United States · United States Congress · 25 May 1982
Establishes in the House of Representatives the Ad Hoc Committee on Entitlements to conduct a full investigation of factors contributing to, and methods to restrain, costs of entitlement programs. Requires the committee to report its findings as soon as practicable during the current Congress.
United States · United States Congress · 21 May 1982
Amends the Bankruptcy Reform Act of 1978 to permit a bankruptcy court to expedite the procedures for the determination of interests in and the disposition of grain and proceeds of grain held by debtors who own or operate grain storage facilities. Allows the shortening of time periods applicable for such procedures and establishment of a timetable for the completion of certain procedures. Permits such time periods and timetable to be modified by the court for good cause shown. Sets forth the criteria by which such time periods may be shortened and the procedures which may be expedited. Requires notice to any governmental unit with regulatory jurisdiction over the operation or liquidation of the debtor or his business of any request made or order entered into for expedited determinations of interest. Requires the trustee to consult with such governmental unit before taking any action relating to the disposition of grain in the control of the debtor or the estate. Declares that unless such an order is stayed pending appeal, the reversal or modification on appeal of an order establishing an expedited procedure or determining any interest in or approving any disposition of grain or its proceeds does not affect validity. Prohibits the court or the trustee from delaying any other proceeding in the particular case on account of the appeal. Permits the trustee to recover from grain and proceeds of grain the reasonable and necessary costs and expenses attributable to preserving and disposing of grain or its proceeds, but the trustee may not recover any other costs or expenses.
United States · United States Congress · 19 May 1982
Authorizes the President to provide for U.S. participation in the 1984 Louisiana World Exposition. Authorizes the President to appoint, without Senate confirmation, a Commissioner General of the United States Government for the Exposition. Confers upon the Commissioner General the rank of Ambassador. Authorizes the Secretary of Commerce to designate a Commissioner General of Section for U.S. participation, as provided in the Exposition proposal transmitted by the President to Congress. Authorizes the Secretary to take certain actions to provide for U.S. participation in the Exposition, including incurring necessary expenses, leasing land, and hiring consultants. Provides for the use of volunteers. Directs the Secretary to take all reasonable measures to: (1) facilitate the participation of other governments and their nationals; (2) assure adherence to the Bureau of International Expositions protocols; and (3) support the Exposition. Authorizes the Secretary to accept private contributions to carry out this Act. Authorizes other Federal agencies to cooperate with the Secretary and provide personnel to help carry out this Act. Authorizes the Secretary to dispose of all Federal property developed and acquired for the Exposition after the close of the Exposition. States that the functions authorized by this Act may be performed without regard to specified laws. Authorizes the Secretary to issue rules to carry out the functions and duties imposed by this Act. Authorizes appropriations.
United States · United States Congress · 11 May 1982
Amends the Bankruptcy Code to provide that educational loans which are not dischargeable in bankruptcy liquidation shall not be dischargeable in an adjustment of debts in a bankruptcy of an individual with regular income.
United States · United States Congress · 11 May 1982
Amends the Internal Revenue Code to provide for the collection of defaulted Federal student loans by offset against income tax refunds of those individuals found to be in default on such loans. Defines "Federal student loan" for purposes of this Act. Sets forth special rules with respect to joint returns and fiscal year taxpayers. Requires the Secretary of the Treasury to: (1) notify the Secretary of Education of the amounts collected with respect to any loan to any individual; and (2) transfer such amounts to the Secretary of Education as is necessary to reimburse the entity or fund to which such loan is repayable. Requires that such notification and transfer be made not less often than monthly.
United States · United States Congress · 4 May 1982
Joint Research Act of 1982 - Authorizes the Attorney General to issue certificates of review to two or more persons to promote joint research and development programs. Directs the Attorney General to issue such a certificate for an applicant whose application: (1) specifies conduct which is limited to a research and development program and which does not violate Federal antitrust laws; and (2) contains any other information the Attorney General requires. Requires that such a certificate specify: (1) the conduct to which it applies; (2) the participating business entities; and (3) any conditions applicable to such conduct. Directs certificate recipients to notify the Attorney General of any change in conduct or business entities. Permits such recipient to apply to amend such certificate. Directs the Attorney General to modify or revoke a certificate, after providing 30 days notice, upon determining that conduct allowed under the certificate violates antitrust laws. Authorizes the certificate holders to bring an action in the appropriate U.S. district court to set aside such determination. Precludes any other judicial review of any determination by the Attorney General concerning the issuance, amendment, or revocation of a certificate. Declares that any such determination is inadmissable as evidence in any proceeding in support of any claim under the antitrust laws. Exempts any certificate holder from criminal action, liability for threatened loss or damage, or liability exceeding actual damages, lost interest, and the cost of suit for a violation of Federal antitrust laws or similar State laws if: (1) the violation arises from conduct specified in the certificate; and (2) the certificate is in effect at the time the conduct occurs. Awards a certificate holder the cost of defending against a claim for damages resulting from a violation of antitrust laws if the court finds that: (1) the conduct alleged to violate such laws does not; and (2) the conduct is specified in the certificate. Declares that a certificate shall have no legal effect on the authority of a court to grant equitable relief in an action for an antitrust violation against a certificate holder. Exempts information submitted by a person in connection with the issuance, amendment, or revocation of a certificate from the Freedom of Information Act. Specifies conditions for the disclosure of such information. Allows the Attorney General to issue guidelines describing the types of conduct that would and would not qualify for a certificate.
United States · United States Congress · 29 April 1982
Recognizes the Pause for the Pledge as part of National Flag Day and encourages that it be part of the day's ceremonies. Urges all Americans to participate in National Flag Day by reciting the Pledge of Allegiance on June 14. Provides that the Congress shall transmit a copy of this resolution to the Star-Spangled Banner Flag House in Baltimore, Maryland.
United States · United States Congress · 22 April 1982
Surplus Agricultural Commodities Disposal Act of 1982 - Amends the Agricultural Act of 1949 to direct the Commodity Credit Corporation to contract for the processing of surplus commodities into liquid fuels and agricultural commodity byproducts. Requires the Secretary to report to Congress within 120 days and annually thereafter.
United States · United States Congress · 22 April 1982
Expresses the sense of the House of Representatives that the President should notify the Common Market's Council of Ministers that: (1) renegotiation of the Common Market's tariff on corn gluten feed is not in the best interests of the United States; and (2) the imposition of any trade restriction on corn gluten feed would seriously impede U.S. relations with the Common Market. Urges the President to take all other appropriate steps to protect U.S. exports of corn gluten feed.
United States · United States Congress · 21 April 1982
Prohibits the Government from imposing export restrictions on agricultural commodities which interfere with valid export contracts if: (1) the contracts were entered into before the imposition of such restrictions; and (2) the contracts provide for the delivery of such commodities for export within 180 days of the date the restrictions were imposed.
United States · United States Congress · 1 April 1982
Amends the Bankruptcy Reform Act of 1978 to permit a bankruptcy court to expedite the procedures for the determination of interests in and the disposition of grain and proceeds of grain held by debtors who own or operate grain storage facilities. Allows the shortening of time periods applicable for such procedures and establishment of a timetable for the completion of certain procedures. Permits such time periods and timetable to be modified by the court for good cause shown. Sets forth the criteria by which such time periods may be shortened and the procedures which may be expedited. Requires notice to any governmental unit with regulatory jurisdiction over the operation or liquidation of the debtor or his business of any request made or order entered into for expedited determinations of interest. Requires the trustee to consult with such governmental unit before taking any action relating to the disposition of grain in the control of the debtor or the estate. Declares that unless such an order is stayed pending appeal, the reversal or modification on appeal of an order establishing an expedited procedure or determining any interest in or approving any disposition of grain or its proceeds does not affect validity. Prohibits the court or the trustee from delaying any other proceeding in the particular case on account of the appeal. Permits the trustee to recover from grain and proceeds of grain the reasonable and necessary costs and expenses attributable to preserving and disposing of grain or its proceeds, but the trustee may not recover any other costs or expenses.
United States · United States Congress · 1 April 1982
Establishes in the House of Representatives the Select Committee on Hunger to conduct a comprehensive study of the problems of hunger and malnutrition, including those issues addressed in reports of the Presidential Commission on World Hunger and the Independent Commission on International Development Issues.
United States · United States Congress · 29 March 1982
Declares that the United States should propose to the Soviet Union: (1) a long-term, mutual, and verifiable nuclear forces freeze at equal and sharply reduced levels of forces; and (2) practical measures to reduce the danger of an accidental nuclear war and to prevent the use of nuclear weapons by third parties. States that the United States and the Soviet Union should channel their resources away from nuclear armaments and towards fighting poverty, hunger, and disease. Declares that the United States should continue to work for balanced arms reductions.
United States · United States Congress · 25 March 1982
Social Security Trust Fund Protection Act of 1982 - Amends titles II (Old Age, Survivors and Disability Insurance) and XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act to permit the Managing Trustees of the Federal Old-Age and Survivors Insurance Trust Fund, the Federal Disability Insurance Trust Fund, and the Federal Hospital Insurance Trust Fund to borrow money from the other funds or from the general fund of the Treasury (if relief cannot be obtained by interfund borrowing) if, during any fiscal year prior to FY 1991, the cash reserves of one of the funds are less than nine percent of the anticipated annual expenditures of such fund. Sets forth interest and loan repayment requirements. Requires the Board of Trustees of the trust funds to report to Congress on any funds transferred pursuant to this Act. Terminates a trust fund's borrowing authority with respect to the general fund of the Treasury if, within one year after a loan is made to such fund from one of the other funds, such fund's cash reserves have not returned to at least 13 percent of such fund's anticipated expenditures for the then current fiscal year. Requires the Board of Trustees to report to Congress at the end of the one year on the increase in appropriations to such fund which would be necessary to raise the fund's cash reserves to the 13 percent level.
United States · United States Congress · 22 March 1982
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 · 9 March 1982
Amends the Federal Water Pollution Control Act to direct (currently authorizes) the Secretary of the Army, acting through the Chief of Engineers, to issue permits for the discharge of dredged or fill material into navigable waters at a disposal site specified by the applicant (currently specified by the Secretary), unless the Secretary determines that such site cannot be specified through the application of certain guidelines or other considerations. Limits the definition of "navigable waters" for purposes of such permits to mean all waters which are presently used or are susceptible to use in their natural condition as a means to transport interstate or foreign commerce shoreward to their ordinary high water mark, including all U.S. waters which are subject to the ebb and flow of the tide shoreward to their mean high water mark. Declares that the discharge of dredged or fill material in waters other than navigable waters (as limited by such definition) is not prohibited by or otherwise subject to regulation under any Act of Congress. Declares that these amendments shall be effective as of March 27, 1975. Revises procedures for application of the provisions of this Act by a State requesting Federal jurisdiction over nonnavigable waters. Repeals provisions relating to State permit programs for the discharge of dredged or fill material into other types of navigable waters. Eliminates the qualifying phrase "to the maximum extent practicable" from the requirement that specified agreements between Federal agencies assure that decisions on permit applications be made within 90 days of published notice.
United States · United States Congress · 9 March 1982
Declares that Congress should determine the feasibility of enabling private and public pension funds to make moneys available for the purchase of residential home mortgages and auto loans as a means of reviving the U.S. housing and automobile industries.
United States · United States Congress · 2 March 1982
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 1983 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 · 24 February 1982
Trade and Investment Equity Act of 1982- Amends the Trade Act of 1974 to include restrictions on direct investments by U.S. citizens or nationals among the discriminatory foreign trade practices that trigger a U.S. response. Requires U.S. action if the President determines such action is appropriate to respond to a foreign trade practice that denies the United States commercial opportunities substantially equivalent to those offered by the United States. Authorizes the President, upon making such a determination, to: (1) change Government procurement policies to provide for procurement from nations that provide substantially equivalent commercial opportunities to comparable U.S. producers; or (2) propose legislation that would impose equivalent restrictions within the United States on countries that do not provide such opportunities. Authorizes the President to negotiate agreements to eliminate discriminatory barriers on foreign direct investment by U.S. citizens or nationals. Imposes specified conditions and limitations on Presidential action to enforce U.S. rights under trade agreements and to respond to foreign trade practices. Authorizes the President to take action: (1) on a nondiscriminatory basis or solely against the products, services, or investment of the foreign entity involved; and (2) against products, services, or investments other than those involved in the investigation. Directs the President to take into account: (1) U.S. trade agreement obligations; and (2) the impact of the action taken on the U.S. economy. Directs the President to review at least biennially each such trade action. Directs the President to rescind an enforcement action within 30 days after: (1) the offending practice is eliminated; or (2) it is determined that continuing the action is not in the national interest. Authorizes the House Ways and Means Committee or the Senate Finance Committee to file a resolution with the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) requesting the President to take action to enforce U.S. trade rights or to respond to discriminatory trade practices. Directs the USTR to recommend possible Presidential actions concerning specified trade agreements within one year of the start of the dispute settlement procedure. (Current law requires such recommendations within 30 days of the end of the dispute settlement procedure.) Requires the USTR to consult with the U.S. International Trade Commission on the probable impact on the U.S. economy of taking action with respect to such product, service, or direct investment. Authorizes the President to negotiate international agreements on restrictions on foreign direct investment. Directs the President to take such action as may be necessary to extend the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade to cover trade in services and direct investment. Directs the USTR to report biennially to the Senate Finance Committee and the House Ways and Means Committee on the principle trade barriers of any major trading country.
United States · United States Congress · 3 February 1982
Authorizes the Speaker of the House of Representatives and the President pro tempore of the Senate to present, on behalf of Congress, a gold medal to Admiral Hyman George Rickover in recognition of his distinguished service and for his contributions to the development of safe nuclear energy and to the defense of the United States. Directs the Secretary of the Treasury to provide for a gold medal with suitable emblems, devices, and inscriptions. Authorizes appropriations to carry out such provision. Authorizes the Secretary to make available bronze duplicates of such medal for sale under regulations he prescribes and in accordance with provisions of this Act.
United States · United States Congress · 2 February 1982
Amends rule VIII of the Rules of the House of Representatives to require a recorded vote on final passage of legislation that adjusts the pay of Members, affects limitations on outside earned income, or provides tax credits or deductions for Members as a separate or distinct class. Excludes adjustments made pursuant to the Legislative Reorganization Act from such requirement. Makes it out of order in the House to consider any bill or resolution subject to such amended rule unless: (1) it is comprised solely of the items affecting the pay or benefits of Members; and (2) it takes effect at the beginning of the subsequent Congress.
United States · United States Congress · 26 January 1982
Chitimacha Claims Settlement Act - Declares constitutional and legal any transfer of land or natural resources in Louisiana by the Chitimacha Tribe before the enactment of this Act. Declares extinguished as of the date of transfer: (1) aboriginal titles held by the tribe to land or natural resources the transfer of which is approved by this Act; and (2) tribal claims for damages or possession against the State, any political subdivision of the State, or any person based on an approved transfer of land or natural resources or an aboriginal title extinguished by this Act. Sets forth procedures for actions challenging the constitutionality of this Act. Establishes within the Treasury the Chitimacha Claims Settlement Fund as compensation to the tribe for the extinguishment of any claim under this Act. Requires the Secretary of the Interior to make semiannual payments to the tribe from income derived from the fund. Frees the use of such payments from regulation by the Secretary. Sets forth requirements for the acquisition of land for the tribe with the fund. Authorizes appropriations to the fund. Authorizes the tribe to establish a tribal court system and a tribal police force. Gives any tribal court system established under this Act exclusive jurisdiction over certain criminal offenses occurring and civil actions arising on the Chitimacha Reservation. Permits the tribe to assume exclusive jurisdiction over Indian child custody proceedings in accordance with the Indian Child Welfare Act. Prohibits the consideration of payments to the tribe under this Act in the determination of the eligibility of the State, any political subdivision of the State, or the tribe for Federal financial assistance.
United States · United States Congress · 26 January 1982
Designates January 30, 1982, as A National Day of Solidarity With the Polish People. Expresses the sense of the Congress with respect to the state of martial law in Poland.
United States · United States Congress · 25 January 1982
Fair and Equal Treatment of Members of Congress Act of 1982 - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to limit to $3,000 the amount of living expenses which Members of Congress may deduct from their incomes. Repeals the provision allowing such tax deduction without substantiation.
United States · United States Congress · 16 December 1981
Broadcast Licensing, Renewal, and Deregulation Act of 1981 - Amends the Communications Act of 1934 to establish new procedures for reviewing petitions to deny broadcast license applications. Requires the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to grant a license renewal application by a radio or television broadcast station licensee unless the actions of the licensee evidence such serious disregard for the Communications Act and for the rules and policies of the FCC that denial of the application is justified. Prohibits the FCC from considering the applications of other persons for a broadcast station's facilities when the FCC is acting upon a license renewal application by a radio or television broadcast station. Permits persons holding construction permits or station licenses to transfer the permit or license without first obtaining an FCC finding that the transfer serves the public interest. Requires the FCC to be notified of such transfer. Provides for public notice of the transfer. Provides for disposition by the FCC of objections to such transfer. Prohibits the FCC from considering whether the public interest would be served by the transfer of the permit or license involved to a different person. Repeals certain provisions relating to the application of the antitrust laws. Prohibits the FCC from imposing requirements on radio or television licensees relating to: (1) programs; (2) programming formats; (3) ascertainment; (4) commercialization; and (5) maintenance of program logs.
United States · United States Congress · 11 December 1981
Expands the membership of the Advisory Commission on Intergovernmental Relations to include three elected school board officials from different States.
United States · United States Congress · 10 December 1981
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 · 20 November 1981
Requests the President to designate February 22, 1982, as a day of national celebration in honor of the two hundred and fiftieth anniversary of the birth of George Washington.
United States · United States Congress · 4 November 1981
Interstate Compact - Grants the consent of Congress to the compact between Mississippi and Louisiana which establishes a commission to study the feasibility of providing rapid rail transit service between the two States.
United States · United States Congress · 29 October 1981
Public Lands Conservation, Rehabilitation, and Improvement Act of 1981 - Directs the Secretary of the Interior, in cooperation with the Secretary of Agriculture, to establish and administer a public lands conservation, rehabilitation, and improvement program. Requires the Secretary to provide assistance to program agencies (any Federal or State agency responsible for the management of public lands) to establish and operate residential and nonresidential conservation centers to implement program projects. Describes the types of projects which will receive program preference. Limits program projects to those benefitting public lands or Indian lands, except where projects on nonpublic lands benefit associated public or Indian lands or provide significant public benefits. Sets forth requirements for establishing conservation centers and eligibility criteria for enrollees in the program. Makes persons eligible for enrollment and employment in the program if they are: (1) unemployed; (2) between the ages of 16 and 25 years; and (3) citizens, lawful permanent residents, or lawfully admitted alien parolees or refugees. Provides that in the selection of enrollees for the program, preference shall be given to economically, socially, physically, and educationally disadvantaged youth and youth residing in areas having substantial unemployment. Requires program agencies to provide services, facilities, supplies, and equipment for conservation centers as the Secretary deems necessary. Authorizes the Secretary to award grants to, or enter into agreements with, program agencies for the funding and operation of conservation centers. Authorizes appropriations for FY 1983 through 1989. Requires such appropriations to be credited from specified Treasury receipts. States that program enrollees shall not be deemed Federal employees, except as provided in specified provisions of law. Makes the Secretary responsible for the pay of enrollees and coordination of the program with related Federal, State, local, and private activities. Directs the Secretary to submit a report to Congress, within one year of enactment of this Act, on the feasibility of allowing enrollees who have completed two years in the program an exemption from training and service under the Military Selective Service Act. Directs the Secretary to make arrangements with educational institutions for the award of academic credit to enrollees for competencies developed under this Act. Authorizes program agencies to make arrangements with such institutions for academic study by enrollees during nonworking hours. Requires program agencies to provide certification of skills acquired by program participants and to provide job guidance and placement information as may be necessary. Directs the Secretary to report to the President and Congress by March 1 of each year on the activities carried out under this Act.
United States · United States Congress · 29 October 1981
Constitutional Amendment - Requires Congress, prior to each fiscal year, to adopt a statement of receipts and outlays for that year in which total outlays are no greater than total receipts. Permits Congress in such statement to provide for a specific excess of outlays over receipts by a three-fifths vote directed solely to that subject. 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 Congress passes a bill directed solely to approving specific additional receipts and such bill has become law. Permits Congress to waive the provisions of this Act with respect to any fiscal year in which a declaration of war is in effect. Prohibits the Congress from requiring that the States engage in additional activities without compensation equal to the additional costs. 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 · 27 October 1981
Designates that section of the Baltimore-Washington Parkway within the State of Maryland as the Gladys Noon Spellman Parkway. Directs the Secretary of the Interior, in cooperation with the State of Maryland, to erect an appropriate marker commemorating the contributions of Gladys Noon Spellman. Authorizes appropriations.
United States · United States Congress · 20 October 1981
Bankruptcy Improvements Act of 1981 - Amends title 11 of the United States Code (Bankruptcy) to establish an eligibility test for liquidation bankruptcy relief based on the individual petitioner's ability to pay a reasonable portion of his debts out of future income. Permits the court to dismiss a bankruptcy case under chapter 7 (liquidation) upon the motion of any party in interest filed not later than 30 days after the meeting of creditors, and after notice and a hearing, if the debtor is ineligible for relief under such title. Requires the bankruptcy judge to preside at any meeting of creditors and to perform such additional judicial duties any may be required. Declares that the value of the creditor's interest in the estate's interest in such property shall be determined in light of the purpose of the valuation and of the proposed disposition or use of such property, and in conjunction with any hearing on such disposition or use or on a plan affecting such creditor's interest. Declares that the value of consumer goods which the debtor seeks to redeem in liquidation shall be presumed to be the established resale market price, if such market exists. Requires the debtor in bankruptcy cases to file a statement of income and expenses. Requires the debtor, if the debtor's schedule of assets and liabilities includes consumer debts which are secured by property of the estate, to file and serve upon each creditor holding such security and the trustee, a statement expressing the debtor's intention with respect to retention or surrender of the collateral. Requires the debtor, at or before the meeting of creditors provided for by such title, to perform his intention with regard to such secured creditors. Repeals the provisions concerning exempt property and makes the States responsible for establishing exemptions to bankruptcy proceedings. Makes any debt which was incurred on or within 90 days before the date of the filing of a petition under such title nondischargeable. Allows creditors to enforce liens which have not been voided in bankruptcy. Permits reaffirmation of consumer debts subject to the debtor's right to rescind any such agreement within 60 days or until a discharge is received, whichever occurs later, by giving a written notice of rescission to the creditor. Declares that at the meeting of creditors the court shall inform the debtor of the nature and effect of a discharge. Eliminates the trustee's power to avoid liens or recover payments made within 90 days of filing petition in bankruptcy (within one year in the case of an insider) unless the creditor had reasonable cause to believe the debtor was insolvent. Permits the court, upon notice and hearing, to require a creditor to accept payments in redemption of the value of a claim secured by a nonpossessory, nonpurchase money security interest in tangible personal property, over a reasonable period not to exceed five years, if such tangible personal property consists of specified objects. Allows a creditor, upon 10 days notice to the debtor and codebtor, to collect any portion of a debt from the codebtor which is not being paid by the debtor through the adjustment of debts of such debtor with a regular income. Requires payments under an adjustment of debts payment plan to commence at the time of the filing of the plan. Provides for the return of such funds after deducting the costs of administration if no plan is confirmed. Provides for the separate classification of co-debtor claims and non-dischargeable claims and authorizes payment of them under an adjustment of debts payment plan. Allows a debtor to choose such a repayment plan of up to five years. Bases such repayment upon the debtor's ability to repay out of future income after taking into account the basic living necessities for the debtor and dependents. Provides for an early discharge of debts where at least 70 percent of all allowed unsecured claims are paid. Permits a hardship discharge of otherwise non-dischargeable debts to the extent the debtor attempted to pay such debts under an adjustment of debts payment plan.
United States · United States Congress · 15 October 1981
Amends title II (Old Age, Survivors and Disability Insurance) of the Social Security Act to prohibit the payment of title II benefits to an incarcerated felon during any month of confinement. Treats the benefits withheld as having been paid to the felon for purposes of the payment of benefits to other persons so entitled on the basis of the wages and self-employment income of the felon.
United States · United States Congress · 7 October 1981
Expresses the sense of the House of Representatives that the provisions of the Internal Revenue Code which provide incentives for energy conservation and development of renewable energy sources should not be repealed or amended to reduce such incentives.
United States · United States Congress · 30 September 1981
Port Development and Navigation Improvement Act of 1981 - Title I: Priority Maintenance and Navigation Improvement Projects - Directs the Secretary of the Army, through the Chief of Engineers, to submit to Congress within two years after enactment of this Act a deep-draft commercial port channel maintenance program. Specifies that such program shall include alternate disposal sites for dredged or fill material. Directs the Secretary, in cooperation with the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency, to submit to Congress a programmatic environmental impact statement, including an analysis of the adequacy of deep-draft commercial ports to accommodate increasing import and export trade. Provides for veto of such maintenance programs and navigational improvement projects by concurrent resolution of Congress within 60 days. Directs the Secretary to submit to Congress modifications of approved maintenance and navigational improvement projects. Requires the Secretary to undertake navigation improvements in deep-draft commercial ports on a priority basis under specified circumstances. Sets forth procedures by which the Secretary shall submit feasibility studies, survey reports, and environmental impact statements to Congress. Prohibits a State port authority from dredging or performing other maintenance with regard to a navigation improvement project constructed by or with assistance from the Secretary except under specified circumstances. Requires the Secretary to enter into memorandums of agreement with: (1) the Administrator in regard to the disposal of dredged and fill material into navigable waters; and (2) the Secretaries of the Interior and Commerce concerning the environmental aspects of the maintenance and improvement of federally authorized channels in deep-draft commercial ports. Sets forth procedures for congressional approval of new navigational improvement projects. Title II: Financing of Navigation Improvement Projects - Grants the consent of Congress to the levying by States of tonnage duties. Lists the purposes of such duties, including reimbursement of Federal and State entities in regard to navigation improvement projects. Directs the Comptroller General to audit periodically the operations of State port authorities dealing with such duties of tonnage. Title III: Miscellaneous Provisions - Authorizes appropriations. Allows the Secretary, upon congressional approval, to transfer funds from existing Department of the Army civil appropriations pending appropriation of such authorized sums.
United States · United States Congress · 11 September 1981
Disapproves the final rule promulgated by the Federal Trade Commission dealing with the matter of the trade regulation rule relating to the sale of used motor vehicles.
United States · United States Congress · 4 August 1981
Mobile Source Clean Air Act Amendments of 1981 - Title I: Amendments to Title II - Amends title II of the Clean Air Act (Emission Standards for Moving Sources, also known as the "National Emission Standards Act") to provide that where any national ambient air quality standard is established pursuant to such Act for any pollutant, the standard applicable to the emissions of such pollutant shall relate to the achievement of the national ambient air quality standard. Directs the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency, in prescribing any such standard, to consider specified factors, including compliance costs, potential inflationary or recessionary effects, and effects on small business competition, consumer costs, and energy use. Requires that more stringent standards shall not become effective for at least: (1) 48 months after final prescription, in the case of heavy-duty vehicles or engines; and (2) 36 months after final prescription, in the case of all other new motor vehicles or engines. Repeals requirements that standards reflecting the greatest degree of emission reduction achievable through application of available technology be contained in regulations applicable to: (1) emissions of carbon monoxide, hydrocarbons, and nitrogen oxides from heavy-duty vehicles or engines manufactured during model years 1979 through 1982; and (2) emissions of particulate matter from vehicles manufactured during and after model year 1981 (or during any earlier model year, if practicable). Repeals requirements that regulations applicable to vehicles or engines manufactured during and after model year: (1) 1983 require a reduction of at least 90 percent of hydrocarbon and carbon monoxide emissions; and (2) 1985 require reduction of at least 75 percent of nitrogen oxides emissions. Provides for notice and opportunity for comment before the Administrator determines that any emission control device, system, or element of design will cause or contribute to an unreasonable risk to public health, welfare, or safety (and therefore may not be used to comply with emission standards). Directs the Administrator to include specified information obtained from manufacturers in making such determination. Excludes methane from any hydrocarbon standard for motor vehicle emissions under such Act. Directs the Administrator to establish an appropriate allowance applicable to the exhaust hydrocarbon standard for those vehicles and engines that emit low levels of evaporative hydrocarbon emissions, except that measurement of such emissions shall not be required in specified new vehicle or motor compliance tests. Revises provisions for regulations applicable to emissions from light-duty vehicles and engines. Eliminates the requirement that regulations applicable to such vehicles manufactured during or after model year 1981 require: (1) reduction of at least 90 percent of carbon monoxide and hydrocarbons emissions from those allowable under standards applicable to 1970 models; and (2) limitation of nitrogen oxides emissions to one gram per vehicle mile. Provides also that regulations applicable to such vehicles manufactured during or after model year 1982 shall not contain standards more stringent than 0.39 grams per vehicle mile of non-methane exhaust hydrocarbons (exclusive of allowances for evaporative hydrocarbons), seven grams per vehicle mile of carbon monoxide, and two grams per vehicle mile of nitrogen oxides. Revises provisions relating to waivers of such standards. Replaces, as a precondition for such waivers, a determination of a potential for both long-term air quality benefit and meeting average fuel economy standards with a determination of a potential to conserve energy. Makes 500,000 units the maximum number of vehicles or engines of each model to which such waivers may apply (the current maximum is five percent of the manufacturer's production or 50,000 of such units, whichever is larger). Revises provisions relating to any future prescribed regulations affecting the manufacture, distribution, or sale of motor vehicles or engines for high altitude areas of the United States to require inclusion of exemptions prescribed for model year 1982 and to permit specified performance adjustments. Prohibits more stringent numerical standards in regulation of high altitude vehicles of any model year than those applicable to vehicles certified under non-high altitude conditions. Prohibits any regulation requiring the installation, on motor vehicles or engines intended for principal use in non- high altitude locations, of any emission controls needed to meet the applicable standards under high altitude conditions. Includes among prohibited acts the failure or refusal of any manufacturer to comply with requests by the Administrator for specified information on new light-duty motor vehicles and their use at high altitudes. Revises provisions for compliance testing and conformity certification to direct the Administrator to evaluate or to require evaluation of (but not necessarily to test or require testing of): (1) any new motor vehicle or new motor vehicle engine submitted by a manufacturer; and (2) any emission control system incorporated in a vehicle or engine submitted by any person. Prohibits the revision of any test applicable to 1981 model heavy-duty vehicles or engines until after the 1986 model year. Repeals a one-year maximum limit on the period which a certificate of conformity may cover. Directs the Administrator to establish: (1) methods and procedures for making tests for determining average emissions from vehicles; and (2) an acceptable quality level for all new motor vehicles equivalent to the level applicable to 1981 model year light-duty vehicles. Repeals a requirement that all light-duty vehicles manufactured during and after model year 1984 comply with specified emission standards regardless of the altitude at which they are sold. Revises provisions for compliance by vehicles and engines in actual use. Bases determinations of nonconformity with regulations by any class or category of vehicles and engines manufactured after a specified date upon the average performance in testing a statistically valid and representative sample. Permits manufacturers to elect to take other actions, in lieu of remedying such nonconformity, with respect to those or other vehicles or engines, consistent with the purposes of such title. Directs the Administrator to consider the effects on competition, in approving a manufacturer's plan to remedy or take other actions with respect to such nonconformity. Repeals a requirement that dealers furnish purchasers of new light-duty motor vehicles certificates of conformity with applicable emission standards, including notice of purchaser warranty rights. Repeals a requirement that the manufacturer remedy, at its own cost, any nonconformity, during a specified period, of a motor vehicle with emission standards. Revises provisions relating to: (1) State standards; and (2) high altitude performance adjustments. Provides that the foregoing amendments made by this title shall take effect with respect to vehicles and engines manufactured in model years beginning more than 60 days after the enactment of this Act. Requires that the economic impact assessment with respect to any motor vehicle emission or fuel standard or regulation under such title also contain an analysis of the noise, safety, and other factors deemed appropriate by the Administrator associated with application of any technology necessary to comply with the standard or regulation. Directs the Administrator to initiate a study and related proceedings, including appropriate informal public hearings, to: (1) develop alternative and practicable approaches to emission control of any air pollutant, subject to such regulation, from new motor vehicles or engines; and (2) evaluate the existing control program. Sets forth the factors to be considered by the Administrator concerning such new approach. Requires that a report of such study, including public comments, be submitted to the appropriate committees of the Congress within one year. Sets forth criteria for proposed regulations under any such new approach. Title II: Study and Conforming Provisions - Amends the Clean Air Act to direct the Administrator, upon the request of any national association of motor vehicle dealers with a membership which includes a majority of U. S. retail franchisers selling imported and domestic new light-duty motor vehicles, to compile data relating to the availability and distribution to dealers located at high altitudes of all models of such vehicles manufactured by any specified manufacturer in a specified model year. Authorizes the Administrator to utilize specified information and to require manufacturers to submit relevant information (except information identifying shipments to individual dealers). Directs the Administrator, within six months after such a request is made, to submit to the Congress and publish in the Federal Register a report setting forth the data so compiled, including specified information.