United States · United States Congress · 10 February 1983
Amends the Automobile Dealers Day in Court Act to prohibit a manufacturer from selling, leasing, or offering to sell or lease any passenger car, truck, or stationwagon to any person (or any other dealer) at a price lower than the price at which the same model is sold to its franchised dealers. Prohibits a manufacturer from imposing restrictions on some purchasers of automobiles, but not others. Requires that all rebates, discounts, refunds or other promotional inducement or benefit be provided to all ultimate purchasers of the same model of motor vehicle during the same period of time. Establishes an exception to the Act for the sale of automobiles to Federal, State or local governmental units. Applies this Act to importers of covered motor vehicles who import directly or through distributorships. Allows an automobile dealer to recover reasonable attorneys fees resulting from an action under this Act. Limits standing for a cause of action for termination of an agreement under this Act to dealers who comply with all reasonable provisions of the franchise agreement in question.
United States · United States Congress · 10 February 1983
Acidic Deposition Study and Ecosystem Mitigation Act - Amends the Clean Air Act to provide for a program of acidic deposition analysis and mitigation. Directs the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency to study and report, within the five-fiscal- year period following the submission of the final comprehensive research plan under the Acid Precipitation Act of 1980, on acidic deposition to specified congressional committees. Sets forth required inclusions and procedures for such report. Authorizes the Administrator to make grants to any State or interstate agency to develop and implement on-site methods of mitigating the harmful effects on ecosystems resulting from high acidity which may be due to acidic deposition. Limits such grants to 75 percent of project costs. Authorizes appropriations to the Administrator for the five fiscal years following the enactment date of this Act for the preparation of such report and the making of such grants.
United States · United States Congress · 8 February 1983
Emergency Housing Assistance Act of 1983 - Amends the Emergency Housing Act of 1975 to direct the Secretary of Housing and Urban Development to make emergency mortgage relief payments to mortgagees on behalf of certain delinquent mortgagors in a district when, for three consecutive months, the amount of delinquent mortgage loans exceeds a specified percentage of the amount of all loans accounted for in the mortgage delinquency series maintained by the Federal Home Loan Bank Board for such district or the nation. Provides for the discontinuation and reinstitution of such assistance program depending on such delinquency rate condition. Lists the conditions for assistance eligibility, which include requirements that: (1) the mortgage is not federally insured under the National Housing Act or the Housing Act of 1949; (2) the mortgagor has suffered a substantial reduction in income as a result of circumstances beyond the mortgagor's control which renders the mortgagor unable to make full mortgage payments; and (3) the Secretary has determined that assistance is necessary to avoid foreclosure and that it is likely that the mortgagor will be able to resume full mortgage payments within 36 months and pay the mortgage in full by its maturity date. Establishes a rebuttable presumption that a mortgagor will be able to resume making full payments and pay the mortgage in full if the mortgagor suffered a reduction in income because of a loss of, or reduction in, employment. Requires each financial institution or mortgagee, at least 30 days before instituting any foreclosure proceeding, to notify the mortgagor involved of the availability of assistance under this Act. Directs the Secretary to: (1) provide homeownership counseling to persons assisted under this Act; and (2) approve or disapprove an application for assistance within 45 days. Sets forth the authority of the Secretary to recapture assistance provided under this Act. Creates the Homeowners Emergency Relief Fund to be available to carry out this Act. Authorizes appropriations and limits expenditures for assistance under this Act. Requires the Secretary and certain Federal agencies which supervise financial institutions to waive or relax limitations pertaining to the operations of certain mortgagees and financial institutions with respect to mortgage delinquencies in order to encourage forebearance in residential mortgage loan foreclosure. Requires the Secretary to report to Congress every 60 days on: (1) the rate of delinquencies and foreclosures in various housing markets; (2) the prospects of voluntary forebearance by mortgagees in such areas; (3) Government actions to encourage such forebearance and to provide assistance under this title; and (4) the default status of mortgagees on multifamily properties with recommendations on curing and avoiding such defaults. Directs the Secretary to study and report on the use of alternative mortgage delinquency series under this title. Amends the Housing and Community Development Act of 1974 to authorize appropriations for grants by the Secretary to local governments, Indian tribes, and nonprofit organizations for the provision of shelter and essential services for individuals who are subject to life-threatening situations because of their lack of housing. Amends the Housing Act of 1949 to require the Secretary of Agriculture, prior to taking any action that would result in a borrower losing housing financed by a rural housing loan, to grant a moratorium on loan payments if the borrower shows that he or she is unable to continue making payments because of circumstances beyond his or her control. Requires the Secretary to: (1) ensure that delinquent borrowers are informed of the availability of such assistance; and (2) provide technical assistance to borrowers applying for such assistance. Authorizes the Secretary to reamortize the accrued debt of a borrower if reamortization is likely to result in the resumption of payments by the borrower.
United States · United States Congress · 8 February 1983
Amends the Economic Recovery Tax Act of 1981 to provide that eligibility requirements for the special estate tax valuation of replacement farm property acquired in a like-kind exchange or after an involuntary conversion shall apply to decedents dying after 1976.
United States · United States Congress · 7 February 1983
Amends title II (Old Age, Survivors and Disability Insurance) of the Social Security Act to direct the Secretary of the Treasury to implement procedures for identifying social security benefit checks issued under title II which have not been negotiated within 12 months and to credit the appropriate social security trust fund, on a monthly basis, for the amount of all unnegotiated benefit checks drawn on such trust fund. Requires the Secretary to pay a benefit check presented for payment after it has been credited to one of the trust funds, and to recharge such trust fund, if such check is otherwise proper. Authorizes appropriations to reimburse the Federal Old-Age and Survivors Insurance Trust Fund and the Federal Disability Insurance Trust Fund for the total amount of unnegotiated benefit checks.
United States · United States Congress · 7 February 1983
Amends the Internal Revenue Code to permit farmers who participate in a Federal payment-in-kind program to elect to treat commodities they receive as income in the year of receipt or the year of sale. Permits farmers to elect a deferral of the income resulting from the cancellation of Commodity Credit Corporation loans. Provides that farmers participating in a payment-in-kind program do not forfeit eligibility for the special use valuation provisions for farm property.
United States · United States Congress · 3 February 1983
Competitive Shipping and Shipbuilding Act of 1983 - Requires that, by 1984, five percent of all bulk cargoes imported into or exported from the United States by water be carried on U.S.-flag ships. Requires yearly one percent increases until the percentage of bulk cargoes carried on U.S.-flag ships reaches 20 percent. Provides for credit to importers and exporters for the use of U.S.-flag ships for the transportation of bulk cargoes between foreign ports. Authorizes the Secretary of Transportation to provide relief from the requirements of this Act upon a finding that U.S.-flag ships are not available within guideline rates. Sets forth factors which the Secretary shall consider in determining the extent of relief granted. Requires the Secretary to establish and publish guideline rates for the carriage of bulk cargoes subject to this Act. Requires the Secretary to assure that such rates take into account certain objectives. Requires the Secretary, in order to establish guideline rates, to estimate the current cost of operating U.S.-flag ships in the foreign bulk trades of the United States and of constructing such ships. Requires such cost estimates to be published within six months after enactment of this Act. Requires such estimates to be revised annually. Requires that such rates: (1) be reviewed and adjusted at least annually; (2) not reflect costs greater than the estimated current costs; and (3) be the maximum rates which may be charged for the charter of U.S.-flag ships for the transportation of bulk cargoes governed by this Act. Requires the Secretary to establish and publish interim guideline rates in the first calendar year following the enactment of this Act. Sets forth factors to be taken into account in determining such rates. Requires the Secretary to appoint and consult with an advisory committee to establish and review U.S.-flag ship operating costs, shipyard construction costs, guideline rates, and regulations. Requires anyone engaged in importing or exporting bulk commodities in U.S. foreign commerce whose business volume exceeds $1,000,000 annually to report to the Secretary on the percentages of such person's exports and imports carried on U.S. flag ships. Requires anyone who fails to transport the required percentage of U.S. bulk cargoes to use exclusively U.S. flag ships until the deficiency has been recouped, unless Secretarial relief has been granted. Establishes civil penalties for violations of this Act. Sets forth procedures for the investigation, prosecution, and judicial review of violations of this Act.
United States · United States Congress · 3 February 1983
Amends the Federal criminal code to establish penalties for taking or attempting to take property by force, violence, or intimidation from either a pharmacy or a person registered with the Drug Enforcement Administration. Increases the penalties if any person's life is endangered by use of a dangerous weapon or if any person is assaulted or killed during the commission of such offense. Directs the Attorney General to report to Congress on the enforcement of this Act.
United States · United States Congress · 3 February 1983
Social Security Alien and Foreign Resident Benefits Limitation Act of 1983 - Amends title II (Old Age, Survivors and Disability Insurance) of the Social Security Act to provide that an individual who is not a U.S. citizen or national and whose entitlement to title II benefits is based upon the wages and self-employment income of another individual residing in a foreign country shall not be entitled to such benefits until such other individual becomes a resident of the United States. Prohibits entitlement to title II benefits in the case of an individual who is not a U.S. citizen or national and whose entitlement is based on the wages and self-employment income of another individual unless: (1) such other individual is a U.S. citizen or national or is lawfully admitted to the United States for permanent residence or employment; or (2) such individual is a surviving spouse whose relationship existed at least one year before the wage earner's retirement. Makes the prohibitions under this Act inapplicable in any case where they would contravene a treaty obligation of the United States or an international social security agreement between the United States and another country.
United States · United States Congress · 2 February 1983
Housing Finance Opportunity Act of 1983 - Amends the Internal Revenue Code of 1954 to permit the continued issuance of tax-exempt (interest excluded from gross income) mortgage revenue bonds after December 31, 1983.
United States · United States Congress · 2 February 1983
Fair Practices in Automotive Products Act - Sets forth for all motor vehicle manufacturers which produce over 100,000 motor vehicles for ultimate retail sale in the United States "minimum domestic content ratios" (the domestic value, including labor and parts, of the manufacturer's production costs of all automotive products sold in the United States). Requires all vehicle manufacturers producing more than 100,000 motor vehicles for sale in the United States to provide information to the Secretary of Transportation for the purpose of administering this requirement. Establishes penalties for a vehicle manufacturer who fails to meet the minimum domestic content ratio. Directs the Secretary of Transportation and the Federal Trade Commission to investigate and prepare a written report regarding policies and practices of vehicle manufacturers used to persuade U.S. motor vehicle dealers to favor foreign made parts rather than domestically produced parts.
United States · United States Congress · 2 February 1983
Amends the Export Administration Act of 1979 to exempt from the termination provisions of such Act provisions relating to the export of domestically produced crude oil.
United States · United States Congress · 2 February 1983
Emergency Homeowners Relief Act of 1983 - Amends the Emergency Housing Act of 1975 to direct the Secretary of Housing and Urban Development to make emergency mortgage relief payments to mortgagees on behalf of certain delinquent mortgagors in a State when the unemployment rate for such State for any month is not less than eight percent. Discontinues such assistance when the unemployment rate in the State has declined to below eight percent on an average monthly basis for three consecutive months. Sets forth conditions for assistance eligibility which include requirements that: (1) the mortgage is not insured under the National Housing Act; (2) the mortgagor has incurred a substantial reduction in income as a result of circumstances beyond his or her control and he or she is unable to resume full mortgage payments; and (3) the Secretary has determined that assistance is necessary to avoid foreclosure and that the mortgagor will be able to resume making full mortgage payments within 24 months, repay such assistance, and pay the mortgage in full. Limits assistance payments to the amount needed to supplement the amount the mortgagor is capable of contributing. Directs the Secretary to provide for a quarterly review of the eligibility of a mortgagor receiving assistance and to adjust or discontinue assistance as appropriate. Declares that all assistance payments shall be secured by a lien on the property involved and repayable over ten years on terms prescribed by the Secretary. Permits the Secretary to provide such assistance to a mortgagor more than once. Directs the Secretary to: (1) provide homeownership counseling to persons assisted under this Act; and (2) process an application for assistance within 30 days. Sets forth the authority of the Secretary to recapture assistance provided under this Act. Requires the Secretary and specified Federal agencies that supervise financial institutions or mortgagees to waive or relax limitations on the operations of such institutions with respect to mortgage delinquencies in order to encourage forebearance in residential loan foreclosures. Requires the Secretary to report to Congress every 60 days on: (1) the rate of delinquencies and foreclosures in various housing markets; (2) the prospects of voluntary forebearance by mortgagees in such areas; (3) Government actions to encourage such forebearance and to provide assistance under this title; and (4) the default status of mortgages on multifamily properties with recommendations on curing and avoiding such defaults. Sets forth penalties for violations of provisions governing the eligibility for, or use of, assistance under this Act. Limits the amount of assistance that may be provided during the two years such assistance is authorized under this Act.
United States · United States Congress · 2 February 1983
Expresses the sense of the Congress that funding for community service employment programs for senior citizens under title V of the Older Americans Act of 1965 for FY 1984 and subsequent fiscal years should be provided at levels sufficient to maintain or increase the number of employment positions provided under such programs.
United States · United States Congress · 27 January 1983
Amends the Education Consolidation and Improvement Act of 1981 (ECIA) to revise Chapter 1 (Financial Assistance to Meet Special Educational Needs of Disadvantaged Children) provisions. Revises a State program design provision to include preschool migratory children as eligible participants in State programs for migratory, handicapped, and neglected and delinquent children. Directs the Secretary of Education to continue to use a specified definition of "currently migratory children." Revises provisions relating to local educational agency (LEA) application assurances. Exempts any LEA with a total enrollment of less than 1,000 children from specified "targeting" requirements for the use of funds to assist low-income educationally disadvantaged children. Grants LEAs discretion to make certain educational decisions which are consistent with achieving the purposes of Chapter 1. Allows LEAs to designate any school attendance area in which at least 25 percent of the children are from low-income families as an eligible school attendance area for any fiscal year if the amount of State and local funds for eligible areas does not decline. Allows LEAs to designate as eligible, and to serve, school attendance areas with substantially higher numbers or percentages of educationally deprived children before designating and serving areas with higher concentrations of children from low-income families, upon approval by State educational agencies (SEAs) and after a finding that the delivery of compensatory education service to low-income students will not be impaired. Permits use of Chapter 1 funds for educationally deprived children in a school not located in an eligible school attendance area when the proportion of children from low-income families in average daily attendance in such school is substantially equal to the proportion of such children in an eligible school attendance area of the LEA. Permits continued designation, for an additional fiscal year, of any eligible school attendance area or eligible school which has been so designated in either of the two preceding years, even if the area or school does not otherwise qualify. Permits, with the approval of the SEA, the skipping of eligible areas or schools receiving similar services from non-Federal sources, with specified exceptions for purposes of determining services to private school children. Allows children who, in any previous year, were identified as being in greatest need of assistance, and who continue to be educationally deprived, but who are no longer identified as being in the greatest need of assistance, to participate in a program or project assisted under the Omnibus Education Reconciliation Act of 1981 for the current fiscal year. Permits continued participation in a Chapter 1 program by educationally deprived children who are transferred out of an eligible area or school during the same school year. Directs the Secretary of Education to issue regulations permitting LEAs to skip educationally deprived children in greatest need of assistance when providing services under ECIA if such children are receiving non-Federal services of the same nature and scope. Permits use of Chapter 1 funds for projects designed to upgrade the entire educational program in that school, if at least 75 percent of the children attending are from low-income families. Permits assignment of school personnel who are paid entirely by Chapter 1 funds to limited, rotating, supervisory duties which are assigned to similarly situated personnel who are not paid with such funds. Requires that services for educationally deprived private school children comply with requirements that programs be conducted in LEA attendance areas with high concentrations of low-income children. Requires SEAs to use Chapter 1 funds only as a supplement to the non-Federal funds for the education of students participating in programs assisted under Chapter 1. Provides that exclusions of special State and local program funds from specified non-supplanting and comparability requirements include compensatory education for educationally deprived children which meets specified requirements under the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (ESEA). Provides that such exclusions from comparability requirements include: (1) bilingual education for children of limited English proficiency; (2) special education for handicapped children or children with specific learning disabilities; and (3) certain State phase-in programs described under ESEA. Provides that ECIA provisions relating to aid to LEAs which overlap county boundaries supersede specified ESEA provisions. Revises Chapter 2 (Consolidation of Federal Programs for Elementary and Secondary Education) provisions of ECIA. Permits the use of specified carry-over funds to cover expenses for program phaseout and transition (from ESEA to Chapter 2 of ECIA). Sets, at one percent of sums appropriated for Chapter 2 in any one fiscal year, the amount which the Secretary of Education must reserve for payments to specified U.S. territories and possessions. Permits audits of LEAs receiving less than an average $5,000 each year under Chapter 2 to take place at five-year intervals. Permits an LEA to receive its allocation of Chapter 2 funds for any year for which its application to the SEA has been certified. Requires the SEA to certify any such application which meets the requirements of the Act. Provides that specified school level planning requirements apply only to programs under Subchapter A (Basic Skills Development) of Chapter 2. Revises Chapter 3 (General Provisions) of ECIA. Provides that nothing in the Act shall be deemed to authorize or prohibit an SEA from adopting requirements applicable to programs assisted under this Act which do not conflict with this Act or other applicable Federal law. Requires that State rules, policies, or data collection forms relating to programs funded under the Act be identified as State imposed requirements. Deletes a requirement that specified hearings relating to withholding of payments be "on the record," but requires that transcripts or recordings of such hearings be made and be available for inspection by any person. Provides, for purposes of judicial review, that an LEA shall be presumed to have complied with ECIA, unless the Secretary's findings of fact, supported by the weight of evidence, overcome such presumption. Provides that the General Education Provisions Act (GEPA) shall apply to the programs authorized by ECIA, but that specified GEPA provisions shall be superseded by specified provisions of ECIA. Repeals GEPA provisions relating to the responsibility of States to furnish information. Amends title I (Financial Assistance to Meet the Special Educational Needs of Children) of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (ESEA) to make technical and conforming amendments. Revises specified references in ESEA to conform with amendments made by ECIA. Makes such amendments applicable only to funds made available under ECIA. Makes a conforming amendment to ECIA relating to references to private schools. Amends the Omnibus Education Reconciliation Act of 1981 to make a technical correction. Amends Federal law relating to Federal impact aid payments to local educational agencies to extend such payments (at the FY 1983 level) through FY 1984 (phasing out such payments in FY 1985, instead of FY 1984). Allows recipients of funds under ECIA, during the period of July 1, 1982, through June 30, 1983, to expend such funds in accordance with ECIA as in effect either prior to or after the enactment of this Act.
United States · United States Congress · 27 January 1983
Agricultural Produce Bailment Bankruptcy Amendments Act of 1983 - Amends the Bankruptcy Act to require bankruptcy courts to give priority to allowed unsecured claims of farmers arising from the sale or conversion of farm produce to or by a debtor who operates a farm produce storage facility. Specifies that such sale or conversion must have occurred within 180 days before the filing of the petition or before the cessation of the debtor's business, whichever occurs first. Limits the payment of any such claim to $2,000 per individual. Permits a bankruptcy court to expedite the procedures for determining interests in and the disposition of grain and proceeds held by debtors who own or operate grain storage facilities. Requires the court to expedite such procedures if requested by a trustee or a claimant. Sets forth factors for the court to consider before deciding whether to shorten the time periods for procedures. Lists the procedures which may be expedited. Specifies administrative details.
United States · United States Congress · 26 January 1983
Law Enforcement Officers Protection Act of 1982 - Establishes criminal penalties applicable to licensees under the Gun Control Act of 1968 who import, manufacture, or sell a "restricted handgun bullet," except as authorized by the Secretary of the Treasury. Establishes additional criminal penalties, including a mandatory minimum sentence of one year's imprisonment, for: (1) using a restricted handgun bullet to commit a Federal felony; or (2) carrying a restricted handgun bullet unlawfully during commission of a Federal felony.
United States · United States Congress · 26 January 1983
Amends title II (Old Age, Survivors and Disability Insurance) of the Social Security Act to prohibit entitlement to title II benefits in the case of an individual who is not a U. S. citizen or national if such individual: (1) is not a permanent resident of the United States; or (2) is outside the United States. Prohibits the payment of title II benefits to any dependent or survivor of such an individual on the basis of such individual's wages and self-employment income. Makes such prohibition inapplicable if the benefit involved is payable to such an individual as the dependent or survivor of: (1) a U. S. citizen or national; (2) a permanent resident of the United States; or (3) a U. S. citizen or national residing outside the United States if the relationship required for such individual's entitlement already existed at the time such national or citizen reached age 50. Authorizes the payment of title II benefits to an individual who is not entitled to benefits pursuant to this Act until the total amount of such benefits equals the total amount of any taxes paid on the wages and self-employment income on which the benefits are based.
United States · United States Congress · 25 January 1983
American Defense Education Act - Authorizes a national program to provide incentives to local educational agencies to improve: (1) instruction in mathematics, science, communication skills, foreign languages, and technology; and (2) guidance and counseling. Title I: Elementary and Secondary Education Programs - Requires local education agencies which desire to participate in such national program to develop and carry out a program of improvement of instruction and student achievement. Sets forth requirements for such programs. Entitles participating local educational agencies to receive basic payments for each fiscal year equal to two percent of an established payment rate multiplied by the average daily attendance. Entitles agencies which show substantial evidence of meeting program goals to an incentive payment equal to an additional two percent of the established payment rate multiplied by the average daily attendance. Sets forth a formula for establishing such payment rate. Sets forth requirements for applications for payments. Directs the Secretary of Education ("the Secretary") to approve applications which meet such requirements. Sets forth provisions for participation in such program by children enrolled in private schools. Title II: Teacher Training and Postsecondary Programs - Authorizes the Secretary to establish a program of grants to institutions of higher education for coordination between such institutions and local education agencies in improving science and mathematics education, through precollege teacher training, development, and recruitment programs. Sets forth requirements for grant proposals and priorities in grant selection. Authorizes appropriations for FY 1985 through 1987 for such grants. Title III: Research to Improve Instruction - Directs the Secretary to administer, through the National Institute of Education (NIE), in consultation with appropriate Federal agencies, a program to support research and development into effective education in mathematics, the sciences, foreign languages, and technology. Authorizes appropriations to the Department of Education to be made available to NIE to carry out such educational research program for FY 1985 through 1987. Title IV: General Provisions - Directs the Secretary to administer the program and to pay each local educational agency with an approved application the amount to which it is entitled for each fiscal year. Provides for a joint survey and report to Congress by the Secretaries of Defense and Education, for each year from 1983 through 1987, on the academic achievement levels of U.S. 18-year-olds and the personnel training and educational needs of the armed forces.
United States · United States Congress · 6 January 1983
Federal Employees Health Benefits Reform Act of 1983 - Increases the amount of the Government's contribution for an employee enrolled in an employee health benefits plan from 60 to 75 percent of the average subscription charge for such plan. Increases the maximum Government contribution for an enrollee from 75 to 100 percent of such subscription charge. Requires payment of a Government differential equal to five percent of the average subscription charge, in addition to the Government's contribution, for any enrollee who is over 65 years of age and not entitled to medicare benefits. Excludes such differential in determining the amount to be paid by the enrollee. Permits the following persons to elect to continue coverage under a Federal employees' health benefits plan for a specified period: (1) an employee who is involuntarily separated from the civil service due to a reduction in force; (2) the spouse of an enrollee whose marriage is dissolved by divorce or annulment, if the enrollee was enrolled for self and family; (3) an individual who elects to receive the lump-sum credit for civil service retirement benefits; and (4) an individual 22 years of age or older whose enrollment was based on such individual's being an unmarried child who was incapable of self-support because of a mental or physical disability which existed and did not terminate before the individual attained the age of 22. Requires such persons who elect to continue coverage to pay into the Employees Health Benefits Fund an amount equal to the sum of employee and agency contributions paid for the same level of benefits. Allows such a person to: (1) change to a lower level of benefits; (2) change coverage within 60 days after a change in family status; and (3) transfer enrollment to another plan under conditions prescribed by the Office of Personnel Management (OPM). Provides a temporary extension of coverage to allow persons who elected not to continue coverage or whose continued coverage is terminated to convert to a nongroup contract providing health benefits. Allows annuitants whose annuity is less than the amount required to be withheld for enrollment in a health benefits plan to pay the amount of any deficiency required for enrollment. Requires contracts for employee organization plans to require carriers to: (1) reinsure with other participating companies; (2) enter into an agreement approved by OPM with an underwriting subcontractor licensed to issue group health insurance in all States and the District of Columbia; and (3) meet minimum financial standards prescribed by OPM. Requires the service benefit plan and the indemnity benefit plan to provide, in addition to all currently authorized benefits: (1) nervous and mental disorder benefits; (2) alcoholism and substance abuse treatment and rehabilitation benefits; and (3) comprehensive dental benefits. Prohibits the OPM from entering into a contract for any service benefit, indemnity benefit, or employee organization plan which does not provide for 50 outpatient visits and 60 inpatient days of nervous and mental disorder benefits and two 28-day alcoholism treatment and rehabilitation benefits. Requires any limits on nervous and mental disorder benefits to be exceeded on a case by case basis only to the extent that a peer review mechanism determines such treatment to be necessary. Requires 80 percent of such excessive benefit claims to be paid from the balance of one percent of all contributions to the Employees Health Benefits Fund remaining after the expenses of administering provisions governing Federal employees health benefit plans are paid. Prohibits the OPM from entering into a contract with a carrier for any health benefits plan which does not provide 95 percent of the benefits that such plan or the most similar plan provided during the preceding year, unless the carrier and the OPM mutually agree to waive such requirement. Directs the OPM to: (1) provide a three week period during which enrollees in health benefits plans may change or cancel their enrollments before any contract term in which the rates or benefits of a plan will change, a new plan will be offered, or an existing plan will be terminated; and (2) make available to such enrollees information on such plans at least four weeks before such open enrollment period. Prohibits the OPM from entering into a contract for a health benefits plan which excludes anyone because of nonactive employee status. Eliminates the requirement that the group of physicians under a group-practice prepayment plan include physicians representing at least three major medical specialties.
United States · United States Congress · 6 January 1983
Requires that each State establish and maintain an approved workfare program as a condition of its eligibility for Federal payments or other assistance under the: (1) program of aid to families with dependent children under the Social Security Act; (2) food stamp program under the Food Stamp Act of 1977; and (3) public housing and assisted housing programs under the United States Housing Act of 1937. Requires that such State workfare program shall require every State resident applying for or receiving aid under such Federal public assistance program to perform work in return for, and as a condition for, such aid. Directs the appropriate Federal agencies to promulgate guidelines for approval, supervision, and oversight of such State workfare programs. Exempts from required participation in such programs those who are: (1) under age 18 or over age 65; (2) disabled; (3) regularly employed for at least 40 hours a week; or (4) primarily responsible for the care of a child less than three years old (or for the care of a child more than two but less than six years old if suitable child care is not available at reasonable cost). Requires that each State workfare program must provide that if any individual who is required to participate in such program refuses to accept a bona fide offer of qualified employment or to perform qualified employment, in any month, neither such individual nor any other person in the family or household of which such individual is a member shall be eligible to receive any aid under such Federal public assistance programs for that month. Requires that State workfare programs include provision for job counseling, assistance in obtaining employment outside the program, and job search activities. Provides for: (1) Federal matching funds to cover administrative costs of such State programs; (2) Federal cut-offs of funds to State agencies for failure to comply with this Act; and (3) Federal agency reports to Congress on such State programs. Authorizes appropriations.
United States · United States Congress · 6 January 1983
Authorizes the classification of a named individual as a nonimmigrant alien for purposes of the Immigration and Nationality Act and directs the Attorney General to grant such individual permission to engage in employment in the United States.
United States · United States Congress · 6 January 1983
Natural Gas Marketing Act of 1983 - Provides that whenever a gas distributing company, State commission, municipality, or State files a complaint under the Natural Gas Act alleging that any rate proposed to be charged by a natural gas company is not just and reasonable, and certifies that such proposed rate results in a retail price for natural gas that is in excess of the prices of a competing fuel available to existing retail customers served by any of the natural gas company's wholesale customers, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) shall set the matter for hearing and decision. Suspends any rate increase until issuance of a final appealable order upon completion of the hearing. Places the burden of proof on the natural gas company. Directs FERC to prescribe an adjustment in the natural gas company's rates if the company does not discharge its burden of proof.
United States · United States Congress · 6 January 1983
Correctional Services Improvement Act - Title I: Correctional Centers and Services - Authorizes the Attorney General to plan, construct, operate, and transfer to appropriate State authorities the following types of correctional centers in accordance with this Act; (1) demonstration correctional centers for the commitment or treatment of accused persons awaiting trial, persons sentenced to terms of one year or less, and persons on probation or parole; (2) regional youth correctional centers for the commitment and treatment of youths and young adults sentenced pursuant to the Federal Youth Corrections Act; and (3) demonstration correctional centers for special offender groups of persons sentenced to terms in excess of one year or committed for an indeterminate period, including such offender groups as the mentally ill or defective, the violent and dangerous, and women. Authorizes the Attorney General to contract with appropriate State and local authorities to make available center facilities, services, and programs. Authorizes the Attorney General to prescribe minimum standards relative to the construction, operation, and programs of jails, other correctional facilities, and correctional services owned or operated by a State or local government and in which persons accused or convicted of Federal crimes may be confined or treated. Authorizes appropriations to carry out this title. Title II: Coordination of Federal Correctional Activities - Replaces the Advisory Corrections Council with a Federal Corrections Coordinating Council. Directs the Council, in addition to performing the duties of the Advisory Corrections Council, to issue guidelines for the operation of the Bureau of Prisons, the Board of Parole, the Youth Division of the Board of Parole, and the Division of Probation of the Administrative Office of the United States Courts, and to establish a program of continuing research and experimentation to develop more effective techniques for the treatment and rehabilitation of criminal offenders. Empowers a Federal court to require as a condition of probation or parole that a person reside in and/or participate in the program of a residential community treatment center. Authorizes appropriations to carry out this title. Title III: Federal Corrections Institute - Establishes a Federal Corrections Institute to provide training for representatives of Federal, State, and local law enforcement officers, judges and judicial personnel, probation and parole personnel, correctional personnel, and other persons connected with the treatment and rehabilitation of criminal offenders. Creates an Advisory Commission to supervise the policy and operation of the Institute. Authorizes appropriations to carry out this title. Title IV: Eligibility for Parole; Youth Correction Act Amendments - Repeals the requirement that a Federal prisoner serve one-third of the sentence imposed or 15 years, whichever is less, in order to be eligible for parole unless the court imposing the sentence specifies otherwise. Retains the power of the court to designate a minimum term of up to one-third of the sentence which must be served before the prisoners may be released on parole. Amends the Federal Youth Corrections Act to direct the release of youth offenders sentenced pursuant to specified provisions: (1) conditionally at the expiration of two-thirds of the maximum term authorized by law for the offense of which the offender stands convicted; and (2) unconditionally before the expiration of such maximum term if the offender has not before that time been released in accordance with other specified time limits. Permits the Youth Correction Division of the Board of Parole to discharge a committed youth offender unconditionally at any time after conditional release. States that the authority of the Attorney General to determine the place and conditions of confinement of Federal prisoners shall extend to all juveniles. Requires that committed youth offenders and juvenile delinquents be given credit toward release for any time spent in custody in connection with the acts or offenses for which commitment was ordered. Title V: Commitment of Dangerous Persons Found Not Guilty by Reason of Insanity - Directs that not guilty verdicts, in prosecutions in which the defendant raises the defense of insanity, specify whether the defendant was found not guilty by reason of insanity at the time of the offense or whether the defendant was found not guilty for other reasons. Requires that the court determine the dangerousness of a defendant found not guilty due to insanity whenever the court or the United States attorney believes that such person, if unconditionally released, would constitute a danger to himself or others. Sets forth guidelines relative to such hearings. Directs the court, upon a finding of dangerousness, to either order that the defendant be released under its supervision and subject to such conditions as it may impose or commit such person to the custody of the Surgeon General for commitment to a suitable mental institution. Specifies procedures through which such conditions of release may be modified and such commitment terminated.
United States · United States Congress · 6 January 1983
Amends the Railroad Unemployment Insurance Act to increase the maximum daily benefit for unemployment and sickness for registration periods after June 30, 1983. Increases the monthly amount to be taken into account as employee remuneration in determining the number of benefit days for which an employee is entitled. Redefines periods of high unemployment as three consecutive months of railroad unemployment at five percent or more. Increases employer and employee representative contributions to the railroad unemployment insurance account after March 31, 1983. Decreases from .5 percent to .25 percent the amount of unemployment contributions which shall be deposited in the railroad unemployment insurance administration fund. Repeals the Railroad Retirement Board's authority to transfer funds from the Railroad Retirement Account to the Railroad Unemployment Insurance Account.
United States · United States Congress · 6 January 1983
Expresses the sense of Congress that the Railroad Retirement Board and representatives of railroad employees and carriers should jointly or independently study methods of financing the railroad retirement program, including a ton-mile tax. Requires a report to Congress by October 1, 1983, on the alternatives studied.
United States · United States Congress · 3 January 1983
Amends the copyright law to exclude from liability for infringement of copyright any individual who records copyrighted works on a video recorder if the recording is made for a private use and is not used in a commercial nature.
United States · United States Congress · 3 January 1983
Designates the Baltimore-Washington Parkway, in Maryland, as the Gladys Noon Spellman Parkway. Directs the Secretary of the Interior to erect adjacent to such parkway an appropriate marker commemorating the contributions of Gladys Noon Spellman. Authorizes appropriations.
United States · United States Congress · 3 January 1983
Housing and Urban-Rural Recovery Act of 1983 - Title I: Community and Neighborhood Development and Conservation - Amends the Housing and Community Development Act of 1974 to direct the Secretary of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) to prescribe a standard form for State performance reports and assessments of community development programs for metropolitan cities and urban counties. Permits a local government to retain leftover income from community development grants if used for eligible community development activities. Requires community development grants to be considered to be Federal financial assistance, requiring the approval of the head of a Federal agency, for purposes of the Uniform Relocation and Real Property Acquisition Policies Act of 1970. Includes the development of shared housing for the elderly as an activity eligible for community development grants. Requires the Secretary, so long as there are qualified applicants, to enter into commitments during FY 1983 to guarantee a specified amount of loans to local governments for the acquisition or rehabilitation of real property for community development activities. Directs the Secretary to guarantee loans financing neighborhood revitalization activities of nonprofit organizations in neighborhoods where activities are funded by urban development action grants. Directs the Secretary to give a priority to assisting neighborhood development activities designed to mitigate the displacement of low-and moderate-income families resulting from commercial activities. Limits the amount of such loans which may be guaranteed during FY 1983 to ten percent of the amount approved in appropriations Acts for urban development action grants in such year. Requires an application for such a grant to certify that an analysis of the impact of grant activities on neighborhood residents has been made available to any neighborhood-based nonprofit organizations. Amends the Housing Act of 1964 to authorize appropriations for rehabilitation loans and to limit the amount of commitments to make such loans for FY 1983. Requires that at least 60 percent of the funds available for rehabilitation loans after FY 1982 be used for loans for one to four-family dwellings. Amends the Neighborhood Reinvestment Corporation Act to authorize appropriations for the Corporation for FY 1983. Directs the Corporation to use a specified amount of such appropriations to conduct a mutual housing demonstration program emphasizing housing rehabilitation. Title II: Assisted Housing - Amends the United States Housing Act of 1937 to: (1) increase, on October 1, 1982, the maximum amount of annual contributions which the Secretary may make to public housing agencies for low-income housing projects; (2) limit the amount which may be obligated over the duration of contribution contracts with respect to additional authority provided on October 1, 1982; (3) earmark a specified amount of such additional authority for public housing modernization assistance; and (4) provide a new formula for allocating such additional authority for low-income housing assistance. Authorizes appropriations for public housing operating assistance for FY 1983. Declares that income limits for occupancy and rent in public housing shall be fixed by the public housing agency and approved by the Secretary. Reduces a tenant's rent contribution for federally-assisted housing from 30 to 25 percent of the tenant's monthly adjusted income. Excludes from a tenant's income: (1) the value of food stamps received;(2) $400 for each family member who is under 18 years of age, over 18 and disabled or handicapped, or elderly; (3) medical expenses exceeding three percent of family income; and (4) child care expenses necessary for the employment of a family member. Permits a public housing agency to use budget authority authorized for the acquisition and development of a lower income project with respect to any fiscal years prior to FY 1983 for operating and improvement assistance. Directs the Secretary to consider the effects of interest rates (up to 14 percent) on development costs when determining the fair market rental of newly constructed or substantially rehabilitated units of public housing projects for which contract authority was reserved in FY 1982 or before. Establishes as the fair market rental for existing public housing projects the median rent paid for comparable units by tenants who moved into the area within the most recent two year period for which data is available. Requires the maximum monthly rent to be reasonable compared with unassisted units. Prohibits the rent for an assisted unit from exceeding the rent charged for comparable unassisted units in a project. Directs the Secretary to offer to renew any assistance contract with a public housing authority for five year periods in order to extend the total period of assistance to 15 years if the authority has carried out the terms of the contract. Requires the Secretary to reduce the operating subsidies to lower income housing projects on a pro rata basis in any fiscal year in which the funds appropriated are less than the amount needed to make assistance payments according to the Secretary's standards. Authorizes the Secretary to develop an alternative distribution method through rulemaking procedures. Requires the Secretary to pay a public housing agency 100 percent of the amount by which its actual annual utility expenses exceed its estimated expenses because of increased utility rates, and 50 percent of its excess utilty expenses resulting from increased utility consumption. Repeals provisions of the Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1981 that restrict the percentage of public housing units available to lower income families other than very low-income families. Requires at least 30 percent of the families assisted under the program providing rent subsidies to owners of lower income housing projects to be very low-income families. Directs the Secretary to take specified steps to encourage improved management procedures for public housing. Establishes conditions governing the demolition, sale, or disposal of public housing projects. Amends the Housing and Community Development Amendments of 1978 to authorize appropriations for operating assistance for troubled multifamily housing projects for FY 1983. Amends the National Housing Act to extend for one year the period during which the Secretary may utilize amounts in the Rural Housing Assistance Fund for such operating assistance. Amends the Housing Act of 1959 to limit the maximum interest rate on HUD loans for housing projects for the elderly and handicapped to 9.25 percent annually. Increases the Treasury borrowing authority of the Secretary to finance such loans for FY 1983. Limits the Secretary's lending authority for FY 1983. Permits 25 percent of the units of a project financed with such a loan to be efficiencies. Authorizes the Secretary to require the sponsor of such a project to deposit up to $10,000 in an escrow account to assure the sponsor's commitment and management capabilities. Directs the Secretary to consider design features for the elderly and handicapped when establishing project unit cost limitations. Amends the Federal National Mortgage Association Charter Act to increase on October 1, 1982, the total amount of home mortgages the Government National Mortgage Association (GNMA) may purchase and to limit the aggregate principal amount of mortgages that the GNMA may enter into commitments to purchase during FY 1983. Amends the Congregate Housing Services Act of 1978 to authorize appropriations for contracts for congregate housing services programs for FY 1983. Amends the United States Housing Act of 1937 to direct the Secretary to allow lower-income housing assistance provided under the existing housing and moderate rehabilitation programs to be used for shared housing for the elderly. Amends the Housing and Community Development Amendments of 1978 to permit a public housing agency to retain: (1) the greater of its legal expenses in obtaining a judgment or 50 percent of the amount of a judgment obtained in recovering amounts wrongfully paid as a result of fraud or abuse in any housing program (currently one specific program) under the United States Housing Act of 1937; and (2) 50 percent of wrongfully paid amounts recovered by means other than court actions. Provides for the use of recaptured Rent Supplement Funds for development assistance for public housing. Amends the United States Housing Act of 1937 to prohibit the Secretary from imposing a percentage or other arbitrary ceiling on rent or cost increases on certain federally-assisted lower income housing projects. Amends the Housing and Urban Development Act of 1965 to direct the Secretary to utilize authority available as a result of converting rental assistance payment contracts under the National Housing Act to rent subsidy contracts under the United States Housing Act of 1937 to: (1)amend such rental assistance payment contracts to provide rent increases; and (2) to the extent of remaining authority, to convert rent supplement contracts for projects financed by State or local loans, loan insurance, or tax abatements to rental assistance payment contracts. Requires the Secretary to conduct a demonstration project under which the Secretary shall make grants to at least 20 local governments on the basis of applications setting forth administrative plans for government activities designed to: (1) require or encourage owners of rental housing occupied by lower income families to bring such housing into compliance with local housing codes; (2) provide technical and financial assistance to assist such owners to make cost-effective improvements in such housing; (3) work with the State to establish a schedule of local shelter allowances for recipients of assistance under title IV (Aid and Services to Needy Families with Children) of the Social Security Act based on building quality; and (4) coordinate local housing inspection, housing rehabilitation loan or grant assistance, rental assistance, and social service programs for the purpose of improving the quality and affordability of housing for lower income families. Permits the Secretary to make grants to States to provide technical assistance to local governments carrying out such administrative plans. Requires each grant recipient to agree to: (1) contribute an amount equal to 15 percent of the grant amount; and (2) permit the Secretary and the Comptroller General to audit its books. Requires the Secretary, by March 1, 1984, to transmit to Congress a report concerning such project, along with any legislative recommendations. Authorizes appropriations for FY 1983 for conducting such projects. Title III: Housing Production Programs - Part A: Single-Family Housing Production Program - Single-Family Housing Production Act of 1983 - Directs the Secretary to enter into contracts to make periodic assistance payments to mortgagees and other lenders on behalf of homeowners (including owners of manufactured homes and condominium units) with incomes of up to 130 percent of the median area income. Terminates such authority of the Secretary on September 30, 1983. Directs the Secretary to give priority to: (1) assisting persons who have not owned a home within the last three years; and (2) mortgages secured by dwellings constructed by homebuilders whose credit is restricted by the small size of their homebuilding projects. Sets ceilings for: (1) the total amount of payments made under such contracts each year; and (2) the total amount obligated during the life such contracts. Permits payments to be made only to a homeowner who satisfies requirements for creditworthiness and who is: (1) under a mortgage which is eligible for assistance under this Act; or (2) the original owner of a new, federally-insured, manufactured home. Provides for payments on behalf of such a homeowner only for as long as the homeowner occupies the property, unless the mortgage has been assigned to the Secretary. Provides for payments on behalf of such a homeowner only with respect to dwelling units purchased at the time the assistance contract is entered into and only during the time the homeowner occupies the property, unless the mortgage has been assigned to the Secretary. Limits the amount of such assistance payments to the amount required to lower the mortgagor's monthly mortgage payments to the payments that would be required if the mortgage were to bear interest at the greater rate of: (1) nine and one-half percent (ten percent if the mortgageor's income exceeds 105 percent of median area income); or (2) a rate six percentage points less than specified in the mortgage (four percentage points if the mortgagor's income exceeds 115 percent of median area income). Requires that a mortgagor pay at least 25 percent of his or her income toward the monthly mortgage payments. Limits the duration of assistance payments to seven years (five years if the mortgagor's income exceeds 115 percent of median area income). Establishes a fund into which recaptured or unused assistance shall be deposited and from which the Secretary may provide continued assistance to a mortgagor who is unable to assume full mortgage payments after regular assistance payments end. Limits the number of manufactured homes assisted under this part to 20 percent of the total number of assisted units. Includes among conditions a mortgage must meet for the mortgagor to qualify for assistance under this part the requirements that a mortgage: (1) be secured by a newly constructed single-family dwelling or a recently rehabilitated cooperative or condominium unit that is part of a historic structure the rehabilitation of which the qualifies for a tax credit; (2) involve a principal residence that meet energy conservation standards prescribed by the Secretary; (3) permit prepayment without penalty; (4) have a fixed rate of interest, and (5) be executed by a mortgagor who paid at least three percent of the Secretary's estimate of the cost of acquisition. Directs the Secretary to develop a system for allocating assistance under this part among the various regions of the country on the basis of such factors as population, relative decline in building permits, and the need for increased housing production. Directs the Secretary to recapture the lesser of the amount of assistance provided under this part or an amount equal to 50 percent of the net appreciation of the property whenever the mortgagor sells the property or rents it for a period exceeding one year. Requires the Secretary to adopt procedures for annual recertification of a homeowner's income for the purpose of adjusting assistance payments. Amends the National Housing Act to provide the Secretary, on October 1, 1982, authority to enter into contracts to provide payments to assist low-income families in acquiring home ownership or membership in a cooperative housing project. Part B: Multifamily Housing Production Program - Rental Housing Production and Rehabilitation Act of 1983 - Directs the Secretary to provide financial assistance to State and local governments (including Indian tribes) to be used to stimulate the construction and rehabilitation of multifamily rental housing projects and and housing for persons without other reasonable and affordable housing alternatives in the private market. Directs State and local governments which receive such assistance to provide such projects with capital grants, loans, interest reduction payments, grants for the purchase of land, and other types of assistance designed to reduce project development and operating costs. Prohibits a State from providing such assistance to any project unless the local government of the project area approves the application for assistance for such project. Allows a local government to apply directly to the Secretary for assistance. Prohibits a project from being assisted both directly and by the Federal Government through a State agency under this Act. Sets forth area eligibility criteria, project selection criteria, and guidelines for allocating assistance. Requires the amount of assistance provided to a project to be the least amount necessary to provide decent and affordable rental or cooperative housing of modest design. Requires the owner of an assisted project to agree that for the first 20 years of the project: (1) 20 percent of the project units will be available for families whose income does not exceed 80 percent of the median area income; (2) savings resulting from reduced debt service payments for assistance will be passed on to the tenants; (3) prospective tenants will not be discriminated against on the basis of their receipt of or eligibility for Federal, State, or local housing assistance; and (4) units will not be converted to condominium ownership or a form of cooperative ownership not eligible for assistance. Directs the Secretary to require an owner who violates any such agreement to repay all assistance plus interest. Requires rent charges for project units for low-income tenants to be approved by the Secretary. Limits such charges to 30 percent of the tenants adjusted income. Requires 30 days written notice to tenants of rent increases. Declares obligations issued by a State or local housing agency to finance a project assisted under this part to be tax-exempt. Authorizes FHA insurance for an assisted project meeting FHA standards. Requires that contracts for such assistance contain a provision requiring the payment of prevailing wages to workers employed in the development and operation of the project involved. Authorizes appropriations for such assistance for FY 1983. Part C: Demonstration Program for Emergency Housing - Directs the Secretary to conduct a demonstration program under which grants will be provided to assist communities or nonprofit organizations to provide shelter for people subject to life-threatening situations because of their lack of housing. Requires the Secretary to make such grants on a competitive basis according to the need for emergency housing. Directs the Secretary to report to Congress on such program. Earmarks a specified amount of the appropriations provided for the Multi-family Housing Production Program under part B for such demonstration program. Title IV: Rural Housing - Amends the Housing Act of 1949 to authorize appropriations for FY 1983 to the Secretary of Agriculture: (1) to insure and guarantee loans for rural housing, with certain restrictions; (2) to make loans and grants for improvements of rural housing; (3) to provide financial loans and assistance for the provision of low-rent housing for domestic farm labor; (4) to make grants or contracts for the development of programs to assist low-income persons in benefiting from housing programs in rural areas; (5) for programs of mutual and self-help in rural areas; and (6) for the Self-Help Housing Land Development Fund. Requires the Secretary of Agriculture to process requests for insured and guaranteed loans, interest credits, and rental assistance payments in a manner providing for a preliminary reservation of assistance at the time of initial approval of a project. Extends the authority of the Secretary of Agriculture to: (1) insure loans to provide rental housing for persons of moderate income; (2) insure loans for housing and buildings on adequate farms; and (3) make assistance payments to owners of low-income rental housing projects, with a specified amount of FY 1983 assistance earmarked for domestic farm labor and elderly or handicapped persons who are tenants of newly constructed or substantially rehabilitated housing. Eliminates use of the Rural Housing Fund for specified rural housing programs. Revises the maximum rental charge for certain assisted rural housing to the highest of: (1) 25 percent of the family's monthly adjusted income; (2) ten percent of the family's monthly income; or (3) the portion of the family's welfare payment designated for housing costs. Provides that interest credits for low-or moderate-income persons who receive rural housing mortgage loans may not exceed the lesser of: (1) the person's mortgage payments after applying 20 percent of his or her adjusted income; or (2) the person's mortgage payments exceeding what those payments would be if the mortgage were to bear one percent interest. Directs the Secretary of Agriculture, when determining whether to provide housing assistance to domestic farm laborers in an area, to consider the housing needs for only those persons. Requires the Secretary of Agriculture to give priority to providing rural housing assistance to applicants with the greatest housing assistance needs because of their low income and inadequate dwellings. Authorizes the Secretary of Agriculture to provide rental housing assistance for elderly persons living under a shared housing arrangement in a single-family dwelling. Title V: Program Amendments and Extensions - Amends the National Housing Act to extend the authority of the Secretary to insure loans for mortgages and home improvement, to provide periodic assistance payments for stimulation of the housing market and to establish the maximum interest rates for certain mortgage insurance programs. Amends the Emergency Home Purchase Assistance Act of 1974 to extend the authority of the Secretary to direct the Government National Mortgage Association to purchase mortgages and securities. Amends the Housing and Urban Development Act of 1970 to authorize appropriations for research for the Department of Housing and Urban Development in fiscal year 1983. Amends the National Housing Act to increase the amount of funds authorized to be appropriated to cover losses sustained by the General Insurance Fund. Amends the Federal National Mortgage Association Charter Act to extend the authority of the GNMA to guarantee mortgage-backed securities issued by the Federal National Mortgage Association (FNMA), subject to the absence of qualified requests. Amends the Energy Conservation in Existing Buildings Act of 1976 to earmark for the weatherization program for FY 1983 a specified amount of the funds authorized to be appropriated for energy conservation under the Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1981. Amends the National Flood Insurance Act of 1968 to extend the national flood insurance program until September 30, 1984, and to authorize appropriations for various insurance studies during FY 1983. Amends the National Housing Act to extend the Secretary's authority: (1) to carry out the Federal riot insurance program and the Federal crime insurance program until September 30, 1984; and (2) to continue riot and crime insurance policies written prior to such date until September 30, 1987. Amends the Housing and Urban Development Act of 1968 to authorize appropriations for FY 1983 for counseling and technical assistance programs for low-and moderate-income families with respect to housing. Amends the Federal National Mortgage Association Charter Act and the Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corporation Act to require the limitation on the maximum principal obligation of a conventional mortgage, in which the FNMA or the Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corporation may purchase a participating interest, to be calculated with respect to the total principal obligation of the mortgage. Authorizes such corporations, until October 1, 1984, to purchase mortgages secured by a subordinate lien against a one-to four-family dwelling. Specifies limitations on the maximum principal obligation of the mortgages. Amends the National Housing Act to: (1) qualify a unit in a cooperative housing project for FHA mortgage insurance if construction of the project was completed more than a year prior to the application for such insurance; and (2) eliminate the requirement that the cooperative housing project be nonprofit. Authorizes the Secretary to insure: (1) the loan on an existing manufactured home if such home was constructed according to the standards issued under the National Manufactured Housing Construction and Safety Standards Act of 1974 and it meets minimum property standards for FHA insurance for existing homes; (2) the loan on a newly constructed manufactured home which meets FHA standards for newly constructed homes at the full amount permitted for newly constructed homes in the area; and (3) the loan on a newly constructed manufactured home which does not meet such FHA standards at 80 percent of the full amount permitted for newly constructed homes (100 percent in areas of high-cost developed land) if such manufactured home meets certain construction, energy conservation, set-up, and attachment standards. Requires the Secretary to provide homeownership counseling to persons receiving temporary mortgage assistance payments to avoid foreclosure. (Currently, the Secretary is directed to provide such counseling to the extent practicable.) Requires the Secretary to submit to Congress a report which describes: (1) HUD standards for determining whether program requirements and changes are implemented through regulations, memoranda, or other forms of notice; and (2) the system used to assure that program changes affecting the eligibility, rights, or benefits of applicants for or recipients of program assistance are subject to notice and publication requirements of the Administrative Procedure Act. Amends the Real Estate Settlement Procedures Act of 1974 to exempt a controlled business arrangement under which a person who has an ownership interest in a provider of settlement services refers real estate business involving a federally related mortgage to that provider from the prohibition against kickbacks for referrals of such business if: (1) such ownership interest is disclosed; (2) no unreasonable restrictions are imposed on the buyer's or seller's selection of the service provider; and (3) the only thing of value received under such arrangement is the return on such ownership interest. Declares that an agreement which requires a buyer or seller to pay for the services of an attorney, credit reporting agency, and real estate appraiser which are chosen by the lender to represent the lender's interest shall not be considered an unreasonable restriction. Limits the yearly number of transactions involving a controlled business relationship that a title company, private mortgage insurance company, or escrow services company may participate in during a year to 20 percent of all transactions of such company. Exempts from such limitation: (1) a bar-related title insurance company; (2) a transaction involving real estate in a county with a population of 25,000 or less; or (3) a controlled business arrangement where the ownership interest involved accounts for one percent or less of a corporation's outstanding stock, the majority of which is publicly owned. Eliminates the criminal penalty for violations of the prohibitions on referral of real estate business involving a federally related mortgage. Establishes the right of a competitor injured by a violation of such prohibitions to sue for treble damages. Permits the Secretary, the attorney general of any State, or any competitor to bring an action to enjoin such prohibited conduct. Sets a three year statute of limitations for a suit brought by the Secretary or an attorney general. Authorizes the Secretary to conduct investigations and issue subpoenas necessary to enforce such Act. Amends the National Housing Act to increase the maximum amount of a mortgage on a newly constructed condominium which is eligible for FHA insurance. Makes public hospitals eligible for FHA insurance. Makes FHA insurance programs available for property located in American Samoa. Authorizes the Secretary to insure mortgages and loans with monthly payments and outstanding balances adjusted by a percentage change in a selected price index. Directs the Secretary to give a priority to insuring such mortgages executed by mortgagors who have not owned dwelling units within the preceding three years. Requires the Secretary to conduct a demonstration program for insuring such loans and mortgages during FY 1983. Title VI: Emergency Mortgage Relief - Homeowners' Emergency Relief Act of 1983 - Amends the Emergency Housing Act of 1965 to direct the Secretary to make emergency mortgage relief payments to mortgagees on behalf of certain delinquent mortgagors when, for three consecutive months, the amount of delinquent mortgage loans exceeds a specified percentage of the amount of all loans accounted for in the mortgage delinquency series maintained by the Federal Home Loan Bank Board. Provides for the discontinuation and reinstitution of such assistance program depending on such delinquency rate condition. Lists the conditions for assistance eligibility, which include requirements that: (1) the mortgage is not federally insured under the National Housing Act; (2) the mortgagor has suffered a substantial reduction in income as a result of circumstances beyond the mortgagor's control which render the mortgagor unable to make full mortgage payments; and (3) the Secretary has determined that assistance is necessary to avoid foreclosure and that it is likely that the mortgagor will be able to resume full mortgage payments within 36 months, commence repaying such assistance at a designated time, and pay the mortgage in full by its maturity date. Limits: (1) the amount of mortgage assistance payments to an amount necessary to supplement the amount of the mortgagor's contributions; and (2) the length of such payments to 18 months plus any period of default, with an 18-month extension authorized. Directs the Secretary to establish procedures for the periodic review of the mortgagor's financial circumstances to determine whether such payments should be terminated or adjusted. Declares that all assistance payments shall be secured by a lien on the property and repayable on terms prescribed by the Secretary. Sets forth the authority of the Secretary to recapture such assistance. States that a previously assisted mortgagor shall be eligible for renewed assistance only if such mortgagor has made full mortgage payments for at least 12 months after the previous assistance was terminated. Directs the Secretary to: (1) provide homeownership counseling to persons assisted under this title; and (2) approve or disapprove an application for assistance within 45 days. Limits the aggregate amount of assistance the Secretary is authorized to provide over the duration of assistance contracts. Prohibits the Secretary from entering such contracts after September 30, 1983. Requires the Secretary and specified agencies to waive or relax limitations pertaining to the operations of certain mortgagees and financial institutions with respect to mortgage delinquencies in order to encourage forebearance in residential mortgage loan foreclosure. Requires the Secretary to report to Congress every 60 days prior to October 1, 1983, on: (1) the rate of delinqencies and foreclosures in various housing markets; (2) the prospects of voluntary forebearance by mortgagees in such areas; (3) Government actions to encourage such forebearance and to provide assistance under this title; and (4) the default status of mortgagees on multifamily properties with recommendations on curing and avoiding such defaults. Directs the Secretary to study and report on the use of alternative mortgage delinquency series under this title.
United States · United States Congress · 3 January 1983
Natural Gas Marketing Improvements Act of 1983 - Amends the Natural Gas Policy Act of 1978 to provide that any contract for the sale of natural gas to any pipeline shall be deemed to include a purchase requirement adjustment clause, unless otherwise expressly provided in the contract. Provides that under a purchase requirement adjustment clause a purchaser may refuse to accept any portion of the gas purchased if the purchaser determines there is not a market for the gas. Prohibits a purchaser from reducing the volume accepted below 50 percent of the amount the purchaser contracted to take. Requires a purchaser to reduce the volume of the highest price gas first. Voids any contract provision that requires payment for gas not accepted pursuant to this Act. Prohibits a purchaser who has not accepted the full amount of gas under a contract from accepting gas for an equal or higher price under a new contract. Requires the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission to consider a pipeline's use of a purchase requirement adjustment clause in any purchase gas adjustment or general rate proceeding involving that pipeline. Provides that any contract for the sale of natural gas to any pipeline shall be deemed to include a transportation obligation clause. Provides that under a transportation obligation clause any purchaser who has exercised the right to reduce the volume of gas for which the purchaser contracted must provide, on behalf of the seller, transportation of any such gas which: (1) is involved in the reduction; (2) is resold by the seller to another purchaser; and (3) the purchaser would be required to pay for in the absence of the exercise of such contract provision. Provides that the consideration for any such transportation shall be $.05 per million Btu's plus the cost of transportation.
United States · United States Congress · 3 January 1983
Ocean and Coastal Resources Management and Development Block Grant Act - Establishes within the Treasury an Ocean and Coastal Resources Management and Development Fund. Limits the total amount payable into the Fund during any fiscal year. Directs the Secretary of Commerce to use specified portions of such funds to: (1) carry out the National Sea Grant College Program; and (2) provide national ocean and coastal resources management and development block grants to each coastal State. Requires such States to report grant allocation and project information, and provide opportunity for public comment before receiving such grants. Sets forth a grant allocation formula based on: (1) actual and future outer continental shelf lease sales, including oil and gas; (2) coastal related energy activities; (3) shoreline mileage; and (4) coastal population. Establishes a minimum grant of one-half of one percent of authorized funds for States having approved coastal management programs. Specifies activities authorized by the Coastal Zone Management Act of 1972 (and coastal energy impact program), and living marine and natural resource management projects as the only eligible uses of block grants. Requires States receiving such grants to submit an expenditure assessment to the Secretary. Directs the Secretary to promulgate implementing regulations.
United States · United States Congress · 3 January 1983
Establishes a Commission on More Effective Government to study and recommend ways of promoting economy, efficiency, and improved service within the executive branch of Government. Directs the Commission to recommend methods to improve the relationship between Federal, State, and local governments. Directs the Commission to submit a final report to the Congress ten days after the Ninety-eighth Congress convenes. Terminates the Commission 90 days after such date. Authorizes appropriations.
United States · United States Congress · 8 December 1982
Expresses the sense of the House of Representatives that the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission should: (1) more rigorously review requested pipeline rate hikes and contracts to insure that natural gas price increases are just and reasonable; (2) review the regulations implementing the Purchased Gas Adjustment provision of the Natural Gas Policy Act, so as to insure that price increases more closely reflect market conditions; and (3) report to Congress on the steps it has taken to eliminate market distortions caused by the enforcement of take-or-pay contracts in the natural gas industry.