intangible drilling costs incurred with respect to geothermal properties exceed the net income of the taxpayer from such properties for the taxable year; and (4) permit the deduction of intangible drilling and development costs related to geothermal reinjection wells in the taxable year in which such costs are incurred. Amends the Public Utility Regulatory Policies Act of 1978 to include facilities which produce energy from geothermal resources within the jurisdiction of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission.
United States · United States Congress · 13 June 1979
Amends the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 to exclude from its coverage any individual certified by a private nonprofit institution of higher education to be a full-time student at that institution and employed by that institution as a resident assistant or counselor living in a resident hall or dormitory of such an institution.
United States · United States Congress · 13 June 1979
Expresses the sense of Congress that no U.S company, doing business in South Africa, should: (1) engage in unfair employment practices; (2) deny its employees the right to choose a representative organization; (3) maintain segregated facilities; or (4) pay unequal compensation for equal work. Expresses the sense of Congress that U.S. companies, doing business in South Africa, should: (1) encourage collective bargaining; (2) train nonwhites for supervisory, administrative, and skilled jobs; and (3) try to improve housing, transportation, and health facilities for its nonwhite employees.
United States · United States Congress · 11 June 1979
Authorizes the immediate supervisor of any Federal employee who has applied for continuation pay during a period of disability caused by a work injury to require such employee to submit to an examination by a physician designated by the supervisor for the purposes of obtaining a second opinion concerning the employee's claim. Prohibits the payment of continuation pay for the first three days of disability unless the period of disability exceeds 14 days.
United States · United States Congress · 8 June 1979
Requires a ten percent reduction in the number of civilian employees of the executive branch from the number of such employees on September 30, 1977, to be attained through attrition by September 30, 1984. Limits the percentage of low level positions which may be involved in such reduction. States that the reduction of positions among agencies shall be proportionate to the size of each agency's work force. Requires a similar reduction in the work force of the legislative branch. Directs the Director of the Office of Management and Budget to report annually to Congress on work force reductions in the executive branch. Requires the Director of the Federal Judicial Center to submit to Congress recommendations for similar reductions in the Judicial branch.
United States · United States Congress · 7 June 1979
Veterans' Obligated Period of Service Completion Act - Redefines "veteran" for veterans' benefits purposes to mean an individual who served in, and was not dishonorably discharged from, the active armed services before the period ending 90 days after enactment of this Act, or who entered the active armed services on or after such 90-day period and: (1) served the entire term of duty and was other than dishonorably discharged; (2) was discharged from active duty for a service-connected disability; or (3) before the completion of such term of duty was discharged other-than dishonorably for a satisfactory reason (including joining a reserve unit or enrolling in an educational program). Redefines "eligible veteran" for post-Vietnam era educational assistance to mean an individual who initially entered the armed services on or after January 1, 1977, and: (1) if active service was before such 90-day period under this Act, served more than 180 consecutive days and was discharged other than dishonorably or for a service-connected disability; and (2) if active service was on or after such 90-day period, served more than 180 consecutive days.
United States · United States Congress · 6 June 1979
Amends title IV of the Public Health Service Act (National Research Institutes) to stipulate that the institute currently authorized to conduct research on neurological diseases shall be named the "National Institute of Neurological and Communicative Disorders and Stroke." Requires at least $16,000,000 of the sums appropriated for such Institute to be obligated for research in the area of regeneration of the spinal cord.
United States · United States Congress · 6 June 1979
Diabetes Research and Training Amendments and National Diabetes Advisory Board Extension Act of 1979 - Amends title IV of the Public Health Service Act (National Research Institutes) to redesignate the National Institute of Arthritis, Metabolism, and Digestive Diseases and the Advisory Council to such Institute as the National Institute of Arthritis, Metabolism, Diabetes, and Digestive Diseases and the National Arthritis, Metabolism, Diabetes, and Digestive Diseases Advisory Council. Establishes within the Advisory Council separate subcommittees on diabetes, arthritis, digestive diseases, and kidney diseases. Directs these subcommittees to: (1) review applications made to the Director of the Institute for research projects relating to such diseases and make recommendations to the Advisory Council; and (2) review and evaluate programs directed at such diseases. Establishes within the Institute the position of Associate Director for Diabetes. Sets forth the duties of the Associate Director, including: (1) having primary responsibility for all diabetes-mellitus-related activities supported or conducted by the National Institutes of Health; (2) providing information to public and private agencies with respect to such activities; and (3) reporting and making recommendations to the Director of the National Institutes of Health with respect to other enumerated functions. Extends the authorization of appropriations for diabetes research and training centers in the following amounts: $14,000,000 for fiscal year 1981, $17,000,000 for fiscal year 1982, and $20,000,000 for each of fiscal years 1983 through 1985. Directs the Secretary of Health, Education, and Welfare to provide from such amounts up to ten training stipends through each center in any fiscal year. Eliminates as an ex officio member of the National Diabetes Advisory Board the Secretary of Defense or his designee; adds as such a member the Director of the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development or his designee. Revises the terms of appointed members of the Board. Directs the Board to amend the Diabetes Plan (formulated by the National Commission on Diabetes under the National Diabetes Mellitus Research and Education Act) as is necessary to insure its continuing relevance. Extends the current level of authorizations for the purposes of the Board ($300,000 per fiscal year) through fiscal year 1985. Extends the expiration date of the Board from September 30, 1980, to September 30, 1985.