United States · United States Congress · 13 June 1978
Constitutional Amendment - Provides that total appropriations shall not exceed estimated revenues. Authorizes the suspension of such prohibition in time of war or national emergency. Prohibits any increase in the national debt as it exists on the date this article is ratified. Sets forth a schedule for repayment of the national debt.
United States · United States Congress · 13 June 1978
Expresses the sense of the House that the exchange of the Panama Canal Treaty instruments of ratification should not occur earlier than March 31, 1979, unless implementing legislation has been enacted prior to such exchange. Requires specific Congressional authorization by an Act of Congress prior to any conveyance, relinquishment, or disposition of U.S. property in the Panama Canal Zone to any foreign government.
United States · United States Congress · 9 June 1978
Investment Incentive Act - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to restore part of the pre-1969 tax treatment of capital gains by repealing the capital gains item of tax preference for the minimum tax; lowering the corporate alternative tax to 25 percent of net capital gain; and lowering the alternative individual tax to 25 percent of net capital gain.
United States · United States Congress · 7 June 1978
Constitutional Amendment - Prohibits Congress from causing Federal taxation to exceed 15 percent of the gross national product. Prohibits the making of appropriations in excess of the total estimated revenues of the United States in any fiscal year except in time of war or national emergency.
United States · United States Congress · 5 June 1978
Gold Medallion Act - Authorizes the Secretary of the Treasury to offer gold for sale to the public in the form of gold medallions. Provides for the issuance of such medallions.
United States · United States Congress · 5 June 1978
Amends Title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act to authorize payment for specified services performed by chiropractors, including x-rays and physical examinations, and related routine laboratory tests.
United States · United States Congress · 2 June 1978
Amends the Dingell-Johnson Sport Fish Restoration Act to deny benefits under that Act to any State which does not extend reciprocal fishing privileges to non-resident individuals who are aged 62 or over and hold valid fishing licenses issued by the State of their residency.
United States · United States Congress · 2 June 1978
Amends the Small Business Act and the Domestic Volunteer Service Act of 1973 to transfer to the Small Business Administration the authority to conduct a program of volunteer assistance for small businesses. Includes the transfer of the SCORE (Service Corps of Retired Executives) and ACE (Active Corps of Executives) programs to the Administration from the ACTION Agency.
United States · United States Congress · 2 June 1978
Social Security Rights Act - Requires that procedures be established for the expedited replacement of undelivered benefit checks under title II (Old-Age, Survivors, and Disability Insurance) of the Social Security Act. Requires that decisions (and reconsiderations) on initial benefit claims be made within 90 days. Requires that payment of benefits on approved claims begin no later than the day regularly fixed for delivery of benefit checks in the second month following the month in which the claim was approved.
United States · United States Congress · 1 June 1978
Amateur Sports Act - Title I: Declaration of Policy - Makes findings and states that the policy of Congress is to promote amateur athletics and protect the right of amateur athletes to participate in athletic competition. Title II: Olympic Committee Reorganization - Amends the corporate charter of the Olympic Committee to (1) provide for a principal place of business of the United States Olympic Committee (Corporation); (2) set forth the objectives and purposes of the Corporation; (3) set forth the powers of the Corporation; (4) provide reasonable representation for specified individuals and organizations in establishing and maintaining provisions for the governance and conduct of its affairs; and (5) subject to civil liability any person who uses an Olympic designation without authority to promote a private financial interest. Permits contributors or suppliers of goods or services to use the name of the United States Olympic Committee or its designation to advertise that such goods or services have been furnished to, approved, or selected by the Corporation. Requires the Corporation to establish in its constitution and bylaws provisions for the resolution of disputes involving the opportunity of an amateur athlete or other specified individuals to participate in sanctioned athletic competitions. Authorizes the Corporation to recognize as a national governing body any amateur sports organization (but only one for each sport) which submits an application for recognition and complies with eligibility requirements. Sets forth such eligibility requirements. Sets forth the duties and powers of a national governing body and the requirements which an amateur sports organization must meet to hold an athletic competition or sponsor athletes in competition and be sanctioned by a national governing body. Grants to the Corporation the power of review over the actions of any national governing body and invests a United States district court with jurisdiction to enjoin any action of a national governing body inconsistent with the terms of the Corporate charter. Sets forth procedures for the Corporation in (1) processing a complaint against a national governing body by an individual athlete or an amateur sports organization; (2) revoking recognition of a national governing body; and (3) replacing an incumbent national governing body. Provides for arbitration of a determination of the Corporation. Authorizes the Secretary of Commerce to lend financial assistance to the Corporation in developing amateur athletics in the United States. Authorizes appropriations for carrying out the work of the national governing bodies. Directs the Secretary to conduct a feasibility study to determine the most appropriate means of providing funding to the Corporation for the construction and operation of training centers and sports medicine research facilities.
United States · United States Congress · 31 May 1978
Solar Power Satellite Research, Development, and Demonstration Program Act - Directs the Secretary of Energy and the Administrator of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration to initiate a Solar Power Satellite Research, Development, and Demonstration Program to study technical problems regarding the viability of the solar power satellite concept. Requires the Secretary, after consultation with the Administrator, to submit to the Congress, by January 3, 1979, a comprehensive plan to implement the Program.
United States · United States Congress · 31 May 1978
Authorizes the President of the United States to designate the week beginning on the Sunday preceding the fourth Thursday in November of each year as "National Family Week".
United States · United States Congress · 19 May 1978
Tax Consistency Act - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to reduce corporate tax rates to 16 percent of the first $25,000 of taxable income and 18 percent of so much of the taxable income that exceeds $25,000. Reduces the surtax to 22 percent of the amount that exceeds the surtax exemption. Establishes a permanent $50,000 surtax exemption for all corporations except certain controlled corporations. Repeals the investment tax credit. Eliminates the tax exemption for (1) interest earned on industrial development bonds issued to governmental units and tax-exempt organizations; (2) interest on bonds issued for the construction of specified facilities and for industrial parks; and (3) interest earned on certain small issues of industrial development bonds. Eliminates the declining balance and sum of the years-digit methods of computing allowable depreciation expense. Limits deductions for such depreciation to amounts determined by a replacement cost straight line method, as formulated by this Act, or by any other consistent method which does not yield an amount which exceeds the total amount allowed under the replacement cost straight line method during the first two-thirds of the property's useful life. Repeals the allowance for deductions with respect to the amortization of any certified pollution control facility based on a period of 60 months. Repeals the allowance for deductions of intangible drilling and development costs for oil and gas wells. States that the last taxable year in which financial institutions may use the percentage method of computing additions to bad debt reserves shall be the taxable year beginning before 1979 instead of 1988 as is currently provided. Repeals the existing percentages allowed for depletion of mines, wells, and specified natural deposits, and the percentages allowed for oil and gas wells. Specifies those treatment processes for mineral deposits which are considered mining, and those which are not so considered, for the purposes of the percentage depletion allowance. Repeals special capital gains treatment of income from certain coal and iron ore operations. Repeals the allowance for special deductions for domestic corporations which do business in North, Central, or South America, or in the West Indies, and derive a certain percentage of their gross income from outside the United States. Repeals provisions allowing special tax treatment for Domestic International Sales Corporations (DISC). Repeals provisions of the Mercent Marine Act of 1936 which permit domestic shipping companies to exclude from gross income amounts deposited in the capital construction fund for the purpose of building new vessels. Establishes a tax credit for contributions to an employee stock ownership plan. Limits such credit to one half of one percent to the taxpayer's liability for the taxable year. Sets forth requirements for the establishment of such plans.
United States · United States Congress · 18 May 1978
Individual Tax Relief Act - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to remove the $35,000 sales price limitation on the exclusion of residential sales gains by the elderly. Provides for the payment of interest on excess taxes withheld from individual's wages. Excludes the first $100 in interest from withdrawable savings accounts and debt securities. Provides for annual cost-of-living adjustments for personal exemptions and the individual tax rates. Allows an individual income tax credit of up to $100 for expenses paid for the education of the taxpayer, his spouse or any dependents.
United States · United States Congress · 18 May 1978
Reaffirms that the North Atlantic Alliance is a vital commitment of the United States. Recognizes the success of the Alliance. Declares Congressional support for strengthening the defensive capabilities of the Alliance and for lessening tensions with the Warsaw Pact countries through arms control agreements.
United States · United States Congress · 18 May 1978
Expresses the sense of Congress that, in conformity with the Helsinki Find Act, the Declaration of Human Rights, the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, and basic standards of justice, the unjustly imprisoned members and affiliates of the Soviet Helsinki Group should be granted their freedom and allowed to pursue their lawful activities in behalf of basic human rights. Urges the President, the Secretary of State, and other appropriate executive branch officials to continue to express at every suitable opportunity and in the strongest terms the opposition of the United States to the imprisonment of the Helsinki Group members.
United States · United States Congress · 17 May 1978
Small Business Regulatory Relief Act - Amends the Small Business Act to direct each Federal department, agency, and instrumentality engaged in rulemaking to prepare a written analysis of whether it is legal, feasible, and desirable to exempt small businesses (or classes thereof) from a rule or whether the agency should promulgate a rule with lesser compliance standards for businesses. Sets forth information which must be present in such analysis.
United States · United States Congress · 17 May 1978
Requests the President to (1) instruct the Department of State to report to Congress on the violations of human rights in Cambodia, (2) instruct the International Communications Agency to disseminate such information, and (3) instruct the Ambassador to the United Nations to introduce a resolution in the General Assembly condemning these atrocities.
United States · United States Congress · 16 May 1978
Sugar Stabilization Act - Sets forth the policy of the Congress with respect to foreign trade in sugar. Title I: International Sugar Agreement - Authorizes the President to prohibit the importation of sugar from any country not a member of the International Sugar Organization, and to otherwise regulate foreign trade in sugar to implement the International Sugar Agreement. Establishes civil penalties for the violations of such regulations. Requires the President to submit to Congress an annual report on the Agreement. Title II: Domestic Sugar Program - Directs the Secretary of Agriculture to make an annual estimate of the sugar consumption needs of the United States. Establishes a formula for determining the price objectives of domestic sugar. Authorizes the Secretary to establish a quota for the importation of sugar, and to adjust such quota. Authorizes the Secretary to impose an import fee in order to attain the price objective for sugar. Prohibits the established quota from being filled by direct-consumption sugar, except in specified circumstances. Permits the Secretary to suspend such quota and fees under specified circumstances. Authorizes the Secretary to impose a quota on the importation of "sugar-containing products. Prohibits the importation of sugar, liquid sugar, or "sugar-containing products" after the import quotas have been filled. Prohibits the importation of certain sugar or liquid sugar into the Virgin Islands in excess of 100 pounds annually. Prohibits the exportation of certain sugar from the United States. Regulates the exportation of sugar. Sets forth items to which the sugar quota shall not apply. Title III: General Provisions - Authorizes the Secretary to issue regulations to carry out this Act. Establishes penalties for the violation of such regulations. Requires certain information to be furnished to the Secretary by persons engaged in the manufacture, marketing, transports, or industrial use, of sugar. Prohibits officials engaged in the administration of this Act to invest in sugar. Establishes penalties for the violation of such prohibition. Authorizes the President to suspend the operation of Title II of this Act in a national emergency. Authorizes the Secretary of Agriculture (1) to conduct surveys and investigations to carry out this Act, and (2) to announce a "daily spot price" for raw sugar in specified circumstances. Terminates the authority of the Secretary under this Act on December 31, 1982.
United States · United States Congress · 15 May 1978
Safe Bridge Act - Directs the Secretary of Transportation to: (1) inventory all bridges which are not located on any of the Federal-aid systems; (2) classify them according to serviceability, safety, and essentiality for public use; and (3) assign each bridge a priority for replacement or rehabilitation based on such classification. Authorizes Federal participation in State projects to repair or replace such bridges. Authorizes appropriations out of the Highway Trust Fund for bridge replacement or rehabilitation programs through fiscal year 1982. Amends the Highway Revenue Act of 1956 to extend the transfers of specified taxes collected in the general Treasury to the Highway Trust Fund through 1984. Amends the Land and Water Conservation Fund Act of 1965 to extend the transfers of specified nonhighway gasoline taxes from such fund to the Treasury through 1984. Postpones specified transportation related excise tax reductions under the Internal Revenue Code of 1954.
United States · United States Congress · 15 May 1978
Congressional Award Program Act - Establishes the Congressional Award Program in the United States and its territories to recognize and promote youth leadership and excellence in the areas of expedition fitness, personal creative development, and public service. Creates a Congressional Award Board with a Director to supervise such program. Authorizes the appointment of State award directors under this Act. Creates three Congressional Award Medals to be awarded under this Act.
United States · United States Congress · 10 May 1978
Requires the President to direct the United States Governor of the International Monetary Fund, the United States Governor of the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development, the United States Governor of the International Finance Corporation, the United States Governor of the Inter-American Development Bank, the United States Governor of the International Development Association, the United States Governor of the Asian Development Bank, and the United States Governor of the African Development Fund, to propose and seek adoption of an amendment to the Articles of Agreement for their respective institutions which would require that institution to establish human rights standards to be considered in connection with each application for assistance.
United States · United States Congress · 10 May 1978
Community Schools and Comprehensive Community Education Act - Authorizes the Commissioner of Education to make grants to State and local educational agencies to pay the Federal share of establishing community education programs. Defines "community education program" as a program operated by a local educational agency providing educational, recreational, health care, cultural, and other related services for the community. Establishes a Community Education Advisory Council to advise the National Institute of Education concerning community education programs.
United States · United States Congress · 10 May 1978
Denies pension and survivor's annuity benefits to any Federal employee who is convicted of any felony committed in connection with his or her Federal employment or who has fled the United States to avoid prosecution for any such felony.
United States · United States Congress · 9 May 1978
Amends the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 to provide that the term "handicapped individual" does not include any individual who is an alcoholic or drug abuser for purposes of provisions of such Act which require affirmative action programs for the handicapped by Federal contractors and which prohibit discrimination against the handicapped by entities receiving Federal financial assistance.
United States · United States Congress · 9 May 1978
Declares (1) that the Department of the Treasury does not possess authority to implement certain proposed firearms transaction reporting regulations, (2) that such proposed additional recordkeeping requirements serve no useful purpose and are wasteful, and (3) that the Department must seek explicit congressional authorization before proposing any rules or regulations for centralizing records required under existing firearms law.
United States · United States Congress · 9 May 1978
Denounces the assassination of Aldo Moro as an abhorrent criminal act which deserves the fullest condemnation. Expresses the sense of the Congress: (1) that the people and Government of Italy have the full confidence of the United States and should receive its full support in their efforts to apprehend the perpetrators of the murder of Aldo Moro and to eliminate the campaign of terrorism; and (2) that the President should redouble United States efforts to gain international cooperation in wiping out the scourge of terrorism.
United States · United States Congress · 8 May 1978
Marihuana Pretrial Diversion Act - Amends the Controlled Substances Act to direct the Attorney General to establish a marihuana pretrial diversion program in which any person subject to arrest by Federal law enforcement officers solely for the possession of not more than 30 grams of marihuana or not more than seven grams of hashish may elect to receive drug-related counseling rather than be subject to criminal prosecution. Directs that, except as provided otherwise in this Act, persons found by Federal law enforcement officials in possession of such limited quantities of marihuana or hashish shall be issued a field release citation in lieu of being arrested. Requires any person who elects the diversion program to attend between five and 16 hours of such counseling during a period of not more than 40 days, or be subject to arrest and prosecution for failure to observe his or her diversion agreement. Requires the Attorney General to designate and specially train Federal employees as marihuana diversion officers responsible for the administration of such program. Authorizes the Attorney General to make grants to public or private nonprofit entities for planning and carrying out counseling courses. Requires participants to pay an assessed fee of between $50 and $100 to defray the expenses of such program. Denies eligibility for the diversion program to individuals who have participated in it within three years prior to an arrest for possession of marihuana, and for specified other reasons. Requires a nonpublic record of participation in such program to be kept solely for determining an individual's eligibility for participation in such a program during the three year period following completion of the course. Exempts any participant who has completed a diversion course from arrest and prosecution on the charge or count for which he or she became eligible to participate, and from perjury for failure to acknowledge participation. Establishes in the Treasury of the United States a fund for defraying the operating costs of the diversion program.
United States · United States Congress · 8 May 1978
Declares that certain proposed regulations of the Department of the Treasury regarding centralized firearms sales recordkeeping and other firearms control measures exceed the Departments' authority, and directs that the regulations be withdrawn.
United States · United States Congress · 4 May 1978
Constitutional Amendment - Requires Congress to assure that the total outlays of the Government, during any fiscal year, do not exceed the total receipts of the Government during such fiscal year. States that by the fourth fiscal year after the ratification of this amendment the budget shall be balanced. Permits expenditures to exceed national revenues in time of declared emergency, but states that such expenditures shall never exceed receipts by more than ten percent. Provides that during the fifth fiscal year beginning after the ratification of this amendment and for the next 19 succeeding fiscal years thereafter, the total receipts of the Government shall exceed outlays by an amount equal to five percent of the Federal indebtedness at the beginning of the fifth year fiscal year.
United States · United States Congress · 3 May 1978
Amends the Internal Revenue Code to permit inclusion of employment-related expenses incurred for the care of the spouse and handicapped dependents of the taxpayer, as well as dependents under age 15, in determining the credit for expenses for household and dependent care services rendered outside the taxpayer's household.
United States · United States Congress · 3 May 1978
Amends the Internal Revenue Code to allow handicapped individuals who are incapable of operating highway vehicles an income tax deduction for their comuting expenses.
United States · United States Congress · 2 May 1978
Expresses Congressional disapproval of the sale of 50 F-5 aircraft to Egypt, 60 F-15 aircraft to Saudi Arabia, and 15 F-15 and 75 F-16 aircraft to Israel.
United States · United States Congress · 1 May 1978
Declares that certain proposed regulations of the Department of the Treasury regarding centralized firearms sales recordkeeping and other firearms control measures exceed the Departments' authority, and directs that the regulations be withdrawn.
United States · United States Congress · 27 April 1978
Amends Title II (Old Age, Survivors, and Disability Insurance) of the Social Security Act to increase from 22 to 26 the age until which child's insurance benefits may be paid on the basis of full-time student status, and the age before which a child must have become disabled to qualify for disability benefits.
United States · United States Congress · 26 April 1978
Anti-Inflation Tax Reduction and Reform Act - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to provide cost-of-living adjustments for the individual income tax rates and withholding tables.
United States · United States Congress · 26 April 1978
Independent Local Newspaper Act - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to promote the survival of independent newspapers by providing for the establishment of tax exempt trusts for paying estate taxes on such papers, and by postponing the payment of estate taxes on such papers.
United States · United States Congress · 26 April 1978
Declares it the sense of the Congress that the President should instruct the Secretary of State to request the Secretary General of the United Nations to work through existing United Nations agencies to secure a full accounting of Americans listed as missing in Southeast Asia.
United States · United States Congress · 25 April 1978
Extends the authority to make veterans readjustment appointments of Vietnam era veterans to the Federal Government through September 30, 1980. Abolishes the time limitation on eligibility for such appointments for veterans eligible on April 9, 1970, or who were separated from the armed services on or after such date. Raises the maximum level for such appointments from GS-5 to GS-7. Provides that any disabled veteran shall be eligible for such appointment without regard to certain existing limitations on the amount of education a veteran may have to be eligible for such an appointment.
United States · United States Congress · 25 April 1978
World Peace Tax Fund Act - Establishes within the Treasury of the United States a special trust fund to be known as the World Peace Tax Fund. Provides that any taxpayer who has qualified as a conscientious objector, or who declares that he or she is conscientiously opposed to participation in war, within the meaning of the Military Selective Service Act, shall qualify to designate the payment of his or her income taxes to the fund. Makes provisions for the designation of income, estate, or gift tax payments for transfer to the World Peace Tax Fund. Provides for the computation and publication of the percentage of annual expenditures for military purposes. Provides that this portion of monies in the Fund shall remain in the Fund to accrue interest, and that the remaining portion shall be transferred to the general fund of the Treasury of the United States, not to be appropriated for any military purposes. Establishes a Board of Trustees of eleven members to authorize expenditures out of the Fund for research into peaceful solutions to international conflict, and for improvement of international health, education, and welfare. Requires the Board to submit its budget to the Congress, report to the President and Congress annually, and provide a complete accounting of all funds received and disbursed according to this Act.