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 · 2 April 1985
Expresses the sense of the Congress that the United States and the Soviet Union should enter into a joint high-level scientific study to determine the long-term climatic and environmental effects of a nuclear exchange. Authorizes the Secretary of the Interior, in order to develop data for such study, to prepare an analysis of the consequences of a nuclear explosion on the environment. Expresses the sense of the Congress that the climatic and environmental effects of a nuclear exchange should be included in any analysis of the consequences of nuclear war and should also be considered in the nuclear weapons, arms control, and civil defense policies of both nations.
United States · United States Congress · 28 March 1985
Satellite Television Viewing Rights Act of 1985 - Amends the Communications Act of 1934 to allow any person to receive encrypted satellite cable programming decoded for private viewing upon compliance with prices, terms, and conditions established in the marketplace or by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC). Prohibits any person from: (1) denying the availability of such programming for private viewing; (2) substantially restricting the availability of such programming for private viewing through pricing or other terms or conditions; (3) discriminating in price between different distributors offering comparable distribution services; or (4) requiring a person to purchase or lease decoding equipment from a specific source in order to receive such programming. Directs the FCC, if petitioned, to establish reasonable prices, terms, and conditions for the private viewing of such programming in a market by any person who: (1) has been denied viewing rights for at least ten days; (2) has been offered such rights on terms or conditions which substantially restrict the availability of programming; (3) resides in the franchised area of a cable television system where the operator is the sole source of such programming; or (4) resides outside of the franchised area of a cable system where the price for viewing rights is higher than the price paid by subscribers within the market. Sets forth factors to be considered by the FCC in establishing prices.
United States · United States Congress · 28 March 1985
Youth Employment Opportunity Wage Act of 1985 - Amends the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 to authorize employers to pay employees under 20 years of age 75 percent of the minimum wage rate between May and September of each year. Exempts such employees from special certificate requirements. Restricts such authorization to: (1) hours worked by eligible employees in compliance with applicable child labor laws; and (2) youth employed after May 1 of each year. Prohibits the removal of employees ineligible for the subminimum wage rate in order to replace them with employees who are eligible. Makes technical and conforming amendments to the Job Training Partnership Act. Directs the Secretary of Labor to monitor the implementation of this Act and to report to the Congress concerning the employment effects of this Act. Terminates such minimum wage rate exception after September 30, 1987, and repeals, as of that date, the amendments made by this Act.
United States · United States Congress · 27 March 1985
Expresses the sense of the House of Representatives that travel by Members of Congress to the Soviet Union and travel by Soviet leaders to the United States serves the interests of the two nations and that such travel is encouraged.
United States · United States Congress · 21 March 1985
Wood Products Trade Act of 1985 - Amends the Trade Act of 1974 to authorize the President to enter into trade agreements which provide for voluntary restraints on exports of wood products. Declares that such agreements should also provide for the termination of subsidies and the harmonization reduction or elimination of tariff and nontariff barriers to international trade in wood products. Directs the President, in pursuing such trade agreements, to take into account trade distortions resulting from product standards and from restrictions on the trade of unprocessed logs. Requires such agreements, for specified purposes, to be treated in the same manner as trade agreements designed to reduce nontariff trade barriers and other trade distortions. Directs the President, after not more than 90 days of consultation with a foreign country or instrumentality, to: (1) terminate, withdraw, or suspend all or part of any trade agreement with such foreign entity with respect to any U.S. duty or other import restriction on wood products; and (2) terminate, withdraw, or suspend the U.S. obligations with respect to such duty or other import restriction. Requires that: (1) any duty or other import restriction with respect to which such an action has been taken shall remain in effect from February 26, 1985, through February 26, 1986; and (2) after February 26, 1986, any such duty shall be increased to ten percent ad valorem plus its column 1 duty rate, unless either a countervailing duty is imposed on that wood product because of a subsidy or the duty on the wood product is modified under a bill enacting a trade agreement on wood products. Requires that any such suspension of tariff or import restrictions on wood products shall be treated as an increase or imposition of duty for purposes of the President's authority to grant new concessions as compensation to maintain the general level of reciprocal and mutually advantageous concessions. Directs the President to consult with the Congress in carrying out this Act. Amends the Tariff Act of 1930 to add as a definition of "subsidy" the furnishing of stumpage rights (the rights to cut or remove standing timber) on government lands by a country under a program or system in which those rights are furnished in exchange for a price less than the current price for comparable stumpage rights on government lands in the United States. Sets forth a formula for determining such stumpage rights subsidy in Canada. Amends the Tariff Schedules of the United States (TSUS) to change the definition of certain types of plywood for purposes of the TSUS.
United States · United States Congress · 20 March 1985
Asbestos Workers' Recovery Act - Title I: Supplemental Benefits - Establishes a Federal supplemental benefit program for death or disability caused by occupational exposure to asbestos. Provides guidelines for: (1) the calculation of benefits in proportion to disability; (2) payment methods; and (3) payment priorities. Exempts such supplemental benefits from: (1) any tax or legal process; and (2) any offset for administrative benefits under State or Federal law. Sets guidelines for the offset of supplemental benefits where reorganization or liquidation proceedings occur under Federal bankruptcy laws. Makes supplemental benefits payable only out of the Asbestos-Related Disease Trust Fund established by this Act. Conditions eligibility for supplemental benefits upon such benefits' being the exclusive remedy of an individual for occupational exposure to asbestos. Prescribes guidelines for the filing and payment of asbestos-related disease claims. Directs the Secretary of Health and Human Services (the Secretary) to apply by analogy specified portions of the Social Security Act when making determinations of: (1) entitlement to benefits; (2) review of claims; and (3) delegations of authority to State agencies. Directs the Secretary of Labor, in consultation with the Secretary, in determining eligibility for a supplemental benefit under this Act, to determine annually the average weekly wage for manufacturing workers in each State. Requires such determinations to govern decisions regarding all claims filed in the following calendar year. Requires the Secretary to rely upon: (1) prior court decisions regarding a claimant; and (2) prior determinations by the appropriate workers' compensation program regarding specified eligibility criteria. Specifies exceptions. Requires the Secretary to apply the appropriate workers' compensation law when reviewing supplemental benefit claims. Creates within the Department of Health and Human Services the National Medical Panel on Asbestos-Related Diseases to: (1) decide which diseases belong to the list of asbestos-related diseases; (2) review claims to determine whether a person's disease was caused by asbestos exposure; and (3) publish certain Medical Assessment Guidance Documents. Provides guidelines for the appointment of medical scientists to the Panel from certain organizations. Directs the Panel to promulgate a list of asbestos-related diseases and to provide explanations of any decisions to include or omit a disease from such list. Outlines conditions under which the Panel shall review claims for asbestos-related diseases which do not appear on the panel's list of diseases. Requires the Panel to determine within a specified time whether the disease in the referred claim should be included on such list. Requires the Panel to publish Medical Assessment Guidance Documents including specific medical diagnostic criteria to aid parties and decisionmakers determine whether a death or disability was caused by occupational exposure to asbestos. Title II: Finance - Prescribes guidelines under which: (1) assessments are imposed against each asbestos defendant; (2) assessment allocating factors are assigned to asbestos defendants; (3) assessments are imposed against asbestos insurance policies; and (4) assessments are imposed against companies undergoing Federal bankruptcy proceedings. Sets the aggregate semiannual assessment on defendants on June 30 and December 31 of 1985 and 1986 at $150,000,000. Sets forth formulas for determining the aggregate semiannual assessment on each assessment due date in 1987 and thereafter. Imposes interest upon assessments not paid by the due date. Requires the Secretary of the Treasury to: (1) conduct studies determining assessment allocation factor amounts and assessment apportionment ratios; and (2) promulgate compliance regulations. States that assessment payments do not prejudice the right to recover or challenge such payments. Treats asbestos-related disease assessments imposed upon either an asbestos defendant or an asbestos insurance policy, for Federal income tax purposes, as ordinary and necessary expenses incurred in carrying on the trade or business, on the one hand, and insurance contract losses, on the other. Treats asbestos-related disease assessments as miscellaneous excise taxes. Establishes in the Treasury the Asbestos-Related Disease Trust Fund (the Trust Fund). Details the manner in which such Trust Fund shall be funded and administered. Makes the Secretary of the Treasury the Managing Trustee, and delineates trustee functions. Provides for repayable initial advances and repayable cash flow advances to the Trust Fund during specified periods of FY 1985. Authorizes appropriations for FY 1986 and subsequent fiscal years for the Trust Fund. Establishes within the Department of the Treasury the Asbestos-Related Disease Trust Fund Conservation Committee (the Committee) comprised of the Managing Trustee and five public members appointed by the President. Includes among the consultation and review functions of such Committee: (1) claim disposition; (2) grant and contract awards; and (3) claims and assessments analysis. Directs the Committee to submit an annual report to the Congress regarding the performance of its responsibilities. Authorizes the Committee, with the advice and assistance of the Secretary of Labor, to instruct the Managing Trustee to award grants and contracts to specified organizations for the purpose of: (1) improving State workers' compensation programs; (2) assuring the availability of medical specialists to assist government agencies; (3) establishing medical evaluation units to determine occupational sources of asbestos-related diseases; and (4) medical treatment research. Title III: Miscellaneous - Makes the supplemental benefits under this Act and the applicable workers' compensation programs the exclusive remedy for occupational exposure to asbestos. Exempts certain persons from liability for occupational exposure to asbestos. Removes jurisdiction from State or Federal tribunals to adjudicate any claim of liability for occupational exposure to asbestos after enactment of this Act. Confers jurisdiction for judicial review of administrative acts under this Act only upon the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit. Confers jurisdiction for questions of assessments and constitutionality under this Act only upon a special three-judge district court established in the District Court for the District of Columbia. Requires all administrative costs and expenses of this Act to be paid out of the Trust Fund. Directs the Secretaries of Health and Human Services, Labor, and the Treasury, and the Attorney General to submit an analysis and certification of their respective costs under this Act to the Managing Trustee for reimbursement.
United States · United States Congress · 20 March 1985
Directs the President to limit imports of milk protein products. Directs the Secretary of Agriculture to establish an import licensing system for foreign milk protein products which gives: (1) first preference to importers or users who establish that there are no substitutes for their products; (2) second preference to importers or users who establish that domestically produced skim milk or skim milk solids cannot be substituted for their products; and (3) third preference to all other importers or users.
United States · United States Congress · 20 March 1985
Amends the Commodity Credit Corporation Charter Act to exempt from certain cargo preference requirements activities of the Commodity Credit Corporation or the Department of Agriculture that promote the export of agricultural commodities.
United States · United States Congress · 19 March 1985
Textile and Apparel Trade Enforcement Act of 1985 - Limits the total quantity of 1985 imports of textiles and textile products from a major exporting country to the lesser of an amount equal to 101 percent: (1) of the total quantity of textile products imported from such country if the total had increased by six percent annually (one percent annually for wool products) during 1981 through 1984; or (2) if the United States has an agreement with such country providing for an annual growth rate of less than six percent, of the total quantity of such products from such country imported during 1984. Limits the total quantity of 1985 imports of textiles and textile products from an exporting country to an amount equal to the total quantity of such products imported from such country during 1984 plus: (1) 15 percent of such quantity in the case of a category that is not an import sensitive category; or (2) one percent in the case of an import sensitive category. Provides for changing the classification of a country, except for a Caribbean country, from an exporting country to a major exporting country if the total textile imports from such country equals or exceeds one and one-quarter percent of all textiles imported into the United States. Sets forth a formula for adjusting the growth of textile imports annually. Sets forth certain minimum quantities of textile imports that all countries shall be allowed to export to the United States. Requires the Secretary of Commerce to enforce this Act. Directs the Secretary, within six months of enactment of this Act, to establish an import licensing system under which an importer of textiles will be required to present an import permit as a condition of entry of such textiles. Directs the President to report to the Congress annually on the administration of this Act.
United States · United States Congress · 19 March 1985
Agricultural Export Act of 1985 - Amends the Agriculture and Food Act of 1981 to authorize the donation of Commodity Credit Corporation (CCC) surpluses to U.S. exporters, processors, and foreign purchasers in order to neutralize the effects of foreign export subsidy programs. Amends the Food for Peace Act of 1966 to provide intermediate credit for agricultural exports. Requires the CCC to make specified funds available in FY 1986 for such purposes.
United States · United States Congress · 19 March 1985
Amends the Agriculture and Food Act of 1981 to provide that a buyer in the ordinary course of business who buys farm products from a seller engaged in farming operations shall take free of any seller-created security interest even though the buyer knows of its existence, unless within 12 months before the sale the buyer: (1) received notice of the security interest and of any payment obligations imposed by the secured party as conditions for waiver or release of the security interest and (2) has failed to perform such obligations. Sets forth parallel provisions for commission merchants or selling agents.
United States · United States Congress · 27 February 1985
Amends the Agricultural Act of 1949 to authorize furnishing specified Commodity Credit Corporation (CCC) commodities to countries that have made commitments to introduce or expand free-enterprise elements in their agricultural economies. Limits the amount of commodities available for such purposes in each of FY 1986 through 1989 to 500,000 metric tons. Authorizes the CCC to purchase commodities for such purpose if necessary. Limits the amount the CCC may spend for such purpose unless authorized in advance in appropriation Acts. Authorizes the President to enter into agreements with developing countries to furnish commodities to such countries to promote the implementation of private, free-enterprise agricultural policies for long-term farm development. Directs the President to consider, in entering into such agreements, whether the potential recipient country: (1) is carrying out or is committed to carry out policies that promote economic freedom, private production of food for domestic consumption, and the creation and expansion of efficient domestic markets for commodities; and (2) can use the commodities without disruption of the country's internal market for domestically produced farm commodities and products. Requires each agreement to prohibit the resale or transshipment of the donated commodities to other countries. Requires the President to take precautions to avoid displacement of sales of U.S. farm commodities that would otherwise be made to such countries. Sets forth provisions dealing with the costs and charges of this Act and the administration of this Act. Requires the President to report to the Congress within 120 days after the end of the FY in which such an agreement is in effect.
United States · United States Congress · 26 February 1985
Expresses the sense of the Congress that: (1) veterans' disability compensation payments should remain exempt from Federal income taxation; and (2) the President should reject any proposals to tax such payments.
United States · United States Congress · 25 February 1985
Authorizes the Armored Force Monument Committee, the United States Armor Association, the World Wars Tank Corps Association, the Veterans of the Battle of the Bulge, the 11th Armored Cavalry Regiment Association, the Tank Destroyer Association, the 1st, 2nd, 3rd, 4th, 5th, 6th, 7th, 8th, 9th, 10th, 11th, 12th, 13th, 14th, and 16th Armored Division Associations, and the Council of Armored Division Associations to erect a memorial in or near Arlington National Cemetery, Virginia, to honor and commemorate the American Armored Force. Directs the Secretary of the Interior, with the approval of the National Commission of Fine Arts and the National Capital Planning Commission, to select the site and approve the design and plans. Obligates the United States to expenses of maintenance only. Requires the commencement of the erection of the memorial within five years with a certification of sufficiency of funds necessary before commencement.
United States · United States Congress · 20 February 1985
Amends the Clayton Act to temporarily prohibit any person engaged in commerce or in any activity affecting commerce from acquiring control of a domestic petroleum corporation if the corporation disapproves the acquisition. Defines "control" as the acquisition of more than four percent of the stock, share capital, or assets of the corporation. Directs the Secretary of Energy, the Federal Trade Commission, the Securities and Exchange Commission, and the Federal Reserve Board to investigate and report to the Congress on the effects of such prohibited corporate takeovers on domestic petroleum supplies, competition in the marketing of petroleum products, petroleum industry financing methods, and credit markets, respectively.
United States · United States Congress · 19 February 1985
Railroad Antimonopoly Act of 1985 - Amends the Sherman Act to prohibit any owner rail carrier from monopolizing a route by denying any shipper or other rail carrier the use, on reasonable terms, of a facility which is the sole facility over which bulk commodities must be moved to connect with the track of a competing rail carrier or to reach the destination of shipment. Bars any rate restriction under this Act if the owner rail carrier permits a competing carrier to use such sole facility. Specifies procedures for determining rates for the use of a sole facility if there is no competition. Prohibits an owner rail carrier from conditioning the use of a sole facility upon use of other facilities. Permits a shipper to elect to connect with a water carrier instead of, or in addition to, a competing rail carrier at the first connection point; provided that the cost of connecting with the water carrier is no greater than the cost of connecting with the competing rail carrier, or the owner rail carrier is reimbursed for the difference in cost. Entitles any person injured by a violation of this Act to bring an action to recover damages and to seek injunctive relief as provided under the Clayton Act.
United States · United States Congress · 19 February 1985
Amends the Internal Revenue Code to impose a 50 percent excise tax on any "greenmail profits" paid to certain corporate stockholders. Defines "greenmail profits" as any gain realized by a four-percent shareholder of any stock in a corporation if: (1) the shareholder held such stock for a period of less than two years; and (2) during the two-year period ending on the date of the sale or exchange of such stock there was a public tender offer for such stock or a four-percent shareholder submitted a written proposal for a public tender offer. Disallows an income tax deduction for certain interest paid or accrued with respect to hostile acquisition indebtedness. Defines "hostile acquisition indebtedness" as certain subordinate obligations issued after February 18, 1985, in connection with a hostile acquisition.
United States · United States Congress · 7 February 1985
Nuclear Powerplant Standardization Act of 1985 - Title I: Licensing and Regulatory Process - Amends the Atomic Energy Act of 1954 to require the Nuclear Regulatory Commission to establish procedures, standards, and criteria permitting the approval of standardized ten-year facility designs. Declares that a design approval shall be considered to be a license for the purpose of such Act. Requires the Commission to establish procedures for an additional ten-year renewal of such a design approval. Requires the Commission to establish procedures, standards, and criteria permitting the approval of a site or sites for one or more utilization or production facilities for industrial or commercial purposes for a period of ten years. Authorizes the Commission, after a determination that a proposed site is suitable, to issue a permit which shall be considered to be a license. Requires the Commission to establish procedures for a ten-year renewal of site permits. Requires that before issuance of construction and operating licenses: (1) an opportunity be provided for public hearings; and (2) the applicant establish competency to construct and operate the facility in conformity with the application. Requires the holder of a license to notify the Commission of the proposed date of initial operation at least nine months before commencement. Directs the Commission to adopt regulations establishing criteria to govern all modifications of Commission regulatory requirements. Declares that the Commission, in making any determination under this Act, need not consider or reconsider any issue that has been resolved in any other proceeding under this Act, in the absence of significant new information substantially affecting the conclusions reached in the other proceeding. Title II: Technical and Conforming Amendments - Amends the Atomic Energy Act of 1954 to conform to the provisions of this Act.
United States · United States Congress · 7 February 1985
Interstate Compact - Grants congressional approval to the Central Interstate Low-Level Radioactive Waste Compact, which provides for cooperation among the States of Arkansas, Iowa, Kansas, Louisiana, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, North Dakota, and Oklahoma in the management of low-level radioactive waste.
United States · United States Congress · 6 February 1985
Amends the Clayton Act to temporarily prohibit any person engaged in commerce or in any activity affecting commerce from acquiring control of a domestic petroleum corporation if the corporation disapproves the acquisition. Defines "control" as the acquisition of more than four percent of the stock, share capital, or assets of the corporation. Directs the Secretary of Energy, the Federal Trade Commission, the Securities and Exchange Commission, and the Federal Reserve Board to investigate and report to the Congress on the effects of such prohibited corporate takeovers on domestic petroleum supplies, competition in the marketing of petroleum products, petroleum industry financing methods, and credit markets, respectively.
United States · United States Congress · 22 January 1985
Fair Voting Hours Act of 1985 - Provides for uniform voting hours (between 8 o'clock a.m., eastern standard time and 11 o'clock p.m., eastern standard time) for presidential general elections beginning in 1988.
United States · United States Congress · 22 January 1985
Repeals the requirement added by the Tax Reform Act of 1984 relating to the maintenance of contemporaneous records with respect to: (1) business travel expenses, including automobile expenses; (2) business entertainment expenses; and (3) expenses for gifts.
United States · United States Congress · 22 January 1985
Amends title II (Old Age, Survivors and Disability Insurance) of the Social Security Act to provide that disability insurance benefits for an individual having a terminal illness shall begin with the first month such individual has such illness.
United States · United States Congress · 22 January 1985
Expresses the sense of the Congress that the Federal Home Loan Bank Board should delay until June 30, 1985, the effective date of its proposed regulations regarding limitations on direct investment in real estate, service corporations, and equity securities by federally insured savings and loan associations. Directs the Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs of the Senate and the Committee on Banking, Finance, and Urban Affairs of the House of Representatives to examine alternatives to the proposed regulations which will ensure safety and sound investment activities.
United States · United States Congress · 21 January 1985
Repeals the requirement added by the Tax Reform Act of 1984 relating to the maintenance of contemporaneous records with respect to: (1) business travel expenses, including automobile expenses; (2) business entertainment expenses; and (3) expenses for gifts.
United States · United States Congress · 3 January 1985
Davis-Bacon Reform Act of 1985 - Amends the Davis-Bacon Act to increase from $2,000 to $1,000,000 the threshold dollar amount subjecting certain contracts to such Act and requiring them to specify the minimum wages to be paid to laborers and mechanics. Directs the Secretary of Labor to establish as the prevailing wage for a class of laborers or mechanics the entire range of wages being paid to a corresponding class of such workers in the particular urban or rural subdivision of the State in which the work is to be performed. Excludes from the computation of wages the basic hourly rates of pay for workers on local Federal projects. Establishes a separate classification for helpers of laborers or mechanics. Amends the Copeland Anti-Kickback Act to require certain contractors or subcontractors to furnish compliance statements concerning weekly wages at the beginning and conclusion of the period covered by the contract, instead of every week as the wages are paid.
United States · United States Congress · 3 January 1985
Requires the President to transmit to Congress for FY 1986 and each fiscal year thereafter a balanced budget. Permits the transmittal of alternate budget proposals which, if implemented, would result in a deficit or surplus if the President determines that a balanced budget is inappropriate for any fiscal year. Requires that any such alternate budget proposals for a fiscal year include a comprehensive plan to balance the Federal budget. Requires the Committee on the Budget of each House to report by April 15 of every year a balanced budget for the upcoming fiscal year. Requires the Committee on the Budget of either House also to report a comprehensive plan to balance the Federal budget, if it determines that a balanced budget is inappropriate for any fiscal year.
United States · United States Congress · 3 January 1985
Amends the Internal Revenue Code to provide that one-half of the cost of insurance paid by a self-employed taxpayer for medical care during the taxable year will be allowed as a business deduction.
United States · United States Congress · 3 January 1985
Constitutional Amendment - Requires the Congress, prior to each fiscal year, to adopt a statement of receipts and outlays for that year in which total outlays are not greater than total receipts. Permits the Congress in such statement to provide for a specific excess of outlays over receipts by a three-fifths vote directed solely to that subject. Requires the President and the Congress to ensure that actual outlays do not exceed the outlays set forth in such statement. Prohibits total receipts for any fiscal year set forth in such statement from increasing by a rate greater than the rate of increase in national income in the last calendar year ending before such fiscal year, unless the Congress passes by a three-fifths vote a bill directed solely to approving specific additional receipts and such bill has become law. Requires the President, prior to each fiscal year, to transmit to the Congress a proposed statement of receipts and outlays for that year consistent with the provisions of this article. Permits the Congress to waive the provisions of this Act with respect to any fiscal year in which a declaration of war is in effect. Declares that total receipts shall include all receipts of the United States, except those derived from borrowing and total outlays shall include all outlays of the United States except those for repayment of debt principal.
United States · United States Congress · 3 January 1985
Constitutional Amendment - Provides for the appointment of electors to represent the insular areas constituting the Virgin Islands, American Samoa, Guam, and the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands.
United States · United States Congress · 3 January 1985
Establishes in the House of Representatives the Congressional Child Care Center for the use of children of Members, officers, and employees of the House. States that the Committee on House Administration shall operate the Center. Directs the Chairman of such Committee to appoint a nonpartisan advisory board to make recommendations on management and operation of the Center, and to conduct semiannual reviews of such Center. Requires that operating expenses be recovered through child care fees. Establishes a revolving fund within the House contingent fund for the purpose of operating the Center.
United States · United States Congress · 2 August 1984
Requires the President to transmit to Congress for FY 1986 and each fiscal year thereafter a balanced budget. Permits the transmittal of alternate budget proposals which, if implemented, would result in a deficit or surplus if the President determines that a balanced budget is inappropriate for any fiscal year. Urges the President to submit to the House and the Senate, not later than September 30, 1984, a comprehensive plan to balance the Federal budget. Requires the Committee on the Budget of each House to report, by April 15, 1985, and by April 15 of each year, a balanced budget for the upcoming fiscal year. Requires the chairmen of the budget committees and an individual designated by the President to meet from time to time and agree upon common economic and technical estimating assumptions which shall be used for the preparation and reestimation of the President's budget. Establishes a commission which shall: (1) review, with respect to FY 1986, the balanced budget proposal submitted by the President and the budgets reported by the Committees on the Budget; (2) study the effectiveness of the provisions of this Act in achieving balanced Federal budgets; and (3) make recommendations for further changes which may be necessary to achieve balanced Federal budgets. Requires the commission to transmit to the President and Congress a report not later then December 31, 1986, containing a detailed statement of its findings, conclusions, and recommendations for such legislation and administrative actions as it considers appropriate. Terminates the commission 30 days after the submission of such report.
United States · United States Congress · 28 June 1984
Title I: Supplemental Benefits - Establishes a Federal supplemental benefit program for death or disability caused by occupational exposure to asbestos. Provides guidelines for: (1) the calculation of benefits in proportion to disability; (2) payment methods; and (3) payment priorities. Exempts such supplemental benefits from: (1) any tax or legal process; and (2) any offset for administrative benefits under State or Federal law. Sets guidelines for the offset of supplemental benefits where reorganization or liquidation proceedings occur under Federal bankruptcy laws. Makes supplemental benefits payable only out of the Asbestos-Related Disease Trust Fund established by this Act. Conditions eligibility for supplemental benefits upon such benefits' being the exclusive remedy of an individual for occupational exposure to asbestos. Prescribes guidelines for the filing and payment of asbestos-related disease claims. Directs the Secretary of Health and Human Services (the Secretary) to apply by analogy specified portions of the Social Security Act when making determinations of: (1) entitlement to benefits; (2) review of claims; and (3) delegations of authority to State agencies. Directs the Secretary of Labor, in consultation with the Secretary of Health and Human Services, to determine annually the average weekly wage for manufacturing workers in each State. Requires such determinations to govern decisions regarding all claims filed in the following calendar year. Requires the Secretary to rely upon: (1) prior court decisions regarding a claimant; (2) prior determinations by the appropriate workers' compensation program regarding specified eligibility criteria. Specifies exceptions. Requires the Secretary to apply the appropriate workers' compensation law when reviewing supplemental benefit claims. Creates within the Department of Health and Human Services the National Medical Panel on Asbestos-Related Diseases to: (1) decide which diseases belong to the list of asbestos-related diseases; (2) review claims to determine whether a person's disease was caused by asbestos exposure; and (3) publish certain Medical Assessment Guidance Documents. Provides guidelines for the appointment of medical scientists to the Panel from certain organizations. Directs the Panel to promulgate a list of asbestos-related diseases and to provide explanations of any decisions to include or omit a disease from such list. Outlines conditions under which the Panel shall review claims for asbestos-related diseases which do not appear on the panel's list of diseases. Requires the Panel to determine within a specified time whether the disease in the referred claim should be included on such list. Requires the Panel to publish Medical Assessment Guidance Documents including specific medical diagnostic criteria to aid parties and decisionmakers determine whether a death or disability was caused by occupational exposure to asbestos. Title II: Finance - Prescribes guidelines under which: (1) assessments are imposed against each asbestos defendant; (2) assessment allocation factors are assigned to asbestos defendants; (3) assessments are imposed against asbestos insurance policies; and (4) assessments are imposed against companies undergoing Federal bankruptcy proceedings. Sets the aggregate semiannual assessment on defendants in 1985 and 1986 at $150,000,000. Imposes interest upon assessments not paid by the due date. Requires the Secretary of the Treasury to: (1) conduct studies determining assessment allocation factor amounts and assessment apportionment ratios; and (2) promulgate compliance regulations. States that assessment payments do not prejudice the right to recover or challenge such payments. Treats asbestos-related disease assessments imposed upon either an asbestos defendant or an asbestos insurance policy, for Federal income tax purposes, as ordinary and necessary expenses incurred in carrying on the trade or business, on the one hand, and insurance contract losses, on the other. Treats asbestos-related disease assessments as miscellaneous excise taxes. Establishes in the Treasury the Asbestos-Related Disease Trust Fund (the Trust Fund). Details the manner in which such Trust Fund shall be funded and administered. Makes the Secretary of the Treasury the Managing Trustee, and delineates trustee functions. Authorizes appropriations for FY 1985 and subsequent years. Establishes within the Department of the Treasury the Asbestos-Related Disease Trust Fund Conservation Committee (the Committee) comprised of the Managing Trustee and five public members appointed by the President. Includes among the consultation and review functions of such Committee: (1) claim disposition; (2) grant and contract awards; and (3) claims and assessments analysis. Directs the Committee to submit an annual report to the Congress regarding the performance of its responsibilities. Authorizes the Committee, with the advice and assistance of the Secretary of Labor, to instruct the Managing Trustee to award grants and contracts to specified organizations for the purpose of: (1) improving State workers' compensation programs; (2) assuring the availability of medical specialists to assist government agencies; (3) establishing medical evaluation units to determine occupational sources of asbestos-related diseases; and (4) medical treatment research. Title III: Miscellaneous - Makes the supplemental benefits under this Act and the applicable workers' compensation programs the exclusive remedy for occupational exposure to asbestos. Exempts certain persons from liability for occupational exposure to asbestos. Removes jurisdiction from State or Federal tribunals to adjudicate any claim of liability for occupational exposure to asbestos after enactment of this Act. Confers jurisdiction for judicial review of administrative acts under this Act only upon the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit. Confers jurisdiction for questions of assessments and constitutionality under this Act only upon a special three-judge district court established in the District Court for the District of Columbia. Requires all administrative costs and expenses of this Act to be paid out of the Trust Fund. Directs the Secretaries of Health and Human Services, of Labor, of the Treasury, and the Attorney General to submit an analysis and certification of their respective costs under this Act to the Managing Trustee for reimbursement.
United States · United States Congress · 28 June 1984
Establishes the National Commission on Federal Budget Deficit Reductions to review all relevant elements of fiscal and monetary policy. Requires particular emphasis to be given to the causes of cyclical and structural Federal budget deficits and the impact which growing structural Federal deficits have on employment, capital formation, and the vigor and viability of economic growth in the United States. Requires the Commission to: (1) identify problems which may hinder the control and reduction of Federal budget deficits; and (2) analyze all potential options which would result in deficit reductions and place the Government on a sound financial basis. Requires the Commission to report to the President and Congress by January 15, 1985, detailed findings, conclusions, and recommendations for such legislation and administrative actions as it considers appropriate. Terminates the Commission 30 days after submission of such report.
![Official portrait of Rep. Huckaby, Thomas J. (Jerry) [D-LA-5]](https://www.congress.gov/img/member/h000901_200.jpg)