United States · United States Congress · 22 March 1984
Truth in Savings Act - Requires each advertisement, announcement, or solicitation made by any depository institution regarding the rate of interest payable on any deposit to: (1) state the annual percentage yield and the method of compounding interest; (2) state the annual rate of simple interest for the period during which such rate will be effective; and (3) give equal prominence to all annual percentage yields and annual rates of simple interest. Requires the annual percentage yield to always be stated before the annual rate of simple interest. Requires the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System to prescribe such regulations as necessary to carry out and facilitate compliance with the provisions of this Act and to prevent their evasion or circumvention.
United States · United States Congress · 22 March 1984
Higher Education Amendments of 1984 - Amends the Higher Education Act of 1965 (HEA) ("the Act") to revise and extend programs under the Act. Sets forth amendments to title I of the Act, renaming such title "Continuing and Community Postsecondary Education." Eliminates title I, part A provisions relating to the establishment of the Commission on National Development in Postsecondary Education. Switches title I, part B provisions for Education Outreach Programs to part A and revises such provisions. Decreases the portion of funds for Education Outreach Programs which is required to be used for State allotments from 90 to 50 percent. Increases the portion of such funds which is required to be available for Federal discretionary grants from ten to 40 percent. Requires that each State use no more than 15 percent (currently, no less than 15 and no more than 20 percent) of its allotment for Education Outreach Programs to conduct comprehensive statewide planning. Revises the formulas (based on a range of appropriation amounts for this part) for determining when a State must use at least ten percent, and when it may not use more than ten percent, of its allotment for such purpose. Deletes provisions relating to the National Advisory Council on Continuing Education, but refers to the National Advisory Council on Postsecondary Education which is established later in this Act. Authorizes appropriations for FY 1986 through 1990 to carry out Education Outreach Programs. Removes a limitation on the portion of a State allotment which may be used to carry out continuing education programs. Adds new title I, part B provisions for Literacy Training. Directs the Secretary of Education to make grants to institutions of higher education and consortia of institutions that have entered into agreements to operate literacy training programs in their own communities and in rural areas in the vicinity. Sets forth requirements for literacy training program agreements, including: (1) establishment of academic credit courses combining undergraduate training in the humanities and social sciences with experience as tutors in a literacy training program; (2) requiring students in such courses to perform at least six hours of voluntary uncompensated service each week of the academic term with a community-based or other nonprofit organization as a tutor in such organization's literacy training program; and (3) providing that such service may be compensated under the work-study program and that preference in the award of work-study assistance will be given to eligible students performing such service. Limits use of such grants for literacy training programs to covering specified program costs. Directs the Secretary, to the extent that specified funds are available, to enter into technical assistance and coordination contracts with qualified nonprofit private organizations to assist, manage, and coordinate such literacy training programs. Authorizes appropriations for FY 1986 through 1990 to carry out Literacy Training program provisions. Adds new title I, part C provisions for Federal Correctional Education Assistance. (Provides that such part shall be known as the "Federal Correctional Education Assistance Act.") Declares the purposes of such part to be to provide financial assistance to the States to carry out educational programs for criminal offenders in juvenile and adult correctional institutions. Authorizes appropriations for FY 1986 through 1990 to enable the Secretary of Education to make grants to States under such part. Allows such appropriations to remain available until expended. Authorizes the Secretary to make grants to State educational agencies and grants for programs of national significance. Sets forth formulas for the allocation of funds under such part. Prohibits the use of funds for purposes inconsistent with the Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention Act of 1974. Sets forth permissible uses of grants made to States under such part, including: (1) academic programs for basic education, special education, bilingual or bicultural study, secondary school credit, postsecondary study, fine arts, recreation and health, and curriculum development; (2) vocational training; (3) library development and services; (4) teacher training; (5) educational release programs; (6) guidance; (7) supportive services; and (8) job training. Sets forth requirements for State applications for assistance under such part. Authorizes the Secretary to make, from specified reserved funds, grants to State and local educational agencies, institutions of higher education, State correctional agencies, and other public and nonprofit organizations and institutions to meet the costs of programs of national significance which the Secretary determines give promise of improving the education of criminal offenders. Sets forth provisions for payment and withholding of funds under such part. Switches provisions for a Veteran's Cost-of-Instruction Program from title IV to title I, part D. Extends such program payments to institutions of higher education through FY 1990. Retains the formula for determining institutional eligibility for such payments, but raises the minimum number of veterans who must be enrolled in undergraduate attendance at an institution before such eligibility formula applies from 25 to 100. Makes technical and conforming amendments relating to such program. Sets forth amendments to title II (College and Research Library Assistance and Library Training and Research) of the Act. Authorizes appropriations for FY 1986 through 1990 for title II programs under part A (College Library Resources), part B (Library Training, Research, and Development), and part C (Strengthening Research Library Resources). Establishes a Library Unit within the Office of Postsecondary Education which shall be responsible for administering and coordinating all library programs within the Department of Education. Revises title II, part A (College Library Resources) provisions for resource development grants. Directs the Secretary, in selecting applicants for receipt of such grants, to rate each applicant who meets specified requirements in accordance with a numerical index established by regulation and based on the following factors (to be weighed according to the order in which they are listed): (1) the extent to which the institution is in the lowest quartile of applicants with respect to its library resource holdings; (2) the extent to which the institution's own effort in support of its library exceeds a specified percentage of its operating budget; (3) the number and percentage of low- income students; (4) whether the institution is eligible under title III (Institutional Aid) of the Act; and (5) such other factors as the Secretary determines relevant and useful (not to exceed ten percent of the points awarded under such index). Requires the National Institute of Education to: (1) evaluate the use of such index in allocating such funds to eligible applicants most in need; and (2) report the results of such evaluation to Congress by May 30, 1989. Revises title II, part B (Library Training, Research, and Development) provisions for research and demonstration project grants and contracts. Directs the Secretary, in selecting recipients of such funds for FY 1986 and succeeding fiscal years, to give priority to expanding the study of the uses of information transfer and communications technology in libraries. Sets forth amendments to title III (Institutional Aid) of the Act. Adds to the definition of "eligible institution" for purposes of title III, part A (Strengthening Institutions) any institution of higher education which has an enrollment of which at least 40 percent are Mexican American, Puerto Rican, Cuban, or other Hispanic students, or combination thereof, and which also satisfies specified requirements for such eligibility. Revises title III, part B, renaming such part "Strengthening Historically and Traditionally Black Colleges and Universities." Redefines "part B institution" to mean any historically or traditionally black college or university that maintains a student body that is at least 50 percent black students. Directs the Secretary to make part B grants to institutions for specified purposes, including academic instruction in disciplines in which black Americans are underrepresented. Directs the Secretary to make allotments of grants to part B institutions according to a formula based on the numbers of Pell Grant recipients, graduates, and graduates admitted to graduate or professional schools from such institutions. Sets forth reallotment provisions. Sets forth part B grant application requirements, including requirements for annual reports to the Secretary and for auditing. Sets forth provisions for grants to eligible part B independent professional or graduate institutions. Directs the Secretary, subject to the availability of funds appropriated for such purpose, to award program grants to such postgraduate institutions as may be eligible as part B institutions except that: (1) the institution offers a medical, dental, veterinary degree, or other graduate or professional degree beyond the baccalaureate degree; and (2) such independent, postgraduate institution listed under this Act is determined by the Secretary to be making a substantial contribution to the legal, medical, dental, veterinary, or other graduate education opportunities for black Americans. Limits the duration of such grants. Sets forth authorized uses of such grants. Sets forth application requirement, including a demonstration of how grant funds will be used to improve graduate educational opportunities for black and low-income students, and lead to greater financial independence. Lists the following independent professional or graduate institutions as eligible for such grants: (1) Morehouse School of Medicine; (2) Meharry Medical School; (3) Charles R. Drew Postgraduate Medical School; and (4) Atlanta University. Sets forth reporting and audit requirements. Sets forth criminal penalties for misuse of funds. Revises title III, part C (Challenge Grants for Institutions Eligible for Assistance Under Part A or Part B) provisions. Adds to institutions eligible for such challenge grants any institution which received a grant in FY 1981 or 1982 to assist health professions schools in financial distress from the Department of Health and Human Services under specified provisions of the Public Health Service Act. Adds the following provisions for endowment grants (which are similar in part to those added to the Act by the Challenge Grant Amendments of 1983, Public Law 98-95). Establishes a program to provide matching endowment grants to institutions of higher education which are eligible for assistance under the challenge grant program. Authorizes the Secretary to award such matching endowment grants from sums available under the challenge grant program. Limits the endowment grant period to not more than 20 years, during which time the institution may not withdraw or expend the endowment fund corpus (the amount of the grant plus the matching amount deposited by the institution). Permits the institution, after grant period termination, to use the endowment fund corpus plus any endowment fund income for any educational purpose. Provides that institutions may receive more than one such grant, but may only receive such a grant for two fiscal years out of any period of five consecutive fiscal years. Limits the amount of an endowment grant to an institution to: (1) not less than $50,000 for any fiscal year; and (2) not more than $250,000 for FY 1984 or $500,000 for FY 1985 or any succeeding fiscal year. Permits an eligible institution to designate a foundation, which was established to raise money for the institution, as the recipient of the endowment grant. Sets forth requirements which the foundation and the institution must meet for such an award. Sets forth requirements for investment of the endowment fund corpus and income. Permits an institution to withdraw and expend the endowment fund income to defray any expenses necessary to the operation of the college. Prohibits an institution from spending more than 50 percent of the total aggregate endowment fund income earned prior to the time of expenditure. Authorizes the Secretary to permit an institution to spend more than the 50-percent limit under specified emergency circumstances. Provides for repayment by an institution of funds withdrawn prematurely from the endowment fund corpus or improperly expended from endowment fund income. Set forth auditing requirements. Directs the Secretary, in selecting eligible institutions for endowment grants, to: (1) give priority to an applicant which is a recipient of a title III grant under part A or part B, during the academic year in which the endowment grant is applied for; (2) give priority to an applicant with a greater need for such grant, based on the current market value of the applicant's existing endowment in relation to the number of full-time equivalent students enrolled at such institution; and (3) consider the effort made by the applicant to build or maintain its existing endowment fund and the degree to which an applicant proposes to match the grant with nongovernmental funds. Sets forth provisions for endowment grant applications and approval. Authorizes the Secretary to terminate and recover an endowment grant, after notice and opportunity for a hearing, if the grantee institution fails to properly expend, invest, or account for endowment funds. Adds new title III, part D (Reservation for Hispanic Institution) provisions. Directs the Secretary to reserve at least $10,000,000 or 15 percent of appropriations for title III, part A (Strengthening Institutions), whichever is more, for Hispanic institutions as defined under part A. Switches title III general provisions from part D to part E, and revises such general provisions. Directs the Secretary to publish all policies and procedures required to exercise the authority to approve applications for grants under title III. Provides that no other criteria, policies, or procedures shall apply. Directs the Secretary to: (1) use the most recent and relevant data concerning the number and percentage of students receiving need-based assistance under title IV (Student Assistance) of the Act in making eligibility determinations under title III, part A provisions for Strengthening Institutions; and (2) advance the base-year forward following each annual grant cycle. Adds to title III general provisions relating to waiver authority. Directs the Secretary to waive specified title III requirements (including grant eligibility criteria involving an enrollment which includes a substantial percentage of students receiving title IV need-based assistance) in the case of an institution which: (1) is extensively subsidized by the State and charges low or no tuition; (2) serves a substantial number of low- and middle-income students as a percentage of its total student population; (3) is contributing substantially to increasing higher education opportunities for black Americans, Hispanic Americans, American Indians, and low-income individuals; or (4) is substantially increasing higher educational opportunities for individuals in rural or other isolated areas which are unserved by postsecondary institutions. Revises requirements for the Secretary's annual report to Congress to exclude discussion of part B institutions and to include discussion of part D Hispanic institutions which have been determined eligible although not satisfying specified eligibility criteria involving low institutional expenditures per student. Authorizes appropriations for FY 1986 through 1990 for institutional aid programs under parts A, B, and C of title III. Raises the percentage of part A funds which must be made available to junior or community colleges from 24 percent to 30 percent. Requires that at least $10,000,000 or 15 percent of part A funds, whichever is more, be used for Hispanic institutions. Sets forth amendments to title IV (Student Assistance) of the Act. Renames part A of title IV "Need-Based Student Assistance" and revises the statement of purpose of such part. Renames subpart 1 of part A "Pell Grants," thus conforming to the already renamed grants program. Extends the Pell Grants program through FY 1990. Revises the formulas for determining the amount of each Pell Grant. Declares that the purpose of the program is to provide a Pell Grant that: (1) as determined under specified provisions for the amount of such grants, will meet 75 percent of a student's tuition and fees not in excess of $3,000; and (2) in combination with reasonable parental or independent student contribution and supplemented by work-study and institutional block grant programs, will meet 80 percent of a student's cost of attendance, unless the institution determines that a greater amount of assistance would better serve the purposes of part A. Sets the amount of a Pell Grant for an eligible student at $3,000 for the award year from July 1, 1985, through June 30, 1986 (or for any subsequent award year, $3,000 plus the sum of specified inflation adjustments) minus the amount of the expected family contribution with respect to that student for that year. Retains provisions for proportional reductions or grants for part-time students. Revises the maximum limit on a Pell Grant amount. Provides that such Grant shall not exceed the sum of: (1) 75 percent of tuition, required books, and uniform compulsory fees, plus (2) a standard cost allowance for each award year, as determined by the institution. Limits such standard cost allowance to: (1) $1,200 for a student residing with a parent or guardian; (2) $1,600 for a student residing neither with a parent or guardian nor in specified institutional housing; or (3) $2,000 for a student residing in institutionally owned, operated, or subsidized housing. Prohibits any Pell Grant from exceeding the sum of such tuition, books, fees, and cost allowance minus the expected family contribution. Retains the $200 minimum limit for Pell Grant awards, but eliminates provisions for exceptions to such limit. Directs the Secretary, for each Pell Grant award year beginning after June 30, 1986, to publish: (1) the percentage change for the price index for the calendar year preceding the calendar year in which such award year begins; (2) an inflation adjustment, determined by a specified formula, for such award year, if the price index has increased by more than three percent; and (3) the Pell Grant amount in effect after taking into account each of the inflation adjustments determined. Sets forth provisions for family contributions scheduled for Pell Grants. Makes the period of student eligibility for Pell Grants five academic years, or the equivalent, but provides that no eligible student shall be precluded from receiving a Pell Grant for the first year of graduate or professional study because of such five-year limitation. Includes English instruction for individuals with limited English proficiency among those noncredit or remedial courses preparatory to pursuit of a baccalaureate degree for which Pell Grant support may be given to eligible students. Retains provisions relating to Pell Grant application procedures and the noncontractor status of institutions. Deletes certain provisions relating to insufficient available funds and to excess funds. Deletes title IV, part A provisions for Supplemental Educational Opportunity Grants (subpart 2) and Grants to States for State Student Incentives (subpart 3), but continues the purposes of such programs under a new Institutional Block Grant program. Switches to a new part C (Special Services) the title IV part A subparts 4 and 5 provisions for Special Programs for Students from Disadvantaged Backgrounds and Special Programs for Students Whose Families are Engaged in Migrant and Seasonal Farmwork. Deletes those subpart 6 provisions for Assistance to Institutions of Higher Education which involve certain payments to institutions of higher education, but switches to title I those provisions of subpart 6 which involve veterans' cost-of-instruction payments to institutions of higher education. Switches provisions for Work-Study Programs from title IV part C to title IV part A subpart 2, and revises such provisions. Extends through FY 1990 the authorization of appropriations for Work-Study Programs. Replaces provisions for allotment of work-study funds to States with provisions for allotment of such funds to institutions. Retains provisions for grants for work-study programs to institutions which enter into specified agreements. Deletes provisions relating to within-State distribution of assistance. Sets forth provisions relating to sources of matching funds. Provides that nothing in provisions for Work-Study Programs shall be construed as restricting the source (other than Work-Study Programs funds) from which the institution may pay its share of the compensation of a student employed under a work-study program covered by an agreement. Allows such share to be paid to such student in the form of services and equipment (including tuition, room, board, and books) furnished by such institution. Retains provisions for job location and development programs and agreements. Revises provisions for work study for community service-learning on behalf of low-income individuals and families to include literacy and other language-proficiency services. Establishes an Institutional Block Grant program, under title IV part A subpart 3, to permit institutions to make their own allocation decisions on the funding of certain student assistance programs. Declares that such Institutional Block Grant program is to permit such institutions to: (1) continue to provide supplemental grants, increase student employment, and operate institutional loan programs in a manner similar to that in which such activities were conducted prior to October 1, 1985, under the supplemental educational opportunity grant program, the State student incentive program, and the national direct student loan program; (2) capitalize a loan program to continue to use the Federal capital contribution to the national direct student loan (NDSL) program as part of the capital for the new loan program; and (3) supplement the funds available for work-study programs. Authorizes appropriations for FY 1986 through 1990 for such Institutional Block Grant program. Sets forth provisions for allotment of such block grant funds to institutions based on the amount of Pell Grants and guaranteed student loans made to students at an eligible institution. Requires that an eligible institution be allotted: (1) for FY 1986, at least the sum of the amounts such institution received for 1985, under provisions in effect prior to the start of FY 1986, for Supplemental Education Opportunity Grants, Grants to States for State Student Incentives, and the national direct student loan program (NDSL); and (2) for any succeeding fiscal year, at least 90 percent of the amount such institution received for the proceeding year under Institutional Block Grant provisions. Provides for ratable reduction of such allotments when appropriations are not sufficient. Sets forth provisions relating to student eligibility for block grant assistance. Provides that such assistance may be made available only to a student who: (1) is an eligible student under title IV general provisions for student eligibility; and (2) has demonstrated need for financial assistance in accordance with the following formula. Provides that the amount of a student's need for financial assistance under the block grant program is equal to: (1) the cost of attendance (as determined under specified title IV general provisions), minus (2) the sum of the expected family contribution (computed in accordance with regulations prescribed under title IV general provisions) and any estimated financial assistance reasonably available to such student under Pell Grant and Work-Study programs. Prohibits an institution from reserving more than ten percent of its Institutional Block Grant allotment to provide assistance for less-than-half-time students who are otherwise eligible students. Sets forth a matching requirement for institutional block grant recipients. Requires each institution receiving such allotment to contribute to Institutional Block Grant programs an amount from non-Federal sources equal to at least 15 percent of such allotment. Permits the institution to allocate such institutional contribution to meet: (1) the matching requirement for grants for Work-Study Programs with respect to any block grant funds transferred for use for work-study assistance; and (2) the capital contribution requirement with respect to block grant funds deposited in the student loan fund. Sets forth authorized uses of Institutional Block Grant allotment funds. Permits such funds to be used to provide student financial assistance in the form of: (1) a grant (directly under Institution Block Grant provisions); or (2) additional work-study assistance (by a transfer of a portion of the block grant for use in accordance with provisions for Work-Study Programs). Permits such funds, together with funds available pursuant to specified provisions for student loans and for the transfer of the balance of national direct student loan (NDSL) funds, to also be used to provide student financial assistance in the form of a loan made in accordance with specified provisions for student loans. Limits the sum of the financial assistance through such direct grants, additional work-study assistance, and loans to the need of such student as determined for purposes of eligibility for Institutional Block Grant assistance. Provides that only one-half of the block grant allotment to an institution in any fiscal year may be used for making such student loans. Prohibits block grant allotment funds from being deposited in the student loan fund established by such institution if the Secretary has determined that the default rate of such institution's loan program exceeds ten percent, unless the Secretary: (1) has, for each subsequent year, determined that such institution has made substantial progress (as defined under this Act) in reducing such default rate; or (2) determines that such institution is maintaining a default rate of less than ten percent for each subsequent year. Sets forth provisions relating to student loans under the Institutional Block Grant program. Requires any institution that desires to make loans to students from funds under its block grant allotment or funds made available from the transfer of the balance of NDSL funds to enter into a specified agreement with the Secretary. Requires that such agreements provide: (1) for the establishment and maintenance of a student loan fund for the purposes of the Institutional Block Grant program; (2) for the deposit in such fund of block grant funds permitted to be used for such loans, funds from the transfer of the NDSL program balance, an institutional capital contribution equal to at least one-ninth of the block grant funds deposited, collections of principal and interest on student loans made from deposited funds or funds deposited in the student loan fund maintained under NDSL provisions in effect prior to the start of FY 1986, late charges or other fees, and any other earnings of the fund; (3) that such fund shall be used only for student loans, administrative expenses, required capital distributions, and reasonable litigation and collection costs; and (4) for protection of the U.S. financial interest and promotion of the purposes of the Institutional Block Grant program. Limits the maximum interest rate on such student loans under the Institutional Block Grant program to a percentage which is two percent less than the rate in effect under the guaranteed student loan (GSL) program as of the date of application for such loan. Provides for a capital distribution of the balance of any such student loan fund under the Institutional Block Grant program if at any time after the establishment of such fund: (1) the institution notifies the Secretary that it intends to terminate the making of loans in accordance with program requirements; or (2) the Secretary finds (after notice and opportunity for hearing) that the institution has terminated the making of loans in accordance with such requirements. Sets forth procedures for such capital distribution. Requires institutions, after such capital distribution, to make payments of a specified proportionate share of principal and interest payments received, after deduction of litigation or collection costs not already reimbursed. Provides that, if an institution has not entered into an Institutional Block Grant student loan fund agreement by the start of FY 1987, the institution's NDSL student loan fund shall be subject to a capital distribution in accordance with specified procedures to be applied in a special manner. Sets forth requirements for institutional block grant agreements. Sets forth provisions for the transfer of the balance of funds from an institution's student loan fund under the NDSL program to the institution's student loan fund under the Institutional Block Grant program. Renames title IV part B as the "Guaranteed Student Loan Program," and revises provisions relating to the guaranteed student loan (GSL) program. Declares that it is the purpose of part B to: (1) continue the GSL program established under such part as in effect prior to FY 1987; and (2) continue meeting the obligations incurred with respect to the federally- insured student loan (FISL) program (as so established), but only with respect to loans made under that program before FY 1987. Sets forth title IV part B subpart 1 provisions for Guaranteed Loan Eligibility, Amounts, and Term. Sets forth requirements for student eligibility for loans under the GSL program. Requires that a student, to be eligible for a GSL loan: (1) be eligible under title IV general provisions; (2) provide the lender with a statement from the eligible institution of the student's estimated cost of attendance and financial assistance; (3) have a family adjusted gross income of $65,000 or less; and (4) have the eligible institution provide the lender with a statement evidencing a determination of need and the amount of such need. Sets forth GSL nondiscrimination provisions. Sets forth provisions relating to the amounts of GSL loans. Raises the maximum limit on GSL loan amount in any academic year to: (1) $3,000 in the case of a student who has not successfully completed a program of undergraduate education; or (2) $7,000 in the case of a graduate or professional student. Retains limits on loan amounts to first-year students. Retains limits on aggregate unpaid principal amounts to undergraduate and to graduate or professional students, but adds provisions for computing such aggregate limits. Directs the Secretary to propose regulations to increase the aggregate limit for graduate and professional students if the Secretary: (1) finds that a substantial student dislocation will occur due to the inability of student borrowers to finance post-baccalaureate medical, dental, veterinary, legal, or other graduate degrees; (2) finds that low- and middle-income students find it impossible to pay for the cost of graduate and professional education; and (3) receives a unanimous recommendation to do so from the advisory committee on student financial assistance. Provides that expected family contribution for purposes of the GSL program shall be determined by means of the schedule established under title IV general provisions. Sets forth provisions for terms and conditions of GSL loans. Retains the five-to-ten-year repayment period, but provides that such period shall begin nine months after the month in which the student ceases to pursue a full-time course of study at an eligible institution (unless the GSL is made under a program which provides for the insurance of loans for part-time study at eligible institutions, in which case such repayment period shall begin nine months after the month in which the student ceases to carry at least one-half the normal full-time academic workload as determined by the institution). Retains provisions allowing agreements to shorter repayment periods and entitling borrowers to accelerate repayment without penalty. Allows forbearance in the enforcement of GSL repayment, with the approval of the applicable guarantee agency. Provides that the GSL interest rate shall be the rate applicable to the borrower's outstanding balance or interest on any GSL loan made before the start of FY 1987. Provides that the GSL interest rate for borrowers who have no such outstanding balance of principal or interest on any such loan made before the start of FY 1987 shall be the current rate, as determined by specified provisions, as of the date of entering into the loan. Sets such "current rate of interest" under the GSL program at eight percent for any calendar year which is not subject to a determination of the Secretary under the following provisions. Provides that, if the Secretary determines that the average bond equivalent rates of 91-day Treasury bills auctioned for any fiscal year exceeds 13 percent, then the "current rate of interest" under the GSL program during the next calendar year (beginning after the end of such fiscal year) shall be the average of such bond equivalent rates for such fiscal year, minus four percent, rounded to the next lower whole percent. Provides that interest on the unpaid balance of any GSL loan shall be at a yearly rate equal to the applicable interest rate applied to the unpaid principal balance of the loan (exclusive of any premium for insurance which may be passed on to the borrower). Retains provisions allowing a lender to charge a borrower interest at a rate less than the applicable GSL interest rate. Retains provisions which make inapplicable to GSL loans any other provisions of law which limit the rate or amount of interest payable on loans. Raises the minimum annual GSL repayment, for an individual or a married couple, to $900 or the balance of all GSL loans (including interest), whichever is less. Revises provisions relating to periods during which periodic installments of GSL principal need not be paid. Removes the grace period with respect to borrowers who are members of the armed forces, officers in the Commissioned Corps of the Public Health Service, volunteers under the Peace Corps Act, or full-time volunteers under the Domestic Volunteer Service Act of 1973. Retains borrower grace periods of specified lengths for uncompensated full-time volunteers in approved programs for tax-exempt organizations, full-time students, approved graduate fellowship program students, disabled individuals in approved rehabilitation programs, interns in the professions, termporarily totally disabled individuals or spouses unable to work because they must care for such individuals, and borrowers seeking and unable to find full-time employment. Deletes provisions which exclude such grace periods from the determination of the maximum repayment period. Retains provisions which allow: (1) deferment of interest payments until the date on which repayment of principal falls due; and (2) addition of such accrued interest to the principal on such date. Sets forth provisions relating to disbursement of GSL loans. Provides that the note or other written evidence of the GSL loan: (1) shall require the borrower to promptly notify the loan holder of any change of address; and (2) may contain provisions authorized by regulations relating to repayment in the event of default by the borrower. Revises provisions for disclosure to students of loan information. Sets forth provisions relating to GSL guarantee agencies entering into agreements with credit bureaus to exchange information concerning student borrowers. Sets forth title IV, part B, subpart 2 provisions for Federal Support for the Guaranteed Student Loan System. Revises provisions for interest subsidies for GSL loans which meet subpart 1 requirements and which are made by an eligible lender under a program of a guarantee agency and insured under a specified insurance agreement. Establishes a new method for the determination of the quarterly rate of the special allowances on GSL loans. Revises provisions for insurance agreement and obligations relating to interest subsidies for student loans insured under State or nonprofit private student loan insurance programs. Raises the maximum yearly and aggregate limits on such loans to the maximum limits for GSL loans under subpart 1. Requires that such loans be made, and subject to repayment, in accordance with the same terms and conditions (including interest rate provisions) as GSL loans under subpart 1. Retains provisions relating to procedural requirements for applications for insurance and guarantee agreements by nonprofit private institutions in States without agreements. Revises provisions for guarantee agreements and obligations relating to Federal reimbursement to non-Federal guarantee agencies in case of student borrower default on any GSL loan. Revises provisions for supplemental guarantee agreements. Requires that advances for reserve funds of insurance programs made by the Secretary under the GSL program (as in effect prior to October 1, 1986) shall be repaid within such period as the Secretary may deem appropriate in each case in the light of the maturity and solvency of the reserve fund for which the advance was made, except that such period may not in any case exceed five years after the date of disbursement of the advance. Requires that advances so repaid be deposited in the guaranteed student loan fund. Retains provisions relating to administrative cost payments to guaranteeing agencies. Retains provisions relating to guarantee agency agreements with eligible lenders for the purpose of authorizing multiple disbursements of loan proceeds. Retains provisions for discharge payments in cases of student borrower death, permanent and total disability, or bankruptcy. Retains specified restrictions on institutional lenders under the GSL program. Sets forth title IV part B (GSL program) subpart 3 provisions for Related Loan Programs. Revises provisions for parent loans to undergraduate students. Deletes provisions for graduate or professional student eligibility to be treated as "parents" for purposes of taking out "parent loans" on their own behalf. Authorizes refinancing of parent loans under specified conditions. Removes limits on the interest rate for parent loans. Requires that any insurance provided by the Secretary for parent loans shall be provided in accordance with specified requirements relating to Federal loan insurance, as in effect at the end of FY 1986. Directs the Secretary, after notice and opportunity for a hearing on the record, to terminate the status of any lender as an eligible lender under the GSL program upon determination that such lender has made parent loans in a manner inconsistent with prudent and reasonable lending practices (as determined on the basis of the lending practices that are customary among lending institutions when making loans which are not insured or guaranteed by governmental programs). Sets forth provisions for consolidation of loans under the GSL program or under the national direct student loan program (the NDSL as in effect prior to the start of FY 1986). Authorizes the Secretary or a guaranteeing authority to enter into specified consolidation loan agreements with eligible lenders. Sets the interest rate for such consolidation loans at nine and one-half percent, with specified exceptions. Terminates the authority to make such consolidation loans at the close of FY 1991. Revises provisions for a GSL lender of last resort in each State. Sets forth administrative provisions for discontinued loan programs. Provides that the Secretary shall continue to have all the duties, obligations, powers, authorities, responsibilities, rights, and privileges with respect to loans made, insured, or guaranteed under part B which are outstanding at the start of FY 1987, as the Secretary had with respect to such loans under such part as in effect prior to such date. Sets forth title IV part B (GSL program) subpart 4 provisions for Program Administration and Definitions. Retains provisions relating to the Secretary's legal powers and responsibilities under part B. Sets forth provisions barring specified defenses to loan collection. Sets forth civil penalties for specified violations by lenders or guaranteeing agencies. Sets forth statute of limitations provisions. Establishes a guaranteed student loan fund. Revises provisions relating to the Student Loan Marketing Association (Sallie Mae). Deletes references to a specified authorization of appropriations for purposes of establishing Sallie Mae. Extends through FY 1991 the authority of the Secretary to guarantee payment when due of principal and interest on obligations issued by Sallie Mae in an aggregate amount determined by the Secretary in consultation with the Secretary of the Treasury. Extends indefinitely a provision that the priority (in bankruptcy proceedings) in favor of the United States shall not establish a priority over the indebtedness of Sallie Mae. Deletes provisions relating to: (1) loan consolidation by Sallie Mae; and (2) Sallie Mae as a direct lender. Sets forth definitions used under part B. Sets forth title IV part C provisions for Special Services. Sets forth title IV part C subpart 1 provisions for Special Programs for Students from Disadvantaged Backgrounds. (Switches such provisions from title IV part A subpart 4.) Extends through FY 1990 the authorization of appropriations for such special programs, including: (1) Talent Search programs; (2) Upward Bound programs; (3) special services for disadvantaged students; (4) educational opportunity centers; and (5) staff development activities. Sets forth title IV part C subpart 2 provisions for Special Programs for Students Whose Families Are Engaged in Migrant and Seasonal Farmwork. (Switches such provisions from title IV part A subpart 5.) Extends through FY 1990 the authorization of appropriations for such special programs, including services under the high school equivalency program and college assistance migrant program projects. Deletes title IV part D provisions for Direct Loans to Students in Institutions of Higher Education (the national direct student loan-NDSL-program). (Cf. provisions relating to the NDSL program under Institutional Block Grant provisions of title IV part A subpart 3 of this Act.) Sets forth title IV part D General Provisions Relating to Student Assistance Programs. (Switches such provisions from title IV part E.) Revises need analysis provisions to modify one of the basic criteria to be followed in promulgating regulations with respect to expected family contributions. Changes such criterion from "any educational expenses of other dependent children in the family" to "any tuition paid for other dependent children in the family." Deletes a provision which includes under "effective family income" any amount paid under the Social Security Act to, or on account of, the student which would not be paid if he or she were not a student. Directs the Secretary to use a specified series of assessment rates in determining the expected family contribution for any academic year. Directs the Secretary to approve a schedule for determining the effective family contribution and effective family income of an independent student. Revises the definition of "independent student" for title IV purposes. Raises the minimum allowance for room and board for a student without dependents residing at home with parents from $1,100 to $1,200 per academic year. Revises provisions for forms and regulations to require the Secretary to adhere to specified schedules for: (1) development and distribution of Federal multiple data entry forms; (2) guaranteed student loan need analysis; and (3) allocation of institutional block grant and college work-study funds. Provides that any additional regulatory changes initiated by the Secretary which affect the general administration of title IV programs and which have not been published in final form by April 1 prior to the start of the award year shall not be effective until the beginning of the second award year after the April 1 date. Retains provisions relating to student eligibility and institutional and financial assistance information for students. Extends through FY 1990 the authorization of appropriations for training in financial aid and student support services. Retains provisions relating to program participation agreements, transfer of allotments, administrative expenses, and criminal penalties. Provides for the establishment of a national center for postsecondary educational opportunity. Authorizes the Secretary, to the extent that funds are appropriated, to enter into a contract with an appropriate institution of higher education or public or private agency or organization to pay all or part of the cost of the establishment of such center. Provides that such center will: (1) coordinate development and dissemination of preeligibility information for Federal, State, and institutional student assistance and information regarding postsecondary access; (2) develop materials as necessary to increase student awareness of those Federal student assistance programs and postsecondary opportunities; and (3) operate short-term training institutes to enable junior and senior high school counselors and teachers, personnel engaged in special programs for students with disadvantaged backgrounds, college admissions personnel, and community agency staffs to more effectively counsel students regarding postsecondary opportunity and financial aid eligibility and availability. Directs the Secretary, in determining whether to enter into such a contract, to consider the ability of the applicant to involve specified associations in the operation of the center. Authorizes appropriations for FY 1987 through 1991 for such center. Deletes provisions relating to the National Commission on Student Financial Assistance. Establishes an advisory committee on student financial assistance in the Department of Education to advise the Secretary and the Assistant Secretary for Postsecondary Education. Sets forth provisions for committee membership. Includes among committee duties: (1) annual reports to the Secretary and the Congress on all forms and sources of student assistance; and (2) collection and annual compilation of information from guarantee agencies on GSL borrowers. Requires guarantee agencies to submit information describing specified characteristics of: (1) GSL borrowers for whom default claims are submitted for Federal reinsurance; and (2) GSL borrowers starting with the second fiscal year following the establishment of the committee at the start of FY 1987. Revises and retitles title V of the Act "Teacher Training Programs" (thus deleting references to the already repealed part A Teacher Corps Program). Establishes, as a new part A of title V, the Carl D. Perkins Scholarship Program to make grants to States for postsecondary education scholarships to outstanding high school graduates who demonstrate an interest in teaching, to enable and encourage those individuals to pursue teaching careers in elementary or secondary education. Authorizes appropriations for FY 1986 and subsequent fiscal years for such Carl D. Perkins scholarships. Directs the Secretary to allocate such funds among the States according to population and to make specified allocations to certain U.S. territories and possessions. Sets forth requirements for State applications for such grants. Includes among such requirements assurances that efforts will be made to attract students who: (1) are from low-income backgrounds; or (2) express a willingness or desire to teach in schools having less than average results or serving large numbers of economically disadvantage students. Sets such individual scholarship awards at $5,000 for each academic year of postsecondary education for study in preparation to become an elementary or secondary education teacher. Limits such scholarship assistance to four years of postsecondary education. Provides that such scholarships shall not be considered in determining eligibility for student assistance under title IV of the Act. Prohibits the individual scholarship award, when added to the title IV assistance, from exceeding the cost of attendance. Requires that Carl D. Perkins scholars be selected by a statewide panel which: (1) is appointed by the administrative head of the State educational agency, acting in consultation with the State higher education executive officer, where appropriate, and approved by the Secretary of Education; and (2) includes representatives of State legislators, school administrators, teachers, and parents. Requires that such scholar selections be made from students who rank in the top five percent of their high school graduating class. Directs the statewide panel to develop procedures and crieteria for selection, including grades, extracurricular activities, financial need, and interest in teaching as expressed in a written essay by the applicant. Authorizes the panel to require letters of recommendation. Sets forth conditions for continuation of such scholarship assistance to recipients, including full-time enrollment and satisfactory progress in a course of study leading to teacher certification. Requires scholarship recipients to agree to teach, for at least two years for each year for which assistance was received, in an elementary or secondary school or a public education program in the State in which the scholarship was awarded, within the ten-year period after completing the postsecondary education for which the scholarship was awarded. Requires repayment of scholarships by recipients found to be in noncompliance with such agreement. Sets forth exceptions to such repayment requirements. Sets forth provisions for Federal administration of State programs for such scholarships under specified circumstances and judicial review of the Secretary's disapproval of a State program. Establishes, as a new part B of title V, the "Talented Teacher Fellowship Program," a national fellowship program for outstanding teachers. Authorizes appropriations for such fellowships to outstanding teachers for FY 1986 and subsequent fiscal years. Limits to two and one-half percent that portion of such funds which may be used for administration. Requires that such funds be used to award: (1) two national teacher fellowships to public school teachers teaching in each congressional district of each State, the District of Columbia, and the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico; and (2) one such fellowship in Guam, the Virgin Islands, American Samoa, the Northern Mariana Islands, and the Trust Territory of the Pacific Islands. Limits individual fellowship awards to $25,000. Prohibits any individual from receiving such award more than once. Requires talented teacher fellows to return to a teaching position in their current school district for at least two years following the award, subject to specified repayment provisions. Permits such fellows to use such awards for such projects improving public education as the Secretary may approve, including: (1) sabbaticals for study, research, travel, or academic improvement; (2) curriculum development; (3) consultation with or assistance to other school districts; (4) development of special innovation programs; (5) community relations; or (6) model teacher programs and staff development. Establishes a National Selection Board for Talented Teaching Fellows. Sets forth provisions for membership and procedures. Requires fellowship applicants to submit proposals for projects, and indicate the extent to which they wish to continue current teaching duties, to the local education agency (LEA) for comment prior to submission to the Committee. Directs the Committee, in evaluating proposals, to: (1) consult with the LEA; (2) request recommendations from two teaching peers, the principal, and the superintendent; and (3) consider other appropriate criteria. Directs the Secretary to prescribe regulations for such selections. Requires repayment of such fellowship awards in the case of fraud or noncompliance in completing the project undertaken, as determined by regulations of the Secretary. Authorizes the Secretary to appoint, for up to three-year terms, up to five technical employees to administer title V Teacher Training Programs who may be appointed and paid without regard to specified provisions of Federal law governing appointments to the competitive service and relating to classification and pay rates. Deletes part C provisions for Training for Elementary and Secondary School Teachers to Teach Handicapped Children in Areas With a Shortage. Replaces part B provisions for Teacher Training Programs and part D provisions for Coordination of Education Professional Development with new parts C, D, E, and F provisions for teacher training Institutes and Workshops, Professional Development Institutional Assistance for Teacher Training and School Improvement, and Data Collection and Research on Evaluation of Education Personnel. Sets forth title V part C provisions for Institutes and Workshops ("national institutes"). Directs the Secretary, from funds available for such part, to make grants to institutions of higher education to support summer institutes and workshops for elementary and secondary school educators to improve: (1) their knowledge and skills in all areas of teaching; (2) their instructional and administrative skills; and (3) the knowledge and application of evaluation of teacher performance. Authorizes the Secretary, upon request of the State educational agency (SEA), to make grants to other public educator training agencies as established by the SEA prior to January 1, 1983. Directs the Secretary to: (1) prepare a program implementation plan for part C national institutes programs; (2) submit such plan to specified congressional committees by the start of the fiscal year preceding the award of funds for such programs. Prohibits funds from being obligated for expenditure under or expended for any such program unless: (1) a specified period of time has passed after such submission; or (2) each such committee before the expiration of such period has transmitted written notice that it has no objection to the plan. Sets forth title V part D provisions for Professional Development. Directs the Secretary, from amounts authorized for such part, to make grants to provide professional development opportunities for elementary and secondary school educators. Permits such grants to be used to: (1) establish and operate specialized seminars for elementary and secondary school teachers and administrators on instructional techniques, classroom management, use of technology and resources, motivation, and other similar areas; (2) develop training and support systems for beginning teachers, such as mentor programs; (3) assist projects to apply educational research and evaluation findings to classroom and school settings; and (4) establish and operate professional development resource centers that emphasize efforts among educators to improve teaching skills, share and adapt instructional resources, and apply innovative teaching techniques in the classroom. Requires applicants for such funding of a professional resource center to demonstrate that the grant proposal was developed in coordination with the SEA and has been approved by the local educational agency (LEA) concerned, with LEA consent to release educators to participate in center activities. Permits any institution of higher education or consortium of such institutions or nonprofit organization of teachers or administrators (or both) to apply for such grants. Provides that no such institution or consortium will be eligible for such a grant unless its application demonstrates that the grant proposal was developed, and will be carried out, with the active participation of elementary and secondary school teachers in setting goals, organizing the centers, and allocating resources. Sets forth title V part E provisions for Institutional Assistance for Teacher Training and School Improvement, including teacher education exemplary programs, and school-college partnerships. Directs the Secretary, from amounts available for such purpose, to make grants to institutions of higher education which have a school, college, or department of education to: (1) fund research and faculty improvement; (2) assess their programs and introduce curricular changes, technological improvements, and enhanced practice teaching experience; (3) improve coordination between teacher training and other departments; (4) provided incentives for programs to recruit students to prepare to be teachers in areas of particular need; and (5) promote other innovative activities within such institutions and departments. Directs the Secretary, from amounts available for such purpose, to make grants to institutions of higher education which have a school, college, or department of education to establish exemplary programs to encourage such institutions and departments to redesign and experiment with their educator training (including inservice), planning and development efforts, including teacher involvement in the assessment of the project. Gives priority to applications for such grants which include cooperative arrangements with other departments of the institution or with other institutions in the vicinity. Directs the Secretary, from specified amounts for such purpose, to make grants to promote the sharing of technological resources and faculty, and consultation on management and administration, between an elementary or secondary school or school district and an institution of higher education. Requires that applications for such grants be submitted jointly by a school or school district and an institution of higher education. Gives preference to proposals which will provide or improve services to the handicapped or economically or educationally disadvantaged children. Permits such grants to be used to promote cooperative programs between schools, colleges, and departments of education and local school districts by allowing more extensive mentor programs for students and beginning teachers which: (1) provide intensified cooperation in providing practical experience for student teachers; (2) permit faculty exchanges to give professors elementary or secondary school classroom experience and allow classroom teachers to work with student teachers in institutions of higher education; (3) assist cooperative research projects; or (4) establish experimental and innovative programs. Sets forth title V part F provisions for Data Collection and Research on Evaluation of Educational Personnel, including assessment of teaching personnel needs and a grants program for evaluation studies. Directs the Secretary to assess the current and future supply and demand for teachers, with particular attention to long-term and short-term shortages of personnel in various areas of specialization, shortages in particular States or regions, and the numbers of minorities and women entering teaching. Directs the Secretary to include the results of such assessment in the annual report to Congress under specified provisions of the Department of Education Organization Act. Directs the Secretary, through grants made by the National Institute of Education, to support studies of evaluation methods, teacher education, and professional development for teachers and other school personnel. Permits such studies to include assessments of ongoing evaluation programs, research and development on new evaluation programs, assessments of the costs and benefits of alternative evaluation methods, and studies of the degree to which evaluation programs affect teacher incentives to improve and remain in classrooms. Permits such grants to be issued to LEAs, institutions of higher education, or other organizations involved in research and evaluation on effective teaching and school performance. Provides that projects funded under such part F should include the collaboration of classroom teachers or their representatives in order to assure effective and equitable practice. Sets forth title V part G provisions for Authorization of Appropriations for Parts C, D, E, and F. Authorizes appropriations for FY 1986 through 1990 for parts C and D. Provides that a specified first portion of such appropriations shall be available for part C. Authorizes appropriations for FY 1986 through 1990 for parts E and F. Provides that a specified portion of such appropriations shall be available for certain provisions of part E and part F. Revises title VI (International Education Programs) of the Act. Renames title VI provisions for international studies centers as "language training centers." Revises such provisions to eliminate references to international studies at such centers and to emphasize intensive foreign language studies by students, faculty, and scholars in critical and less frequently taught languages. Adds to title VI new provisions for a foreign language periodical center. Authorizes appropriations for FY 1987 through 1991 to provide assistance for the establishment and operations of such a center. Directs the Secretary, from such appropriations, to make a grant to an institution of higher education or a public or nonprofit private library institution (or consortium of such institutions) to establish and operate a foreign periodical center which will: (1) acquire foreign periodicals which are not commonly held, which are of scholarly or research importance, and which are published in foreign countries; (2) maintain current bibliographic information on such periodicals in machine readable form and enter this information into one or more of the widely available bibliographic data bases; (3) preserve such periodicals; and (4) make such periodicals available to other institutions upon request. Directs the Secretary, in the selection of a grant recipient, to approve as a recipient only an institution or consortium which has already an established library or consortium of libraries with an extensive foreign language periodical collection. Provides that nothing in provisions for such center shall be considered to amend, affect, or define specified provisions of Federal law relating to copyright. Extends through FY 1990 the authorization of appropriations for title VI part A (International and Foreign Language Studies). Authorizes additional appropriations for FY 1986 through 1990 to provide funds to established overseas language centers administered by the Department of Education. Provides that such appropriations shall be available for three-year grants. Provides that no center shall be ineligible for a subsequent grant by reason of receiving a previous grant. Extends through FY 1990 the authorization of appropriations for title VI part B (Business and International Education Programs). Redesignates title VI part C (General Provisions) as part D. Adds new title VI part C provisions for Faculty and Student Study Abroad. Directs the Secretary to make grants to institutions of higher education to support faculty study abroad. Provides that such grants shall equal $15 for each "full-time equivalent student" enrolled at an eligible instiutition, except that institutions with 500 to 1,000 such students shall be eligible for $15,000 grants. Provides for ratable reduction of such grants in case of insufficient funds. Sets forth grant application requirements, including assurances by institutions and agreements by faculty members. Authorizes appropriations for FY 1986 through 1990 for such grants for faculty study abroad. Directs the Secretary, from amounts available for such purpose, to make grants to institutions of higher education, or consortia of such institutions, to provide assistance to enable advanced foreign language students to develop their language skills and their knowledge of foreign cultures and societies through study abroad. Allows such study to be combined with an internship in an international business enterprise. Makes any institution or consortium whose application is approved eligible for a grant for up to one-half the cost of providing such assistance. Sets forth grant application requirements, including: (1) institutional assurances that the program will provide the opportunity to combine language study with studies in specified fields for students majoring in such fields if they can qualify as proficient in the language; and (2) a description of the proposed program of study abroad in any country or geographic area or region designated by a specified title VI advisory board to be of concern to the national interest. Permits grant funds to be used to cover costs associated with the study abroad. Provides for ratable reduction of grants in case of insufficient funds. Authorizes appropriations for FY 1986 through 1990 for such grants for student study abroad. Directs the Advisory Board for title VI programs, in addition to its other duties, to advise the Secretary and the Director of the Office of International Education on: (1) trends in student enrollment that may lead to shortages in expertise on countries, geographic areas and regions, and languages; (2) the impact of international education programs on the needs of international business, foreign policy, and education; and (3) the countries, geographic areas and regions, and languages which should be considered of concern to the national security and other interests of the United States and accorded higher priority for study and for title VI assistance. Directs the Advisory Board to establish the countries, geographic areas and regions, and languages for which grants may be made available for student study abroad after taking such priorities into account. Adds to title VI new provisions for cross-national study funds. Authorizes appropriations for FY 1986 through 1990 to the National Institute of Education to cover the cost of U.S. participation in the conduct of cross-national studies in education. Amends the Department of Education Organization Act to establish in the Department of Education a Center for International Education, to be administered by a Director of International Education who shall be appointed by the Secretary. Requires the Director to: (1) report directly to the Secretary; (2) be responsible for administration of programs under title VI of the Act (HEA); (3) consult with the Advisory Board on the conduct of such programs; and (4) perform any additional functions prescribed by the Secretary. Requires that the Center establish a clearinghouse for information on assistance available to promote the study of foreign countries, geographic areas and regions, and languages under title VI of the Act (HEA), under other Federal law, and from other public and private sources. Revises title VII (Construction, Reconstruction, and Renovation of Academic Facilities) of the Act (HEA). Deletes title VII parts A and B provisions for grants for construction, reconstruction, and renovation of undergraduate (part A) and graduate (part B) academic facilities. Redesignates title VII part C provisions for Loans for Construction, Reconstruction, and Renovation of Academic Facilities as part A. Extends through FY 1990 the authorization of appropriations for such loan program. Raises the minimum non-Federal portion of the development cost of any project for which such a loan is made, from 20 percent to 50 percent. Adds to authorized functions of the Secretary under such loan program specified powers of foreclosure and acquisition. Adds to title VII new part B provisions for Grants for the Purchase of Laboratory, Research, and Other Instructional Equipment. Authorizes appropriations for FY 1986 through 1990 for such grants program. Directs the Secretary from the amount appropriated for such program for any fiscal year, to make grants to institutions of higher education to assist in acquisition and installation of such equipment. Directs the Secretary in selecting grant recipients to insure that funds are equitably distributed among the geographic areas of the United States and among the various types of institutions of higher education. Requires such institutions to provide matching funds covering at least one-half of the total cost of the acquisition and installation of the equipment for which such grant funds are sought. Revises title VII General Provisions to make conforming amendments which delete provisions for recovery of payments under the deleted grant programs for construction of undergraduate and graduate academic facilities. Revises title VIII (Cooperative Education) of the Act. Extends through FY 1990 the authorization of appropriations for: (1) grants for programs of cooperative education (revising and renaming such grants program to cover comprehensive programs of cooperative education); and (2) grants and contracts for research and training. Provides that appropriations under title VIII shall not be available for the payment of compensation of students for employment by employers under arrangements pursuant to such title. Provides that a grant (under the revised program of grants for comprehensive programs of cooperative education) shall, subject to the availability of appropriations, be not less than $1,000,000 nor more than $3,500,000 for each of the five years of eligibility. Requires an institution selected for receipt of such a grant to enter into an agreement with the Secretary which contains: (1) assurances of compliance with specified requirements; and (2) a five-year budget for the program that demonstrates to the satisfaction of the Secretary that the institution will obtain and maintain compliance with such requirements. Revises title IX (Graduate Programs) of the Act. Adds to authorized activities which may be carried out with specified funds for research and studies under part A (Grants to Institutions of Higher Education) of title IX the identification and recruitment of minorities and women for graduate and professional education (but does not provide for extending the authorization of appropriations for part A beyond FY 1985). Revises part B (Fellowships for Graduate and Professional Study) of title IX to provide that grants by the Secretary under such part shall, subject to the appropriation of funds, be available for a period of three years. Raises to $9,000 the maximum award of a fellowship under such part for financially needy graduate and professional students. Requires the institution, in selecting recipients of such awards, to give priority to those students whose demonstrated level of financial need is the greatest. Extends through FY 1990 the authorization of appropriations for part B fellowships for graduate and professional study. Renames the title IX part C National Graduate Fellows Program the Jacob K. Javits Fellows Programs. Extends through FY 1990 the Secretary's authority to award fellowships under such program. Provides that such fellowships shall be known as "Jacob K. Javits Fellowships." Provides that such fellowships shall be for graduate study in the arts, humanities, social sciences, and other areas of national interest. Renames the National Graduate Fellows Program Fellowship Board the Jacob K. Javits Fellowship Board. Limits to $9,000 the amount of any stipend paid to an individual awarded such a fellowship. Revises title IX part D (Assistance for Training in the Legal Profession). Increases from six months to nine months the period of preliminary training for which costs may be paid from grant or contract funds under such part. Extends through FY 1990 the authorization of appropriations for part D assistance for training in the legal profession. Revises title IX part E (Law School Clinical Experience Programs) to extend through FY 1990 the authorization of appropriations for such part E programs. Revises title X (Fund for the Improvement of Postsecondary Education) of the Act. Revises title X part A (Establishment and Operation of the Fund) to require that the Director of the Fund: (1) be appointed by the Secretary with the advice of the National Board of the Fund; and (2) report directly to the Secretary and not be under the supervision or direction of any other officer of the Department of Education. Extends through FY 1990 the authorization of appropriations for part A provisions for establishment and operation of the Fund for the Improvement of Postsecondary Education. Replaces title X part B provisions for Establishment of Agencies (and which refer to the establishment of a Community College Unit within the Department of Education) with new part B provisions for a Minority Institutions Science Improvement Program. Establishes an Office of the Minority Institutions Science Improvement Program within the Department of Education. Provides that the head of such office shall be a Director who shall: (1) be appointed by the Secretary with the advice of a specified advisory board established under this Act; and (2) report directly to the Secretary and not be under the supervision or direction of any other officer of the Department. Makes such Office responsible for the administration of the Minority Institutions Science Improvement Program authorized under specified provisions of the General Education Provisions Act (as added by the Education Amendments of 1980). Directs the Secretary to establish an advisory board for the Minority Institutions Science Improvement Program to advise the Secretary and the Director with respect to such program. Sets forth provisions for Board membership and duties. Requires the Director to make available information and assistance to enable the Board to carry out its functions. Revises title XI (Urban Grant University Program). Extends through FY 1990 the authorization of appropriations for such title XI program. Permits other entities within the community, including the applicant university, to pay the non-Federal share of the cost of projects under such program. Provides that the Federal share of such project cost shall not exceed 90 percent. Includes planning services under title XI programs. Makes technical amendments to title XI definitions. Redesignates title XII (General Provisions) as title XIII. Adds new title XII provisions for Institutional Endowment Development. Establishes a program to provide matching endowment grants to institutions of higher education which are eligible for assistance under the challenge grant program (part C of title III of HEA). Authorizes the Secretary of Education to award such matching endowment grants from sums available under the challenge grant program. Limits the endowment grant period to not more than 20 years, during which time the institution may not withdraw or expend the endowment fund corpus (the amount of the grant plus the matching amount deposited by the institution). Permits the institution, after grant period termination, to use the endowment fund corpus plus any endowment fund income for any educational purpose. Provides that institutions may receive more than one such grant, but may only receive such a grant for two fiscal years out of any period of five consecutive fiscal years. Limits the amount of an endowment grant to an institution to: (1) not less than $50,000 for any fiscal year; and (2) not more than $250,000 for FY 1986 or $500,000 for FY 1987 or any succeeding fiscal year. Permits an eligible institution to designate a foundation, which was established to raise money for the institution, as the recipient of the endowment grant. Sets forth requirements which the foundation and the institution must meet for such an award. Sets forth requirements for investment of the endowment fund corpus and income. Permits an institution to withdraw and expend the endowment fund income to defray any expenses necessary to the operation of the college. Prohibits an institution from spending more than 50 percent of the total aggregate endowment fund income earned prior to the time of expenditure. Authorizes the Secretary to permit an institution to spend more than the 50-percent limit under specified emergency circumstances. Provides for repayment by an institution of funds withdrawn prematurely from the endowment fund corpus or improperly expended from endowment fund income. Set forth auditing requirements. Directs the Secretary, in selecting eligible institutions for endowment grants, to: (1) give priority to an applicant with a greater need for such grant based on the current market value of the applicant's existing endowment in relation to the number of full-time equivalent students enrolled at such institution and in relation to the number of such students at such institution who are recipients of assistance under title IV part A (Need-Based Student Assistance); and (2) consider the effort made by the applicant to build or maintain its existing endowment fund and the degree to which an applicant proposes to match the grant with nongovernmental funds. Sets forth provisions for endowment grant applications and approval. Authorizes the Secretary to terminate and recover an endowment grant, after notice and opportunity for a hearing, if the grantee institution fails to properly expend, invest, or account for endowment funds. Directs the Secretary to use the most recent and relevant data concerning the number and percentage of students receiving title IV part A need-based student assistance, for purposes of making title XII institutional endowment development grant determinations. Sets limitations on the uses of title XIII grant funds. Authorizes appropriations for FY 1986 and succeeding fiscal years to carry out the title XIII institutional endowment development grant program. Redesignates title XII (General Provisions) as title XIII and revises such general provisions. Sets forth a definition of "State higher education agency." Directs the Secretary, within six months after enactment of this Act, to promulgate regulations in accordance with the recommendations in a May 1982 report on "Postsecondary Education in the U.S. Territories," in order to adapt programs under the Act to the needs of specified U.S. territories and possessions. Adds provisions authorizing appropriations for certain special postsecondary institutions. Authorizes appropriations for FY 1986 through 1990 for: (1) Howard University; (2) Gallaudet College; and (3) programs under the National Technical Institute for the Deaf Act. Authorizes appropriations for FY 1985 through 1987 for the John W. McCormack Institute. Sets forth a requirement for congressional approval of regulations under the Act. Terminates the Secretary's authority to promulgate regulations under the Act unless such regulations are submitted for review and approval by Congress. Provides that such a regulation shall take effect only upon the enactment of a joint resolution of approval with respect to such regulation. Establishes a National Advisory Commission on Postsecondary Education in the Department of Education. Sets forth provisions for Commission membership. Directs the Commission to: (1) advise the Secretary on matters affecting higher education, student assistance, college libraries and facilities, teacher preparation, endowment, and construction needs; (2) submit an annual report to the Secretary and the Congress. Sets forth provisions for biomedical education projects for economically disadvantaged students. Authorizes the Secretary to make grants to, and contracts with, institutions of higher education to offer projects to educate, motivate, and encourage students from an economically disadvantaged background to pursue training at the undergraduate and graduate levels in the biomedical sciences. Limits the amount of such grant or contract in any fiscal year to $2,400 for each talented student from an economically disadvantaged background who was a full participant in the project in the academic year ending in that fiscal year. Sets forth requirements relating to such projects. Sets forth application requirements for such assistance. Includes among authorized uses of such project assistance monthly stipends of up to $30 per month for target students who are full-time project participants. Authorizes appropriations for FY 1986 through 1990 for such projects (to remain available for expenditure or obligation through FY 1991). Provides that up to five percent of such funds shall be used for project evaluations. Amends the Tribally Controlled Community College Assistance Act of 1978 to extend through FY 1990: (1) a formula for determination of the amount of the grant to each tribally controlled community college; (2) the authorization of appropriations for technical assistance contracts; and (3) the authorization of appropriations for the tribally controlled community college endowment program.
United States · United States Congress · 22 March 1984
Academic Equity and Excellence Through Bilingual Education Act of 1984 - Amends the Bilingual Education Act (the Act, which is also title VII of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965) to revise and reauthorize programs under the Act. Includes under the statement of policy for the Act the recognition that: (1) there are growing numbers of children of limited English proficiency; (2) the Federal Government has a special and continuing obligation to assist in providing equal educational opportunity to limited English proficient children; (3) the segregation of many groups of limited English proficient children remains a serious problem; (4) both limited English proficient children and children whose primary language is English can benefit from bilingual education programs, and that such programs can help develop our national linguistic resources; (5) data collection capabilities need to be strengthened to better identify and promote effective programs and instructional practices; (6) parent and community participation in bilingual education programs contributes to program effectiveness; and (7) because of limited English proficiency, many adults are not able to participate fully in national life, and limited English proficient parents are often not able to participate effectively in their children's education. Provides that assistance under the Act shall be given to local educational agencies (LEAs), and, for certain related purposes, to State educational agencies (SEAs), institutions of higher education, and community organizations. Includes adult programs (in addition to related preschool, elementary, and secondary school programs) among those bilingual education programs to be assisted under the Act. Requires programs under the Act to be designed to enable students to achieve full competence in English. Permits such programs to also provide for the development of student competency in a second language. Authorizes appropriations to carry out the Act for FY 1985 through 1991. Authorizes separate appropriations for such period for grants to State programs under the new part B (Data Collection, Evaluation, and Research). Directs the Secretary to reserve, from the appropriations to carry out the Act: (1) at least 60 percent for programs under part A (Financial Assistance for Bilingual Education Programs), and of such reserved amount at least 75 percent shall be reserved for transitional bilingual education programs; (2) at least 25 percent for training activities under a redesignated part C (Training and Technical Assistance); and (3) not more than one percent for the National Advisory and Coordinating Council on Bilingual Education. Revises definitions under the Act to include under the definition of "limited English proficiency" difficulties with the English language which deny to specified categories of individuals the opportunity to participate fully in our society. Sets forth a definition of "program of transitional bilingual education" which is similar to the current definition of "program of bilingual education" under the Act. Deletes a requirement that the principal purpose of any participation of children whose language is English in a bilingual education program must be to contribute to the objective of assisting children of limited English proficiency to improve their English language skills. Deletes certain requirements relating to applications for assistance for bilingual education programs. Sets forth a new definition, defining "program of developmental bilingual education" as a full-time program of instruction in elementary and secondary schools which provides, with respect to the applicable years of study, structured English-language instruction and instruction in a second language. Requires that such programs: (1) be designed to help children achieve competence in English and a second language while mastering subject matter skills; and (2) to the extent necessary, be in all courses or subjects of study which will allow a child to meet grade-promotion and graduation standards; and (3) where possible, have classes comprised of approximately equal numbers of students whose native language is English and limited English proficient students whose native language is the second language of instruction and study in the program. Sets forth a new definition, defining a "family English literacy program" as a program of instruction designed to help limited English proficient students and out-of-school youth achieve competence in the English language. Permits such programs to: (1) be conducted exclusively in English or in English and the student's native language; and (2) where appropriate, include instruction on how parents and family members can facilitate the educational achievement of limited English proficient children. Requires that preference for participation in such programs be accorded, to the extent feasible, to the parents and immediate family members of children enrolled in programs assisted under the Act. Sets forth a new definition, defining "programs of academic excellence" as programs of transitional or developmental bilingual education which: (1) have an established record of providing effective, academically excellent instruction; and (2) are designed to serve as models of exemplary bilingual education programs and to facilitate the dissemination of effective bilingual education practices. Redefines "Office," "Director," and "Council" to refer, respectively, to: (1) the Office of Bilingual Education and Minority Languages Affairs; (2) the Director of the Office; and (3) the National Advisory and Coordinating Council on Bilingual Education. Includes specified Adult Education Act programs as examples under the definition of "other programs for persons of limited English proficiency." Provides that the Secretary's consultation with various entities in prescribing regulations under the Act shall be done through the Council. Requires that part A funds shall be used for programs of: (1) transitional bilingual education; (2) developmental bilingual education; (3) academic excellence; (4) family English literacy; (5) bilingual preschool, special education, and gifted and talented education preparatory or supplementary to programs such as those assisted under the Act; and (6) to develop instructional materials in languages for which such materials are commercially unavailable. Provides that grants for programs described under (1) and (2) shall be for 3 years with an additional 2 years upon reapplication, those described under (3) and (4) shall be for three years, and those described under (5) and (6) shall be for one to three years. Revises application requirements for grants under part A (Financial Assistance for Bilingual Educational Programs). Directs the Assistant Secretary of the Interior for the Bureau of Indian Affairs to report annually to the Congress, the President, and the Secretary of Education. Requires that such report assess: (1) the needs of Indian children with respect to the purposes of the Act in schools operated or funded by the Department of the Interior, including those tribes and LEAs receiving assistance under the Johnson-O'Malley Act; and (2) the extent to which such needs are being met by funds provided to such schools for educational purposes through the Secretary of the Interior. Sets forth a new part B "Data Collection, Evaluation, and Research." (Redesignates the current part B "Administration" as part D.) Provides that funds available under part B shall be used for: (1) collecting data on the number of limited English proficient persons and the educational services available to such persons; (2) evaluating the operation and effectiveness of programs assisted under the Act; (3) conducting research to improve the effectiveness of bilingual education programs; and (4) collecting, analyzing, and disseminating data and information on bilingual education. (These new part B provisions also replace and revise some research and evaluation provisions under the current part C "Supportive Services and Activities.") Sets forth provisions for part B grants to State programs for collecting, aggregating, analyzing, and publishing data and information on the State's population of limited English proficient persons and the educational services provided or available to them. Sets forth application and reporting requirements for such programs. Sets forth additional activities which such programs may provide for. Sets minimum and maximum limits on the amount of such grants. Directs the Secretary to issue within six months after the date of enactment of this Act, regulations which set forth a comprehensive design for evaluating the programs assisted under part A. Requires that such regulations: (1) be developed by the director in consultation with the Council; and (2) provide for the collection of specified kinds of information and data. Directs the Secretary to establish, through competitive three-year grants to institutions of higher education, at least two evaluation assistance centers which shall provide, upon the request of SEAs or LEAs, technical assistance regarding methods and techniques for identifying the educational needs and competencies of limited English proficient persons and assessing the educational progress achieved through programs such as those assisted under the Act. Revises provisions for research contracts under the Act. Provides for continuing longitudinal studies on specified aspects of bilingual education. Provides for studies to determine when students' English language proficiency is sufficiently well developed to permit them to derive optional benefits from an all-English instructional program. Deletes provisions for contracts for development and dissemination of instructional materials and equipment. Requires the Director of the National Institute of Education to consult with the Director and the Council to insure that research activities under the General Education Act complement and do not duplicate activities under part B of the Act. Directs the National Center for Education Statistics to collect and publish as part of its annual report on the condition of education specified data relating to numbers of limited English proficient persons, programs available for their education, and teachers and staff participating in or training for such programs. Sets forth a new part C "Training and Technical Assistance." (Current law has some similar training provisions under part A. The current part C is entitled "Supportive Services and Activities.") Requires that funds available under the new part C be used to: (1) establish, operate, and improve training programs for educational personnel preparing to participate in, or personnel participating in, the conduct of programs of bilingual education (requires that such training programs emphasize opportunities for career development, advancement, and lateral mobility, and permits training of teachers, administrators, counselors, teacher aides, and parents); (2) train persons to teach and counsel such bilingual education personnel; (3) encourage reform, innovation, and improvement in applicable education curricula in graduate education, in the structure of the academic profession, and in recruitment and retention of higher education and graduate school faculties, as related to bilingual education; (4) operate short-term training institutes designed to improve the skills of participants in programs of bilingual education, which may include summer programs designed to include the instructional competency of educational personnel in the languages used in the program; and (5) provide inservice training and technical assistance to parents and educational personnel participating in, or preparing to participate in, bilingual education programs. Allows institutions of higher education to apply for grants or contracts for the activities described in (1), (2), and (3). Allows institutions of higher education (including junior colleges and community colleges), private for-profit or nonprofit organizations (which apply jointly with or after consultation with SEAs or LEAs), SEAs, or LEAs to apply for grants or contracts for the activities described in (4). Allows institutions of higher education (including junior colleges and community colleges), private for-profit or nonprofit organizations, or SEAs to apply for grants or contracts for the activities described in (5). Makes specified application requirements concerning consultation with parents and other representatives of children applicable to applications grants or contracts for preservice or inservice training activities described under (1). Directs the Secretary, in making a grant or contract for preservice training programs described in (1), to give preference to programs which involve parents in the educational process and which contain coursework in: (1) teaching English as a second language; (2) use of a non-English language for instructional purposes; (3) linguistics; and (4) evaluation and assessment. Requires that preservice training programs be designed to ensure that participants become proficient in English and a second language of instruction. Directs the Secretary to establish at least 16 multifunctional resource centers, through competitive grants or contracts, pursuant to provisions for inservice training and technical assistance to parents and educational personnel participating in, or preparing to participate in, bilingual education programs. Requires that consideration be given to the geographic and linguistic distribution of children of limited English proficiency in awarding grants and contracts for such centers. Requires each center, in addition to providing such technical assistance and training, to gather and provide information to other centers on a particular area of bilingual education, including specified topics. Authorizes the Secretary to award fellowships for advanced study of bilingual education in such areas as teacher training, program administration, research and evaluation, and curriculum development. Requires that at least 500 such fellowships leading to a graduate degree be awarded for FY 1985. Requires that such fellowships be awarded: (1) to the extent feasible, in proportion to the needs of various groups of individuals with limited English proficiency; and (2) with preference given to individuals intending to study bilingual education in the following specialized areas, vocational education, adult education, gifted and talented education, special education, education technology, literacy, and mathematics and science education. Directs the Secretary to: (1) include information on the operation of the fellowship program in specified reports required under this Act; (2) undertake an ongoing longitudinal study of the impact of recipients of such fellowships on the field of bilingual education; and (3) through a specified clearinghouse, disseminate research undertaken by recipients of such fellowships. Requires fellowship recipients to agree to either repay such assistance or work for a period equivalent to the fellowship period in an activity related to bilingual education. Authorizes the Secretary to waive this requirement in extraordinary circumstances. Directs the Secretary, in making grants or contracts under part C, to give priority to eligible applicants with demonstrated competence and experience in the field of bilingual education and provide for stipends for persons participating in part C training programs. Redesignates part B "Administration" provisions under a new part D. (The current part D is entitled "Continued Bilingual Education Assistance.") Renames the Office of Bilingual Education the Office of Bilingual Education and Minority Languages Affairs. Directs the Secretary, in consultation with the Council, to report by February 1 of 1986, 1988, and 1990 to the Congress and the President on the condition of bilingual education in the nation and the administration and operation of the Act and of other programs for persons of limited English proficiency. Revises the required contents of such reports (as compared with earlier required reports). Renames the National Advisory Council on Bilingual Education the National Advisory and Coordinating Council on Bilingual Education. Increases the number of Council members from 15 to 20. Requires that all Council members be experienced in dealing with the educational problems of children and other persons who are of limited English proficiency. Requires that five Council members be State directors of bilingual education programs, at least three of whom represent States with large populations of limited English proficient students. Requires that five Council members be local school board members or local bilingual education program directors, at least three of whom shall represent LEAs with large populations of limited English proficient students. Revises other provisions relating to categories from which specified numbers of Council members must be chosen.
United States · United States Congress · 19 March 1984
Amends the Food Stamp Act of 1977 to establish separate deductions for dependent care expenses and excess shelter expenses for determining eligibility for certain food stamp benefit levels. Increases the maximum amount of such deductions.
United States · United States Congress · 15 March 1984
Public Employee Pension Plan Reporting and Accountability Act of 1984 - Imposes disclosure and reporting requirements upon State and local government pension plans. Establishes fiduciary standards for trustees of public employee pension benefit plans. Provides remedies and access to Federal courts. Specifies employee benefit plans which are exempt from this Act. Title I: Reporting and Disclosure - Requires the administrator of each public employee pension benefit plan to submit a registration statement to the appropriate State Governor within one year of enactment of this Act. Exempts a plan from the reporting and disclosure requirements of this Act if a State Governor certifies to the Secretary of Labor that: (1) State requirements are substantially equivalent to those of this Act; (2) the State can adequately administer its requirements; and (3) the State can adequately collect the requisite reports. Requires the Secretary of Labor to terminate any certification if a State is not meeting Federal requirements. Requires the plan administrator to: (1) publish a summary plan description; and (2) furnish such description to plan participants, beneficiaries, and specified persons. Delineates the contents of such summary plan description. Requires such description to: (1) state the rights of participants and beneficiaries; and (2) include an update whenever material modifications are made to the plan. Requires the plan administrator to publish an annual report. Specifies the contents of such report. Directs such administrator to engage an independent qualified public accountant to ascertain whether the financial statements and schedules in the annual report present fairly and in all material respects the information contained in the annual report. Requires the accountant's opinion to be included in the annual report. Requires the annual report to include a financial statement containing specified information, including the most recent annual statement of assets and liabilities of a common or a collective trust held by a bank or similar institution. Requires each plan to maintain a schedule of: (1) all assets held for investment purposes during each plan year; and (2) each transaction involving a party in interest. Requires annual reports to include, with respect to a defined benefit plan, a complete actuarial statement applicable to the appropriate plan year. Directs the plan administrator to engage an enrolled actuary to prepare such statement. Delineates the contents of the actuarial statement. Requires the annual report to include a statement from an insurance organization if any plan benefits are purchased from or guaranteed by such organization. Details the contents of such statement. Requires the enrolled actuary of the plan to make an actuarial valuation at least once every three plan years. Directs the plan administrator to furnish, upon written request of certain persons, a copy of summary plan descriptions and the status of an individual's plan benefits and contributions. Provides guidelines under which the plan administrator is directed to file the annual report with either the Secretary of Labor (the Secretary) or the appropriate State Governor. Authorizes the Secretary or Governor to reject the information filed by the plan administrator, and to take the following actions: (1) retain an independent public accountant to perform an audit; (2) retain an enrolled actuary to prepare an actuarial report; or (3) bring a civil action to enforce this Act. Presents guidelines for notice and review where claims for benefits are denied. Title II: Requirements Relating to Fiduciary Functions - Requires every plan to be established and maintained by written instructions which designate at least one named fiduciary. Details the functions of named fiduciaries and trustees. Establishes fiduciary and trustee liability. Prohibits certain transactions. Authorizes the Secretary to grant specified exemptions regarding such transactions. Imposes personal liability upon fiduciaries who fail to meet the fiduciary requirements, including removal for specified violations. Prohibits persons who have been convicted of, or imprisoned for, certain offenses from holding specified positions. Requires plan fiduciaries to be bonded. Specifies exceptions. Sets forth guidelines for the bonding procedure. Sets a limitation on actions which may be brought regarding failure to meet fiduciary requirements. Title III: Administration and Enforcement - Authorizes civil actions to redress violations of this Act. Imposes personal liability upon: (1) a plan administrator who fails to comply with a request for information; or (2) any person who fails to file required forms. Authorizes a plan to sue or be sued. Grants the United States district courts exclusive jurisdiction of civil actions brought under this Act. Grants concurrent jurisdiction to State courts and Federal district courts for specified actions. Authorizes the Federal district court to award reasonable attorney's fees under certain circumstances. Provides that suits brought against the Secretary may be brought in Federal district court. Authorizes the Secretary or appropriate State official to assess and collect a civil penalty against a party in interest who has engaged in a prohibited transaction. Grants such Secretary and State official investigative powers to determine violations of this Act. Details the extent of such powers. Authorizes the Secretary to prescribe regulations to administer this Act. Directs such Secretary to cooperate with State and local governments regarding the exchange of data and information. Prohibits interference with the exercise of rights by a plan participant or beneficiary. Establishes an Advisory Council on Governmental Plans, comprised of eleven members appointed by the President. Requires Council members to be qualified to appraise the plans falling under this Act. Requires the Council to: (1) report to the President and each House of Congress regarding implementation of this Act with possible recommendations for legislation; (2) advise the Secretary and make recommendations; and (3) monitor the costs incurred by plans under this Act and recommend cost reduction measures. Directs the Secretary to furnish staff services to the Council. States that this Act supersedes any State laws regarding public employee pension benefits plans. Specifies exceptions. Authorizes appropriations.
United States · United States Congress · 14 March 1984
Generalized System of Preferences Revision Act of 1984 - Amends the Trade Act of 1974 to require the President, in providing duty-free treatment for imports from beneficiary developing countries, to have due regard for the effect such action will have on extending internationally recognized worker rights to workers in developing countries. Defines internationally recognized worker rights. Prohibits the President from designating a country a beneficiary developing country: (1) if such country has not adopted laws that extend internationally recognized worker rights to its workers or is not satisfactorily enforcing such laws; or (2) for any calendar year occurring after a related per capita standard year in which such country had a per capita gross national product (GNP) of $5,000 or more. Requires the President, in determining whether to designate a country a beneficiary developing country, to take into account whether or not the country has adopted and is enforcing laws that extend internationally recognized worker rights to its workers. Requires that parties interested in the implementation and protection of internationally recognized workers rights shall be granted the same privilege of giving advice on the formulation of the general system of tariff preferences as parties with significant economic interest in the formulation of the system. Prohibits any article from being an eligible article for tariff preference purposes for any period during which such article is produced or processed in a designated zone in a beneficiary country in which conditions prevail that are treated as exceptions to and are less strigent than the otherwise applicable conditions relating to internationally recognized worker rights. Requires the President, annually after 1984, to identify each beneficiary developing country that has a per capita GNP for the related per capita standard year of: (1) between $400 and $1,399; or (2) between $1,400 and $4,999. Directs the President to determine whether a beneficiary developing country: (1) which has the lower per capita GNP, exported to the United States a specified quantity of an eligible article or more than half of the total U.S. imports of that article during one year; or (2) which has the higher per capita GNP, exported to the United States either a specified quantity of an eligible article or more than one-fourth of the total U.S. imports of that article during that year. Prohibits a country which the President has found to have exported such quantities of a certain article from being treated as a beneficiary developing country with respect to that article. Requires such prohibition to become effective within 60 days after the President's determination unless the President makes specified findings with respect to that country. Permits such a country to be redesignated a beneficiary developing country if the imports of the article from that country did not exceed the specified limitations during the preceding three years. Extends the generalized system of preferences until six years after the enactment of this Act. Requires the President to report to Congress on the operation of the system of preferences three years after enactment of this Act. Requires the Secretary of State and the U.S. Trade Representative, in consultation with the Secretary of Labor, to prepare reports on the status of internationally recognized worker rights within beneficiary developing countries. Requires the appropriate U.S. agencies to help beneficiary developing countries to ensure that the agricultural sectors of their economies are not directed to export markets to the detriment of the reduction of foodstuffs for their citizenry.
United States · United States Congress · 12 March 1984
States that: (1) all persons in the workplace have a fundamental right to know when they are handling or are exposed to substances hazardous to their health; (2) the Hazard Communication Standard should immediately be revised by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) in order to disseminate meaningful information to workers regarding the identity and composition of hazardous substances to which workers are exposed or which they handle; (3) the Hazard Communication Standard should be immediately revised by OSHA to extend "Right To Know" protection to workers in all industries and services not presently covered by the Standard; and (4) such Standard should set minimum Federal requirements which may be exceeded by more stringent State requirements. Commends those States and local governments which have acted to safeguard workers' health and which have passed community "Right To Know" laws.
United States · United States Congress · 8 March 1984
Fair Trade in Steel Act of 1984 - Declares that it is the policy of Congress that access to the U.S. market for foreign-produced carbon, alloy, and specialty steel mill products should be on an equitable basis to safeguard national security, insure orderly trade in steel mill products, reduce unfair trade in steel mill products, and alleviate U.S. balance-of-payments problems. Expresses the intent of Congress to: (1) expand the economic viability of the U.S. steel industry and the jobs of its workers; (2) prevent the further decline of the domestic steel industry; and (3) temper the economic hardships resulting from unemployment in steel industry communities by encouraging reinvestment in existing steelmaking facilities. Limits annual imports of specified steel mill product categories to specified percentages of the apparent domestic supply which are based on adjusted average import penetration levels for each such product category for the years 1979, 1980, and 1981. Directs the Secretary of Commerce to allocate global product limitations among foreign countries, groups of countries, or areas. Sets forth guidelines for making such allocations. Requires the Secretary to make an annual determination of the expected apparent domestic supply in each steel mill product category. Requires the Secretary to revise such determination periodically during the year. Directs the Secretary to determine, within 90 days after the effective date of this Act, whether the steel industry companies have plans to use substantially all of the cash flow from the steel sector for reinvestment in and the modernization of the steel sector. Prohibits the import restrictions from taking effect until the Secretary determines that the steel companies have such plans. Directs the Secretary to monitor steel sector investments made and announced by the steel industry and to consult with steel industry representatives and employees in the course of such monitoring. Directs the Secretary to determine annually whether steel companies are using substantially all the cash flow from the steel sector for reinvestment in and modernization of the steel sector. Directs the Secretary to modify or suspend the relevant import restrictions if the Secretary determines that substantially less than all the cash flow from the steel sector is being used for such reinvestment and modernization and that the level of investment is not demonstrably justified by adverse financial conditions within the industry. Directs the Secretary to publish: (1) each annual determination and its rationale; and (2) the total amount of cash flow from the steel sector and the total amount used for reinvestment in and modernization of the steel sector. Requires the steel companies to provide the Secretary with the information necessary for making such determinations. Directs the Secretary to examine the supply and demand situation in the United States for a specified steel product category if requested by affected steel consumers. Sets forth criteria to be used in determining short supply. Directs the Secretary to monitor imports of fabricated steel mill products. Sets forth the method of investigating whether imports of fabricated steel products are rendering ineffective or materially interfering with the objectives of this Act. Limits the quantity of iron ore that may be entered from all sources during any calendar year after the effective date of this Act. Directs the Secretary to allocate global iron ore limitations among foreign countries, groups of countries or areas. Sets forth guidelines for making such allocation. Directs the Secretary, in making such allocations, to attempt first to accommodate the requirements of individual steel mills which have been traditionally dependent on ocean sourced foreign iron ore and the requirements of contractual obligations incurred before January 1, 1984. Authorizes the Secretary to waive the import restrictions on iron ore if necessary to meet the needs of such individual steel mills. Provides for the enforcement and implementation of this Act.
United States · United States Congress · 8 March 1984
Requires the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission to: (1) conduct research for identifying and measuring wage discrimination; (2) assist any public or private entity in eliminating discriminatory pay practices; and (3) implement policies and procedures to prohibit employment discrimination. Requires the Commission to determine the number and nature of all charges filed under the Civil Rights Act of 1954 and to report to Congress with a summary prepared pursuant to this Act. Requires the Commission to conduct a study in consultation with organizations representing Federal employees and analyze: (1) the procedures established by the Director of the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) to establish classifications of positions in the competitive service; and (2) the actual practice of the Director and the heads of Federal agencies in complying with the principle of equal pay for work of equal value when establishing job classifications for employees. Requires the Commission to report to the President and the Congress on its findings and provide a copy to the Director of OPM. Directs the Director to submit his comments on the report to the President and the Congress. Directs the Secretary of Labor, acting through the Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs, to report to the President and the Congress on actions taken to enforce the prohibitions contained in Executive Order Numbered 11246 against discrimination by Federal contractors. Requires the Attorney General, acting through the Office of Civil Rights, to report to the President and the Congress on actions taken to enforce the prohibitions against sex discrimination in compensation contained in Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, Executive Order Numbered 11246, and other Federal laws. Requires Federal agencies responsible for submitting equal employment opportunity plans to include in such plans: (1) a review and identification of any discriminatory pay practices and any violation of the principle of equal pay for jobs of equal value; and (2) a plan for eliminating any such practices and remedying any such violation.
United States · United States Congress · 8 March 1984
Hazardous Air Pollutants Amendments Act of 1984 - Title I: - Amends the Clean Air Act ("the Act") to provide for the control of hazardous air pollutants from stationary and mobile sources. Provides for expedited listing of hazardous air pollutants. Directs the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), within 90 days after enactment of this Act, to classify 35 substances into two categories for purposes of determining whether such substances are hazardous air pollutants as defined under provisions for national emission standards for hazardous air pollutants (NESHAPs). Requires that 25 substances, including each of the 22 substances listed in specified testimony of the Administrator before Congress, be classified in the first category. Requires that ten additional substances, from among the 37 substances identified to Congress on a specified date by the EPA as being in the assessment phase of the review process, be classified in the second category. Authorizes the Administrator, at any time up to 90 days before the commencement of specified determination proceedings for any substance in the second category, to substitute for that substance another substance if the Administrator determines that there is a higher priority for determining whether the substitute substance is a hazardous air pollutant. Directs the Administrator to republish the classification with a statement of the reasons for such substitution. Directs the Administrator to commence hazardous air pollutant determination proceedings concerning: (1) the 25 substances in the first category, within 90 days after enactment of this Act; and (2) the ten substances in the second category, within one year after such enactment. Requires that such proceedings include an opportunity for a public hearing. Directs the Administrator to solicit and consider the advice of the Science Advisory Board in making a determination in such proceedings. Directs the Administrator to establish a docket for such proceeding containing all relevant information and analyses in EPA's possession. Directs the Administrator to make a hazardous air pollutant determination for each substance: (1) in the first category by January 1, 1986; and (2) in the second category by January 1, 1987. Directs the Administrator, simultaneously with such determination, to include any substance determined to be a hazardous air pollutant on the required published list and to publish a list of all categories of stationary sources which emit such pollutant. Directs the Administrator, for each category of stationary sources listed as emitting a hazardous air pollutant which was classified in the first category and subsequently listed, to: (1) publish proposed national emission standards (and, if necessary, proposed interim standards) by January 1, 1987; and (2) promulgate national emission standards (and, if necessary, interim standards), by January 1, 1988. Requires, for categories of stationary sources listed as emitting hazardous air pollutants classified in the second category and subsequently listed, publication of proposed standards by January 1, 1988, and promulgation of standards by January 1, 1989. Makes requirements under this Act relating to such expedited listing of, and promulgation of standards for, hazardous air pollutants nondiscretionary duties of the Administrator, for purposes of citizen lawsuit provisions of the Act. Allows any person to bring a civil action to require the Administrator to make any classification, commence any proceeding, make any determination, list any substance, or propose or promulgate any standard in accordance with specified provisions of this Act. Provides that the notice requirement under citizen lawsuit provisions shall not apply to any such action. Directs any court having jurisdiction over any such action to expedite its consideration of such action. Requires that a substance be treated as listed as a hazardous air pollutant until the Administrator makes a determination, if the Administrator has not made the required determination by the specified deadline. Directs a court to issue an order requiring a substance classified in the first or second category to be treated as listed as a hazardous air pollutant until the Administrator completes further proceedings, if: (1) the Administrator determines that such substance is not a hazardous air pollutant; and (2) the court reviewing such determination for any reason remands such determination to the Administrator for further proceedings. Directs the Administrator, on or before January 31, 1987, to commence hazardous air pollutant determination proceedings for each substance which: (1) has been classified, prior to January 31, 1987, by the national toxicology program as a known carcinogen or as a substance which may reasonably be anticipated to cause cancer; (2) is an air pollutant; and (3) has not been the subject of a determination under provisions of this Act for the 35 substances classified in two categories. Requires that such proceeding be completed within one year from the date required for commencement. Provides for annual hazardous air pollutant determination proceedings beginning on or before January 31, 1988, for each air pollutant which has been classified during the preceding year by the national toxicology program as a carcinogen or as one which may reasonably be anticipated to cause cancer. Requires that such proceedings be completed within one year from the date required for commencement. Revises provisions for NESHAPs. Directs the Administrator to publish and revise a list which includes each air pollutant which has been determined to be a hazardous air pollutant. Requires that such list also be revised to include the pollutants listed in accordance with the timetables established under this Act (including the pollutants listed by operation of law if the Administrator has not made a required determination by the specified deadline). Provides for emissions standards for control of hazardous air pollutants from stationary sources. Directs the Administrator to publish with the listing of a hazardous air pollutant (including a listing by operation of law) or the revision of such listing a list or revised list of all categories of stationary sources which emit such air pollutant. Requires that such list of source categories be revised whenever necessary to include all categories of stationary sources which emit any hazardous air pollutant listed. Directs the Administrator, within one year after listing a hazardous air pollutant, to publish proposed national emission standards (and, if necessary, proposed interim standards) for each category of stationary sources listed as emitting such air pollutant. Directs the Administrator, within one year after proposal of such standards, to promulgate national emission standards (and, if necessary, interim standards) for each such category of new stationary sources. Requires that such standards be established at a level which, in the Administrator's judgment, provides an ample margin of safety to protect public health. Authorizes the Administrator to also promulgate such an interim standard if a specified determination is made. Prohibits, with specified exceptions, the promulgation of any such interim standard at any time other than simultaneously with the initial promulgation of the national emission standard applicable to the emission of the hazardous air pollutant from such category of stationary sources. Prohibits revision of any such interim standard to make it less stringent after the date on which it takes effect. Allows promulgation of any such interim standard only if the Administrator determines that the national standard for such sources requires an emissions level of that hazardous air pollutant which is lower than the lowest level achievable (as determined at the date of promulgation) by the application of all potential emission reduction measures. Limits the period for which any such interim standard may remain in effect to six years after the date of the initial promulgation of the applicable national standard. Provides that any such interim standard shall require a level of emission reduction at least as stringent as that achievable through the use of all potential emission reduction measures. Defines "all potential emission reduction measures" as all measures or techniques for the reduction of emissions of the hazardous air pollutant concerned, except those which the Administrator finds to be technologically infeasible at the time of the determination on the date of promulgation. Includes the use of advanced emission control technology, closed systems, or substitute raw materials, processes, or products among such measures and techniques, except those found technologically infeasible. Prohibits any such national emissions standard or interim standard applicable to the emission of any hazardous air pollutant from being less stringent than the most stringent level of control for such air pollutant which is: (1) achieved in practice (as of the date of proposal of the standard) by any source in the category concerned (or in a category of sources having similar air pollution control characteristics); or (2) required in any permit (as of the date of proposal of the standard) applicable to any such source. Authorizes the Administrator to distinguish among classes, types, and sizes within categories of sources for purposes of establishing such national emission standards (including interim standards) for stationary sources emitting hazardous air pollutants. Directs the Administrator to revise such national standards where appropriate following periodic review. Directs the Administrator to complete a review of each such national standard within eight years from the date of promulgation, and at eight-year intervals thereafter. Directs the Administrator, within four years after enactment of this Act, to: (1) complete a review of each national emissions standard for hazardous air pollutants in effect on December 1, 1983, applicable to each hazardous air pollutant listed prior to December 31, 1983; and (2) revise the national emission standard (and if necessary promulgate an interim standard) for such hazardous air pollutant in accordance with this Act. Establishes permit requirements for new or modified sources of hazardous air pollutants. Requires such permits to be obtained from the Administrator or a delegated State prior to: (1) construction of any new stationary source which emits any hazardous air pollutant listed under the Act; or (2) modification of any existing stationary source which emits any such listed hazardous air pollutant if such modification will increase the emission of that hazardous air pollutant. Provides that such permits shall require compliance by the source with an emission limitation applicable to the hazardous air pollutant concerned which provides an ample margin of safety to protect public health. Allows an interim limitation for a specified period if such emission limitation would require an emissions level lower than the lowest level achievable by application of all potential emission reduction measures. Limits the period for which any such interim emission limitation included in a permit may remain in effect to six years after the earlier of: (1) the date of initial promulgation of a national emission standard applicable to the emission of such hazardous air pollutant from sources in the category concerned; (2) the date of the required revision to conform with this Act of such standards promulgated before the enactment of this Act; or (3) the date of issuance of the permit. Provides that each such interim limitation shall require a level of emission reduction at least as stringent as that achievable through the use of all potential emission reduction measures as determined at the time of issuance of the permit. Requires that any emission limitation or interim emission limitation established in such permits and applicable to the emission of any hazardous air pollutant be at least as stringent as the most stringent level of control for such air pollutant which is: (1) achieved in practice (as of the date of issuance of the permit) by any source or category concerned (or in a category of sources having similar air pollution control characteristics); or (2) required in any other permit (as of the date of issuance of the permit concerned) applicable to any such source. Requires that any emission limitation or interim emission limitation established in such a permit be at least as stringent as any applicable interim standard promulgated or, if no such interim standard has been established, any applicable national emission standard promulgated. Establishes permit requirements for control of hazardous air pollutants from existing stationary sources. Makes it unlawful for an owner or operator to operate an existing source without a permit one year after promulgation of a national emissions standard applicable to hazardous air pollutant emissions from sources in such category (or one year after the enactment of this Act in the case of any standard promulgated before such enactment). Sets forth provisions for standards under such existing source permits which are similar to those for new and modified source permits. Authorizes the Administrator to grant a waiver permitting an existing source a period of up to two years after the effective date of the permit requirement to comply with the requirement, upon determination that such period is necessary for the installation of controls and that steps will be taken during the waiver period to assure that the health of persons will be protected from imminent endangerment. Allows the source owner or operator, prior to expiration of such waiver period, to apply to the Governor of the State in which the source is located for an emergency extension of the waiver for up to three years from its expiration date. Authorizes the Governor, after statewide notice and opportunity for public hearing and upon making specified determinations, to petition the President to grant such extension. Requires consultation with the Governor of any other State whose residents may become exposed to such source emissions, and statewide notice and opportunity for residents of such other State to participate in the public hearing on such waiver extension. Authorizes the President, after reviewing the hearing, public comments, and any recommendations of the Governor of another State, to grant such petition if the President specifically concurs in each of the findings of the petitioning Governor. Requires publication of the President's reasons for concurring or not concurring. Directs the President to report to Congress on each extension granted. Sets forth general requirements applicable to permits under provisions for national emissions standards for hazardous air pollutants. Sets forth such permit requirements relating to: (1) monitoring; (2) administrative procedure and judicial review of issuance; (3) delegation to State permit programs; (4) revocation, renewal, and review; and (5) fees. Authorizes the Administrator to promulgate regulations under which permits may be issued by rule to one or more classes of stationary sources which emit hazardous air pollutants in small annual amounts where such sources are numerous. Sets forth conforming amendments. Title II: Hazardous Air Pollutants from Motor Vehicles - Amends Clean Air Act provisions relating to mobile sources to establish a program for the control of motor vehicle hazardous air pollutants. Defines a "motor vehicle hazardous air pollutant" as an air pollutant emitted from a motor vehicle or motor vehicle part, whether emitted into the ambient air or the interior of the motor vehicle, which the Administrator judges to cause or contribute to air pollution which may reasonably be anticipated to result in an increase in mortality or an increase in serious irreversible, or incapacitating reversible, illness. Directs the Administrator, within 90 days after enactment of this Act, to publish a list which includes each motor vehicle hazardous air pollutant, and to revise such list from time to time. Requires that the list include: (1) lead, ethylene dibromide, diesel particulates, and benzene; and (2) each hazardous air pollutant listed under the Act if the Administrator determines that such air pollutant is emitted from a motor vehicle or motor vehicle part. Directs the Administrator to make such determination: (1) simultaneously with the hazardous air pollutant listing; or (2) in the case of hazardous air pollutants listed before the enactment of this Act, within 180 days after such enactment. Makes requirements relating to motor vehicle hazardous air pollutants nondiscretionary duties of the Administrator for purposes of citizen lawsuit provisions. Allows any person to bring a civil action to require the Administrator to comply with any such duty. Provides that notice requirements for citizen lawsuits shall not apply to any such action. Directs any court having jurisdiction over any such action to expedite consideration of such action. Directs the Administrator to prescribe regulations to require manufacturers of motor vehicles, motor vehicle parts, fuels, fuel additives, oil, and oil additives to report to the Administrator any pollutant which is generated in normal use of its product and which it has reason to believe may be required to be listed as a motor vehicle hazardous air pollutant. Directs the Administrator, within one year after the inclusion of any motor vehicle hazardous air pollutant on the list (except in the case of lead) to publish proposed regulations: (1) under provisions for regulation of fuels and fuel additives respecting the substance concerned; or (2) (if it is technologically infeasible to achieve the objective of controlling a motor vehicle hazardous air pollutant under provisions for regulation of fuel or fuel additives) under provisions for new motor vehicles or engines establishing an emission standard for such pollutant. Directs the Administrator, within 180 days after publication of proposed regulations for establishing an emission standard for any motor vehicle hazardous air pollutant, to prescribe an emission standard applicable to the emission of such air pollutant from new motor vehicles and engines. Requires that such standard be established at a level which the Administrator judges to provide an ample margin of safety to protect public health. Sets forth provisions for interim standards for motor vehicle hazardous air pollutants which are similar to provisions for interim standards for stationary source hazardous air pollutants under this Act. Provides that, with specified exceptions, any new motor vehicle or engine emission standard established for a motor vehicle hazardous air pollutant shall become effective beginning with the second model year which commences after the model year in which such standard is promulgated. Requires that such regulations for emission standards for control of diesel particulate emissions establish standards which are at least as stringent as the following: (1) not more than 0.2 grams per mile (gpm) for model years 1986 and 1987 light-duty vehicles; (2) not more than 0.26 gpm for model years 1986 and 1987 light-duty trucks; (3) not more than 0.08 gpm for model years 1988 and after light-duty vehicles and light-duty trucks; and (4) not more than 0.25 grams per brake horsepower-hour for model years 1989 and after heavy-duty vehicles and engines. Directs the Administrator, within 180 days after publication of proposed regulations for any motor vehicle hazardous air pollutant which is a fuel or fuel additive, to prescribe a rule controlling or prohibiting the manufacture, introduction into commerce, offering for sale, or sale of such substance. Directs the Administrator to promulgate regulations prohibiting the use of lead or lead additives in gasoline after December 31, 1986.
United States · United States Congress · 8 March 1984
Minority Investment Tax Act of 1984 - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to provide for the nonrecognition of capital gain where such gain is reinvested in the stock of a mutual fund or other investment company which: (1) primarily invests in business enterprises controlled by minority persons; and (2) is owned, managed, affiliated, or otherwise controlled by a qualified minority company.
United States · United States Congress · 7 March 1984
Directs the Committee on Foreign Affairs to conduct an investigation into the murders of U.S. citizens in El Salvador and report to the House with specified findings and conclusions.
United States · United States Congress · 5 March 1984
Youth Incentive Employment Act - Establishes a program to provide part-time school year employment and full-time (or part-time with training) summer employment to economically disadvantaged youths who pursue further education and training. Provides that an individual may qualify to be an eligible youth for program participation purposes if such individual: (1) is 16 to 19 years of age, inclusive, at the time of assignment to a worksite; (2) is economically disadvantaged; (3) is not employed; (4) resides in the service delivery area (SDA) of the administering entity; and (5) has entered into a commitment to pursue further education and training. Requires such individuals to sign a written commitment to: (1) attend either a secondary school for a diploma, an alternative education program for a high school equivalency certificate, a remedial education program, or a skill training program; and (2) meet attendance and performance standards of such school or program and at the worksite to which the individual is referred for employment under this Act. Gives priority for selection under youth incentive plans to eligible youths with documented educational deficiencies. Terminates an individual's status as an eligible youth upon a finding by the administering entity, after an opportunity for a hearing, that the individual has failed to comply with the commitment. Requires that funds provided under this Act be used to establish and assist programs which assist eligible youth with qualifying employment in the form of: (1) part-time employment during the regular school year, not to exceed 20 hours per week; (2) part-time employment, during the months between regular school years, which is combined with remediation, classroom instruction, or on-the-job or apprenticeship training; and (3) full-time employment for a period of at least eight weeks during the months between regular school years, not to exceed 40 hours per week. Permits funds provided under this Act to be used to pay up to the following percentages of the wages and benefits and the costs of any employer-provided instruction and training of an eligible youth: (1) 100 percent during the first six months of qualifying employment; and (2) 75 percent during any succeeding months of such qualifying employment. Prohibits the use of funds provided under this Act to pay any portion of the wages and benefits of any individual: (1) for full-time employment during the months between the regular school year with a for-profit institution or organization unless such employment is a continuation of employment with that employer during the regular school year; or (2) if the employer has failed to develop or enforce attendance and performance standards consistent with youth incentive plan provisions. Sets forth general requirements for receipt and restrictions on the use of funds under this Act. Provides that the administering entity for any SDA under this Act is the same entity selected to administer the job training plan for that SDA pursuant to the Job Training Partnership Act (JTPA). Requires administering entities to: (1) develop and submit to the Secretary of Labor a youth incentive employment plan; and (2) provide from other Federal or State sources, or from local public or private sources, at least 20 percent of program costs for each program year, in cash or in kind. Requires that, of the funds provided to an administering entity for any program year under this Act: (1) at least 70 percent be expended for wages and benefits for qualifying employment, and child care, transportation, or other supportive service expenses for individuals engaged in such employment; (2) not more than 15 percent be used for the cost of administering programs under this Act; and (3) any remainder be used for worksite supervision, supplies, training aids and alternative or remedial education expenses. Sets forth requirements relating to youth incentive plans. Requires such plan to contain specified provisions, including: (1) provision for outreach services and programs to encourage participation in qualifying employment by eligible youths who are school dropouts, as well as by inschool youths; (2) assurances that special efforts will be made to recruit youth from families receiving public assistance, including parents of dependent children who meet the age requirement of this Act; and (3) a description of any arrangements made with labor organizations to enable youths to enter into apprenticeship training as part of employment provided under this Act. Requires that such plans, before they are submitted to the Secretary, be: (1) approved by the appropriate chief elected officials and the private industry council for the SDA; and (2) submitted for review and comment to the State job training coordinating council, and include any comments of such council and any reasons for nonconformance with such council's suggestions. Directs the Secretary to: (1) approve any plan submitted in compliance with the requirements of this Act; and (2) only disapprove a plan after notice and opportunity for a hearing to the administering entity. Sets forth special conditions relating to activities using funds under this Act. Requires that wage rates under this Act be the higher of the applicable minimum wage or the prevailing rate of pay for individuals employed in similar positions by the same employer, with specified exceptions in cases of labor organization representation. Authorizes the Secretary to prescribe wage rates within specified limits for youth participants for projects financed under $5,000 to which Davis-Bacon Act provisions would otherwise apply. Authorizes appropriations for FY 1985 and succeeding fiscal years for allocation to administering entities for programs under this Act. Directs the Secretary to reserve a specified amount of such appropriations for allotment among Native American eligible entities, on an equitable basis, taking into account the extent to which regular employment opportunities have been lacking for long-term periods among individuals within the jurisdiction of such entities. Requires that the remainder be allocated among administering entities that have in effect an approved youth incentive plan on the basis of numbers in each SDA of: (1) economically disadvantaged youth; (2) unemployed residents; and (3) excess unemployed residents (i.e. those in excess of six and one-half percent of the civilian labor force in the SDA). Requires that such allocations to an administering entity for an SDA be paid to the JTPA grant recipient for that SDA. Provides for a program year basis for funding beginning with FY 1986. Makes FY 1985 appropriations available both to funds activities for the period between October 1, 1984, and July 1, 1985, and for the program year beginning July 1, 1985. Authorizes additional appropriations for the transition to program year funding. Makes specified administrative and enforcement provisions of JTPA applicable to programs under this Act. Requires the administering entity to make quarterly reports to the Secretary on the youth incentive projects authorized under this Act. Requires such reports to include specified topics. Directs the Secretary to compile such reports and submit a summary of the findings to the Congress in the annual report for employment and training programs required under JTPA.
United States · United States Congress · 5 March 1984
Declares that it is the sense of the House of Representatives that the President should award the Presidential Medal of Freedom to David Phillip Vetter, of Spring, Texas, to be presented to his family in his memory as the oldest survivor of congenital severe combined immunodeficiency (SCID).
United States · United States Congress · 1 March 1984
Amends the Education Amendments of 1972 to include educational institutions receiving Federal financial assistance within the prohibition against sex discrimination.
United States · United States Congress · 1 March 1984
Authorizes the President, on behalf of Congress, to present to Elie Wiesel a gold medal in recognition of his humanitarian efforts and outstanding contributions to world literature and human rights. Authorizes appropriations. Authorizes the Secretary of the Treasury to provide for the public sale of bronze duplicates of such medal.
United States · United States Congress · 29 February 1984
Encourages the people of Paraguay in their efforts to reclaim and exercise their human rights. Declares that the United States should: (1) encourage Paraguay to set a date for the onsite visit of the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights; and (2) use more public diplomacy on behalf of human rights in Paraguay. Declares that until all political prisoners are released and Paraguayans are guaranteed the right to return and remain in their country, the United States should: (1) not provide security assistance to Paraguay; and (2) oppose loans and financial assistance for Paraguay by the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development and by the Inter-American Development Bank, except assistance which serves the human needs of the Paraguayans.
United States · United States Congress · 23 February 1984
Directs the President to: (1) secure from the Indochina nations a full accounting of Americans captured or missing as a result of the Vietnam conflict; and (2) work for the release of captive Americans and the return of the remains of those American servicemen and civilians who died in Southeast Asia. Requires the President to submit two reports to Congress on American POW/MIAs in Southeast Asia.
United States · United States Congress · 22 February 1984
Amends the Bankruptcy Code to permit a trustee to reject or assume a collective bargaining agreement made under the authority of title II of the Railway Labor Act or the National Labor Relations Act only if and after the court approves such rejection or assumption. Requires notice to all parties and a hearing before the court may approve such a rejection. Prohibits the court from approving the rejection of a collective bargaining agreement if, absent the rejection: (1) the jobs covered by such agreement will be lost; and (2) any financial reorganization of the debtor will fail. Declares that a rejection of a collective bargaining agreement constitutes a breach at the time of such rejection. Declares that no provision of this Act shall be construed to permit the trustee unilaterally to terminate or alter any of the terms and conditions of such a collective bargaining agreement.
United States · United States Congress · 22 February 1984
Expresses the sense of the House of Representatives that: (1) the Federal National Mortgage Association, the Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corporation, and the Government National Mortgage Association should continue to provide mortgage lenders with an organized national secondary mortgage market; (2) any limitations on the ability of such entities to issue collateralized mortgage obligations will impair recent improvements in market efficiency that have helped rebuild the thrift industry and benefited home buyers at no cost to the Government; (3) any prohibition of the use of the securities of such entities as collateral in structured financings is harmful to the housing industry and will result in shifting credit risk from the private sector to the Government; and (4) any restriction on the secondary mortgage activities or the use of the securities of such entities should be implemented only following complete consideration by the appropriate congressional committees.
United States · United States Congress · 22 February 1984
States that the Congress: (1) supports the initiatives taken by the Contadora nations and the resulting Documents of Objectives and Principles for Implementation agreed to by Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras and Nicaragua; (2) believes that the United States should support the effort to translate such agreed Principles into practical arrangements so as to facilitate a comprehensive regional peace agreement based on the noninterference in the affairs of other countries, national reconciliation, and democracy; and (3) believes that in fashioning U.S. policies in the region, the United States should take into consideration the degree of cooperation of Central American governments with the Contadora process in seeking a peaceful resolution to Central American conflicts.
United States · United States Congress · 21 February 1984
Medicare Solvency and Health Care Financing Reform Act of 1984 - Adds a new title XXI to the Public Health Service Act entitled "Programs For Reforming the Health Care Financing System." Sets forth part A of such title entitled "State Health Care Programs." Provides that if a State transmits to the Secretary of Health and Human Services, within one year of the enactment of this Act, a statement that the State intends to submit a health care plan (described below), for purposes of making payments to the State under title XIX (Medicaid) of the Social Security Act the Federal medical assistance percentage shall be 102 percent of such percentage as otherwise determined under Medicaid for such State for up to one year. Directs the Secretary to exempt hospitals in a State from the prospective payment limits established under this Act for certain time periods occurring during the first year of the transition period (defined in part C of title XXI as the 24-month period beginning January 1985) if: (1) the State requests such treatment; (2) the State indicates an intention to have implemented a State plan under title XXI which will provide for a recoupment of any revenues received in excess of the amounts permitted under part A; and (3) the State has agreed, with respect to such hospitals, that if a State plan under this Act is not implemented by the end of the first year of the transition period, then the Secretary shall provide for such adjustment in the prospective payment limits under part I of part B as will provide for recoupment in the subsequent year of any revenues received in excess of amounts permitted. Authorizes a State to apply to the Secretary for the approval of a health care plan for the State for an initial period of up to three years, subject to disapproval. Authorizes extensions of such initial period for up to two additional years. Provides that, for any one-year period, in the case of any State with an approved plan: (1) the transitional period provisions of subpart I of part B of title XXI shall not apply; (2) requirements for reimbursement (other than those relating to beneficiary cost sharing) under title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act shall be waived and; (3) for purposes of making payments to a State under Medicaid the Federal medical assistance percentage shall, for the year the plan is in effect, be 103 percent (or 104 percent in the case of an unrestricted Medicaid plan) of the amount of the Federal medical assistance percentage otherwise determined under Medicaid and 102 percent (or 103 percent in the case of an unrestricted Medicaid plan) for any subsequent year (except for any extension period) of the amount of the Federal medical assistance percentage otherwise determined. Defines "unrestricted Medicaid plan" as a State Medicaid plan which does not impose any limitation on the scope or duration of inpatient hospital services other than requiring that such services be medically necessary. Directs the Secretary to annually review each approved plan. Requires the continued approval, for a certain time, of a plan not in compliance, if the State certifies that it will comply within a stated time period. Permits a further extension of approval if there is a trend towards compliance. Provides for the establishment of a Federal program with respect to hospitals for a State which cannot comply. Requires a State plan, in order to be approved, to meet the general requirements set forth below and, if applicable, certain requirements relating to ratesetting plans. Permits a plan, in meeting the general requirements, to be designed in a manner that meets such requirements through a ratesetting system, a voluntary system, or through the use of competitive mechanisms. Requires a plan to be designed in a manner so as to provide, to the satisfaction of the Secretary, that: (1) the amount of the total revenues per discharge for all hospitals in the State for each year beginning before 1987 in which the plan is in effect may not exceed the base general hospital revenues per discharge increased by the sum of the compounded sum of the percentage limits for a year and the previous years for which the State plan was in effect, and the population-discharge factor; and (2) the amount of the total revenues per discharge for all services furnished to hospitals inpatients for all hospitals in the State for each year beginning after 1986 in which the plan is in effect may not exceed the sum of the base general hospital revenues per discharge increased by the sum of the compounded sum of the percentage limits for a year and the previous years for which the State plan was in effect, and the population-discharge factor, plus the base physician-related hospital revenues per discharge increased by the sum of the compounded sum of the percentage limits for a year and the previous years for which the plan is in effect and provided for a limitation under this clause (2), and the population-discharge factor. Authorizes a State, at its option, to apply the test specified in clause (2) instead of the test specified in clause (1) with respect to years prior to 1986. Permits a plan, instead of meeting the above requirements, to meet such other alternative test of constraint of health care costs as the Secretary determines will not result in a greater expenditure of funds under title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act and by private payers than would have been made if the plan met the above requirements. Requires a plan to be designed so as to provide that the amount of revenues for inpatient hospital services and physicians' services to hospital inpatients and individuals entitled to benefits under parts A (Hospital Insurance) and B (Supplementary Medical Insurance) of title XVIII of the Social Security Act may not exceed the amount which would otherwise be payable (including copayments and deductibles) for such services under title XVIII. Permits a plan (other than a plan providing for the establishment of rates of hospital reimbursement for hospital inpatient services) to provide that payment under title XVIII for inpatient hospital services and for other services furnished to hospital inpatients shall continue to be made in the amounts and in the manner otherwise provided under Medicare. Requires that the unreimbursed costs incurred by hospitals in providing services to low-income, uninsured or underinsured patients (other than Medicare or Medicaid patients) be paid pursuant to a plan in an amount which must, in the aggregate, be the same proportion of total revenues as such unreimbursed costs are of total costs of patients who are neither Medicare nor Medicaid patients. Provides that such unreimbursed costs shall be paid through distribution of funds pooled at the statewide level, through a higher payment rate, or through another method approved by the Secretary. Requires a plan to have a mechanism for providing fair hearings for hospitals and any other entities aggrieved by determinations made under the plan. Requires a State to provide for the appointment of a panel, consisting of members with expertise in health care economics and service delivery, to advise in the development and implementation of its plan, periodically review and propose modifications to the plan, and establish the methodology for establishing the percentage limit used to compute hospital revenues. Requires such methodology to include the use of appropriate external price indicators, the use of data from major collective-bargaining agreements for nonsupervisory hospital employees, and other appropriate indicators of wage costs. Requires the methodology to be approved by the Secretary. Requires a plan, to the extent that it provides for meeting plan requirements through a system which provides for the establishment of rates for hospital reimbursement for hospital inpatient services by an entity other than the hospital, to meet the following additional requirements: (1) except as provided in clause (2), the plan must provide equitable treatment of all entities that pay for health services covered under the plan, of hospital employees, and of patients; (2) if the plan is established under State law, the plan must take into account the proportion of costs associated with, and services covered by, the different payors, including Medicare and Medicaid, and may not permit undue shifting of proportions of costs among the different payors; (3) the plan may not make available any discount in price to any purchaser unless the discount accurately reflects economic benefits to a hospital resulting from a service arrangement with a purchaser and the discount is made available to all other purchasers who can satisfy such service; and (4) the plan must provide a procedure whereby, upon the request of a hospital, an adjustment can be considered to the rate limitation applicable under the plan to that hospital to reflect a significant change in the inpatient hospital services, increased costs for the compensation of employees, funds necessary to provide for the efficient operation of a hospital which the State has determined should remain in operation, and higher expenses associated with a regional tertiary care institution, teaching hospital, or children's hospital. Directs the Secretary, in reviewing a plan which provides for control of hospital inpatient costs through a competitive mechanism, to take into account the degree to which the plan provides for the following or other measures to improve price competition among providers: (1) the plan provides for open enrollment periods; (2) the plan provides for the dissemination of information concerning different health benefits plans; (3) the plan encourages innovation and public incentives to new forms of health care delivery and financing; (4) there are negotiated prices and risk-sharing between insurers and health care providers; and (5) the laws of the State do not impose legal barriers to competition in negotiated and other arrangements among insurers and health care providers. Sets forth part B of title XXI entitled "Residual Federal Program subpart I of part B entitled "Transition Period." Provides that, subject to the provisions of subpart I, for any accounting period of a hospital subject to subpart I the total revenues for inpatient hospital services may not exceed the total of such revenues that are permitted on the basis of prospective payment limits established under subpart I for the hospital's discharges as classified by diagnosis-related groups. Requires each hospital subject to a limitation on revenues under subpart I to provide for the publication of a price list which establishes the price per discharge which any payor may pay for inpatient hospital services. Requires a hospital to submit its price list to the Secretary. Directs the Secretary to determine (for each accounting period) a prospective payment limit for inpatient hospital services for discharges classified by diagnosis-related groups. Sets forth the method for determining and adjusting the limit for each hospital for discharges. Authorizes the Secretary, at the request of a hospital, to increase the allowable revenues for an accounting period or provide for an increase in the base number of discharges otherwise permitted under subpart I to allow for higher revenues than would otherwise be permitted if: (1) a major renovation or replacement of physical plant or significant change in the capacity of the hospital has occurred; (2) the hospital is a sole community provider or provides a disproportionate percentage of its services to low-income or medicare patients, the hospital would otherwise be insolvent, and the State has determined that the hospital should remain open; (3) a larger revenue increase is needed because the hospital is a regional tertiary care institution, teaching hospital, or children's hospital; and (4) there has been a significant change in the characteristics of the hospital's mix of patients. Subjects a hospital which has total inpatient revenues for an accounting period in excess of its applicable limit to a civil penalty, unless the excess is deposited in an escrow account. Permits withdrawals from the account upon the Secretary's certification that the total inpatient revenues of a hospital for an accounting period fall below the applicable limit for that period. Establishes a civil penalty for a physician or other person or entity (other than a hospital) who has charged any person or entity for services which are required by law to be billed to a hospital. Sets forth provisions relating to notice, opportunity for a hearing, and appeal of such penalties. Prohibits a hospital from engaging in an admission practice that results in: (1) a refusal to admit a patient who is unable to pay for inpatient hospital services; (2) the refusal to admit a patient who would be expected to require unusually costly or prolonged treatment; or (3) the refusal to provide emergency services to any person in need of such services. Sets forth penalties, including exclusion from Medicare or Medicaid participation, for hospitals committing such admissions violations. Sets forth subpart II of Part B entitled "Post-Transition Period." Provides that in the case of a State not having a plan approved under part A and in effect for any period beginning after the transition period, the Secretary shall establish and implement a health care plan for such State for such period which meets the requirements of part A, with specified differences. Sets forth definitions under part C of title XXI. Establishes an Advisory Committee on Health Care Technologies and Procedures. Directs the Advisory Committee to examine the appropriateness of the various interventions and the conditions under which they are needed, the safety and efficacy of alternative therapeutic and preventive regimens, and the standards for availability and utilization of various technologies, and to publicly report on whether or not payments should be made for such services and, if so, under what conditions and frequency of service. Exempts individuals enrolled in health maintenance organizations and competitive medical plans from the limits established under title XXI on revenues and discharge of a hospital if: (1) the organization elects such treatment; or (2) the organization annually pays for more than 20 percent of the number of bed-days of care with respect to that hospital. Amends provisions of the Public Health Service Act relating to employees' health benefits plans to provide that if an employer makes a contribution with respect to the costs of a health benefits plan of an employee and the employer offers the option of membership in a health maintenance organization or a competitive medical plan, which membership provides benefits at least actuarially equivalent to those provided under the other health benefits plan, the employer shall: (1) contribute at least as much towards the membership as the maximum amount of the employer's contribution to the other plan; (2) provide for a cash rebate if the contribution with respect to any other health benefits plan exceeds the cost of membership with the organization; and (3) provide information to employees that reasonably compares the benefits and costs of different plans. Exempts from the provisions of the previous sentence employees of an employer represented by a collective bargaining representative or other employee representative selected under any law. Amends title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act, with respect to health maintenance organizations and competitive medical plans, to provide that the annual per capita rate of payment for each class of members shall be 100 percent in the care of individuals enrolled with an eligible organization in an area where at least 30 percent of the individuals eligible to enroll with an organization are enrolled. Amends title XIX (Medicaid) of the Social Security Act to exempt a health maintenance organization which is a public entity from the requirement that at least 75 percent of its membership be Medicaid eligible or insured under part B (Supplementary Medical Insurance) of title XVIII or under both parts A (Hospital Insurance) and B of title XVIII. Directs the Secretary, under the prospective payment provisions of title XVIII of the Social Security Act, to provide that in the case of a State health care plan approved under Part A of title XXI of the Public Health Service Act payments with respect to services covered under title XXI: (1) may, at the State's option, be made in accordance with title XXI rather than Medicare; or (2) shall be made in accordance with title XXI rather than Medicare in the case of a plan which provides for the control of hospital costs through a title XXI ratesetting mechanism. Provides for increased Medicare payments to a hospital for its operating costs if the number of admissions for an accounting period exceeds the hospital's admissions during a specified base period. Directs the Secretary to determine a regionally adjusted capital-related prospective payment rate for each inpatient hospital discharge in accordance with a specified formula. Directs the Secretary, for each diagnosis-related group, to estimate the average per discharge amount of charges recognized under part B of title XVIII attributable to items and services furnished to inpatients within such group during 1983. Provides that, subject to the part B deductible and subject to other provisions of the Medicare prospective payment rate provisions, with respect to each individual entitled to benefits under part A and enrolled under part B of title XVIII who is a hospital inpatient and whose discharge is classified within a diagnosis-related group, the Secretary shall provide for payment to the hospital of an amount equal to 80 percent of a specified rate in lieu of payments otherwise made under part B for inpatient services. Requires that: (1) payments for health care services furnished to inpatients be made to or through a hospital as a condition of the hospital's participation in the Medicare payment; and (2) the Secretary provide for notice to the public and to individuals enrolled under part B of title XVIII of the Social Security Act of such requirement. Permits the Federal Hospital Insurance Trust Fund to borrow at any time from other social security trust funds if it can repay the loan within ten years. Provides for the periodic transfer to the Federal Hospital Insurance Trust Fund from the Federal Supplementary Medical Insurance Trust Fund of amounts which the Secretary determines to be equal to a specified fraction of the total revenues of the Federal Supplementary Medical Insurance Trust Fund for each fiscal year. Directs the Secretary to conduct and report to Congress on seven studies relating to: (1) health care costs, quality, delivery, and services; and (2) the effects of this Act.
United States · United States Congress · 9 February 1984
Comprehensive Hazardous Substances Cleanup and Emergency Relief Act of 1984 - Sets forth the finding that in order to adequately protect human health and the environment from hazardous waste it is necessary to: (1) establish a program for the cleanup of hazardous waste sites; (2) establish standards for the cleanup of such sites which will insure the same degree of protection for human health and the environment as are applicable in the case of facilities regulated under hazardous waste management provisions of the Solid Waste Disposal Act and other applicable Federal and State law; (3) establish enforcement standards which require parties responsible for the release or threatened release of hazardous substances, pollutants, or contaminants to assume financial responsibility for injuries of those exposed and for either conducting cleanup or reimbursing government costs of cleanup; (4) establish a full and cooperative Federal-State partnership in the cleanup program; and (5) afford citizens emergency assistance, reimbursement of medical and reimbursement expenses, and an opportunity to participate in the cleanup process. Title I: Cleanup of Hazardous Substances, Pollutants, and Contaminants - Amends the Solid Waste Disposal Act ("the Act") (also known as the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act of 1976) to add provisions for cleanup of, and liability for, certain hazardous substances, pollutants and contaminants. Defines "hazardous substance" as: (1) any substance designated under specified provisions of the Federal Water Pollution Control Act; (2) any element, compound, mixture, solution, or substance designated under specified provisions for additional designations under this Act; (3) any hazardous waste having the characteristics identified or listed under specified hazardous waste management provisions of the Act (but not including any other waste the regulation of which under specified hazardous waste management provisions has been suspended by Act of Congress); (4) any toxic pollutant listed under the Federal Water Pollution Control Act; (5) any hazardous air pollutant listed under the Clean Air Act; and (6) any imminently hazardous chemical substance or mixture with respect to which the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) ("the Administrator") has taken action under the Toxic Substances Control Act. Provides for designation of additional hazardous substances and reportable quantities under this Act. Directs the Administrator to promulgate and revise: (1) regulations designating as hazardous substances, in addition to those referred to in the definition under this Act, such elements, compounds, mixtures, solutions, and substances which, when released into the environment, may present substantial danger to the public health or welfare or the environment; and (2) regulations establishing that quantity of any hazardous substance the release of which shall be reported under this Act. Allows the Administrator to determine that one single quantity shall be the reportable quantity for any hazardous substance, regardless of the medium into which it is released. Provides that, unless and until superceded by such regulations, the substances designated as additional hazardous substances and the reportable quantities of such substances established under the Comprehensive Environmental Response Compensation and Liability Act of 1980 (Superfund) (CERCLA) shall be deemed designated and established under this Act. Sets forth a notice requirement relating to releases of hazardous substances from any facility. Defines "facility" as: (1) any building, structure, installation, equipment, pipe or pipeline well, pit, pond, lagoon, impoundment, ditch, landfill, storage container, motor vehicle, rolling stock, or aircraft; or (2) any site or area where a hazardous substance, or pollutant or contaminant, has been deposited, stored, dispensed of, or placed, or otherwise located (but does not include any consumer product in consumer use or any vessel). Requires any person in charge of a facility, as soon as such person has knowledge of any release (other than a federally permitted release) of a hazardous substance from such facility in quantities equal to or greater than those determined as reportable under this Act to immediately notify the National Response Center. Directs the Center to convey the notification expeditiously to all appropriate Government agencies, including the Governor of any affected State. Provides that such notification, or information obtained by exploitation of it, shall not be used against any such person in any criminal case, except a prosecution for perjury or for giving a false statement. Provides that such notice requirement shall not apply to the normal application of a pesticide product under the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act or to the handling and storage of such a pesticide product by an agricultural producer. Exempts from such notice requirement any hazardous substance release which: (1) is required to be reported (or specifically exempted from a reporting requirement) under specified hazardous waste management provisions and regulations under the Act and has been reported to the Center; or (2) is a continuous release, stable in quantity and rate, and either is from a facility for which notification has been given under specified provisions of CERCLA or is a release for which notification has been given under the notice requirement of this Act for a period sufficient to establish the continuity, quantity, and regularity of the release. Requires, in the case of such exemptions, that notification be given for releases annually or at such time as there is any statistically significant increase in the quantity of any hazardous substance or constituent thereof released, above that previously reported or occurring. Sets forth response authorities. Authorizes the Administrator, whenever there is a release or substantial threat of release into the environment of any hazardous substance or of any pollutant or contaminant which may present an imminent or substantial danger to human health or the environment, to: (1) remove or arrange for the removal of, and provide for remedial action relating to such hazardous substance, pollutant, or contaminant at any time (including its removal from any contaminated natural resource); or (2) take any other response measure necessary to protect human health and the environment. Requires that removal actions be consistent with the National Contingency Plan and long-term remedial actions. Allows the Administrator to authorize facility owners or operators or other responsible parties to undertake such response actions. Provides, for purposes of such response authorities, that the term "pollutant or contaminant" shall include, but not be limited to, any element, substance, compound, or mixture, including disease-causing agents, which after release into the environment and upon exposure, ingestion, inhalation, or assimilation into any organism either directly from the environment or indirectly by ingestion through food chains, will or may reasonably be anticipated to cause death, disease, behavorial abnormalities, cancer, genetic mutation, physiological malfunctions (including malfunctions in reproduction) or physical deformations in such organisms or their offspring. Sets forth investigation and planning authorities. Authorizes the Administrator to undertake investigations, monitoring, surveys testing, and other information gathering to identify the existence or extent of a release or threat thereof, the source and nature of the hazardous substances, pollutants, or contaminants involved and the extent of danger to human health and the environment, whenever the Administrator: (1) is authorized to act under response authorities for imminent and substantial danger; or (2) has reason to believe that a release has occurred or is about to occur, or that illness, disease, or complaints thereof may be attributable to exposure to a hazardous substance, pollutant, or contaminant and that a release may have occurred or be occurring. Authorizes the Administrator, in addition, to undertake planning, legal, fiscal, economic, engineering, architectural, and other studies or investigations to plan and direct response actions, recover costs, and enforce cleanup, liability, and funding provisions of this Act. Directs the Administrator, in such information gathering or planning, to assess the risk to human health associated with the release or threatened release. Provides for a six-months limitation on response action. Discontinues obligations, other than those authorized for investigation and planning, from the Hazardous Substances Trust Fund ("the Fund") established under this Act after $1,000,000 has been obligated for response actions or six months after the initial response to a release or threatened release of hazardous substances, unless the Administrator: (1) finds that continued response actions are immediately required to prevent, limit, or mitigate an emergency, there is an immediate risk to human health or the environment, and such assistance will not otherwise be provided on a timely basis; or (2) has determined the appropriate remedial actions and the States in which the source of release is located have complied with provisions for State payment of certain costs. Sets forth provisions for State payment of certain costs. Prohibits the Administrator from providing any remedial actions under response provisions of this Act unless the State in which the release or threatened release occurs first provides certain assurances. Requires the State to assure the availability of a hazardous waste disposal facility for any necessary offsite storage, destruction, treatment, or secure disposition of hazardous substances, pollutants, or contaminants. Requires the State to pay or assure payment of: (1) ten percent of the costs of remedial action and ten percent of all future operation and maintenance costs of any onsite remedial action; or (2) at least 50 percent (or such greater amount as the Administrator may determine appropriate, taking into account the degree of responsibility of the State or local government) of costs of remedial action and future operation and maintenance of onsite remedial action at facilities owned or operated by the State or local government at the time of any disposal of hazardous substances, pollutants, or contaminants therein. Directs the Administrator to grant the State a credit for amounts expended or obligated by the State or local government after January 1, 1978, and before December 11, 1980, for any response action costs which are covered by provisions for the Fund and which were incurred at a release listed under National Contingency Plan provisions. Provides for reimbursement to the State of any amount paid by the State, pursuant to a specified contract or agreement at any time after December 11, 1980, in excess of ten percent of remedial action costs at a facility owned, but not operated, by the State or local government. Requires that any amount expended by a State for administrative expenses in carrying out cleanup, liability, and funding provisions of this Act be credited against the required ten percent share. Sets forth provisions for selection of remedial action. Directs the Administrator to select appropriate cost-effective remedial actions in accordance with the National Contingency Plan and with a required protection level. Directs the Administrator to consider permanent solutions and alternative treatment technologies in evaluating the cost-effectiveness. Directs the Administrator to: (1) consult with the affected States before determining the appropriate remedial action; and (2) approve a more protective action if the State or local government assures payment of 90 percent of that portion in excess of the costs of the action chosen by the Administrator. Provides that the selected remedial action shall require a level or standard of control: (1) necessary to protect human health and the environment; (2) as stringent as the most stringent applicable Federal law; and (3) as stringent as the most stringent applicable State law. Authorizes the Administrator to waive the requirements of a protection level as stringent as the most stringent Federal and State laws and to select an alternative remedial action upon a finding that: (1) such an alternative remedial action will provide substantially equivalent protection; or (2) compliance with the requirements of a level of protection necessary to protect human life and the environment at a site or facility will consume such a disproportionate share of Fund resources as to defer or prevent remedial action at other sites or facilities which pose a significantly greater threat. Prohibits permit requirements for any removal or remedial action undertaken pursuant to this Act at the location of the release or threatened release. Authorizes the Administrator to establish the exclusive administrative procedures for making any determination under provisions for required protection level. Authorizes the Administrator to enter into contracts or cooperative agreements with State and local governments to take remedial actions and to be reimbursed for reasonable response costs from the Fund. Provides for enforcement of such contracts and agreements, and of cost-sharing agreements, in Federal district courts. Authorizes the Administrator to provide technical and legal assistance to State or local governments in administering and enforcing contracts and subcontracts in connection with response actions and to intervene in civil actions involving such enforcement. Authorizes the Administrator to treat two or more noncontiguous facilities as one if they are reasonably related on the basis of geography or of threat or potential threat to human health or the environment. Sets forth information gathering and access authorities for purposes of assisting in determining the need for response to a release or enforcing cleanup, liability, and funding provisions of this Act. Requires that access to records and information, including samples of hazardous substances or pollutants or contaminants or substances which may have been hazardous, and samples of containers and labels, be provided to authorized Federal and State officers by any person: (1) who generates, stores, treats, recycles or disposes of such substances; or (2) who generates, stores, transports, or otherwise handles or has handled such substances (where necessary to ascertain facts not available at the facility where such substances are located). Provides for access to the site or facility at which any hazardous substance or pollutant, or contaminant is located, whenever necessary to carry out cleanup, liability, and funding provisions of this Act. Provides for public availability of records, reports, or information obtained, with specified exceptions for data entitled to confidentiality. Requires that all information reported or obtained be made available to any duly authorized congressional committee. Directs the Administrator or the State to require compliance with Federal health and safety standards established in the National Contingency Plan in awarding contracts for response actions. Requires that the prevailing wage rates of the Davis-Bacon Act be paid to all laborers and mechanics for construction, repair, or alteration work funded in whole or part under response action provisions of this Act. Authorizes the President to authorize the use of emergency procurement powers necessary to effect the purpose of the Act. Directs the Administrator of the Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry (ATSDR), in cooperation with other Federal officials and States, to implement the health related authorities of the Act. Directs the ATSDR Administrator to establish and maintain: (1) national registries of serious diseases and of persons exposed to toxic substances; (2) inventories of research on the health effects of toxic substances; and (3) a complete listing of areas closed to the public or otherwise restricted in use because of toxic substance contamination. Directs the ATSDR Administrator to: (1) provide medical care and testing, or other appropriate assistance to exposed individuals in public health emergencies; and (2) conduct periodic survey and screening programs to determine relationships between exposure to toxic substances and illness. Directs the ATSDR Administrator to prepare toxicological profiles sufficient to establish the likely effect on human health of the 100 hazardous substances which are most frequently found or which pose the most significant threat to human health at facilities listed on the National Priorities List prepared under the National Contingency Plan. Requires that the 100 profiles be completed 48 months after enactment of this Act (at 12-month intervals for four groups of 25 substances). Sets forth provisions for public participation in remedial action planning. Sets forth remedial action schedules. Directs the Administrator to complete remedial investigations and feasibility studies for all releases and threatened releases at sites listed or proposed to be listed on the National Priority List prepared under the National Contingency Plan: (1) within 18 months after the enactment of this Act, at sites listed or proposed to be listed as of such enactment date; and (2) within 12 months after the date of listing, at sites listed or proposed to be listed after such enactment date. Directs the Administrator or the State to complete, within five years after such enactment date, remedial actions for all releases or threatened releases at sites listed or proposed to be listed as of such enactment date. Directs the Administrator to complete by January 1, 1987, a preliminary assessment of all sites listed, as of such enactment date, on the Emergency and Remedial Response Information System. Requires that the National Contingency Plan be revised within 12 months after the enactment of this Act to reflect and effectuate the powers and responsibilities created by this Act, in addition to those matters specified in CERCLA and other applicable law. Requires that the portion of such plan known as "the National Hazardous Substance Response Plan" be revised to provide procedures and standards for response actions consistent with protection level requirements under this Act. Requires that, on or before January 1, 1988, at least 1,000 of the highest priority facilities be designated individually on the National Priorities List as "top priority among known response targets." Requires that plan criteria for determining priorities among releases or threatened releases throughout the United States for purposes of taking remedial action shall take into account (in addition to factors required under CERCLA): (1) the release-associated damage to natural resources which may affect the human food chain; and (2) the release-associated contamination or potential contamination of the ambient air. Sets forth provisions for citizen petitions for site ranking. Directs the Administrator, within 12 months after receipt of a citizen petition, to complete a preliminary assessment of the hazards to public health and environment associated with any actual or threatened release of a hazardous substance or pollutant or contaminant. Directs the Administrator, if such assessment indicates a significant threat, to make a prompt evaluation in accordance with the hazard ranking system referred to under specified provisions of CERCLA to determine the national priority of such release or threatened release. Sets forth provisions for abatement actions. Directs the Administrator, upon determining that there may be imminent and substantial danger to human health or the environment because of an actual or threatened release of a hazardous substance or any pollutant or contaminant from a facility, to request the Attorney General, in addition to any other State or local action, to secure relief necessary to abate such danger or threat. Gives the U.S. district court in the district in which the threat occurs jurisdiction to grant such relief as the public interest and the equities of the case may require. Authorizes the Administrator, after notice to the affected State, to take other abatement action including issuing orders necessary to protect human health and the environment. Directs the Administrator, within 18 months after enactment of this Act, and after consultation with the Attorney General, to revise and republish guidelines published under CERCLA for using the imminent hazard, enforcement, and emergency response authorities of this Act and other existing statutes administered by the Administrator to effectuate the responsibilities and powers created by this Act. Requires that such guidelines: (1) be consistent with the National Contingency Plan; and (2) include the assignment of responsibility for coordinating response actions with the issuance of administrative orders, enforcement of standards and permits, information gathering, and other imminent hazard and emergency powers authorized by other provisions of law. Authorizes the Administrator to establish administrative procedures regarding the opportunity for a person to object to an abatement order under this Act. Provides that no court shall have jurisdiction to review any such abatement order in any action other than an action to: (1) enforce such order; (2) recover a penalty for a violation; or (3) recover punitive damages. Sets forth provisions for liability for releases or threatened releases of hazardous substances, pollutants, or contaminants which cause incurrence of response costs. Makes strictly liable for specified costs and damages: (1) owners or operators of facilities at which hazardous substances, pollutants, or contaminants were stored, treated, disposed of, or recycled; (2) persons who owned or operated such facilities at the time of such storage, treatment, disposal, or recycling; (3) persons who owned or possessed such substances and who arranged for such storage, treatment, disposal, or recycling by, or for transport for such purposes, by any other party or entity; and (4) persons who accept or accepted any such substances for transport to storage, disposal, treatment, or recycling facilities or sites selected by such persons. Provides that such costs and damages shall be: (1) all Federal and State costs of removal or remedial action and investigation and planning; (2) any other necessary response costs incurred by any other person consistent with the National Contingency Plan; (3) damages for injury to, destruction of, or loss of natural resources, including assessment costs; and (4) costs of specified emergency relief actions and health effects studies. Provides that such liability shall be: (1) joint and several; and (2) according to the standard which obtains under specified provisions of CERCLA and the Federal Water Pollution Control Act. Provides for recovery of interest on amounts recoverable as costs and damages. Sets forth defenses to such strict liability. Sets forth a limitation on the amount of such liability (the total of all response costs plus $50,000,000 for any damages) but makes the responsible person liable for full and total costs of response and damages in cases involving willful misconduct, willful negligence, or violations of Federal standards (within the privity or knowledge or such person), or failure or refusal to cooperate with requests in connection with response activities with respect to regulated carriers. Provides for punitive damages in an amount three times the amount of any costs incurred by the Fund as a result of a responsible person's failure without sufficient cause to properly provide removal or remedial action upon order of the Administrator. Provides that no person shall be liable under this Act for costs and damages incurred as a result of actions taken or omitted in the course of rendering care, assistance, or advice at the direction of an on scene coordinator, except in cases of gross negligence or intentional misconduct. Sets forth provisions relating to indemnification agreements. Sets forth provisions relating to liability for damages to natural resources. Makes all requirements, including liability, of this Act applicable to all Federal agencies. Prohibits recovery under such liability provisions of this Act for response costs or damages resulting from the application of a pesticide product registered under the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act. Provides that recovery for response costs or damages resulting from a federally permitted release shall be pursuant to existing law in lieu of such liability provisions of this Act. Provides that, for purposes of abatement actions, the presumption that EPA (or State) laboratory tests are accurate may be overcome if the defendant establishes by a preponderance of the evidence that such test results lack a reasonable basis. Sets forth provisions for financial responsibility. Directs the Administrator to promulgate requirements (for facilities in addition to those under hazardous waste management provisions of the Act) that classes of facilities establish and maintain evidence of financial responsibility consistent with the degree and duration of risk associated with the production, transportation, treatment, storage, or disposal of hazardous substances. Requires that priority in the development of such requirements be accorded to those classes of facilities, owners, and operators which the Administrator determines present the highest level of risk of injury. Directs the Administrator to publish notice of the identification of those classes for which requirements will be first developed. Requires that the level of financial responsibility be established and adjusted to protect against the level of risk which the Administrator believes is appropriate based on the payment experience of the Fund, commercial insurers, court settlements and judgments, and voluntary claims satisfaction. Directs the Administrator to cooperate with and seek the advice of the commercial insurance industry in developing such financial responsibility requirements. Requires that such financial responsibility requirements be incrementally imposed over a period of between three to six years after promulgation. Provides that, where possible, the financial responsibility level appropriate as a final requirement be achieved through incremental, annual increases in the requirements. Sets forth provisions for consolidated forms of evidence of financial responsibility under specified circumstances. Provides that the requirements for evidence of financial responsibility for motor carriers covered by this Act shall be determined under specified provisions of the Motor Carrier Act of 1980. Sets forth provisions relating to claims against guarantors and the limitation of guarantor liability. Sets forth provisions for penalties for specified violations under this Act. Sets forth provisions relating to employee protection. Prohibits firing or discriminating against any employee or authorized employee representative because he or she has provided information to a State or the Federal Government, or has caused the filing or institution of, or testified, or is about to testify in, any proceeding resulting from the administration or enforcement of this Act. Sets forth procedures for review by the Secretary of Labor of employee allegations of such a firing or discrmination, and for judicial review of the Secretary's orders. Provides for abatement orders, including rehiring or reinstatement with compensation and reimbursement of legal costs and expenses to the employee by the violator. Makes such employee protection provisions inapplicable to any employee who, acting without discretion from the employer (or the employer's agent), deliberately violates any requirement of this Act. Directs the President to conduct continuing evaluations of potential loss or shifts of employment which may result from the administration or enforcement of this Act, including, where appropriate, investigating threatened plant closures or reductions in employment allegedly resulting from such administration or enforcement. Permits employees and their representatives to request investigations. Provides for a public hearing at the request of any party. Directs the President to make investigation reports, findings of fact, and recommendations available to the public. Sets forth provisions for citizen petitions for emergency relief and health effects studies. Directs the Administrator, upon receiving a petition providing reason to believe that the petitioners were exposed to any hazardous substance in a manner which may present a significant risk to human health, to: (1) immediately terminate such risk by provision of alternative drinking supplies, decontamination of soil, or relocation of residents; and (2) perform a health effects study to ascertain the nature, magnitude, scope, and duration of the exposure, including a determination of the source of any groundwater contamination and a toxicological evaluation of the substances involved. Directs the Administrator to also perform a health effects study upon receiving a petition providing reason to believe that one or more persons have been exposed to any hazardous substance and such exposure has abated but previously presented a significant risk to human health. Requires that each health effects study be completed within six months after the date on which the petition is filed, and that the results of such study be made public within ten days after completion. Provides for judicial review of the Administrator's denial of such petitions in the U.S. district court for the district in which the exposure occurred. Sets forth claims procedures. Requires that all claims which may be asserted against the Fund be presented first to the owner, operator, or guarantor of the facility from which a hazardous substance has been released, if known to the claimant, and to any other person known to the claimant who may be liable under this Act. Allows the claimant, in any case where the claim has not been satisfied within 60 days of such presentation, to elect to: (1) commence an action in court against such owner, operator, guarantor, or other person; or (2) present the claim to the Fund for payment. Directs the Administrator to prescribe appropriate forms and procedures for claims filed against the Fund. Directs the Administrator, upon receipt of any claim, to: (1) inform any known affected parties of the claim; and (2) attempt to promote and arrange a settlement between the claimant and any person who may be liable. Provides that, if the claimant and alleged liable party agree upon a settlement, it shall be final and binding upon the parties thereto, who will be deemed to have waived all recourse against the Fund. Provides that where a responsible party is unknown or cannot be determined, the claimant and the Administrator shall attempt to arrange settlement of any claim against the Fund. Authorizes the Administrator to award and make payment of such settlement, subject to proof and procedures promulgated by regulation. Directs the Administrator (except in extraordinary circumstances where inadequate services of private organizations or State agencies make the use of Federal personnel necessary) to use the facilities and services of private insurance and claims adjusting organizations or State agencies in implementing such claims settlement requirements. Sets forth provisions relating to contracts for such facilities and services. Authorizes the Administrator, if no settlement is reached within 45 days after filing of a claim and if the information developed during the claim processing warrants it, to make and pay an award of the claim. Provides for the appeal of such an award in the U.S. district court for the district in which the arbitral hearing took place. Requires that, if the Administrator declines to make an award, the claim be submitted to a member of the Board of Arbitrators established under CERCLA. Sets forth subrogation provisions. Sets forth statute of limitations provisions. Prohibits, with specified exceptions, the presentation of a claim or the commencement of an action for damages under this Act unless that claim is presented or action commenced within three years from the date of the discovery of the loss, whichever is later. Provides that such time limitations shall not begin to run against minors or incompetent persons until a legal representative is duly appointed for them or until the minor reaches 18 years of age or the incompetency ends. Prohibits presentation of claims or commencement of actions for recovery of specified response costs until the date six years after the completion of the response action. Provides that no person who asserts a claim against the Fund pursuant to this Act shall be deemed or held to: (1) have waived any other claim not covered or assertable against the Fund under this Act arising from the same incident, transaction, or set of circumstances; (2) have split a cause of action; or (3) as a result of any determination of a question of fact or law in connection with such claim, be collaterally estopped from raising such question in connection with any other claim not covered or assertable against the Fund. Provides that judicial review of any regulation promulgated under this Act may be had upon application, within 90 days from the date of promulgation, by any interested person only in the Circuit Court of Appeals of the United States for the District of Columbia. Grants the U.S. district courts exclusive original jurisdiction over all other controversies arising under this Act. Sets forth provisions for venue in such cases. Provides that no provision of this Act shall be deemed or held to meet any prior litigation concerning any release of any hazardous substance or pollutant or contaminant or any associated damages. Sets forth provisions concerning the relationship of this Act to other law. Provides that nothing in this Act shall be construed or interpreted as preempting any State from imposing any additional liability or requirements with respect to the release of hazardous substances or pollutants or contaminants within such State. Bars any person from receiving double compensation for the same removal costs or damages or claims pursuant to this Act and any other Federal or State law. Authorizes States to require any person to contribute to any fund to pay compensation for claims for any response costs or damages or claims which may be compensated under this Act. Prohibits State or local governments from requiring any other evidence of financial responsibility in connection with liability for the release of a hazardous substance from a facility, if the owner or operator establishes and maintains evidence of financial responsibility in accordance with this Act. Authorizes the President and the Administrator to delegate any powers or duties and to promulgate regulations to carry out cleanup, liability, and funding provisions of this Act. Adds provisions for medical and relocation expenses and other recovery to the Act. Sets forth definitions applicable to such provisions. Title II: Establishment and Uses of Hazardous Substance Trust Fund - Amends the Solid Waste Disposal Act ("the Act") to establish the Hazardous Substance Trust Fund ("the Fund") in the Treasury. Transfers to the Fund amounts determined by the Secretary of the Treasury ("the Secretary") to be equivalent to: (1) the fees imposed under title III of this Act; (2) amounts recovered on behalf of the Fund under specified provisions of this Act; (3) civil penalties assessed under specified provisions of this Act; and (4) punitive damages under specified provisions of this Act. Authorizes appropriations in a specified amount for the Fund for FY 1986 through 1988. Authorizes appropriations for each fiscal year thereafter in an amount equal to not more than 12.5 percent of the amount deposited in the Fund during the second preceding fiscal year which is derived from the fees imposed under title III of this Act. Limits the liability of the U.S. Government to the amount in the Fund. Sets forth provisions for the Secretary's administration of the Fund, relating to method of transfer, management (including an annual report to Congress and investment requirements), and authority to borrow (including limitations on advances and repayment requirements). Sets forth the uses of the Fund. Directs the Administrator to use the money in the Fund for payment of: (1) governmental response costs incurred pursuant to response provisions of this Act; (2) any claim for necessary response costs incurred by any other person as a result of carrying out the revised National Contingency Plan, if such costs are approved in advance of expenditure under that plan and certified by the responsible Federal official; (3) any claim authorized by provisions relating to natural resources damages and finally decided under settlement provisions, including interest, administrative and adjudicative costs, and attorney's fees; (4) medical and relocation expenses; and (5) other specified costs. Directs the Administrator to cooperate with State and local governments in their undertaking of response actions under this Act. Requires that any administrative costs or expenses paid out of the Fund be reasonably necessary and incidental to the implementation of this Act. Sets forth provisions relating to claims for damages to natural resources. Allows claims resulting from a release or threat of release of a hazardous substance from a facility to be asserted against the Fund for injury to, or destruction or loss of, natural resources. Provides that such claims may be asserted only by: (1) the President, as trustee, for natural resources over which the United States has sovereign rights or within U.S. territory to the extent they are managed and protected by the United States; or (2) any State for natural resources within its boundaries belonging to, managed by, controlled by, or appertaining to such State. Provides that the Fund may be used for other specified "included costs" of: (1) natural resources damages assessment; (2) Federal or State efforts to restore, rehabilitate, replace, or acquire the equivalent of the natural resources damaged; (3) a program to identify, investigate, and take enforcement and abatement action against releases of hazardous substances (subject to amounts provided in appropriation Acts); (4) epidemiologic studies, a registry of and long-term health effect studies on persons exposed to hazardous substances, and otherwise unavailable diagnostic services to determine whether persons in populations exposed to hazardous substances in connection with a release or suspected release are suffering from long- latency diseases; (5) providing supplementary equipment and similar overhead and damage assessment capability for any Federal agency involved in strike forces, emergency task forces, or other response teams under the National Contingency Plan (subject to amounts provided in appropriations Acts); (6) a program to protect the health and safety of employees involved in response to hazardous substances releases (subject to amounts provided in appropriations Acts); (7) preparation of toxic profiles by the Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry; (8) evaluation of sites by the Administrator pursuant to citizen petitions; and (9) emergency relief and health effects studies carried out by the Administrator. Provides that the health and safety program for employees involved in response actions shall: (1) be developed jointly by the EPA, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration, and the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health; and (2) include measures for identifying and assessing hazards to which persons engaged in the removal or remedy of, or other response to hazardous substances may be exposed, methods to protect workers from such hazards, and necessary regulatory and enforcement measures to assure adequate protection of such employees. Prohibits the use of money in the Fund for: (1) assessment or restoration costs or claim payments where the damage to natural resources and the release occurred wholly before the enactment of this Act; or (2) claim payments for natural resources damages where such expenses are associated with injury or loss resulting from long-term exposure to ambient concentrations of air pollutants from multiple or diffuse sources. Provides that claims against or presented to the Fund shall: (1) not be valid or paid in excess of the total money in the fund at any one time; and (2) become valid only when additional money is collected, appropriated, or otherwise added to the Fund. Directs the Administrator, should the total claims outstanding at any time exceed the current balance of the Fund, to pay such claims, to the extent authorized, in full in the order in which they were finally determined. Limits the portion of money credited to the Fund that shall be available in any fiscal year: (1) to six percent for payment of any claims and related costs for natural resources damages; and (2) to 12 percent for payment of medical and relocation expenses. Provides that no money in the Fund shall be available for remedial actions, other than actions specified under provisions for "included costs" under uses of the Fund, with respect to federally owned facilities. Provides that the following uses of the Fund shall, in the aggregate, be subject to such amounts as are provided in appropriation Acts: (1) payment of governmental response costs; and (2) payment of the specified "included costs." Authorizes the Administrator to delegate authority to obligate money in the Fund or to settle claims to officials of a State operating under a specified contract or cooperative agreement. Directs the Administrator to promulgate appropriate regulations for the notice to be provided to potential injured parties by an owner or operator of any facility from which a hazardous substance has been released. Requires such owners and operators to: (1) provide notice in accordance with such regulations; and (2) until such regulations are promulgated, provide reasonable notice to potential injured parties by publication in local newspapers serving the affected area. Requires that natural resources damages be assessed for purposes of this Act by Federal officials designated by the President under the National Contingency Plan and acting for the President as trustee. Provides that any such determination or assessment of natural resources damages shall have the force and effect of a rebuttable presumption on behalf of any claimant in any judicial or adjudicatory administrative proceeding under this Act. Requires that a plan for the use of funds under this Act for natural resources restoration be developed and adopted by affected Federal agencies and Governors of States sustaining damages to natural resources belonging to, managed by, or appertaining to such States, after adequate public notice and opportunity for a hearing and consideration of all public comment. Requires that such plan be developed and adopted before such funds may be used for such purposes, except in a situation requiring action to avoid an irreversible loss of natural resources or to prevent or reduce any continuing danger to natural resources or to meet a similar need for emergency action. Sets forth provisions for audits by the Inspector General of the EPA. Sets forth provisions relating to foreign claimants. Prohibits any potentially liable claimant from seeking judicial review of any determination to incur any government response costs under response provisions of this Act or to utilize the Fund for payment of any such costs, except in an action to recover such costs under liability provisions of this Act. Directs the President, acting through Federal officials designated by the revised National Contingency Plan, to promulgate regulations for assessment of natural resources damages within six months after enactment of this Act. Sets forth required contents of such regulations. Requires review, and appropriate revision, of such regulations every two years. Provides that, effective on the date of enactment of this Act, specified CERCLA provisions shall be superseded by this Act. Adds provisions regarding medical and relocation expenses to the Solid Waste Disposal Act ("the Act"). Allows individuals who allege that they sustained injury for which relief is payable under this Act to file an application for such relief with the Administrator. Directs the Administrator, within 45 days after the enactment of this Act, to issue a rule or order for the manner of filing such applications. Directs the Administrator to pay relief under this Act if individuals establish by a preponderance of the evidence that they have suffered physical injuries or illnesses caused by exposure to a hazardous substance: (1) from a facility or site at or from which such substance was stored, treated, recycled, disposed of, or migrated; or (2) during transportation to such a facility or site. Directs the Administrator to pay relief under this Act to dependents of any deceased individual who establish to the satisfaction of the Administrator that the death was caused by any such exposure. Provides that such relief to any individual who has suffered such physical injury or illness shall consist of: (1) payment or reimbursement for all medical costs incurred in connection with the physical injury, illness, or death; (2) a monthly payment (not to exceed $2,000 per month) in an amount equal to the injured, ill, or deceased individual's monthly earnings which are lost by reason of such injury, illness, or death during the five-year period following such injury, illness, or death; and (3) reimbursement for expenses incurred in obtaining alternative water supplies or relocating a residence where the individual's exposure (or potential exposure) to hazardous substances caused or significantly contributed to such expenses. Provides that relief to dependents of any such individual shall be equal to all such medical costs incurred, plus the reasonable expenses of burial. Directs the Administrator to promulgate rules for equitable allocation of such relief where there are two or more dependents. Directs the Administrator to compute the amount of relief and determine the method, terms, and time of payment. Requires that payments made pursuant to such provisions for medical and relocation expenses be charged against the Fund. Provides that such claims against the Fund which are in excess of the total money in the Fund shall become valid and be paid in the same manner as provided for other claims against the Fund. Limits to 12 percent that portion of the Fund which may be used for purposes of such payments for medical and relocation expenses. Sets forth the procedure for determination of such claims for medical and relocation expenses. Directs the Administrator, except as otherwise provided, to use the procedures used by the Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS) in determining entitlement to disability insurance benefit payments under the Social Security Act. Directs the Administrator and the Secretary of HHS to arrange to use Social Security Administration personnel and offices for administration and determination of claims filed for medical and relocation expenses under this Act. Authorizes the Administrator to delegate to the Secretary of HHS, or to any HHS employee, any function vested in the Administrator under provisions for medical and relocation expenses under this Act. Provides that the injury, illness, or death shall be presumed to have been caused by the exposure if the applicant provides information sufficient to enable the Administrator to find that: (1) the individual suffered any physical injury, illness, or death; (2) the individual was exposed in any manner to a hazardous substance from a facility or site at or from which such substance was treated, recycled, stored, disposed, or migrated, or during transportation to such site;(3) exposure in such manner to such hazardous substance has a reasonable likelihood of causing or significantly contributing to death or to a personal injury or illness of the type suffered by the individual. Provides that such presumption shall be overcome if the Administrator determines, on the basis of any available information, that it is reasonably certain that such exposure did not cause, or significantly contribute to, the individual's injury, illness, or death. Provides that any information which tends to establish that exposure to the hazardous substance in question causes or contributes to death or to personal injury or illness of the type or class allegedly suffered by an individual, shall be considered relevant to the issues of causation for purposes of determination of such claims for medical and relocation expenses under this Act. Includes among such relevant information: (1) an increase in the incident of injury, illness, or death in the exposed population above that which is otherwise probable; (2) epidemiological studies (without regard to the size of the sample); (3) animal studies; (4) tissue culture studies; (5) micro-organism culture studies; (6) laboratory and toxilogic studies; (7) immunological studies; (8) toxicology profiles prepared under this Act; and (9) health effects studies prepared under this Act. Directs the Administrator to require medical tests or examinations of the applicant to confirm the diagnosis or determination of physical injury or illness. Authorizes the Administrator to investigate and gather other appropriate information in making such claim determinations. Directs the Administrator, upon request by the claimant, to conduct a hearing with respect to any claim which has been denied, in whole or in part. Requires that the involved owner, operator, or transporter be given notice of any proceeding under provisions for claims for medical or relocation expenses, but declares that such persons have no right to participate in such proceedings. Provides for the award of legal costs for such hearings to claimants who prevail. Sets forth subrogation provisions. Provides for deposit in the Fund of any amount so recovered. Sets forth provisions for the judicial review of such claim determinations in U.S. district courts. Provides that a determination of the Administrator shall constitute a final administrative determination for the purpose of such judicial review. Sets forth provisions for additional recovery. Provides that individuals who have recovered any amount under such provisions for medical or relocation expenses shall not be prohibited from recovering an additional amount under this Act at a subsequent time if such individuals establish that an additional physical injury or illness: (1) was caused by such exposure; and (2) was not known to the individual at the time of the prior application. Title III: Funding - Part 1: Fee on Petroleum - Imposes a fee of four and one-half cents a barrel on: (1) crude oil received at a U.S. refinery (to be paid by the operator of the U.S. refinery); and (2) petroleum products entering the United States for consumption, use, or warehousing (to be paid by the person entering the product for such purposes). Imposes such fee (to be paid by the user or exporter) on any domestic crude oil if: (1) it is used in or exported from the United States; and (2) such fee was not imposed before such use or exemption. Provides that such fee shall not apply to any use of domestic crude oil for extracting oil or natural gas on the premises where such crude oil was produced. Sets forth definitions and special rules. Provides that only one fee may be imposed under this part with respect to any petroleum product. Makes such fee effective on October 1, 1985. Part 2: Fee on Certain Chemicals and Metals - Imposes a fee on any assessed chemicals sold (or used) by the manufacturer, producer, or importer thereof. Sets forth a table of assessed chemicals, with a specified fee per ton for each. Sets forth definitions, exceptions, and other special rules. Provides for a refund or credit for certain uses. Makes such fee effective on October 1,1985. Part 3: Waste End Fee - Imposes a fee on the disposal of hazardous substances. Provides that such fee shall apply only to a disposal which is: (1) required to be carried out in compliance with hazardous waste management provisions of the Act; and (2) not specifically exempt under this part. Exempts from such fee the disposal of any substance: (1) by incineration in accordance with the standards applicable to incineration facilities permitted under hazardous waste management provisions of the Act; or (2) by any person in the course of carrying out any removal or remedial actions under this Act. Sets the amount of such fee in the case of: (1) any hazardous substance for which there is in effect under this Act a reportable quantity of one pound or less, at $15 for each metric ton disposed of by underground injection and $30 for each metric ton not disposed of by such method; and (2) all hazardous substances for which there is in effect under this Act a reportable quantity of more than one pound, at $5 for each metric ton disposed of by underground injection and $10 for each metric ton not disposed of by such method. Provides that, in the cases of mixtures of hazardous substances with reportable quantities of one pound or less and those with reportable quantities more than one pound, the entire mixture shall be deemed to have a reportable quantity of one pound or less. Provides for imposing a fraction of the fee in the case of a fraction of a metric ton. Requires the owner or operator of the facility to pay such fee with respect to the disposal of any hazardous substance at a facility for which a permit is in effect under the hazardous waste management provisions of the Act. Requires the person disposing of the hazardous substance to pay such fee with respect to any other disposal of any hazardous substance. Requires, in the case of a fee imposed with respect to the long-term storage of any hazardous substance, that such fee be paid by the owner or operator of the site or facility at which the substance is located on the date one year after the date of generation of such substance. Sets forth provisions concerning the time of fee payment and regulations to carry out this part. Provides that the fee imposed under this part shall apply only with respect to the disposal of hazardous substances after January 1, 1987, and that no period of storage before such date shall be taken into account for purposes of imposition of such fee with respect to long-term storage of hazardous wastes. Provides that, after such date, the fee with respect to long-term storage of a hazardous waste shall: (1) cease to apply on the effective date of a removal of such waste from the list under hazardous waste management provisions of the Act; or (2) take effect after the effective date of a listing or identification of such waste under such provisions. Part 4: Administration and Enforcement; Suspension - Directs the Administrator to promulgate regulations for the collection of fees under this title, including reporting and information-gathering regulations. Authorizes the Administrator to use authorities relating to the inspection of records and access under hazardous waste management provisions of the Act for purposes of carrying out this title. Sets forth criminal and civil penalties for specified violations of this title. Requires the suspension of fees imposed under this title during any fiscal year which commences after September 30, 1991, if the Administrator determines (on or before the first day of such fiscal year) that the unobligated balance in the Fund exceeds $3,000,000,000. Provides that such suspension shall continue until the expiration of the fiscal year concerned. Title IV: Citizen Suits and Liability of Certain Persons - Amends the Solid Waste Disposal Act ("the Act") to revise provisions for citizen suits. Adds provisions for citizen suits against any person, including the United States and any other governmental instrumentality or agency, to the extent permitted by the eleventh amendment of the Constitution, and including any past or present generator, transporter, or owner or operator of a treatment, storage, recycling, or disposal facility who has contributed or is contributing to the past or present handling, storage, treatment, transportation, or disposal of any solid or hazardous waste which may present an imminent and substantial endangerment to health or the environment. Grants the district jurisdiction to immediately restrain any person contributing to such endangerment, to order such person to take other necessary action, and to apply any appropriate civil penalties relating to hazardous waste management violations. Provides that citizen suits for such purposes may not be commenced: (1) if the Administrator has commenced, and is diligently prosecuting, an action under imminent hazard provisions of the Act, or if the State has brought an action under specified provisions of the Act, to immediately restrain any person contributing to such endangerment; or (2) by any person (other than a State or local government) with respect to the siting of a hazardous waste treatment, storage, or disposal facility. Adds provisions to the Act relating to the liability of certain persons for specified damages. Makes the following persons liable for specified damages to individuals (or their dependents) caused by the exposure of such individuals to a hazardous substance: (1) in cases of exposure to such substance from a facility or site at which treatment, storage, recycling, or disposal took place, the owner or operator of such facility or site at the time of such treatment, storage, recycling, or disposal, and any subsequent owner or operator of such facility or site; (2) in cases of exposure to such substance during storage of such substance pending transport for storage or treatment, any person who arranged for treatment, storage, recycling, or disposal, or who arranged for transport for such purposes; and (3) in cases of exposure during the transportation to, or treatment, storage, or disposal at, a disposal or treatment facility or site, any person who accepts or accepted such substance for transport to a treatment, recycling, storage, or disposal facility selected by such person. Provides that such liability shall be: (1) strict liability, with specified exceptions; (2) joint and several; and (3) construed to be the standard of liability which obtains under specified provisions of CERCLA and of the Federal Water Pollution Control Act. Excuses from such liability any defendant who can establish by a preponderance of the evidence that the exposure to a hazardous substance or the damage resulting from such exposure was caused solely by: (1) an act of God; or (2) an act of war. Makes the following damages compensable under such liability provisions: (1) any medical expenses, rehabilitation costs, or burial expenses due to personal injury, illness, or death; (2) any loss of income or profits or any impairment or loss of earning capacity due to personal injury, illness, or death; (3) any pain and suffering which results from personal injury, illness, or death; and (4) any economic loss and any damages to property, including diminution in value. Sets forth procedural provisions relating to such liability. Provides that no evidence may be introduced in an action under such liability provisions of this Act with respect to the results of any proceeding brought by the plaintiff under specified medical and relocation expenses provisions of this Act. Sets forth provisions relating to a presumption of cause of damages. Sets forth provisions for jurisdiction of U.S. district courts over actions under such liability provisions. Authorizes the court to award appropriate legal fees. Provides that nothing in such liability provisions or in provisions for medical and relocation expenses under this Act shall be construed to preempt, or otherwise affect, any provision of State law regarding liability for damages in connection with any hazardous substance. Sets forth a statute of limitations relating to such liability provisions and to provisions for medical and relocation expenses under this Act. Sets such limitation at three years after: (1) the date the physical injury or illness was first known (or reasonably should have been known) by the applicant or plaintiff to exist, or the date of the individual's death; (2) the date the applicant or plaintiff knew (or reasonably should have known) that the physical injury, illness, or death or other expense was caused or contributed to by exposure to such hazardous substance; or (3) the date of enactment of this Act. Sets forth exceptions to such limitation in the case of minors or incompetents. Sets forth provisions for collateral recovery relating to such liability provisions and to provisions for medical and relocation expenses under this Act. Provides for recovery from other sources and for liens. Prohibits recovery under such liability provisions and under provisions for medical and relocation expenses under this Act of any amount for injury, illness, or death for which compensation is available under a State workers' compensation law. Sets forth criminal penalties for false statements in any application or proceeding under provisions for medical and relocation expenses under this Act. Title V: Law Enforcement Authority - Grants specified law enforcement authority to EPA officers or employees authorized by the Administrator to investigate, or supervise the investigation of, any activity for which a criminal penalty is provided under the Solid Waste Disposal Act ("the Act") or under this Act. Directs the Administrator to request the Attorney General to appear and represent the United States in any civil or criminal action instituted under this Act to which the Administrator is a party. Requires EPA attorneys to appear and represent the United States in a civil action, unless the Attorney General notifies the Administrator within a reasonable time that the Attorney General will appear and represent the United States in such action.
United States · United States Congress · 9 February 1984
Expresses the sense of the Congress that the FY 1985 funding levels for Federal foreign language and international education and exchange programs should be maintained or increased above the FY 1984 levels.
United States · United States Congress · 8 February 1984
Directs the Attorney General to include within the Uniform Crime Reports the incidence of the intentional destruction of religious property (robbery, burglary, theft, arson, vandalism and trespass) and offenses against persons and property committed to express racial, ethnic, or religious prejudices (homicide, assault, robbery, burglary, theft arson, vandalism and tresspass).
United States · United States Congress · 8 February 1984
Scout Commemorative Coins Act - Amends Federal law to direct the Secretary of the Treasury to mint and issue Boy and Girl Scouts of the United States of America half dollar coins commemorating the 75th anniversary of the Scouts of America. Limits the number of coins that may be minted and sets forth certain features of such coins. Directs the Secretary to sell the minted coins for a certain price or for a price equivalent to the average cost of minting and distributing such coins. Authorizes appropriations.
United States · United States Congress · 7 February 1984
Expresses the sense of the House of Representatives that the: (1) Republic of South Africa should release Nelson Mandela from prison and should revoke Winnie Mandela's banning order; (2) President should use his position to secure the release of Nelson and Winnie Mandela; and (3) Speaker of the House is requested to transmit a copy of this resolution to the President and to the Republic of South Africa.
United States · United States Congress · 6 February 1984
Amends the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act of 1980 (CERCLA) ("Superfund") to establish certain requirements with respect to hazardous substances released from Federal facilities. Authorizes the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency to enter into specified interagency agreements with any Federal agency. Directs the Administrator, in addition to undertaking response action, to take action under CERCLA against any Federal agency in the same manner and to the same extent as against a nongovernmental entity, unless such an interagency agreement is reached within specified time periods. Sets forth procedures for interagency agreements and emergency actions applicable to Federal agencies under CERCLA. Directs the Administrator to establish a special Federal Agency Hazardous Waste Compliance Docket. Directs the Administrator to report annually to Congress on: (1) progress in reaching interagency agreements; (2) cost estimates and budgetary proposals involved; (3) public comments regarding each proposed agreement; and (4) instances in which no agreement has been reached, including an explanation of why no agreement was reached. Authorizes citizen lawsuits under CERCLA against: (1) any person (including the United States and any other governmental instrumentality or agency, to the extent permitted by the eleventh amendment to the Constitution) who is alleged to be in violation of any requirement which has become effective pursuant to CERCLA; or (2) the Administrator where there is an alleged failure to perform any non-discretionary act or duty under CERCLA. Sets forth requirements relating to such citizen lawsuits, which are to be brought in the appropriate U.S. district court. Directs the President, within 90 days after the enactment of this Act, to publish a schedule for including on the national priority list under CERCLA any federally owned or operated facilities which present a risk or danger to public health or welfare or the environment. Provides that such facilities shall be included on such list in the same manner and subject to the same criteria as facilities which are owned or operated by other persons.
United States · United States Congress · 6 February 1984
Authorizes expenditures by the Committee on House Administration for the use of the House Information Systems during the second session of the 98th Congress, including the procurement of consultant services and assistance for specialized training for its professional staff.
United States · United States Congress · 2 February 1984
Prohibits any reduction in force within the Employment and Training Administration which would reduce the number of civilian employees below a specified level during the period from the enactment of this Act until September 30, 1984. Directs the Secretary of Labor, in carrying out a reduction in force, to retain Native American personnel having particular competence and experience in the selection, administration, monitoring, and evaluation of Native American employment and training programs under the Job Training Partnership Act.
![Official portrait of Rep. Hawkins, Augustus F. [D-CA-29]](https://www.congress.gov/img/member/h000367_200.jpg)