United States · United States Congress · 1 May 1985
Parkinsons Disease Amelioration Act - Establishes the Commission for the Amelioration of Parkinsonism Disease which shall: (1) conduct a study of the medical and social management of parkinsonism; (2) determine whether there is an appropriate balance between basic brain research and clinical research on parkinsonism and other ailments; (3) investigate and make recommendations concerning the proper roles of Federal, State, and local governments and public and private agencies in the research, prevention, and identification of Parkinson's disease and the treatment and rehabilitation of persons with Parkinson's disease; and (4) develop a national plan for the control of parkinsonism. Sets forth operating and related provisions. Requires the Commission to make a final report to the President and each House of Congress within six months. Terminates the Commission 30 days after submission of the final report.
United States · United States Congress · 1 May 1985
Expresses the sense of the House of Representatives that it will not allow any reduction in benefits under the Social Security Act by any method, or any downward adjustment, freeze, or delay in cost-of-living increases.
United States · United States Congress · 30 April 1985
Comprehensive Alzheimer's Assistance, Research, and Education Act of 1985 - Title I : Amendment to the Public Health Service Act - Amends the Public Health Service Act to establish a National Alzheimer's Education Program to: (1) coordinate education and training programs of the National Institutes of Health (NIH), the Veterans Administration, other Federal entities, State and local governments, and private organizations; (2) establish an information clearinghouse; (3) provide information to health care providers, organizations, patients, and the general public; and (4) provide technical assistance to States and public and private organizations in the collection and dissemination of information. Authorizes appropriations for FY 1986 through 1988 for such purposes. Directs the Secretary of Health and Human Services to make grants to States to plan, establish, and operate programs to: (1) coordinate the development and operation of diagnostic, treatment, care management, respite care, legal counseling, and education services provided by public and private organizations within the State; (2) provide respite care to patients with Alzheimer's disease and related disorders; (3) provide information to health care providers, organizations, and the general public on treatment and related services for patients and their families; (4) coordinate the development and operation of continuing education for health care providers on the diagnosis, treatment, and care management of Alzheimer's disease and related disorders; (5) review State policies on the financing and reimbursement of health care costs for such patients; (6) review State nursing home regulations as they apply to such patients; and (7) coordinate with the National Alzheimer's Education Program. Limits Federal grants for such programs to the lesser of one half the cost or $1,000,000. Authorizes appropriations for FY 1986 through 1988. Directs the Secretary to establish a plan for a research program for the study of Alzheimer's disease and related disorders. Directs the Secretary to make grants and enter into contracts with public and private entities for ten to 20 Alzheimer's disease research centers. Authorizes appropriations for FY 1986 through 1988. Provides for the recovery from Alaska of Federal grants provided under the Public Health Service Act if within 20 years from the date of completion of a medical facility, such facility ceases to be a publicly owned facility operated for the care or treatment of patients under Alaska's mental health program. Title II: Medicare and Medicaid Research, Demonstrations, and Waivers - Directs the Secretary to conduct research, waiver, and demonstration projects under the Medicare and Medicaid provisions of the Social Security Act to determine the: (1) coverage of alternative methods of health care for patients with Alzheimer's disease and related disorders; (2) coverage of nursing home care; and (3) appropriate reimbursement levels for nursing homes with such patients. Title III: Report - Directs the Secretary to report to the Congress within two years after the date of enactment.
United States · United States Congress · 29 April 1985
Authorizes the President, on behalf of the Congress, to present a gold medal to the parents of Father Jerzy Popieluszko in recognition of their son's accomplishments. Authorizes appropriations. Authorizes the Secretary of the Treasury to provide for the sale of bronze duplicates of the medal.
United States · United States Congress · 29 April 1985
Designates the week beginning on April 13, 1986, as National Garden Week. Urges the wearing of garden flowers during that week as a symbol of appreciation for the contributions of the Nation's gardeners.
United States · United States Congress · 29 April 1985
Expresses the sense of the Congress that each State should develop a curriculum for instructing schoolchildren in the history of the Holocaust, including the history of the Nazi rise to power in Germany, the social and economic forces which were the foundations of Nazism, and the resulting horrors which were perpetrated against humanity by the Nazis.
United States · United States Congress · 24 April 1985
Authorizes election agencies to mail voter registration forms, absentee ballots, and certain related materials free of postage. Declares that this Act does not apply to mail matter transmitted under the Federal Voting Assistance Act of 1955 or the Overseas Citizens Voting Rights Act of 1975.
United States · United States Congress · 24 April 1985
Korean War Memorial Act - Directs the Secretary of the Interior to erect and maintain a memorial on Federal land in the District of Columbia or its environs to honor members of the U.S. armed forces who served in the Korean War. Subjects the selected site, design, and plans for the construction of such memorial to the approval of the National Commission of Fine Arts and the National Capital Planning Commission. Authorizes appropriations.
United States · United States Congress · 24 April 1985
Expresses the sense of the House of Representatives that: (1) the President and the Secretary of State should, in formulating U.S. foreign policy, recognize and take into account the genocide of the Armenian people, with the objective of preventing future genocide elsewhere; and (2) the President should direct his representatives to communicate in international forums the U.S. abhorrence to all genocide, including that of the Armenian people.
United States · United States Congress · 18 April 1985
Authorizes the President to call a White House Conference on Library and Information Services, to be held not later than 1989, to develop recommendations for improvement of such services and their public use. Requires that the Conference be planned and conducted by the National Commission on Libraries and Information Sciences. Authorizes the Librarian of Congress, the Director of the National Library of Medicine, and the Director of the National Agricultural Library, upon request, to detail personnel to the Commission. Requires the Conference to submit a final report to the President within 120 days following its close. Directs that the final report be made public, and within 90 days after receipt by the President, transmitted to the Congress with recommendations. Establishes an advisory committee to assist in planning and conducting the Conference. Includes among its appointed members the Secretary of Education and the Librarian of Congress. Authorizes appropriations as necessary.
United States · United States Congress · 18 April 1985
Expresses the sense of the Congress that the President should cancel his planned visit to the Bitburg Cemetery out of respect for the millions who suffered and died at the hands of the SS and the Nazis.
United States · United States Congress · 17 April 1985
Amends the Natural Gas Pipeline Safety Act of 1968 and the Hazardous Liquid Pipeline Safety Act of 1979 to authorize appropriations for FY 1986 and 1987. Requires the Secretary of Transportation to take into account the extent to which a qualifying State agency exercises jurisdiction over intrastate pipeline facilities when the Secretary allocates appropriated funds. Amends the Hazardous Liquid Pipeline Safety Act of 1979 to repeal appropriations authorized for FY 1980 and 1981. Amends the Natural Gas Pipeline Safety Act of 1968 and the Hazardous Liquid Pipeline Safety Act of 1979 to require that annual reports submitted to the Secretary of Transportation by State agencies having safety jurisdiction over intrastate pipeline transportation include property damage incidents which exceed an amount established by regulation (currently the amount, $5,000, is established by such Act).
United States · United States Congress · 17 April 1985
Amends the Marine Protection, Research, and Sanctuaries Act of 1972 to authorize appropriations for FY 1986 and 1987 to carry out that portion of the Act relating to ocean dumping regulation.
United States · United States Congress · 17 April 1985
Amends the Federal Water Pollution Control Act (the Clean Water Act) to extend the authorization of appropriations for five years, through FY 1990, for: (1) research on pollution prevention and elimination; (2) grants for State and interstate agency pollution control programs; and (3) the general implementation of the Act. Authorizes the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to make grants to Chesapeake Bay States for implementing management mechanisms contained in the comprehensive environmental plan. Sets forth application conditions and procedures. Limits such grants to 50 percent of costs. Requires recipient States to report annually to the Congress. Authorizes appropriations for such grants for FY 1986 through 1988. Authorizes appropriations for publicly-owned treatment works (POTWs) construction grants for FY 1986 through 1989. Revises eligibility requirements for such grants to restrict Federal funding to sequential phases or segments of a treatment facility, related interceptors, or correction of infiltration-inflow. Eliminates the use of Federal funds for sewer systems and overflows. Revises construction grant allotment procedures and formulas, eliminating set asides for: (1) rural areas; (2) innovative technologies; and (3) water quality management planning. Extends from July 1, 1984, to July 1, 1988, or three years after the establishment of effluent limitations guidelines, the deadline for industrial compliance with the best available technology and best conventional pollutant control technology (BAT/BCT) effluent limitations. Limits the Administrator's authority to modify effluent limitations for nonconventional pollutants to specified listed pollutants, permitting the Administrator to modify such list based upon a showing that adequate tests and data exist to determine that such modification will not interfere with the maintenance or achievement of required water quality standards. Revises modification request procedures. Amends the ocean discharge requirements for POTWs to restate that an applicant for modification must be in compliance with applicable pretreatment requirements by the time the modification is approved and must continue in compliance after such modification. Requires that modifications result in the discharge of effluent which has received at least primary or equivalent treatment (screening, sedimentation, and skimming). Exempts small and remote dischargers. Prohibits modifications in permits for discharges into saline estuarine waters receiving pollutant loading from multiple sources and showing signs of environmental stress. Establishes a deadline for the submission of permit modification requests for innovative technology. Authorizes the Administrator, or the State if appropriate, to grant a stay of up to six months, with a possible six-month extension, of permit conditions for which a modification has been requested if such stay will not result in an unacceptable risk to human health or the environment. Authorizes the Administrator to prescribe fees for permit modifications. Authorizes the Administrator, or the State if appropriate, to modify effluent limitations on a case-by-case basis for specified preexisting discharges related to coal mining operations. Requires an applicant for modification to demonstrate that the remaining operations and accompanying reclamation activities will substantially improve the environment and that preexisting discharges will be reduced and/or water quality improved in any case complying with applicable State water quality standards. Modifies the conflict of interest requirements applicable to membership on State permitting boards to require full disclosure of income from sources subject to an enforcement order or a permittee and a majority of such members to represent the public interest. Redefines "new source" to make new source performance standards and pretreatment standards for new sources applicable to any facility that began construction after issuance of final rather than proposed regulations. Restates the authority of authorized contractors to have both direct and indirect access to samples and records at a dischargers. Establishes criminal penalties for the unauthorized divulgence of trade secrets by such contractors. Authorizes the Administrator to order a violator to undertake remedial measures, including interim compliance measures with an applicable schedule. Grants the Secretary of the Army, acting through the Corps of Engineers, to exercise enforcement authority over dischargers of dredged or fill material into U.S. waters without the requisite Corps permit. Authorizes the Administrator to assess daily administrative penalties for each violation of a Clean Water Act requirement. Permits such assessment after an opportunity for a hearing. Subjects such an order to Federal district court review. Increases the maximum daily, per-violation civil penalty. Authorizes the Administrator to issue administrative orders to protect the public health and the environment from imminent and substantial endangerment, including sanctions for violations of such orders. Revises criminal penalties for violations under the Clean Water Act, increasing penalties for the knowing violations of such Act and including violations of sewage sludge disposal requirements. Establishes enhanced criminal penalties for knowing violations which the perpetrator knows would place another person in imminent danger of death or serious bodily injury. Increases criminal penalties for knowingly making false statements or falsifying documents, reports, or data from monitoring devices required to be maintained or filed under this Act. Removes Federal marine sanitation devices requirements for vessels 65 feet or less in length, designating such requirements as exclusively a State responsibility. Restates the Administrator's authority to issue general as well as individual national pollutant discharge elimination systems (NPDES) permits. Authorizes a State with an approved State NPDES program to do the same. Eliminates the requirement that the introduction of logs into water in connection with silvicultural activities subject to an areawide waste treatment management plan requires a permit under NPDES. Extends from five to ten years the NPDES permit term for permits with no modifications. Expands the provisions regulating the disposal of sewage sludge to include any person disposing of such sludge, not just the treatment works' owner or operator, and to include any treatment works treating primarily domestic sewage, not just POTWs. Permits NPDES permits issued to a POTW or any other treatment works treating primarily domestic sewage to include implementing guidelines for the use and disposal of sewage sludge. Authorizes the Administrator to issue a permit solely to implement the sewage sludge guidelines. Includes the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands under the Clean Water Act. Excludes munitions used in the course of conventional military weapons training and testing from the definition of pollution controlled under such Act. Authorizes the Administrator to treat Indian tribes as States for purposes of such Act. Requires copies of citizen suits brought under such Act and proposed consent judgments to be provided to both the Administrator and the Attorney General. Eliminates the Secretary of Commerce's annual report to the Congress on the international trade impacts of water pollution control expenditures.
United States · United States Congress · 17 April 1985
Amends the Federal Aviation Act of 1958 to repeal the authority for small community air service. Repeals the requirement that an air carrier give specified notice before terminating or suspending air transportation to a small community. Amends the Civil Aeronautics Board Sunset Act of 1984 to make technical and conforming changes.
United States · United States Congress · 17 April 1985
Food Assistance and Africa Agriculture Act of 1985 - Title I: Authorization of Appropriations - Amends the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 to authorize appropriations for: (1) the International Fund for Agricultural Development; and (2) the International Fund for Agricultural Development for its Special Program for Sub-Saharan Countries Affected by Drought and Desertification for each of FY 1986 through 1989. Title II: Appropriations for Fiscal Year 1986 - Makes appropriations for FY 1986 for: (1) expenses for agricultural commodities supplied in connection with dispositions abroad pursuant to the famine relief provisions of the Agricultural Trade Development and Assistance Act of 1954; and (2) the U.S. contribution to the International Fund for Agricultural Development and for the Fund's Special Program for Sub-Saharan Countries Affected by Drought and Desertification.
United States · United States Congress · 16 April 1985
Expresses the sense of the House of Representatives that legislation should not be enacted which would further restrict: (1) eligibility for Federal student financial aid; or (2) access to higher education.
United States · United States Congress · 16 April 1985
Expresses the sense of the Congress that no limitation should be placed on the Federal income tax deduction for interest paid on a residential mortgage.
United States · United States Congress · 4 April 1985
Amends the Library Services and Construction Act (the Act) to revise the definitions of "long-range program" and "Indian tribe." Makes specified requirements for maintenance of funding levels for public library systems applicable to Hawaiian native programs. Provides that, for purposes of basic State plan requirements, "limited English-speaking proficiency" shall be determined according to its definition under the Bilingual Education Act. Specifies that certain references under provisions relating to administrative costs are to titles I, II, and III of the Act. Excludes the amount made available for Indian tribes and Hawaiian natives from certain determinations for purposes of reservation of portions of State allotments for major urban resource libraries. Makes inapplicable in the case of Indian tribes and Indians in California, Oklahoma, and Alaska any provisions of title IV (Library Services for Indian Tribes) which require that services be provided on or near Indian reservations, or to only those Indians who live on or near Indian reservations. Amends the General Education Provision Act to authorize appropriations for the Minority Institutions Science Improvement Program for FY 1985 and 1986. Amends the Harry S Truman Memorial Scholarship Act to remove the dollar limitation on stipends paid under such Act. Authorizes the Harry S Truman Scholarship Foundation to prescribe regulations governing the amount of such stipends.
United States · United States Congress · 4 April 1985
Marine Fisheries Improvement Act of 1985 - Repeals the provisions of the Magnuson Fishery Conservation and Management Act which excluded highly migratory species of fish from the exclusive fishery management authority of the United States. Requires any owner and operator of a foreign fishing vessel intending to fish within the fishery conservation zone to submit to the Secretary of Commerce a schedule of fishing for every three months, submitted at least 30 days in advance. Requires immediate notification to the Secretary of any changes or variances from such submitted fishing schedules. Prohibits the Secretary from approving a permit for a foreign vessel to fish if the facilities on such vessels for quartering a U.S. observer are so inadequate or unsafe that the health or safety of the observer would be jeopardized. Requires each regional fishery management council to have a representative number of commercial and recreational fishermen including at least one practicing commercial fisherman. Requires contents of fishery management plans to be submitted to the Executive Director of that area's fishery management council, as well as to the Secretary. Requires the same confidentiality of the Executive Director with submitted statistics as is required of the Secretary. Requires any fishery management plan submitted to include certain specified information concerning the habitat involved. Allows such information to be excluded from such plans when habitat conservation, restoration, maintenance, and enhancement is not a significant factor in such plan. Requires recommendations concerning habitat conservation or enhancement to be responded to by the Secretary or other appropriate Federal officials within 60 days of receipt. Requires the Secretary to establish and implement a formal regional habitat planning and coordination process which would identify fishery resources of importance and the major habitat threats to such resources. Requires the Secretary, not less than every three years, to publish the result of the regional processes. Requires the establishment, in a fishery zone having limited access in order to achieve optimum yield, of a dislocation compensation program which compensates fishing vessel owners for the loss or reduction of livelihood caused by the limited access. Establishes in the Treasury the Fisheries Dislocation Compensation Fund to be used for payments made by the dislocation compensation program. Prohibits the Secretary from assessing a final civil penalty for violations which is greater than the penalty first assessed by written notice unless a significant change in information or circumstances occurs. Extends the authorization of appropriations under the Magnuson Fishery Conservation and Management Act through FY 1990.
United States · United States Congress · 4 April 1985
Amends part B (Supplementary Medical Insurance) of title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act to provide coverage for outpatient occupational therapy services.
United States · United States Congress · 4 April 1985
Renewable Energy and Conservation Transition Act of 1985 - Title I: Extension of Business Energy Credits - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to extend the energy investment tax credit for solar energy property from 1985 to 1990. Sets the amount of such credit during such period at 15 percent for low temperature solar property and 25 percent for all other solar property. Extends the energy investment tax credit for wind property from 1985 to 1988. Sets the amount of such credit at: (1) ten percent during 1986 and 1987; and (2) five percent during 1988. Extends the energy investment tax credit for geothermal property and biomass property from 1985 to 1988. Extends the energy investment tax credit for ocean thermal property from 1985 to 1990. Revises the definition of "solar property" for purposes of such tax credit. Sets forth special rules for geothermal equipment to qualify for such credit. Title II: Affirmative Commitment Rule to Extend the Business Credit for Certain Long-Term Projects - Extends the time period during which an affirmative commitment must be made in order for long-term energy projects to be eligible for the energy investment tax credit. Allows such extension: (1) from 1990 to 1993 for solar energy property; (2) from 1988 to 1990 for geothermal energy property; and (3) from 1985 to 1990 for hydroelectric generating property. Title III: Extension of Residential Energy Credits - Extends the residential energy income tax credit for solar renewable energy property from 1985 to 1990. Phases out such credit over such period of time. Provides that solar hot water systems and active space heating systems must meet certain additional standards in order to qualify for such credit. Extends the residential energy income tax credit for wind renewable energy property from 1985 to 1988. Phases out such credit over such period of time. Extends the residential energy income tax credit for geothermal renewable energy property from 1985 to 1988. Phases out such credit over such period of time. Revises the definition of geothermal deposits for purposes of such credit. Revises the definition of energy conservation expenditures for purposes of the residential energy income tax credit to limit the amounts taken into account to $700. Limits the energy conservation income tax credit to taxpayers with an adjusted gross income of less than $30,000. Title IV: Effective Date - Sets forth the effective date of this Act.
United States · United States Congress · 4 April 1985
Expresses the sense of the Congress that the President should analyze the proposals of the President's Private Sector on Cost Control (Grace Commission) and submit to the Congress within 90 days a unified report and recommendations with respect to an identification of: (1) the 1,635 proposals of the Commission and the expected savings from each of them; (2) each recommendation that the President or executive branch already has implemented; (3) each remaining recommendation which can be implemented solely by the President or the executive branch and which the President supports; (4) each recommendation which can be implemented solely by the President or the executive branch and which the President opposes; (5) each recommendation requiring congressional action on which the Congress has taken action, and the expected savings from such action; (6) each recommendation which requires further congressional action and which the President supports; (7) each recommendation which requires further congressional action and which the President opposes; and (8) any other information regarding any recommendation which the President deems necessary or appropriate to transmit to the Congress.
United States · United States Congress · 3 April 1985
Trade Law Modernization Act of 1985 - Title I: National Trade Policy and Negotiating Objectives; Negotiation Authority - Sets forth national trade policy objectives that shall guide U.S. trade policy and domestic economic policy. Directs the Administering Authority (the U.S. Trade Representative) to submit by March 1 of each year to specified congressional committees a statement of the actions the Administering Authority proposes to take during such year to achieve such objectives. Requires the committees to hold hearings on such proposals and to advise the Administering Authority on such proposals. Declares that U.S. objectives in any trade negotiations shall be: (1) to obtain more open and equitable market access abroad for U.S. products and services, the reduction and elimination of the adverse effects of certain foreign trade practices, and improved effectiveness of the rules governing international trade; (2) to develop internationally accepted rules which meet certain needs; and (3) to promote international cooperation in trade and monetary policies. Directs the Administering Authority to seek to obtain fair and equitable market opportunities through consultations on negotiations with foreign countries or instrumentalities in order to remedy the harmful efforts on U.S. trade of discriminatory procurement practices and regulatory requirements of such countries or instrumentalities. Authorizes the Administering Authority to: (1) suspend or withdraw benefits under any trade agreement with such countries or instrumentalities; (2) direct customs officers to impose import restrictions on the goods of such countries or instrumentalities and to impose fees or restrictions on the services of such countries or instrumentalities; (3) make available analysis and information to other U.S. agencies and courts for the purpose of ensuring consideration by such agencies and courts of the competitive impact of pending administrative or judicial decisions of such agencies or courts that could significantly enlarge the access of foreign products and services to the U.S. market; and (4) recommend action to the President with respect to service sector access authorization (a Federal authorization that gives a foreign supplier of services access to U.S. markets). Directs the Administering Authority, if there is a significant denial of market opportunities in a foreign country for U.S. products and services in an economic sector where the United States has increased market opportunities for such country's products and services, to: (1) act to obtain fair and equitable market opportunities in the markets of such foreign country; and (2) pending achievement of such opportunities, impose equivalent conditions of market access. Authorizes action to be taken under this Act upon motion of the Administering Authority or after investigation upon the filing of a petition. Title II: Transfer of Authority to Administering Authority; Amendments to Title I of Trade Act of 1974 - Amends the Trade Act of 1974 to transfer from the President to the Administering Authority the authority to: (1) take action in cases of market disruption; and (2) extend tariff preferences under the Generalized System of Preferences. Amends the Tariff Act of 1930 to transfer from the President to the Administering Authority the authority to make the final review of actions to prevent unfair practices in the importation of articles into the United States. Amends the Trade Act of 1974 to direct the Secretary of Commerce to establish a program to evaluate the industrial and trade policies of other countries and the effects of such policies on U.S. industries, trade, and employment. Requires the Secretary to report to the Congress annually on such program. Directs the Secretary in conjunction with the U.S. Trade Representative, to establish special industry sector advisory panels to assess the actual or potential dislocation, challenge, or opportunity for the industry sectors involved and to formulate recommendations for responses by business, government, and labor. Requires the industry and labor advisory committees established by the Trade Act of 1974 to hold joint meetings at the call of the respective committee chairs and to meet at the call of the Administering Authority before and during trade negotiations to provide policy and technical advice and advice on any other factors relevant to U.S. positions in such trade negotiations. Authorizes the President to impose a temporary import surcharge at a level which the President determines to be necessary to assist in restoring equilibrium in the balance of payments in certain circumstances. (Currently such surcharge may not exceed 15 percent.) Limits the duration of such surcharge or limits imposed on imports to improve the balance of payments to one year. (Currently such measures may be imposed for only 150 days.) Deletes certain restrictions on imposing import limitations for such purposes. Authorizes one year extensions of such measures. Title III: Relief from Injury Caused by Import Competition - Transfers from the President to the Administering Authority the authority to take certain actions following import relief investigations by the International Trade Commission (ITC). Authorizes a petition for import relief to include within its statement of reasons for requesting import relief the desire to facilitate the orderly transfer of resources to enhance competitiveness. Changes the scope of the ITC's import relief investigation to include determining whether an article is being imported into the United States in such increased quantities as to be a cause (currently substantial cause) of serious injury or threat of serious injury to any domestic industry that produces an article like or directly competitive with the imported article or that produces materials, parts, components, or subassemblies irrevocably destined for incorporation in an article like or directly competitive with the imported article. Changes one of the factors that must be considered in making such determination with respect to serious injury in order to cover the inability of a significant number of firms to operate domestic production facilities at a reasonable profit. (Current law refers to the inability of firms to operate at a reasonable profit.) Changes the factors that must be considered in making such determination with respect to the threat of serious injury in order to cover: (1) a decline in sales or market share in the domestic industry; (2) a higher and growing inventory in the domestic industry; (3) a downward trend in production, profits, wages, or employment (or increasing under employment) in the domestic industry; (4) any combination of coordinated government actions that are bestowed on a specific enterprise, industry, or group thereof the effect of which is to assist the beneficiary to become more competitive in the export of any class or kind of merchandise and that causes or threatens to cause serious injury to the domestic industry; (5) the extent to which the U.S. market is the focal point for diversion of exports of the article concerned because of restraints on exports of such article to, or imports of such articles into, third country markets; and (6) in the case of an industry that has developed an industry assessment and competitiveness strategy, the inability of producers in the domestic industry to generate adequate capital to finance the modernization of plant and equipment or to otherwise enhance competitiveness. Requires (currently authorizes) the ITC to make certain determinations with respect to determining the domestic industry producing an article like or directly competitive with an imported article. Defines "cause" for purposes of determining whether imports are a cause of injury to mean a cause which is important. Declares that a cause may be important even though other causes are of equal or greater importance. Requires the ITC, if it finds that serious injury or the threat of serious injury exists for a domestic industry, to: (1) find the amount of the increase in, or imposition of, any duty or import restriction necessary to prevent or remedy such injury; and (2) if it determines that adjustment assistance can assist in remedying such injury, recommend the provision of such assistance. Directs the Administering Authority, if during an import relief investigation it finds that critical circumstances exist, to impose provisional measures (increase in tariff, tariff-rate quotas, quantitative restrictions, orderly marketing agreements or a combination of such actions). Requires such measures to remain in effect until the later of the date: (1) on which the President revokes such measures; (2) on which the ITC makes a negative determination of injury; or (3) which is 60 days after the date on which the ITC makes an affirmative determination of injury. Declares that critical circumstances exist if a significant increase in imports over a short time has led to circumstances in which delay in relief would cause damage that would be difficult to repair. Requires the ITC, if it finds that serious injury has resulted from imports, to determine: (1) whether trade in the article concerned has been affected by coordinated government actions that are bestowed on a specific enterprise, industry, or group and that assist the beneficiary in becoming more competitive in exporting a class or kind of merchandise; and (2) the extent to which the U.S. market is the focal point for diversion of exports of such article because of restraints on exports of such article to, or on imports of such article into, third country markets. Directs the Administering Authority, if it determines to provide import relief and the ITC has found that trade in the article has been affected by such coordinated government actions, to consult and negotiate with other countries that produce or consume such article to seek the establishment of a multilateral framework to maintain and develop fair, equitable, and nondisruptive patterns of trade in such article. Directs the Administering Authority, after the ITC begins an import relief investigation based on a petition, to establish, upon request, an industry advisory group. Requires such an advisory group to prepare for the industry concerned an assessment of current problems and a strategy to enhance competitiveness. Directs the Administering Authority to try to obtain, on a confidential basis, information from the individual members of such advisory group on: (1) how such members intend to act upon the recommendations in such assessment and strategy; and (2) any other actions such members intend to take which will foster the objectives of the strategy. Requires the Administering Authority, the ITC, the Secretary of Labor, and the Secretary of Commerce to consider such assessment and strategy in making any import relief determination or taking any import relief actions. Requires the Administering Authority, if it determines to provide import relief and if an industry assessment and competitiveness strategy was submitted to the Administering Authority, to publish notice of the availability of, and a summary of, such assessment and strategy. Requires a review committee, if such summary is published, to: (1) monitor actions taken by the petitioners to improve the competitive position of the industry; (2) make recommendations for administrative action; and (3) submit recommended legislation to the Congress. Requires the review committee to consult with the advisory group members if the review committee determines that the firms or workers are not implementing or are implementing unsatisfactorily: (1) the recommended objectives and actions in the industry assessment and competitiveness strategy; or (2) the actions declared in the confidential information obtained by the advisory group. Requires the Administering Authority to request the ITC to issue a report on the probable economic effect on the industry of import relief if, after consultations with the advisory group members, the review committee determines that the failure to implement or failure to implement satisfactorily such actions is not justified by changed circumstances and has adversely affected overall implementation of the objectives of the industry assessment and competitiveness strategy. Requires the Administering Authority, if it decides to provide import relief, to consult with petitioners and representatives of workers and firms in the affected industry on the advisability and desirability of taking appropriate action under countervailing or antidumping duty provisions of the Tariff Act of 1930 or under title III of the Trade Act of 1974 if the Administering Authority has reason to believe that a foreign government or firm is engaged in any action or practice for which such relief is available. Title IV: Relief from Injurious Industrial Targeting and Unfair Trade Practices - Provides that injurious industrial targeting may trigger import relief actions. Defines injurious industrial targeting to mean any combination of coordinated government actions: (1) which are bestowed on a specific enterprise, industry, or group thereof; (2) which assist such enterprise, industry, or group to become more competitive in the export of any class or kind of merchandise; and (3) which cause or threaten to cause material injury. Transfers from the President to the Administering Authority the authority to take certain actions to enforce U.S. rights under trade agreements and to respond to certain foreign trade practices. Authorizes the Administering Authority to: (1) suspend, withdraw, or prevent application of the benefit of trade agreement concessions with the foreign country or instrumentality involved; (2) direct customs officers to assess duties or impose other import restrictions on the products of such country or instrumentality or to assess fees or impose restrictions on the services of such country or instrumentality for such time, in such amount, and to such degree as the Administering Authority deems appropriate; (3) negotiate agreements to offset the burden or restrictions on U.S. commerce; (4) submit proposed administrative actions and legislation to implement any other government action which would restore or improve the international competitive position of the injured or threatened industry; (5) recommend action by the President; or (6) any combination of such actions. Transfers to the Administering Authority from the President the authority to impose certain limits on service sector access authorizations (authorizations that permit a foreign supplier of services access to the U.S. market). Authorizes the President, upon recommendation of the Administering Authority, to: (1) restrict the terms and conditions of any service sector access authorization; or (2) deny the issuance of any such authorization. Directs the Administering Authority to consult with representatives of domestic firms and workers that may be affected by any import relief investigation which is initiated by petition filed with the Administering Authority regarding any determination which is required to be made by the Administering Authority. Directs the Administering Authority, upon written request, to make confidential business information obtained by it in connection with an import relief investigation available under a protective order. Prohibits release of information classified for national security reasons. Requires the Administering Authority to act upon requests for such information within ten days of the request. Requires the Administering Authority, in conducting an import relief investigation initiated by petition to the Administering Authority, to present detailed questionnaires to the foreign government or enterprise involved in order to obtain information concerning the allegations in the petition. Directs the Administering Authority to verify any such information which the Administering Authority relied upon in making any determinations. Provides for relying on the best information available, which may be the information contained in the petition, if the foreign government fails to provide information or provides insufficient or unsatisfactory information. Requires the Administering Authority to make a preliminary determination within five months of the start of such an import relief investigation on whether there is reason to believe that import relief is warranted. Authorizes the Administering Authority to take certain actions based on the preliminary finding. Requires the final determination to be made within 11 months of the start of the investigation. Requires the Administering Authority to determine what actions to take if the final determination is that import relief is warranted except that specific actions are required if injurious industrial targeting is found to exist. Requires the Administering Authority to consult with the petitioner and representatives of the affected domestic firms and workers if the final determination is affirmative. Requires the Administering Authority to report to the Congress if the final determination is affirmative and the Administering Authority declines to take any action. Terminates any preliminary import relief if the final determination is negative. Requires publication in the Federal Register of such preliminary and final determinations. Requires the Administering Authority, if it makes a preliminary finding that injurious industrial targeting exists, to: (1) establish an advisory committee; and (2) formulate, in consultation with such advisory committee, proposals which would restore or improve the competitive position of affected domestic industries. Requires the Administering Authority to notify the ITC when it initiates an investigation of injurious industrial targeting. Requires the ITC to make a preliminary determination within 60 days of receiving such notice of whether there is a reasonable indication that because of sales or likely sales of the merchandise which is the subject of the investigation: (1) an industry in the United States is materially injured or is threatened with material injury; or (2) the establishment or growth of an industry in the United States is materially retarded. Requires the ITC to make a final determination of whether such circumstances exist by: (1) 45 days after the affirmative final determination of the Administering Authority if the Administering Authority's preliminary determination is affirmative; or (2) 75 days after an affirmative final determination of the Administering Authority if the Administering Authority's preliminary determination is negative. Makes the ITC's determination subject to review by the U.S. Court of International Trade if such determinations were made under the countervailing or antidumping duty provisions of the Tariff Act of 1930. Defines material injury and threat of material injury. Requires the Administering Authority to submit to the President any proposed administrative action and any proposed legislation to restore or improve the competitive position of the injured industry if the preliminary and final determinations are that injurious industrial targeting has occurred. Provides for expedited consideration of such legislation. Requires the Administering Authority to report to the Congress on the actions the Administering Authority will take to offset the material injury or threat of material injury from the injurious industrial targeting. Authorizes the Administering Authority to enter into a settlement agreement with the foreign country or entity involved in lieu of taking other actions if: (1) such agreement completely eliminates the material injury or threat of material injury from the injurious industrial targeting; and (2) such agreement is approved by the petitioner if the investigation began because of a petition. Authorizes the Administering Authority to take actions to compensate a foreign country or entity if the contracting parties to the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) disapprove of actions taken in response to injurious industrial targeting. Directs the Administering Authority to consult with the petitioner and the representatives of affected domestic firms and workers if, in the course of an investigation, the Administering Authority has reason to believe that a foreign government engaged in dumping or other actions for which relief is available under specified provisions of the Tariff Act of 1930. Title V: Countervailing and Antidumping Duties - Amends the Tariff Act of 1930 to add requirements for a country to be considered a "country under the Agreement" for purposes of the countervailing duty provisions of such Act. Requires such a country to have made a commitment under the GATT to: (1) eliminate its export subsidies within one year (five for least developed countries); (2) not increase, extend, or add export subsidies; and (3) eliminate immediately export subsidies on those products in which such country is competitive. Requires the ITC, upon request, to investigate whether the merchandise is already competitive in the U.S. market and whether the merchandise would be competitive in the absence of export subsidies. Directs the Administering authority to review the status of, and compliance with, specified agreements at least once during each 12-month period. Directs the Administering Authority to publish such determinations. Imposes penalties for failure of a foreign country to honor any term of such agreements. Includes natural resource subsidies within the definition of subsidy for purposes of such Act. Declares that a natural resource subsidy exists if: (1) a natural resource product is provided or sold by a government-controlled entity within a country for use in the manufacture or production in such country of merchandise which is the subject of a countervailing duty investigation at a domestic price that is lower than the fair market value of the natural resource product in such country and that is not freely available to U.S. producers for purchase of that product for export to the United States; and (2) such natural resource product would, if sold at the fair market value, constitute a significant portion of the total cost of the manufacture or production of such merchandise. Changes the definition of foreign market value for purposes of countervailing duty investigations. Requires the Administering Authority to include in calculating the cost of producing the merchandise the value of any benefit the producer or manufacturer has received from government research and development programs. Requires sales made at less than cost of production to be disregarded in the determination of foreign market value if such sales were made over an extended period of time and in substantial quantities. Sets forth a special rule for determining cost of production and constructed value if imports of the merchandise into the home market have been unreasonably restrained. Requires the ITC, in determining whether a U.S. industry is threatened with material injury because of imports, to consider: (1) any combination of coordinated government actions that are bestowed on a specific enterprise, industry, or group thereof the effect of which is to assist the beneficiary to become more competitive in the export of any merchandise and to cause or threaten to cause material injury to the United States; and (2) the extent to which the United States is the focal point for exports of the merchandise by reason of restraints on exports of the merchandise to, or on imports of the merchandise into, third country markets.
United States · United States Congress · 3 April 1985
Defense Environmental Restoration Act of 1985 - Subjects facilities under the jurisdiction of the Secretary of Defense to the requirements of the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act of 1980 (CERCLA) (Superfund). Exempts the Secretary from the financial responsibility requirements. Prohibits the delegation to the Secretary of any response authority under such Act, requiring such authority to remain with the President or the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) as appropriate. Permits the designation of the Secretary and other Department of Defense (DOD) officials as natural resources trustees under such Act. Authorizes the Administrator to delegate other authorities to the Secretary or DOD officials if it would be cost-effective except the authority to approve remedial action at a site on the National Priorities List (NPL) in a nonemergency situation. Authorizes the President to issue response action orders as necessary to protect the national security. Directs the Secretary to establish within the Office of the Secretary an office to implement the Defense Environmental Restoration Program which includes investigating and cleaning up contamination from hazardous substances and correcting environmental damage. Directs the Secretary to carry out response actions with respect to releases of hazardous substances from sites and vessels under the Secretary's jurisdiction. Excludes response actions which do not result in a new facility from military construction requirements. Permits removal or remedial action by another responsible party. Directs the Secretary to pay all fees and charges imposed by State and local authorities for storage and/or disposal of hazardous substances on lands under the jurisdiction of the Secretary. Authorizes the Secretary to implement the administrative abatement authorities where there may be an imminent and substantial endangerment to public health or the environment from a DOD controlled facility. Authorizes appropriations for FY 1986 through 1990 to carry out the restoration program. Makes available to the Secretary amounts recovered from responsible parties for response actions of the Secretary. Authorizes the Secretary to settle claims under CERCLA up to a specified amount. Authorizes appropriations for FY 1986 through 1990 for emergency removal actions where the release or threatened release of any hazardous substance presents an imminent and substantial endangerment to the public health or environment. Limits the per-site expenditure unless the Secretary and the Administrator agree that continued response actions are required in an emergency-type situation. Requires each emergency removal action to be completed within six months if possible or within 18 months at the outside. Requires the Secretary to notify the Congress within 15 days of obligating emergency funds. Authorizes the Secretary to use facility maintenance funds for response actions, including emergency actions. Authorizes the Secretary to utilize the services of any other Government agency on a reimbursable basis to carry out this Act. Directs the Secretary to establish a research, development, and demonstration program regarding hazardous waste management, including cost-effective strategies and technological innovation. Authorizes appropriations for FY 1986 through 1990. Directs the Secretary to notify the Administrator of the Agency of Toxic Substances and Disease Registry (ATSDR) within one year of this Act's enactment of the 25 hazardous substances most frequently used at DOD facilities for which no standard or water quality criteria are in effect under the other Federal environmental and water quality statutes. Requires ATSDR to prepare profiles on such substances within one year of receiving the funds to do so. Authorizes appropriations. Directs the Secretary to keep the regional EPA offices and the appropriate State and local authorities informed about any hazardous substance releases or proposed response actions occurring at a DOD site within their area. Requires that such notice be made prior to taking a response action in nonemergency situations. Directs the Secretary to establish a Technical Review Committee of such authorities whenever possible to review and comment on DOD proposals. Requires the Secretary to provide an opportunity for public participation before adopting a plan for remedial action at any DOD site on the NPL. Directs the Secretary to report annually to the Congress on the implementation of this Act, including a statement for each site and its hazardous substances, the response actions taken or proposed, and the costs involved. Directs the Secretary to provide the Congress with information on military construction projects in the budget attributable to environmental restoration programs. Requires military construction authorizations to separately set forth the amount requested for environmental restoration for each military department and defense agency. Authorizes the Secretary to carry out otherwise unauthorized emergency construction for hazardous substance response actions up to a specified amount and after congressional notification.
United States · United States Congress · 2 April 1985
Amends title II (Old Age, Survivors and Disability Insurance) of the Social Security Act to eliminate the benefit disparity between those born before 1916 and those born after 1916 which was effected by the enactment of the Social Security Amendments of 1977. Directs the Secretary of Health and Human Services to recompute the primary insurance amount so as to take into account the amendments made by this Act and to pay to any individual so entitled any additional lump sum amount to which such individual is entitled by reason of this Act. Prohibits the recomputation from reducing any individual's benefit.
United States · United States Congress · 2 April 1985
Military Chaplains Faith Balance Act of 1984 - Directs the Secretary of Defense to increase the representation of underrepresented religious faiths among armed forces chaplains.
United States · United States Congress · 2 April 1985
Amends the Child Nutrition Act of 1966 to limit participation in the special supplemental food program for women, infants, and children (WIC) to States in which State or local sales taxes are not collected on purchases of food under such program.
United States · United States Congress · 2 April 1985
Directs the Secretary of Health and Human Services to conduct a study of the benefit disparities caused by the 1977 changes in the social security benefit formula. Directs the Secretary to report the results of the study to the Congress and the Congressional Budget Office. Directs the Director of the Congressional Budget Office to report to the Congress that Office's conclusions and recommendations regarding the Secretary's report.
United States · United States Congress · 2 April 1985
World War I Veterans' Service Pension Act - Directs the Administrator of Veterans Affairs to pay a monthly pension of $150 to each veteran of World War I who meets specified service requirements. Requires such veteran, if receiving another pension administered by the Veterans Administration (VA), to elect which pension he will receive. Provides for the payment of a monthly pension of $100 to surviving spouses of World War I veterans who meet certain marriage requirements. Requires such surviving spouses to choose between pensions if they are currently receiving another pension through the VA.
United States · United States Congress · 1 April 1985
Ocean Dumping Amendments Act of 1985 - Amends the Marine Protection, Research, and Sanctuaries Act of 1972 to prohibit after December 31, 1986, the issuance of any permit for the dumping of municipal sludge unless: (1) the applicant is in compliance with all the requirements of the Federal Water Pollution Control Act pertaining to pretreatment standards for the introduction of pollutants into treatment works; and (2) there is not available any land-based alternative to the ocean disposal of the sludge. Makes it mandatory for the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) or the Secretary of the Army, as the case may be, to collect ocean dumping permit processing fees. Requires an additional special fee to be collected from applicants for ocean dumping permits to recoup the cost of undertaking activities directly associated with permits. Defines "municipal sludge" for purposes of such Act. Sets forth the congressional finding that the New York Bight Apex is no longer suitable for municipal sludge dumping. Requires applicants seeking permits to dump municipal sludge within the Apex to be eligible authorities. Prohibits the Administrator from issuing or renewing permits for the dumping of municipal sludge within the Apex either after 18 months from the date of enactment of this Act or after the first day the Administrator determines sludge can reasonably be dumped at a designated site outside the Apex, whichever date occurs first. Directs the Administrator to develop, after public hearings, and report to the Congress within three years on a New York Bight Apex Restoration Plan for improving the overall water quality and marine resources of the Apex. Sets forth various activities which must be covered by the plan. Directs the Administrator to submit to the Congress within six months a schedule for completing the plan and an estimate of the cost for developing and, where possible, implementing the plan. Directs the Administrator to report to the Congress within one year on the economic and technical feasibility of establishing and implementing quality standards for the disposal of municipal sludge through ocean or land-based methods. Authorizes appropriations for FY 1986 through 1988 to EPA for purposes of preparing the New York Bight Apex Restoration Plan. Imposes a special, per ton, disposal fee on permittees dumping municipal sludge into the ocean, the amount increasing with each fiscal year. Deposits 80 percent of such fee in a trust account, if the permittee establishes one, such money to be used only with the concurrence of the permittee and for the development of long-term alternatives to ocean dumping and for better treatment techniques. Requires the Administrator to use the remaining 20 percent and the unused funds in trust accounts for the comprehensive assessment of land-based disposal options and research. Directs the Administrator to prepare and report to the Congress within 18 months a comprehensive assessment of land-based disposal options for municipal sludge for permittees that are eligible authorities. Prohibits the ocean dumping of all harmful municipal sludge after 18 months of the date of enactment of this Act. Defines "harmful municipal sludge" as municipal sludge which fails to meet EPA's environmental impact criteria.
United States · United States Congress · 28 March 1985
Medicare Solvency and Health Care Financing Reform Act of 1985 - 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 1986) 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 hospital 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, 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 case 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 the 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 · 28 March 1985
Amends the Railroad Retirement Act of 1974 to repeal the provisions which reduce certain portions of annuity benefits by the dollar amount of the cost-of-living increase in certain monthly insurance benefits under the Social Security Act.
United States · United States Congress · 27 March 1985
National Infrastructure Act - Establishes in the Treasury the National Infrastructure Fund. Authorizes appropriations for each of FY 1986 through 1995. Directs amounts in the Fund to be made available to the Secretary of the Treasury to make interest-free repayable grants to States. Establishes within the Fund a separate account to be known as the Sinking Fund Account for deposits by States of grant obligations. Requires the Secretary to invest amounts in the Account in interest-bearing obligations of the United States. Requires the Secretary to maintain separate records of funds in the Account with respect to each grant made under this Act. Requires the Secretary to report to the Congress each year from FY 1987 through 2016 on the financial conditions of the Account. Entitles each State to repayable grants, according to a specified population ratio, for FY 1986 through 1995. Specifies terms for payments to States by the Secretary and repayments by States to the Secretary of such grants. Allows the Secretary to adjust the amount of any payment if deemed necessary. Allows States 20 years for repayment of grants, with adjustments made to the Account for each State at such time. Sets forth qualifications for States receiving such grants, including: (1) a contractual agreement by the State that it will establish an infrastructure revolving fund in its treasury to deposit and maintain records of grants received and make interest-free loans to various departments and agencies within the State; (2) terms and length of repayment; (3) specified uses to which grant funds may be applied; and (4) specified prohibited uses of grant funds. Requires a State to make available to the Secretary and the Comptroller General for inspection such records as either may require. Requires annual independent financial audits of grant-participating States to determine compliance with this Act. Allows States to waive such audit requirement in specified circumstances. Allows the Secretary to waive such audit requirement in certain cases. Requires any audits done to be made available to the public within 30 days after being received by the Secretary. Directs the Comptroller General to review the activities of the Secretary and the States to determine compliance under this Act. Requires a State making an interest-free loan under this Act to hold at least one public hearing on the proposed loan, with adequate notice to the public. Requires the Secretary, before June 2 of each year ending before January 1, 1997, to report to the Congress on: (1) the status and operation of the Fund during the prior fiscal year; (2) the amounts made available for each such purpose during the prior fiscal year; and (3) the administration of this Act. Requires, at the end of each fiscal year for which repayable grants are made under this Act, each State government receiving such a grant to submit a report to the Secretary on the amount, purposes, and uses of such grant. Requires the Secretary to determine population (used as a statistic in awarding grants) on the same basis that the Secretary of Commerce determines resident population for general statistical purposes. Requires the Secretary to use population estimates provided by the Secretary of Commerce to determine amounts of repayable grants for each fiscal year.
United States · United States Congress · 26 March 1985
Authorizes the Secretary of Education to provide financial assistance to the Bethune-Cookman College in Volusia County, Florida, to establish the Mary McLeod Bethune Memorial Fine Arts Center. Authorizes appropriations for such purpose.
United States · United States Congress · 26 March 1985
Recognizes the pause for the Pledge of Allegiance as part of the celebration of National Flag Day and urges all Americans to participate by reciting the Pledge in unison at a specified time on that day.
United States · United States Congress · 20 March 1985
Labor-Management Notification and Consultation Act of 1985 - Prohibits any employer (i.e. any business with 50 or more employees) from ordering a plant closing or permanent layoff until 90 days after the employer serves written notice of a proposal to issue such an order to: (1) the representative of the affected employees or, if none, to each affected employee; and (2) the Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service. Provides for reduction of such notification period if the Service determines that unavoidable business circumstances prevent the employer from withholding such closing or layoff until the end of such period. Provides for extension of such notification period thus prohibiting the ordering of such closing or layoff while the employer is subject to an order to continue to consult. Prohibits an employer from ordering a plant closing or permanent layoff unless the employer has: (1) met with representatives of the affected employees with respect to a proposal to order such closing or layoff; and (2) consulted in good faith with such representative for the purpose of agreeing to a mutually satisfactory alternative to or modification of such proposal. Makes such obligation to consult commence on the date of notice and continue until the end of the 90-day notification period. Provides that such consultation period shall be extended if the Service determines that the employer has failed to comply with such consultation requirements. Authorizes the Service to renew any such extension imposed. Requires the employer to disclose to the affected employees' representative information necessary for thorough evaluation of: (1) the proposal to order the closing or layoff; and (2) any alternatives or modifications suggested to such proposal. Authorizes the Service to issue protective orders to prevent disclosure of information which could compromise the employer's competitive position. Sets forth provisions for the administration and enforcement of requirements under this Act. Provides for: (1) assistance by the Service to employers, employee representatives, affected employees, State employment services, and other State and local officials; (2) investigations and injunctive actions by the Department of Labor; (3) civil actions against employers; and (4) civil actions against representatives of employees. Provides that the rights and remedies provided to employees by this Act are in addition to any other contractual, statutory, or other legal rights and remedies of the employees. Expresses the sense of the Congress that employers who, because affected employees do not have a representative, are not required to comply with the consultation and disclosure requirements under this Act should consult with and disclose information to such employees in order to reach a mutually satisfactory alternative or modification of the proposal to order the closing or layoff. Establishes a National Commission on Plant Closings and Worker Dislocation. Requires the Commission to report to the President and the Congress within 12 months of the appointment of members. Terminates the Commission 30 days after such report. Authorizes appropriations for the Commission.
![Official portrait of Rep. Howard, James J. [D-NJ-3]](https://www.congress.gov/img/member/h000840_200.jpg)