United States · United States Congress · 6 January 1981
Directs the Secretary of Transportation to compile and make available to the States information on motor vehicle safety devices (including passive restraint devices). Directs that such information shall include statistical data on injuries resulting from accidents and the differences, if any, in the severity of such injuries based on the use or nonuse of such safety devices. Authorizes the Secretary to make incentive grants to the States which utilize such information as part of their procedures in issuing motor vehicle operating permits. Authorizes appropriations out of the Highway Trust Fund for the purposes of this Act.
United States · United States Congress · 5 January 1981
Amends the Internal Revenue Code to permit taxpayers who do not itemize income tax deductions to claim a deduction from gross income for charitable contributions.
United States · United States Congress · 5 January 1981
Anti-Inflation Tax Act of 1981 - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to require annual cost of living adjustments, based on the Consumer Price Index, to individual income tax rates, the personal tax exemption, withholding requirements, and minimum income tax return amounts.
United States · United States Congress · 5 January 1981
Amends the Internal Revenue Code to allow married individuals filing jointly an income tax deduction from gross income equal to ten percent of the earned income of the lower income spouse (or of one spouse if both incomes are the same). Limits the amount of such deduction to $2,000 for the taxable year. Denies such deduction if one spouse has earned income amounting to less than 20 percent of the combined income of both spouses.
United States · United States Congress · 5 January 1981
Comprehensive Oil Pollution Liability and Compensation Act - Title I: Oil Pollution Liability and Compensation - Provides that, in addition to the processing and settlement of claims, the Comprehensive Oil Pollution Liability Trust Fund (Fund), established in title II of this Act, is immediately available to pay specified removal costs arising out of an oil pollution incident. Authorizes the Secretary of Transportation to issue regulations designating the person or persons who may obligate available money in the Fund for such purposes. Permits claims for damages for economic loss, incurred within a specified time, to be asserted for: (1) removal costs; (2) injury to or destruction of property or natural resources; and (3) loss of profits or impairment of earning capacity due to such injury or destruction. Specifies the potential claimants who have standing to assert claims involving each such type of damage. Imposes joint, several, and strict liability on the owners and operators of each pollution source. Specifies liability limits, except in cases of gross negligence or willful misconduct, for ships and other vessels. Directs the Secretary of Transportation to establish limits on the liability of classes of facilities used for transporting, producing, processing, storing, or transferring oil. Requires owners or operators of vessels over 300 tons (including foreign vessels) and owners or operators of offshore facilities to establish and maintain evidence of financial responsibility in an amount sufficient to satisfy applicable liability limits. Permits any owner or operator of more than one vessel or offshore facility to establish financial responsibility only to meet the maximum liability of the largest of such vessels or facilities, as the case may be. Provides for the enforcement of such financial responsibility requirements. States, in the case of an owner who is the holder of a leasehold interest or permit for the exploration of oil offshore, that evidence of financial responsibility established for the leasehold shall cover such owner for all facilities located on the leasehold. Provides that where an offshore facility is owned or operated by more than one person, evidence of financial responsibility may be established by any one of the owners or operators or in consolidated form. Requires owners or operators of each tank motor vehicle operated on highways and transporting oil in bulk, with a water capacity of more than 3,500 gallons, to establish and maintain evidence of specified financial responsibility. Limits the total liability of any guarantor, under this title, to the aggregate amount which such guarantor has provided as evidence of financial responsibility (except in cases of bad faith by a guarantor in settling a claim). Specifies procedures whereby the Secretary shall designate and advertise pollution sources. Directs the Secretary to advertise claims to be presented initially to the owner or operator, or to such person's guarantor, in instances in which: (1) the owner and operator of a vessel or facility designated by the Secretary deny such vessel's or facility's involvement; (2) the source of the discharge is a public vessel; or (3) the Secretary is unable to designate the pollution source. Permits claimants either to present a claim to the Fund or to bring an action in an appropriate United States court if liability is denied or the claim is not settled within a specified period. Sets forth procedures for the disposition and appeal of claims submitted to the Fund. Requires both the plaintiff and the defendant in a court action brought against an owner, operator, or guarantor to forward copies of all pleadings to the Fund. Permits the Fund to intervene in such actions. Subrogates any person or Government entity, including the Fund, paying compensation, to all the claimant's claims and rights under this Act. Specifies procedures for and the measure of recovery in actions brought by the fund against owners, operators or guarantors of alleged pollution sources. Grants U.S. district courts exclusive original jurisdiction over all controversies arising under this title, without regard to the citizenship of the parties or the amount in controversy. Declares that the rights and remedies under this Act shall be exclusive with respect to economic loss caused by oil pollution (but does not preclude State imposition of taxes or fees to finance the purchase and prepositioning of oil pollution cleanup and removal equipment). Sets penalties for persons failing to comply with specified provisions in this Act. Authorizes appropriations for this title. Directs the Secretary to submit an annual report to Congress on the administration of this title. Title II: Fund and Tax - Establishes the Fund in the Treasury of the United States. Transfers to the Fund amounts determined by the Secretary of the Treasury to be equivalent to: (1) the amounts received in the Treasury under the petroleum excise tax; (2) the amounts recovered or collected on behalf of such Fund under title I of this Act; and (3) any penalties imposed under title I of this Act or under oil and hazardous substances liability provisions of the Federal Water Pollution Control Act insofar as these relate to petroleum oils. Makes amounts in the Fund available only to pay claims for compensable damages recognizable under title I of this Act (including costs incurred by the United States by reason of such claims). Defines "compensable damages" for purposes of the Act. Restricts interest payable out of the Fund. Provides for certain interfund loans, under specified conditions. Directs the Secretary of the Treasury to consult with the Secretary of Transportation, in the case of the Fund, and with the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency, in the case of the Hazardous Substance Trust Fund, concerning such interfund loans. Limits payment of claims by the Fund by requiring a minimum balance of at least $30,000,000 in the Fund. States that claims are to be paid in the order in which they were finally determined. Limits U.S. liability for payment of claims under this Act to the amounts in the Funds established under this title. Prohibits the funds from borrowing any money from the general fund of the Treasury, other than a first year authorization of appropriations as a repayable advance. Sets forth administrative provisions for the Fund, including methods of transfer, management, and investment. Coordinates this title with other provisions in this Act. Provides that nothing in this Act other than this title shall authorize: (1) the establishment of any fund; (2) the payment out of any fund created by this title; (3) the levy or collection of any fee; or (4) the imposition of any requirement with respect to the procedure applicable to rules and regulations prescribed under this title. Provides that, to the extent not inconsistent with this title, any reference in title I of this Act to a fund shall be deemed to refer to the Fund. Provides that, if the balance in any fund is to be transferred to the Fund, then any claim arising before October 1, 1981, which would have been payable out of the other fund shall be payable out of the Fund. Provides that if the Secretary of the Treasury determines that there is: (1) a Trans-Alaska Pipeline (TAP) Liability Fund surplus, then the amount of such surplus shall be treated as an advance payment of the petroleum excise tax on crude oil first transported through the TAP after the date of such determination; or (2) a TAP fund deficit, then the petroleum excise tax on such crude oil shall be increased by two cents per barrel until the total amount of such increased tax equals such deficit. Bases such TAP fund surplus or deficit on whether the amount transferred to the Fund from the TAP Liability Fund is greater or lesser than the total amount of claims which the Secretary of the Interior certifies as outstanding against the TAP Liability Fund at the time of such transfer. Amends the Internal Revenue Code of 1954 to provide for environmental excise taxes on petroleum and certain chemicals. Imposes an excise tax (the "petroleum tax"), for fiscal years 1981 through 1986, of 1.3 cents a barrel on: (1) crude oil received at a U.S. refinery, to be paid by the operator; (2) petroleum products entered into the United States for consumption, use, or warehousing, to be paid by the person entering such product; and (3) any domestic crude oil used in or exported from the United States which has not been taxed under (1), to be paid by the person using or exporting such crude oil. Exempts from such tax domestic crude oil used, on the premises where it was produced, for extracting oil or natural gas. Defines 'crude oil', 'petroleum product', and 'United States' for purposes of the Act. Provides that only one such petroleum tax shall be imposed on any petroleum product. Title III: Regulations, Effective Dates, and Savings Provisions - Specifies the effective dates of specified provisions of this Act. Amends specified laws, including the Deepwater Port Act of 1974, the Federal Water Pollution Control Act, and the Trans-Alaska Pipeline Act, to conform with the provisions of this Act. Requires pro rata rebates to owners of oil when: (1) the amount of actual claims settled is less than the amount of claims certified against the Trans-Alaska Pipeline Liability Fund (TAP fund) or (2) any TAP fund surplus is not used as an advanced payment to the Comprehensive Oil Pollution Liability Fund. Amends the Federal Water Pollution Control Act to provide that the Secretary of the Army shall make any determination with respect to specified provisions applying to certain navigable waters.
United States · United States Congress · 5 January 1981
Nondiscrimination in Insurance Act - Prohibits discrimination on the basis of race, color, religion, sex, or national origin in the consideration of applications for, or the granting of, insurance policies and the terms of such policies. Permits insurers who regularly provide insurance solely to persons of a single religious affiliation to continue to do so. Grants to State or local governments having insurance discrimination laws the primary opportunity to enforce this Act. Permits an aggrieved person to file a civil action in State or Federal court against an insurer, if a State or local authority which has received notice of a complaint fails to act within 60 days or with respect to those authorities not having insurance discrimination laws. Authorizes the Attorney General to bring a civil action in district court when there is reasonable cause to believe that a person or group is engaged in a pattern or practice of resistance to the rights granted by this Act and that such denial raises an issue of general public importance.
United States · United States Congress · 5 January 1981
Amends the Omnibus Crime Control Act of 1970 to revise and increase the mandatory penalties for using or carrying a firearm during commission of a Federal felony. Defines such offense as using a firearm to commit a felony over which the district courts have exclusive jurisdiction or carrying a firearm during such a felony involving violence. Deletes the requirement that the firearm be carried "illegally." Increases the additional penalty imposed for such offense from one to ten years' imprisonment to five to ten years' imprisonment for a first offender and from two to 25 years to ten years to life imprisonment for a second or subsequent offender. Extends to first offenders the directions, currently applicable only to second offenders, that the court not suspend any sentence or grant probation and that the additional sentence not run concurrently with any term of imprisonment imposed for the offense itself. Makes a first offender ineligible for parole for five years and a second or subsequent offender ineligible for ten years. Expresses the sense of Congress that the executive prosecute vigorously such offenses.
United States · United States Congress · 5 January 1981
Establishes a Commission on More Effective Government to study and recommend ways of promoting economy, efficiency, and improved service within the Executive branch of Government. Directs the Commission to recommend methods to improve the relationship between Federal, State, and local governments. Directs the Commission to submit a final report to the Congress ten days after the Ninety-eighth Congress convenes. Terminates the Commission 90 days after such date. Authorizes appropriations.
United States · United States Congress · 5 January 1981
Capital Investment Incentive Act of 1980 - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to increase from 60 percent to 70 percent the noncorporate capital gains deduction from gross income. Reduces from 28 percent to 21 percent the corporate alternative minimum tax rate on capital gains.
United States · United States Congress · 5 January 1981
Establishes in the House of Representatives a Select Committee on Narcotics Abuse and Control to review problems of narcotics abuse, including enforcement, international trafficking, organized crime, and the criminal justice system with respect to narcotics law violations.
United States · United States Congress · 12 November 1980
Designates the Federal Building in the Borough of Manhattan, New York City, New York, as the Jacob K. Javits Federal Building. Makes this Act effective on January 3, 1981.
United States · United States Congress · 25 September 1980
Deplores the recent curtailment of Jewish emigration from the Soviet Union. Urges executive branch officials to express U.S. opposition to such repression. Urges the President to instruct the U.S. delegation to the Madrid meeting of the Conference on Security and Cooperation in Europe to seek an explanation of Soviet emigration policies and protest violations of the family reunification provisions of the Helsinki Final Act.
United States · United States Congress · 22 September 1980
Declares that the Congress accepts the gift of a red oak tree as a symbol of American hopes for the immediate release of the hostages in Iran. Dedicates the tree to the principles of individual freedom and world peace.
United States · United States Congress · 19 September 1980
Honors Raoul Wallenberg for his work in Hungary during World War II. Expresses the sense of Congress that the U.S. delegation to the Madrid meeting of the Conference on Security and Cooperation in Europe should urge the consideration of the Wallenberg case. Requests the State Department to discover the whereabouts of Raoul Wallenberg from the Soviet Union and secure his return to Sweden.
United States · United States Congress · 5 September 1980
Credit Control Sunset Act of 1980 - Amends the Credit Control Act to require the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System to report to Congress periodically on its operations under such Act. Terminates such Act on July 1, 1981.
United States · United States Congress · 5 September 1980
Welfare and Medicaid Fiscal Assistance Program Act of 1980 - Amends Title IV (Aid to Families with Dependent Children) (AFDC) and Title XIX (Medicaid) of the Social Security Act to increase the Federal medical assistance percentage payable to a State with a medical assistance plan approved by the Secretary of Health and Human Services under such Act. Directs a State to pay on a pro rata basis any Federal funds received in excess of the old Federal medical assistance percentage to any political subdivision of such State which contributed under the State medical assistance plan for such quarter. Limits such payment to 100 percent of of such political subdivision's contribution.
United States · United States Congress · 4 September 1980
Establishes the United States Holocaust Memorial Council which shall: (1) provide and encourage appropriate ways for the Nation to observe the Days of Remembrance to commemorate the holocaust; (2) plan, erect, and oversee the operation of a memorial museum to the victims of the holocaust; and (3) develop a plan for carrying out the recommendations of the report submitted to the President on September 27, 1979, by the President's Commission on the Holocaust. Authorizes the Council to receive public land in the District of Columbia on which it may erect the memorial. Terminates the Council's authority to construct a memorial if the erection of the memorial has not commenced within five years of enactment of this Act and sufficient funds to ensure completion of the memorial have not been certified to be available. Authorizes appropriations to carry out this Act.
United States · United States Congress · 3 September 1980
Exempts from the jurisdiction of the Interstate Commerce Commission transportation by motor vehicle of food and other edible products intended for human consumption (including edible byproducts but excluding alcoholic beverages and drugs).
United States · United States Congress · 25 August 1980
Establishes a commission to recommend an appropriate public memorial to former United States Representative Allard K. Lowenstein. Requires the Commission to transmit a report to each House of Congress by January 31, 1981, containing its recommendations.
United States · United States Congress · 20 August 1980
Declares that the people of Poland should be allowed to settle their own affairs, including the formation of independent trade unions and the right to strike, without foreign interference.
United States · United States Congress · 20 August 1980
Expresses the sense of Congress that: (1) the President should express to the Soviet Government U.S. concern for the fate of Raoul Wallenberg; and (2) the U.S. delegation to the Madrid meeting of the Conference on Security and Cooperation in Europe should urge the consideration of the Wallenberg case.
United States · United States Congress · 28 July 1980
Capital Investment Incentive Act of 1980 - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to increase from 60 percent to 70 percent the noncorporate capital gains deduction from gross income. Reduces from 28 percent to 21 percent the corporate alternative minimum tax rate on capital gains.
United States · United States Congress · 23 July 1980
Amends the Tariff Schedules of the United States to reduce annually, between January 1, 1981, and January 1, 1987, the duty on: (1) pseudoephedrine and its salts (from 15.5 percent and valorem to 7.6 percent ad valorem); and (2) synthetic ephedrine, racephedrine, and their salts (from 4.8 percent and valorem to 3.7 percent ad valorem).
United States · United States Congress · 22 July 1980
Directs the President to furnish the House of Representatives with information concerning White House and Justice Department actions with regard to Billy Carter's involvement with Libya.
United States · United States Congress · 2 July 1980
Amends part B (Supplementary Medical Insurance Benefits for the Aged and the Disabled) of title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act to make such benefits available for health services and medical supplies furnished by hospices to individuals who: (1) are determined by a physician to be terminally ill and to have less than six months to live; and (2) are U.S. citizens or legal aliens who have resided in the United States for the preceding five years.
United States · United States Congress · 1 July 1980
Permits a taxpayer who is required to change his method of accounting pursuant to Revenue Ruling 80-60 (inventory valuation) and Revenue Procedure 80-5 to effect such a change only for taxable years beginning after December 31, 1979.
United States · United States Congress · 17 June 1980
Amends the Internal Revenue Code to allow, for estate and gift tax purposes, effective disclaimer of an interest created by a transfer of property made before November 15, 1958 if: (1) such disclaimer otherwise satisfies the requirements for such disclaimers; and (2) it is made within nine months following enactment of this Act, or within nine months after the disclaimant receives knowledge of such interest (but not later than December 31, 1991).
United States · United States Congress · 13 June 1980
Trade Procedures Simplification Act of 1980 - Requires the Attorney General, in consultation with other Federal agency heads, to determine whether: (1) U.S. business conduct and arrangements in various countries to expand exports conflict with basic antitrust principles; and (2) a more liberal enforcement policy for overseas activities would impede implementation of the antitrust laws. Directs the Attorney General to identify conduct and arrangements associated with particular types of export sales which the Attorney General determines would not warrant prosecution under the antitrust laws. Sets forth the procedures for describing such permissible conduct and disclosing such descriptions. Authorizes the Secretary of Commerce to intervene in such suits and to provide legal assistance to exporters. Prohibits prosecution under the antitrust laws of exporters who: (1) have notified the Attorney General of their intention to engage in such designated permissible conduct; or (2) receive an approval, or no objection, from the Attorney General concerning proposed transactions. Requires the Attorney General and the Secretary of Commerce to report to Congress concerning implementation of this Act.
United States · United States Congress · 9 June 1980
Extends the congratulations of the Congress to the Order of the Sons of Italy in America for their 75th anniversary. Proclaims Sunday, June 22, 1980, as "National Italian-American Day."
United States · United States Congress · 4 June 1980
Authorizes the President to present a gold-plated medal, on behalf of the Congress, to those athletes selected through the Olympic trial process to be members of the United States Summer Olympic Team of 1980. Directs the Secretary of the Treasury to cause to be stricken 650 such medals with suitable emblems. Declares that such medals are national medals and that funds to carry out this Act shall be made available under the Amateur Sports Act of 1978.
United States · United States Congress · 3 June 1980
Expresses the sense of the House of Representatives that the Standing Committee on Federal Judiciary of the American Bar Association and the Attorney General take all measures necessary to end discrimination against potential lifetime Federal judges who do not qualify solely as a result of age barriers.
United States · United States Congress · 29 May 1980
Extends the congratulations of the House of Representatives to members of the 1980 handicapped Olympic team and recognizes specified organizations for their efforts in producing the second winter Olympics for the physically handicapped.
United States · United States Congress · 22 May 1980
Amends the Rules of the House of Representatives to authorize standing committees with more than 20 members to establish not more than six subcommittees. Sets forth a schedule for current standing committees with more than six subcommittees to reduce the number of subcommittees in the 97th and 98th Congresses. Limits Members to service on no more than five subcommittees at any one time, excluding ad hoc committees. Directs that service on select, permanent select, joint, or special committees shall be counted as service on one subcommittee. Provides that chairmen and ranking minority members of committees shall not count ex officio membership on subcommittees. Authorizes Members who currently serve on more than six subcommittees to serve on six subcommittees in the 97th Congress. States that subcommittees include any subunit of a committee established for a period of more than six months, and that members include Delegates and Resident Commissioners to the House of Representatives. Makes this resolution effective January 3, 1981.
United States · United States Congress · 20 May 1980
Artists Tax Equity Act of 1979 - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to allow an estate tax credit equal to the fair market value of literary, musical, or artistic properties transferred, without restriction, by the estate of the decedent whose personal efforts created them, to Federal museums and art galleries for public exhibition. Requires the recipient of such properties to sign a written statement that such properties have significant artistic value and that they will be placed on public exhibition. Allows a nonrefundable income tax credit equal to 30 percent of the fair market value of a literary, musical, or artistic composition created by the personal efforts of the taxpayer and contributed by such taxpayer to a tax-exempt charitable or educational organization. Limits the amount of such credit to the greater of $2,500 or 50 percent of the taxpayer's income tax liability for the taxable year. Limits the dollar amount of contributions to $35,000. Requires certification that such compositions possess significant artistic value. Disallows the credit for the contribution of a letter, memorandum, or similar property which was written by or for the taxpayer while such taxpayer held public office. Extends from five to ten years the period in which an artist must show that he has engaged in the production of artistic works for a profit in two years during such period in order to claim income tax deductions for losses related to the production of such works. Restores capital gains treatment of the gain realized from the sale of inherited artwork.
United States · United States Congress · 20 May 1980
Honors Raoul Wallenberg for his work in Hungary during World War II. Requests the State Department to discover the whereabouts of Raoul Wallenberg from the Soviet Union and secure his return to Sweden.
United States · United States Congress · 15 May 1980
Law Enforcement Officers' Protection Act of 1980 - Directs the Secretary of the Treasury to: (1) conduct a study to determine the capacity of handgun bullets to penetrate bulletproof vests and the risk posed to law enforcement officers by the availability of handgun bullets; and (2) report the findings and legislative recommendations to the President and Congress within one year after funds are made available under this Act.
United States · United States Congress · 14 May 1980
Citizen Privacy Act of 1980 - Title I: Rights of Privacy of Individual Citizens - Prohibits the installation or use of any two-way mirror in any place reasonably expected to be frequented by the public, including fitting rooms, motel rooms, and restrooms, unless an appropriate notice is conspicuously displayed in or near such place. Establishes criminal penalties for violations and allows a United States district court to grant equitable relief. Allows any individual, who purchases or contracts to purchase any product or service at a cost of $25 or more from any solicitor at such individual's residence, to cancel such transaction for any reason and without penalty within three business days by providing written notice to such solicitor. Prohibits cancellation in certain instances, including a contracted-for service which has been completely performed. Title II: Telephone Privacy - Amends the Communications Act of 1934 to prohibit any unsolicited commercial telephone call to any telephone if the subscriber for such telephone has notified the telephone company of a desire not to receive such calls. Prohibits any person from causing to be made any unsolicited commercial telephone call which is made entirely by automatic equipment and has or may have a duration of more than one minute. Directs the Federal Communications Commission to prescribe appropriate notice regulations. Establishes criminal penalties for violations of this title.
United States · United States Congress · 14 May 1980
Authorizes and requests the President to designate the seven-day period beginning October 5, 1980, as "National Port Week." Directs the Secretary of Commerce to report annually to Congress on the conditions of U.S. public ports.
United States · United States Congress · 13 May 1980
Amends the Controlled Substances Act to permit specified practitioners to register to dispense heroin for an inpatient who has been diagnosed as being terminally ill with cancer.
United States · United States Congress · 12 May 1980
Authorizes and requests the President to present, on behalf of the Congress, a national medal to each athlete selected to be a member of the 1980 United States Olympic Team to the Olympic Games. Directs the Secretary of the Treasury to cause to be struck such medals in bronze with gold plating, and with such emblems as shall be determined by the Secretary in consultation with the United States Olympic Committee. Authorizes the Secretary to strike duplicates and replicas of such medal in bronze for sale to the general public.
![Official portrait of Rep. Green, S. William [R-NY-15]](https://www.congress.gov/img/member/g000417_200.jpg)