United States · United States Congress · 4 August 1981
Expresses the sense of Congress that the United States should complete construction of a permanent manned operations center in low Earth orbit within ten years. Requests the President to submit to Congress within one year a plan for implementing such objective.
United States · United States Congress · 28 July 1981
Expresses the sense of the Congress that U.S. foreign policy should reflect a national strategy of peace through strength with specified principles and goals.
United States · United States Congress · 22 July 1981
Coal Pipeline Act of 1981 - Amends the Interstate Commerce Act to authorize a person to apply to the Interstate Commerce Commission (ICC) for a certificate of public convenience to construct, operate, or maintain a coal pipeline or to extend an existing coal pipeline. Directs the Commission to approve the application if the public convenience will be enhanced. Permits any person holding such a certificate to acquire rights-of-way on private lands by exercise of the power of eminent domain. Limits the scope of such exercise regarding rights to water or to certain historic or significant lands. Requires coal pipeline certificate holders to fulfill relevant common carrier transportation and service obligations. Requires the line pipe of all pipelines to be located underground, to the maximum extent practicable, consistent with environmental protection, safety, and good engineering and technological practices. Authorizes the Secretary of the Interior to grant or renew to a certificate holder rights-of-way on Federal lands for the construction, operation, maintenance, or extension of coal pipelines. Requires the Secretgary to first consult with the heads of other agencies which may administer such Federal lands. Requires a right-of-way to be granted or renewed in accordance with specified provisions of the Federal Land Policy and Management Act of 1976. Authorizes the Secretary to prescribe additional terms and conditions. Exempts existing coal pipeline rights-of-way and law suits commenced prior to enactment of this Act from certain provisions of this Act. Prohibits the United States or its agents from using or claiming water within any State for a coal pipeline unless pursuant to State substantive and procedural law. Directs the Secretary of Transportation to issue regulations establishing uniform Federal standards applicable to certain aspects of coal pipeline facilities. Exempts existing coal pipelines from certain such standards. Authorizes the Attorney General, at the request of the Secretary of Transportation, to institute a civil action to enforce any such regulation. Authorizes the Attorney General, at the request of the Secretary of the Interior, to institute a civil action to enforce any provision of this Act. Sets forth civil and criminal penalties for any person failing to comply with any provision or regulation of this Act.
United States · United States Congress · 16 July 1981
Mineral Lands Leasing Amendment of 1981 - Amends the Mineral Leasing Act to prohibit, for a specified period, any foreign person from acquiring more than five percent of the voting securities in a United States mineral resources corporation. Directs the Secretary of the Interior to report to Congress concerning indirect foreign investment in mineral resources on U.S. lands.
United States · United States Congress · 15 July 1981
Independent Local Newspaper Act of 1981 - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to provide for the establishment of independent local newspaper advance estate tax trusts to facilitate payment of the estate tax imposed upon the estate of a decedent who owned an interest in an independent local newspaper. Sets forth requirements for the establishment of such trusts, including requirements that such trusts: (1) be created pursuant to a plan adopted by the newspaper; (2) be governed by a written instrument which requires that contributions to and income of the trust be invested solely in obligations of the United States; (3) name as trustee a bank or another individual who is capable of administering such trust in compliance with the requirements of this Act; (4) maintain trust assets separately from other property; (5) accept contributions exclusively from independent local newspapers; (6) devote assets of the trust solely to the payment of the estate tax; and (7) distribute any excess funding of the trust to its beneficiaries or their estates. Limits an individual who owns interests in several independent local newspapers to participation in not more than one estate tax payment trust. Defines an "independent local newspaper" as a newspaper publication which is not a member of a chain and which maintains all its offices in a single city, community or metropolitan area, or, on January 1, 1981, within one State. Defines "excess funding" as the excess of the face value of the assets of a qualified trust over: (1) 70 percent of the value of a decedent's interest in an independent local newspaper which is includable in his gross estate; or (2) a decedent's estate tax which is attributable to his interest in an independent local newspaper included in his gross estate. Exempts independent local newspaper advance estate tax trusts and the individuals for whom such trusts are established from income taxation with respect to income earned by such trust. Terminates such tax-exempt status if the taxpayer's interest in the newspaper is sold, the newspaper itself is sold or ceases to qualify as an independent newspaper, or there is an excess funding of the trust. Provides that the amount of any excess funding shall be distributed to the individual for whom the trust was created and included in his gross income or gross estate. Allows an income tax deduction to local independent newspapers for contributions made to estate tax payment trusts. Limits the amount of such deduction to 50 percent of the taxable income derived from such newspaper for the taxable year. Requires the redetermination of the estate tax of an individual for whom an independent local newspaper advance estate tax trust is established and the inclusion in the gross estate of such individual of an amount equal to the estate tax payment made by such trust which is attributable to the individual's interest in the newspaper, if the trust or any heir of the individual sells, within 15 years of the death of such individual, any part of the interest in the newspaper with respect to which the trust was created. Provides for the gradual phaseout of any additional estate tax which is imposed due to the premature sale of a newspaper, if the sale does not occur prior to the ten to 15 year period following the death of the individual for whom the estate tax trust is established. Permits the shareholders of an independent local newspaper who receive the stock of a corporation which the newspaper controls to exclude from their gross income any gain realized as a result of such distribution if: (1) the shareholders do not sell such stock within five years after the date of its distribution; (2) the shareholders retain control of the newspaper for five years after the date of the distribution; and (3) the newspaper and the controlled corporation each continue to be engaged in the active conduct of a trade or business through the five year period beginning on the date of the distribution. Excludes from the gross estate of a decedent the value of any interest in an independent local newspaper which he holds at the time of his death and any estate tax payment made by an independent local newspaper advance estate tax payment trust. Permits the executor of an estate which includes an interest in an independent local newspaper to pay the estate tax in two or more (but not exceeding ten) equal installments. Limits the maximum amount of estate tax that may be paid in installments to the excess of the amount of estate tax over the tax that would have been imposed if the interest in the newspaper had not been included in the gross estate, reduced by all payments of the estate tax made by an independent local newspaper advance estate tax payment trust.
United States · United States Congress · 26 June 1981
Amends the Mineral Leasing Act to revise the authority of the Secretary of the Interior to lease lands containing oil shale deposits. Permits such leases to exceed 5,120 acres of land if necessary to permit long-term commercial operations. Increases the number of leases which may be held to two in any State and four nationwide. Permits the acquisition of one additional lease in a State by a lessee who has achieved commercial production in both existing leases and is within ten years of exhausting the reserves on one of the leases. Authorizes the unlimited issuance of leases to avoid bypassing small acreages of oil shale resources which otherwise could not be mined economically. Authorizes the Secretary to lease additional lands required in support of operations necessary for the recovery of oil shale. Includes within such operations the disposal of oil shale waste and the building of facilities; but excludes the removal of any mineral deposits. Authorizes the Secretary to issue leases for additional lands after considering the need for such lands, the environmental impact, and determining that the public interest will be served. States that a lease shall include lands the Secretary determines are necessary to achieve the purposes for which the lease is issued and shall contain provisions needed to protect environmental and other resource values. Sets forth guidelines for other lease provisions, including rent and duration.
United States · United States Congress · 26 June 1981
Wilderness Review Act of 1981 - Requires that lands recommended for wilderness and lands requiring further planning for purposes of this Act be identified in an executive communication by the Secretary of Agriculture. Prohibits judicial or administrative review of the second roadless area review and evaluation (RARE II) final environmental statement dated January 1979. Requires that the following lands be managed for multiple uses other than wilderness: (1) national forest system lands not identified under this Act as land recommended for wilderness, requiring further planning, or previously designated as wilderness; (2) lands recommended for wilderness pursuant to this Act and not designated as wilderness before January 1, 1985; and (3) lands identified by this Act as requiring further planning but (a) not recommended for wilderness by the Secretary before September 30, 1985, or (b) recommended for wilderness before such date but not designated as wilderness before January 1, 1988. Prohibits the Secretary from conducting any further statewide, regional, or national roadless area review and evaluation of national forest system lands for purposes of determining their suitability as wilderness without express congressional authorization, except for lands identified pursuant to this Act as requiring further planning. Prohibits the creation of protective perimeters or buffer zones around areas designated as wilderness. Requires the Secretary to manage lands recommended for wilderness and lands requiring further planning to preserve their wilderness character. Permits the authorization of nonwilderness uses which are in the public interest for lands recommended for wilderness and the modification of wilderness recommendations by the Secretary.
United States · United States Congress · 25 June 1981
Food Safety Amendments of 1981 - Title I - Amends the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act to revise the procedures and criteria for consideration of food and color additive petitions and new animal drug applications. Excludes from the definition of "food additive": (1) a food contact substance; and (2) a basic or traditional food. Defines "food contact substance" to mean a substance used to package food upon which such substance is not intended to, and does not have, any physical effect. Revises the general definition of "safe" to include in its meaning the absence of significant risk under the intended conditions of use of a substance. Authorizes the Secretary of Health and Human Services to prescribe regulations to gradually eliminate a substance from the food supply upon a finding that such elimination will serve the public interest and not present a danger to public health. Requires that a determination of whether food is adulterated be based on an assessment of the risks from the probable consumption of such substance, taking into account all pertinent safety factors. Revises the procedures under which the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) establishes tolerance levels for required or unavoidable substances in foods. Replaces the current formal hearing requirements for setting tolerances with the notice and comment rulemaking procedure. Adds to the criteria for establishing tolerances: (1) an assessment of the nature and extent of the risks from probable consumption of the substance, considering all safety factors and after consultation with the food safety committee (established by this Act); and (2) the effects of limits on the cost and availability of food. Requires the Secretary to specify the analytical procedure for determining tolerance compliance. Permits any party in an injunction, seizure, or criminal action by the FDA alleging food adulteration, to request the court to set a tolerance for any food for which there is no existing tolerance. Revises the procedures and criteria for consideration of food additive petitions. Directs the Secretary to establish procedures to facilitate early discussion of an additive prior to submission of a petition. Requires the FDA to file food additive petitions within 30 days after receipt. Requires the FDA to specify in detail its reasons expanded for denying a petition. Directs the Secretary to permit interim use of an already approved additive if it appears from initial review that such expanded use is safe. Directs the Secretary to base a determination of the safety of a food additive on all relevant factors, including risk assessment. Provides an exception to the "Delaney clause" (which deems as unsafe any additive which induces cancer when ingested by man or animal) upon a finding that use of the additive does not present a significant risk to health. Requires the Secretary, whenver an additive is limited on the basis that it induces cancer in man or animal, to refer such matter to the food safety committee and permit interested persons to provide information. Enumerates additional criteria for considering a food additive which has been identified as presenting a significant risk, but has a substantial history of use and no reasonably practicable substitute. Includes among such factors the nature and extent of the consequences of use and the feasibility and effect of providing information to consumers regarding the additive's risk. Provides for expedited judicial review of any failure by the FDA to meet the time limits for food additive determinations or to provide detailed reasons for denial of a petition. Authorizes the Secretary to issue an interim food additive regulation with respect to a substance the safety of which has been questioned by new, but inconclusive, information, upon a determination that there is a reasonable certainty that such substance is not harmful. Applies the new procedures for amending or repealing a food additive regulation to any action to limit a substance which is generally recognized as safe. Establishes a new simplified premarket notification system for food contact substances. Provides that a food contact substance shall be deemed unsafe unless: (1) it is not reasonably expected to become a component of food under its intended use; (2) it conforms to a regulation; or (3) a premarket notification has been registered with the FDA and the FDA fails to make a finding of significant risk to public health within 90 days. Subjects any such finding to judicial review. Permits a person to petition the Secretary for promulgation of a regulation in lieu of premarket notification. Directs the Secretary, for the purpose of receiving referrals respecting the safety of food substances, to request the National Academy of Sciences, the Federation of American Societies for Experimental Biology, or other independent entity having such scientific expertise, to establish a committee to study and report on the safety of food substances. Provides a procedure and the criteria for the Secretary to establish an advisory food safety committee in the event such entities decline to establish such committee. Authorizes any person who may be adversely affected by a Secretarial decision to request the Secretary to consult such a committee before he makes a final decision on the use of any food substance, food additive, new animal drug, or color additive. Establishes for new animal drugs and color additives a regulatory scheme similar to that set forth for food additives. Includes as a factor to be considered with respect to animal drugs the present commercial availability of approved alternatives. Eliminates the current requirement for individual product licenses for animal drug manufacturers. Establishes a one-time location registration of establishments at which a new animal drug is to be first mixed into animal feed. Repeals the animal drug provision requiring batch certification of five specific antibiotics. Title II - Amends the Poultry Products Inspection Act, the Meat Inspection Act, and the Egg Products Inspection Act to conform to provisions of this Act. Title III - Requires persons who have filed food or color additive petitions or new animal drug applications which were filed prior to enactment to elect consideration in accordance with existing law or law as amended by this Act. Provides that enforcement proceedings based on acts occurring prior to enactment shall proceed under prior law.
United States · United States Congress · 24 June 1981
Expresses the sense of the House of Representatives that the Department of Justice should continue to provide the sums required to insure the operation and success of the seven regional criminal intelligence projects assisted through the Law Enforcement Assistance Administration.
United States · United States Congress · 22 June 1981
Amends the Bankruptcy Reform Act of 1978 to require the bankruptcy court, in the case of a bankruptcy petition filed by a person engaged in the business of operating a farm produce storage facility, within specified time limits, to: (1) identify those farm producers who have produce in storage, and those parties which have secured interests in farm produce, within such facility; (2) audit the assets of the farm produce storage facility for the purpose of determining the extent of farm produce available for distribution to such producers and secured creditors; and (3) direct the abandonment of such farm produce according to procedures set forth by this Act. Declares that such procedures shall be applied by the court solely for the purpose of effectuating abandonment of farm produce which is not property of the estate, or is of inconsequential value to the estate, and shall not be construed to limit the right of any party to seek abandonment of any other property. Prohibits distribution of farm produce ordered abandoned by the court from being delayed due to the pendency of any appeal from the orders of abandonment, except that a stay of orders may be entered under specified conditions. Makes any such stay of orders appealable as of right by any aggrieved party. Grants to any farmer who, having delivered agricultural products to a licensed warehouseman upon a contract for sale and who has not received the agreed upon payment, a lien against products of like products in the licensed facility in excess of that required to satisfy receipted or other storage obligations, title to which may be then vested in such warehouseman, to the extent of the payment agreed upon for the purchase of the product sold. Attaches such lien at the time of the formation of the contract for sale and continues it until the obligations of the warehouseman to the seller of the products are satisfied.
United States · United States Congress · 18 June 1981
Postal Service Amendments of 1981 - Authorizes the United States Postal Service to issue written demands requiring access to books, records, documents, or other objects believed to relate to any postal offense or civil matter under investigation by the Postal Service. Provides for the enforcement of such a demand by the appropriate district court. Authorizes the Postal Service to issue an order requiring any person to cease and desist from conducting a lottery or scheme for obtaining money or property by false representations through the mail. Declares that the resumption of such an activity through the use of any instrumentality of interstate commerce shall be considered to be a failure to comply with such order. Permits the Postal Service, in investigating whether a person is conducting such an activity, to tender the price of any article or service that such person has offered for sale. Declares that failure by such person to provide such article or service, or failure to comply with a written demand of the Postal Service for access to materials, shall constitute probable cause to believe such person is engaged in such activities, warranting the detention of such person's incoming mail. Establishes a civil penalty to be assessed by the Postal Service, after an opportunity for an agency hearing, against any person who: (1) attempts to evade an order directing the postmaster to return mail addressed to such person; (2) fails to comply with a cease and desist; or (3) assists another person in evading such an order.
United States · United States Congress · 18 June 1981
Amends the Mineral Land Leasing Act of 1920 and the Mineral Leasing Act for Acquired Lands to expand the application of such Acts to include gilsonite and all vein-type solid hydrocarbons. Provides that acreage in special tar sand areas shall not be chargeable against State acreage limitations applicable to oil and gas lease holders. Defines a special tar sand area as an area designated by the Secretary of the Interior as containing substantial deposits of tar sand. Provides that oil and gas lands within a special tar sand area shall be leased by competitive bidding in units of not more than 5,120 acres. Provides that competitive leases in special tar sand areas shall be for a primary term of ten years. Directs the Secretary to review, prior to the commencement of commercial operations, the royalty rates established in each combined hydrocarbon lease issued in special tar sand areas. Permits the owner of: (1) an oil and gas lease issued prior to the enactment of the Combined Hydrocarbon Leasing Act of 1981; or (2) a valid claim to any hydrocarbon resources leasable under the Act based on a mineral location made prior to January 21, 1926, and located within a special tar sand area to convert such lease or claim to a combined hydrocarbon lease for a primary term of ten years. Provides that nothing in this Act shall: (1) affect the existing tax status applicable to production from tar sand; or (2) apply to national parks, national monuments, or other lands where mineral leasing is prohibited. Directs the Secretary of the Interior to apply this Act to any unit of the national park system where mineral leasing is permitted, upon a finding that there will be no resulting significant adverse impacts on such unit or on other contiguous units.
United States · United States Congress · 4 June 1981
United States Flag Ship Fair Competition Tax Act of 1981 - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to permit accelerated depreciation for vessels documented under the laws of the United States. Provides a useful life of one or more years for vessels constructed in the United States and a useful life of five or more years for foreign-built vessels.
United States · United States Congress · 28 May 1981
Prohibits the Federal Trade Commission from investigating or taking any action concerning any State regulated profession until Congress enacts legislation which expressly provides that the Commission has authority over professions and that the Commission's authority preempts State authority. Vacates any such action taken during the period beginning on May 28, 1981, and ending on the date of enactment of this Act.
United States · United States Congress · 18 May 1981
Food and Agriculture Act of 1981 - Title I: Dairy Production Act of 1981 - Amends the Agricultural Act of 1949 to establish milk price supports from October 1, 1981 through September 30, 1985, at between 75 and 90 percent of parity, based on projected purchases, surpluses and price increases. Extends dairy base plan authority. Extends through 1985: (1) the program of price-supported dairy products for the military and veterans' hospitals; and (2) the dairy indemnity program. Encourages wider consumption of dairy products through export promotion and domestic distribution. Directs the Secretary of Agriculture to explore domestic casein production possibilities and report to the House and Senate Agriculture Committees within 90 days after this Act becomes effective. Title II: Wool and Mohair - Amends the National Wool Act of 1954 to extend the wool and mohair price support program through 1985. Title III: Wheat - Provides for loans and purchases of the: (1) 1982 wheat crop at not less than $3.55 per bushel; and (2) 1983-1985 crops at levels adjusted proportionally to the target price of wheat. Stipulates that the Secretary may adjust levels downward by up to ten percent (but not less than $3.00 per bushel) whenever the yearly price for the previous year is not more than 105 percent of the current loan and purchase level. Requires the Secretary to provide producers with the same return they would have received if such loan reductions occur. Authorizes a target price program for the 1982-1985 crops. Makes such payments mandatory if domestic carryover levels exceed one billion bushels. Sets such price for the: (1) 1982 crop at $4.20 per bushel; and (2) 1983-1985 crops at a level based on production costs over a specified time. Authorizes prevented planting and low yield disaster programs for the 1982-1985 crops only if Federal crop insurance was not generally available prior to planting. Requires set-aside and program acreages for such crops to be announced by August 1 of each year. Suspends marketing quotas and producer certificate provisions for such crops. Title IV: Feed Grains - Provides for loans and purchases of: (1) the 1982 corn crop at not less than $2.65 per bushel; and (2) the 1983-1985 crops based on target price adjustments. Stipulates that such levels may be adjusted downward by up to ten percent (but not less than $2.00 per bushel) if the yearly price for the previous year is not more than 105 percent of the current loan and purchase level. Provides for loans and purchases of the 1982-1985 grain sorghum, barley, and rye crops at a level based on the loan level for corn. Bases 1982-1985 oats levels on a weight comparison with other grains. Authorizes target prices for grain sorghum and corn. Makes such prices mandatory if domestic carryover exceeds 1.3 billion bushels. Sets the target price for: (1) the 1982 corn crop at $2.90 per bushel; (2) the 1983-1985 corn crops at a level based on production cost changes; and (3) grain sorghum, oats, and barley at a level based on corn payments. Authorizes disaster payments for the 1982 feed grain crops only if Federal crop insurance was not generally available prior to planting. Requires set-aside and program acreages for the 1982-1985 feed grain crops to be announced by November 1 of each year. Title V: Upland Cotton - Suspends marketing quotas, base acreage allotments, and related provisions for the 1982-1985 upland cotton crops. Provides with regard to such crops that: (1) the minimum loan level shall be $.55 per pound (currently $.48 per pound); (2) the base for the Northern European price quotation used to determine the loan rate shall be middling 1 3/32 inch cotton (currently strict middling 1 1/16 inch); (3) the target price shall be 120 percent of the loan level; (4) disaster payments shall be available in counties without generally available Federal crop insurance; (5) cotton acreage reductions could be required as a condition for program benefits instead of current set-aside authority; and (6) the Secretary shall establish a seed cotton recourse loan program. Extends skiprow provisions through 1985. Bases the preliminary allotment for the 1986 crop on the permanent (as adjusted) 1977 acreage allotment. Title VI: Rice - Repeals acreage allotment and marketing quota provisions effective with the 1982 rice crop. Provides for loans and purchases of the 1982-1985 rice crops at not less than $8.00 per hundredweight. Bases target prices on production costs. Makes disaster payments available only in counties where Federal crop insurance was not generally available prior to planting. Extends: (1) set-asides but authorizes the Secretary to limit acreage as a condition of benefits eligibility; and (2) land diversion programs. Requires the Secretary to report by July 31, 1983, to the Congress on rice futures trading, including the feasibility of using the average seasonal price received by farmers as a basis for computing loan and target prices. Title VII: Peanuts - Suspends annual marketing quotas and acreage allotments for the 1982-1985 peanut crops. Provides that the 1982-1985 New Mexico peanut allotments shall not be reduced below the adjusted 1977 level. Extends acreage allotments and national and farm poundage quotas for the 1982-1985 peanut crops. Modifies such provisions to: (1) set a minimum acreage allotment of 1,614,000 acres; (2) set a minimum national poundage quota of 1,300,000 tons, increased as necessary by the Secretary; and (3) require and set forth formulae for determining individual farm yields, base production poundage, and poundage quotas. States that if the total of all increases in individual farm poundage quotas exceeds ten percent of the national quota the Secretary shall adjust such increases in order not to exceed such percentage. Extends provisions relating to sale, lease, and transfer of acreage allotments. Permits acreage allotments and marketing quotas to be transferred without regard to county boundaries in a State having a peanut acreage of less than 11,000 acres. Eliminates the 50 acre limitation on individual allotment transfers. Extends and modifies marketing penalty and disposition of additional peanut provisions to: (1) direct the Secretary to authorize specified county committees to reduce or waive penalties for unintentional violations; (2) provide that weight errors not exceeding one-tenth of one percent in a marketing document shall not be considered violations; (3) give the area marketing associations primary responsibility for selling additional peanuts under loan when such peanuts are sold at prices not less than the Commodity Credit Corporation's minimum price; (4) change the contract deadline for additional peanuts from June 15 to March 15; and (5) penalize handlers for marketing peanuts in excess of the quantity, grade, or quality of quota levels. Extends through 1985: (1) specified reporting and recordkeeping requirements; and (2) preservation of unused allotments provisions. Provides for loans and purchases of the: (1) 1982 crop at not less than $600 per ton; and (2) 1983-1985 crops at the level of the preceding year, adjusted for production costs. Prohibits marketing associations other than the three area associations selected by the Secretary from receiving storage loans or performing administrative or supervisory activities. Title VIII: Soybeans - Establishes the soybean price support program under the category of "basic agricultural commodity" for the 1982-1985 crop years. Provides for loans and purchases of the 1982-1985 soybean crops at not less than $5.02 per bushel. Authorizes the Secretary to lower such level ten percent each year (but not below $4.50 per bushel) if the previous year's average market price was not in excess of 105 percent of the loan rate for that year. States that soybeans are ineligible for the producer storage reserve program and the production adjustment control program. Title IX: Other Commodities - Establishes the sugar beet and sugar cane, and sunflower seed support programs under the category of "basic agricultural commodity" for the 1982-1985 crop years. Establishes a loan rate for sugar: (1) of 19.6 cents per pound; and (2) for the 1983-1985 crops based on production costs for the two preceding years. Provides for loans and purchases of oil sunflower seeds at not less than $9.00 per hundredweight. Title X: General and Miscellaneous Commodity Provisions - Continues current disaster and nondisaster payment limitations for wheat, feed grains, rice, and upland cotton through 1985. Continues and modifies the producer storage program for wheat and feed grains as follows: (1) provides an entry loan rate for grains at the higher of 110 percent of the loan rate or $3.85 per bushel for wheat and $2.80 per bushel for corn; (2) provides a minimum resale price for Commodity Credit Corporation stocks at 105 percent of the price levels at which the market rate interest rates are invoked; (3) authorizes the Secretary to waive storage charges and interest on support loans, to vary the size of the reserve, and to cancel early-release penalties, halt storage payments, and impose market rate interest under specified circumstances. Extends the special grazing and hay program through 1985. Authorizes the Secretary to: (1) provide for set-asides for the 1982-1985 wheat and feed grain crops as a result of executive export restrictions; (2) reduce accumulated interest charges on Commodity Credit Corporation loans in order to discourage loan defaults; and (3) transfer Department funds in plant or animal disease emergencies. Continues normally planted acreage requirements for the 1982-1985 wheat and feed grain crops (but not for rice and upland cotton) but bases such acreage on the preceding two years. Title XI: National Agricultural Cost of Production Standards Review Board - Establishes the National Agricultural Cost of Production Standards Review Board. Requires the Board to report annually to the House and Senate Agriculture Committees. Authorizes necessary appropriations. Makes the authority provided in this title applicable for the 1982-1985 crop years. Title XII: Export Provisions - Amends the Agricultural Trade Development and Assistance Act of 1954 (Public Law 480) to: (1) extend the program through December 31, 1985; (2) increase the annual ceiling; and (3) include other alcoholic beverages in addition to wine and beer within the authorization for overseas market development. Amends the Food and Agriculture Act of 1977 to require the loan rate to be set at 90 percent of parity for any executive embargo not based on national security, and at a level not less than the average market price during the 15 days preceding the embargo if based solely on national security. Exempts commodities if an embargo would reduce annual export tonnage by less than two percent. Waives interest charges on loans adjusted during an embargo and provides for payment of storage charges to producers. Directs the Secretary to report within six months to the Congress on the potential for increased food use of protein byproducts derived from alcohol fuel production. Expresses the sense of Congress that any agreement by the United States for foreign sales of wheat, corn, soybeans, or feed grains provide for a price of not less than the cost of production. Title XIII: Food Stamp and Commodity Distribution Amendments of 1981 - Food Stamp and Commodity Distribution Amendments of 1981 - Amends the Food Stamp Act of 1977 and the Agriculture and Consumer Protection Act of 1973 to extend such programs through fiscal year 1985. Modifies the food stamp plan to: (1) repeal the October 1-December 31 update of the Thrifty Food Plan based on projected food costs that was scheduled to take place as of January 1 of each year starting in 1982; (2) reduce the gross income eligibility ceiling to 130 percent of the poverty level; (3) repeal increases in dependent care deductions for working adults and medical deductions for the elderly, blind, and disabled scheduled to take effect on October 1, 1981; (4) require retrospective accounting for determining ongoing program eligibility and allotments for all but migrant farm worker households on a nationwide basis by October 1, 1983; (5) require monthly reporting to accompany implementation of retrospective accounting for all households with earned income (except migrant farmworker households) or receiving unemployment compensation or required to register for work or required to file monthly reports for AFDC, but not households in which all members are elderly, blind, or disabled or who reside in States with the lowest error rates; (6) impose an authorization ceiling for fiscal years 1982, 1983, 1984, and 1985 fixed at $10,010,000,000, $10,345,000,000, $10,290,000,000, and $10,480,000,000, respectively; (7) raise the authorization ceiling for fiscal year 1981 to $11,480,000,000 to accommodate program needs; (8) require the Secretary to permit any political subdivision that wishes to do so in return for a 50 percent share of workfare administrative costs and that agrees to comply with the Secretary's guidelines, to administer a workfare program in which non-exempt food stamp recipients must work for the subdivision at the Federal minimum hourly wage rate (or State rate, if higher), payable in the form of food stamps; (9) require parents and children who are living together to be treated as one household unless one parent is 60 years of age or older; (10) eliminate all boarders from participation in the program; (11) eliminate establishments that do only a marginal staple food business, such as bars, gas stations, party stores, and carryout shops, from the program unless they are the only food store in the immediate area; (12) permit Alaska to have a distinct Thrifty Food Plan for its rural areas; (13) reduce the adjustment of the standard deduction and the dependent care/excess shelter deduction cap by deleting reliance upon the homeownership component in the housing costs of the Consumer Price Index; (14) deny deductions for any expenses paid on a household's behalf by a third party and require the income and resources (over a floor) of sponsors of certain aliens to be deemed available to those aliens in order to determine the aliens' eligibility and benefits; (15) give the Secretary flexibility to alter the complex accounting standards for ascertaining the value of licensed vehicles; (16) extend disqualification from the program after hearing (a) from fraud to the making of false or misleading statements or misrepresentations or concealing or withholding facts, (b) expand the use of allotment reduction to recover non-fraud overissuance arising from agency error, and (c) permit States to retain 50 percent of all misrepresentation claims collected; (17) (a) extend program disqualification for voluntarily quitting a job to current program participants, (b) extend sanctions for noncompliance with the food stamp work registration requirement to food stamp participants who fail to satisfy an AFDC-WIN or unemployment compensation work requirement, and (c) make work registration an annual requirement; (18) disqualify strikers and the households to which they belong from participating in the food stamp program (unless they were eligible to participate prior to the strike); (19) make States strictly liable for issuance losses and provide liability for negligent failures in certain other areas of State agency administrative responsibility; (20) prevent households that apply to participate in the program and are declared to be eligible from receiving any stamps for that part of the month prior to the date on which they filed their application; (21) end the 60-day transfer provision permitting benefits to follow a household moving from one political subdivision to another in an uninterrupted fashion; (22) terminate the basic mandate to perform outreach; (23) allow States flexibility to provide households with a notice of expiration of their certification periods up to 30 days before the start of the last month of a six month or longer certification period; (24) limit provision for expedited food stamp benefits within three working days of application to applicant households with $150 or less in gross income a month and liquid assets of $100 or less and to applicant households whose only income for ten days after filing an application is $25 or less from a new source of income and who also meet the $100 liquid assets test; (25) end the Department's liability to restore food stamps to households that have wrongfully been denied them or terminated from the program if the benefits were lost more than one year prior to a household's request for restoration; (26) require the State agency to request and utilize for certification purposes household members' wage and benefit information available from the Social Security Administration and State unemployment compensation agencies; (27) require the Secretary to allow political subdivisions to use certified mail in issuing food stamps to reduce mail theft and loss; (28) clarify the Secretary's authority to determine the amount of and settle or adjust any claim, including claims filed against State agencies for issuance losses; (29) end the imposition of staffing standards upon the States; (30) require States to meet the Secretary's standard for improper denials and terminations in order to receive 55 percent Federal funding of administrative costs and further require all States with error rates over five percent to develop corrective action plans; (31) mandate obtaining a household's Social Security number as a prerequisite to participation; (32) extend pilot cash-out projects for four years at State option and expand possible cash-outs to include AFDC families; (33) provide contract and grant authority to develop means for continuous nutritional monitoring of high-risk populations; (34) require certain studies of various accounting and reporting methods; (35) provide penalties for the fraudulent misuse of commodities; (36) provide authority for pilot projects using the commodity supplemental feeding program for low-income elderly persons; and (37) prevent current Supplemental Security Income cash-out States from reverting to food stamps. Title XIV: National Agricultural Research, Extension, and Teaching Policy Act Amendments of 1981 - National Agricultural Research, Extension, and Teaching Policy Act Amendments of 1981 - Amends the National Agricultural Research, Extension, and Teaching Policy Act of 1977 to revise the Congressional findings and purposes of such Act to give greater emphasis to the role of State agricultural extension services in research and teaching in the food and agricultural sciences. Extends from five to eight years the term of the Joint Council on Food and Agricultural Sciences. Increases membership to at least 25 persons. Establishes three-year, staggered terms for such members. Extends from five to eight years the term of the National Agricultural Research and Extension Users Advisory Board. Increases membership from 21 to 25 persons. Establishes staggered terms for such members. Changes the due dates of the Board's: (1) annual recommendations to the Secretary from October 31 to July 1; and (2) appraisal of the President's budget from March 1 to February 20. Specifies as part of the staff of six full-time professionals assisting the Joint Council and the Users Advisory Board: (1) an executive secretary for each entity; and (2) an executive director to serve both. Authorizes the Secretary to establish cooperative human nutrition centers to focus on high-priority nutrition problems. Changes the due date of the Secretary's annual agricultural research report from February 1 to January 1. States that the Department of Agriculture should establish working relationships with foreign information and data systems as part of the policy of Congress. Provides for the appointment of an Assistant Secretary of Agriculture to carry out agricultural research, extension, and teaching. Authorizes specified appropriations through fiscal year 1985 for competitive agricultural research grants. Makes land grant college research foundations and veterinary colleges eligible for special grants. Changes the emphasis of facilities grants from purchasing equipment, land, and supplies to renovating existing buildings and limited new construction. Makes forestry schools and 1890 land grant colleges eligible for such grants. Authorizes specified appropriations for research facilities grants for fiscal years 1982-1985. Revises guidelines for higher education food and agricultural sciences grants. Transfers functions of the Secretary of Education under the Bankhead-Jones Act and the Morrill Act to the Secretary. Authorizes specified appropriations for fiscal years 1982-1985. Extends the research grant program in alcohol fuels and industrial hydrocarbons through fiscal year 1985. Limits the total amount institutions in any one State may receive to $5,000,000. Changes the due date of the assessment of the value and costs of food and human nutrition research centers. Requires the Secretaries of Health and Human Services and of Agriculture to jointly formulate such report. Extends limited authorizations of appropriations ($25,000,000 annually) through fiscal year 1985 for animal health and disease research. Increases and extends through fiscal year 1985 the annual limit on authorizations of appropriations for national and regional animal health and disease research. Limits the duration of such grants to five years. Directs the Secretary to establish priority lists annually for such grants. Sets forth guidelines for such determinations. Extends and increases funding for 1890 land grant colleges (including Tuskegee Institute) through fiscal year 1982. Permits administrative funds to be used for transportation to research meetings of scientists who are not Federal employees. Establishes a dairy goat research program. Authorizes appropriations for fiscal years 1982-1985. Authorizes the Secretary to provide technical assistance (on a reimbursable basis) to U.S. institutions involved in international agricultural research and extension. Authorizes specified appropriations for fiscal years 1982-1985 for: (1) existing agricultural programs; (2) State agricultural experiment stations; and (3) extension education. Requires at least 25 percent of research and grant funds to be appropriated for Hatch Act State experiment stations beginning with fiscal year 1984. Provides that funds made available by the Secretary under specified Acts shall not be subject to reduction for indirect costs incurred by the recipient. Authorizes the Secretary to: (1) establish an aquaculture research and extension program; (2) make grants to colleges and universities, Federal laboratories, and experiment stations; and (3) assist States (up to $50,000) in formulating aquaculture development plans. Directs the Secretary to: (1) report annually to the President and to the House and Senate Committees on Agriculture and Appropriations; and (2) establish an Aquaculture Advisory Board. Authorizes specified appropriations through fiscal year 1985. Authorizes the Secretary to: (1) establish a rangeland research program on a matching grant basis; and (2) make grants to colleges and universities, Federal laboratories, and experiment stations. Directs the Secretary to: (1) report annually to the President and to the House and Senate Committees on Agriculture and Appropriations; and (2) establish a Rangeland Advisory Board. Authorizes appropriations not to exceed $10,000,000 annually for fiscal years 1982-1985. Amends the McIntire-Stennis Act of 1962 to direct the Secretary to appoint an advisory forestry council. Amends the Federal Property and Administrative Services Act of 1949 to permit the Secretary to furnish excess Federal property to State or county extension services, 1890 land grant colleges, and State experiment stations. Makes the provisions of this title effective as of October 1, 1981. Title XV: Credit, Rural Development, and Family Farms - Amends the Consolidated Farm and Rural Development Act to permit cooperatives to receive Farmers Home Administration (FHA) loans if unable to otherwise get credit. Removes the five percent interest ceiling on FHA water and waste disposal and essential community facility loans. Directs the Secretary to set such rates, but not in excess of current market yields of comparable municipal obligations. Limits such rates to a maximum of five percent in low income areas. Provides: (1) for a two percent interest penalty on specified loans for nonfarm construction on prime farmland if optional sites are available; and (2) that interest rates on operating and ownership loans to limited resource borrowers shall be determined by the Secretary, but not at less than five percent nor more than one-half the average market value of comparable municipal obligations (currently a five percent ceiling). States that the above loan provisions shall apply as of fiscal year 1982. Amends the Emergency Agricultural Credit Adjustment Act of 1978 to extend the FHA economic emergency loan program through fiscal year 1982. Amends the Commodity Credit Corporation Charter Act regarding farm storage facility loans to: (1) extend such program through fiscal year 1985; (2) make the duration of such loans between eight and ten years; (3) base facility size on the space required to store two years' production; (4) make such loans in amounts not less than 80 percent of total construction costs, not to exceed $100,000; (5) set interest rates equal to the interest charged to the Commodity Credit Corporation by the Treasury plus up to one percent; and (6) provide that the loans shall be deducted from the proceeds of price support loans on purchase agreements. Amends the Rural Electrification Act of 1936 to: (1) extend for ten years and increase the annual authorization of appropriations for U.S. class A stock purchases of the Rural Telephone Bank; (2) change the date for retiring stock previously purchased by the United States from September 30, 1985 until September 30, 1995; (3) require that loans guaranteed by the Rural Electrification Administration (REA) be made by the Federal Financing Bank upon borrower request; and (4) remove the special two percent insured loan interest rate to electric and telephone borrowers, but permit interest rates on such loans of between two and five percent in situations of financial hardship or inability to provide service without utility rate increases. Amends the Food and Agriculture Act of 1977 to require the Secretary to include in his annual report to Congress an assessment of how Federal tax, credit, and other laws affect the growth of nonfamily farm operations. Title XVI: Conservation - Directs the Secretary to establish a program to provide increased financial and technical assistance to landowners and operators in the most seriously eroding areas of the country, as designated by the Secretary. Requires a participant to furnish a plan which: (1) incorporates erosion conservation measures; (2) includes a schedule for carrying out such measures; (3) considers local conditions; (4) allows for varying levels of application as appropriate; (5) may include wildlife and recreation enhancement; and (6) is to be developed in cooperation with, and approved by, the local soil and water conservation district. Requires: (1) a participant to forfeit further payments and reimburse the United States for payments received upon violation of the agreement; and (2) the Secretary to share the cost of such conservation measures. Authorizes the Secretary to enter into contracts to maintain already established conservation measures. Sets forth guidelines for special area determinations. Authorizes such designations for ten-year periods. Limits to a term of ten years any contract entered into during the ten years following such a designation. Requires approval by the House and Senate Agriculture Committees of all project areas designated by the Secretary. Authorizes the Secretary to provide grants to any State having lands within a designated special area to evaluate the impact of State and local tax structures on conservation measures. Authorizes necessary appropriations. Requires the Secretary to submit an evaluation to Congress by January 1, 1986, and at five-year intervals thereafter. Directs the Secretary to establish a matching grant program with local governmental units through State soil conservation agencies. Requires local participants to: (1) have a long-range program in effect; (2) have an annual work plan consistent with such program in effect; and (3) have matching fund sources available. Authorizes necessary appropriations through fiscal year 1991. Requires the Secretary to report to the House and Senate Agriculture Committees by January 1, 1986, and again by January 1, 1991. States that such grants shall be made to augment rather than replace other Department of Agriculture technical and financial assistance programs. Amends the Commodity Credit Corporation Charter Act to direct the Corporation, beginning with fiscal year 1982, to make loans for natural resource conservation and environmental specified county and State conservation committees as part of an overall local plan. Provides with regard to such loans that: (1) loan duration shall not exceed ten years, with interest rates based upon interest charged to the Corporation by the Treasury; (2) annual loans to an individual shall not exceed $25,000; and (3) loans over $10,000 must be secured. Directs the Secretary to establish a volunteer program for conservation work without regard to Civil Service requirements. Deems such volunteers to be Federal employees for purposes of injury and tort compensation. Authorizes necessary appropriations. Authorizes the Secretary to establish a program to test the feasibility of reducing excessive reservoir sedimentation in areas having watershed soil erosion problems. Requires approval by the House and Senate Agriculture Committees before implementing any program. Authorizes necessary appropriations for fiscal years 1983-1987. Requires the Secretary to report to Congress by January 1, 1987. Authorizes the Secretary to empower soil and water district boards to disapprove producers' designation of land under any set-aside or diversion program if such lands will make a less than average contribution to soil conservation compared with other lands that could have been so designated. Authorizes the Secretary to provide financial assistance to owners and operators in certain cold climates who remove land from production for up to one year in order to install conservation measures involving excavation. Requires approval of local soil and water conservation boards. Prohibits such assistance in any one year of more than one-half of one percent of a county's cropland. Authorizes necessary appropriations. Reaffirms the importance of agriculture and encourages the Secretary to cooperate with other Federal agencies in developing policies that recognize the importance of limiting agricultural conversions. Directs the Secretary and the Director of the Office of Management and Budget to report to Congress within one year of enactment of this Act concerning the retention of productive agricultural lands. Encourages the Secretary to provide related information to State, local and nonprofit entities. Directs the Secretary to develop agricultural land resource information. Declares that rural areas are facing resource utilization, economic, and social problems. Directs the Secretary to establish a resource conservation and development program of technical and financial assistance to States, local governmental units, and nonprofit organizations for rural planning. Sets forth the terms of such agreements. Authorizes necessary appropriations. Requires the Secretary to report to Congress by December 31, 1986. Directs the Secretary to establish a Resource Conservation and Development Policy Board. Makes the provisions of this title effective as of October 1, 1981.
United States · United States Congress · 6 May 1981
Amends the Internal Revenue Code to exclude from gross income interest earned on certificates of deposit issued by banks, certain savings institutions, or credit unions. Requires such certificates to be issued between June 30, 1981 and July 31, 1982, to have a one year maturity, and to bear interest at a rate not greater than 70 percent of the average yield of U.S. Treasury bills. Limits the amount of such exclusion to $1,000 ($2,000 for joint returns).
United States · United States Congress · 30 April 1981
Title I: Short Title, Findings, and Purposes - National Minerals Security Act of 1981 - Sets forth findings and purposes. Title II: Mineral and Material Planning and Availability - Establishes the Council on Materials and Minerals to develop and implement a national minerals and materials policy. Title III: Domestic Mineral Resource Potential - Directs the Secretary of the Interior to: (1) review land use plans developed under the Federal Land Policy and Management Act of 1976; (2) consider the suitability of such public lands for mineral location and leasing; and (3) revise such plans accordingly. Requires any land use plan prepared under such Act and any review and any review conducted under this Act to: (1) contain an estimate of potential mineral resources; and (2) consider the development and extraction of any significant mineral deposit as a dominant use. Directs the Secretary to determine the number of acres of Federal lands withdrawn, classified, restricted, or closed to mineral location or leasing and the number of acres of land made available for mineral location and leasing under this title and to report the results to Congress. Requires the Secretary to publish a notice in the Federal Register at least once every two years requesting the nomination of lands withdrawn, classified, restricted, or closed to be reviewed. Requires the Secretary to review lands nominated by any person to determine the suitability of such lands for mineral location or leasing. Extends the December 31, 1983, mining expiration date in the Wilderness Act to December 31, 1993. Title IV: Mineral and Material Data Acquisition and Analysis - Directs the Secretary to transfer the State Mining and Mineral Resources and Research Institutes to the administrative jurisdiction of the Bureau of Mines. Makes the Bureau the principal Federal agency for mineral data collection, compilation, analysis, and dissemination. Requires the Bureau and the U.S. Geological Survey to undertake stated activities directed towards ensuring an adequate supply of minerals and materials. Title V: Capital Formation and Taxation - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to: (1) define air or water pollution control facilities for purposes of the exclusion of interest on industrial development bonds; and (2) permit a deduction for the amortization of the amortizable basis of a pollution control facility, based on any amortization period of from one to 60 months. Title VI: Regulatory Reform - Amends the Administrative Procedure Act to require that notice of a proposed rule published in the Federal Register include: (1) a statement of the need for and objectives of the proposed rule; and (2) a description of all reasonable alternative public or private means for achieving the objectives of the proposed rule, together with an explanation of how the proposed rule achieves the objectives at lower cost or with fewer adverse effects than the alternatives. Requires an agency, after giving notice and giving interested persons the opportunity to participate in the rulemaking process, to conduct additional proceedings if the comments received from those interested reveal that there are disputed factual issues. Requires such proceedings to include informal public hearings, meetings or conferences, mediation, presentation of witnesses for direct and cross-examination, and additional opportunity for preparation of written rebuttals to any materials required in the notice of proposed rulemaking. Title VII: National Defense Stockpile - Amends the Strategic and Critical Materials Stock Piling Act to require that all moneys received from the sale of materials in the National Defense Stockpile be transferred to the National Defense Stockpile Transaction Fund and be available only to acquire strategic and critical materials. Title VIII: Antitrust Restrictions - Directs the Attorney General to review antitrust laws, rules, and regulations to determine the extent to which they are consistent with the policy of this Act. Title IX: Foreign Policy - Directs the Secretary of the Interior to: (1) conduct an analysis of the foreign mineral and materials information requirements and resources of all executive branch departments and agencies; (2) direct the centralization of responsibility for the maintenance of a coordinated repository of foreign mineral, material, and related information in the Bureau of Mines; and (3) ensure that the Bureau maintains its foreign mineral, material, related information repository to be responsive to the information needs of all Federal agencies. Amends the Mining and Minerals Policy Act of 1970 to require the Secretary of State to report annually to the Secretary of the Interior concerning foreign policy as it relates to the availability of minerals for domestic use.
United States · United States Congress · 30 April 1981
Noninstitutional Long-Term Care Services for the Elderly and Disabled Act - Amends the Social Security Act by adding a new title, title XXI (Noninstitutional Acute and Long-Term Care Services for the Elderly and the Disabled), to provide a comprehensive system of noninstitutional health, developmental, and social services for individuals with chronic disabilities. Entitles an eligible individual to the following benefits: (1) home health services; (2) homemaker-home health aide services; (3) adult day services; (4) respite care services for up to 14 days, or 336 hours, in any year; (5) service coordination; (6) home help services; and (7) other services, provided on a demonstration basis, which the Secretary of Health and Human Services determines may be of value. Sets forth definitions of such benefits. Provides benefits to every individual who: (1) has attained age 65; (2) is disabled and eligible for benefits under titles II (Old-Age, Survivors and Disability Insurance), XVI (Supplemental Security Income), XVIII (Medicare), and XIX (Medicaid) of the Act; (3) was eligible for such benefits and ceased to be so eligible, but only if loss of benefits would seriously jeopardize such individual's ability to continue to live in a noninstitutional community residence and such individual's income is not sufficient to allow such individual to provide a reasonable equivalent of the services available under this Act; or (4) has been certified as eligible by the Secretary of Health and Human Services. States that no eligible individual shall be eligible to receive any benefits under title XXI or any long-term care benefits under titles XVIII, XIX, or XX (Grants to States for Services) of the Act unless such individual has a plan of care, as specified in this Act, and has been screened and assessed by a preadmission assessment and screening team (PAT) in order to determine the types and frequency of services required by such individual and in order to assure the maximum level of independence for such individual. Requires the Governor of each State to designate the State agency or agencies which shall administer or supervise the administration of the States' PAT program. Directs such agency or agencies to designate the PAT. Directs the Secretary to reimburse any PAT, and any State, for the reasonable costs incurred under this Act. Requires beneficiaries under title XXI to make copayments. Sets limits based on income for such copayments. Exempts those below the poverty line from copayments. Directs the Secretary to pay amounts for benefits incurred by an eligible individual in accordance with specified guidelines. Creates the Federal Long-Term Care Trust Fund into which specified funds will be deposited in order to make the payments required by this Act. Coordinates the provisions of this Act with titles XVIII, XIX, and XX of the Act by providing that no payment shall be made under such titles to or on behalf of an individual who is eligible under title XXI for services available under title XXI, unless the individual seeking coverage first undergoes a preadmission screening and assessment as provided in title XXI. States that this Act shall be effective between January 1, 1982, and December 31, 1987. Directs the Secretary to monitor the effects of this Act and report to Congress. Directs the Comptroller General to conduct an ongoing evaluation of the effects of this Act and to report to Congress.
United States · United States Congress · 29 April 1981
Title I: Amendments to Title 18, United States Code (18 U.S.C. 921-928) - Amends the Gun Control Act of 1968 to redefine: (1) "manufacturer" to mean any person engaged in the "business of manufacturing" (instead of "manufacture" of) firearms or ammunition; and (2) "dealer" to exclude dealers in ammunition. Adds a new definition "engaged in the business" with respect to manufacturers, dealers, and importers. Defines as a manufacturer or dealer of firearms a person who manufactures or deals as a regular course of trade or business with the principal objective of livelihood and profit. Excludes as dealers persons making occasional sales or repairs of firearms. Eliminates certain activities involving ammunition from the coverage of the current prohibitions. Makes it unlawful for any person to transfer any firearm to a person who does not reside in the same State, if the transferor has reasonable cause to believe that acquisition of the firearm by such person would violate any State or local law or ordinance. Revises the current prohibition against certain classes of persons transporting a firearm or ammunition in interstate commerce to extend such prohibition to possession or receipt in commerce or affecting commerce of any firearm or ammunition. Includes as additional categories illegal aliens, dishonorably discharged members of the Armed Forces, and U.S. citizens who renounce their citizenship. Excludes ammunition dealers from the current licensing requirements. Stipulates that a licensed dealer's personal collection of firearms shall not be subject to recordkeeping requirements. Permits the Secretary of the Treasury to revoke a license only where the holder "willfully" violates a provision of the Act. Bars the Secretary from denying or revoking a license on the basis of violations which are alleged in criminal proceedings instituted against a licensee, where such individual is not convicted of such charges. Imposes as a condition for the inspection or examination of records, documents, firearms, or ammunition that the Secretary has probable cause to believe that a violation has occurred and that evidence may be found on the premises. Restricts the firearms information obtained from licensees which the Secretary may make available to State or local governments. Establishes a limited recordkeeping requirement for firearms collectors. Establishes a "willful" scienter (knowledge) requirement with respect to general violations of the Act. Revises the current offense of using or carrying a firearm during commission of a Federal felony to: (1) include use of a destructive device; (2) delete the act of "carrying" a firearm to commit a felony; and (3) limit such offense to felonies over which the Federal courts have exclusive jurisdiction. Retains the current penalty (one to ten years) for first offenses. Increases the penalty for second or subsequent offenses to five to 25 years' imprisonment (currently, two to 25 years). Extends to first offenders the stipulations, currently applicable only to second offenders, that the court not suspend any sentence or grant probation. Deletes the prohibition against concurrent sentences. Prohibits the granting of parole to first and subsequent offenders. Stipulates that no person shall be subject to the additional, mandatory penalties if use of the firearm or destructive device was to protect person or property. Amends the forfeiture provision to subject to seizure any firearm or ammunition "involved in or used" in any violation of the Act (instead of "involved in or used or intended to be used"). Directs the court to award attorney fees to the prevailing party (other than the United States) in a proceeding for the return of seized firearms or ammunition. Requires the court to award such fees in any other action upon a finding that the action was without foundation or was initiated in bad faith. Limits seizure to firearms individually identified as involved in the violation. Revises the current procedure allowing persons who have been convicted of a crime to apply to the Secretary for relief from the firearms prohibitions to make the following changes. Permits any person prohibited from possessing, shipping, transporting, or receiving firearms or ammunition to apply for relief. Requires, instead of permits, the Secretary to grant release, unless the applicant will be likely to act in a manner dangerous to public safety. Permits any person who is denied relief to seek de novo judicial review in Federal court. Makes the authority of the Secretary to permit importation of certain types of firearms and ammunition nondiscretionary. Extends the types of sporting firearms which may be imported. Amends the rulemaking authority of the Secretary to provide that no regulation may require the transfer of records required under this Act to a facility owned, managed, or controlled by the United States or any State or the establishment of any system of registration of firearms, firearms owners, or firearms transactions. Requires a 90-day public comment period for proposed regulations (no period is currently specified). Establishes a Congressional veto procedure with respect to firearms regulations. Authorizes either House of Congress to adopt a resolution of disapproval within 90 days of the rule's promulgation. Prohibits the Secretary from prescribing regulations which require purchasers of black powder to complete affidavits or forms attesting to their exemption from certain provisions of the Federal criminal code. Makes any law or regulation promulgated by any State prohibiting the transfer of an unloaded and not readily accessible firearm or ammunition null and void. Title II: Amendments to title VII of the Omnibus Crime Control and Safe Streets Act of 1968 - Repeals title VII of the Omnibus Crime Control and Safe Streets Act (relating to the receipt, possession, or transportation of firearms by felons, veterans dishonorably discharged, mental incompetents, illegal aliens, and persons renouncing their United States citizenship).
United States · United States Congress · 29 April 1981
Amends the Agricultural Act of 1949 to establish a price support program (of not less than 44 percent of parity) for the 1982-1985 sugar beet and sugar cane crops.
United States · United States Congress · 28 April 1981
Malt Beverage Interbrand Competition Act - Declares that no antitrust law shall prohibit the importer, brewer, or trademark licensee of a trademarked malt beverage from entering into an agreement granting a wholesale distributor the exclusive right to sell such beverage within any defined geographic area within a State, or limiting such distributor to the sale of such beverage for ultimate resale to consumers in that area, when such beverage has substantial competition from other malt beverages in that area. Declares that this Act shall not affect any provision of State law.
United States · United States Congress · 10 April 1981
Energy Mobilization Act of 1981 - Title I: General Provisions - Declares that the purposes of this Act are to improve the United States' balance of payments, reduce the threat of economic disruption from oil supply interruptions, and reduce U.S. dependence on imported oil by establishing a process for expediting agency action with respect to priority energy projects designed to facilitate energy conservation, production, and research and development. Defines the terms used in this Act. Excludes from coverage under this Act nuclear energy projects. Title II: Council on Energy Mobilization - Directs the President to establish within the Executive Office of the President a Council on Energy Mobilization to carry out this Act. Empowers the Council to issue subpoenas. Requires the Council to provide Congress with any information it may request. Directs the Council, upon designation of any energy project as a priority energy project, to notify the Governor of each State in which such project is or may be located. Authorizes each such Governor to appoint a nonvoting representative to participate in matters respecting such project. Title III: Priority Energy Projects - Directs the Council to establish procedures for submission of applications to the Council for an order designating an energy project as a priority energy project. Permits any person planning or proposing an energy project to apply to the Council for a priority designation. Directs the Council to publish a notice in the Federal Register of any applications filed and make such applications available for public inspection and comment. Requires the Council to designate a project as a priority energy project, reject the application, or determine additional time is needed to consider the application within 60 days of receipt of an application. Requires publication of such Council decisions in the Federal Register. Directs the Council to publish in the Federal Register a Project Decision Schedule for all Federal agency decisions and actions relating to a priority energy project within 30 days of a priority designation. Requires the Council to negotiate and enter into written cooperative agreements, where possible, with affected non-Federal agencies to establish deadlines for non-Federal agency decisions or actions on a Project Decision Schedule. Limits Project Decision Schedules to 12 months, with specified exceptions. Authorizes the Council to establish special procedures in the Project Decision Schedule for any Federal agency subject to such schedule designed to consolidate agency procedures, eliminate unnecessary duplication, and provide uniformity. Directs the Council to request affected non-Federal agencies to suggest a timetable for their actions with respect to priority energy projects. Directs the Council on Environmental Quality (CEQ) to determine if a Federal agency decision or action with respect to a priority energy project will be a major Federal action significantly affecting the environment and to designate, if necessary, a lead agency to supervise the preparation of an environmental impact statement. Authorizes the Council to make such determination or designation if the CEQ fails to do so before establishment of the Project Decision Schedule. Permits all Federal agencies governed by a Project Decision Schedule to establish special procedures to aid them in meeting the deadlines under such schedules. Directs the Council to monitor compliance by the agencies and the project with a Project Decision Schedule. Authorizes the Council to modify a Project Decision Schedule at any time. Empowers the President to act upon Council recommendation, in lieu of any Federal agency which fails to make a decision or take action within the time required by a Project Decision Schedule. Permits a Project sponsor to bring an action in U.S. district court to require compliance if a Federal agency has failed or is likely to fail to comply with a Project Decision Schedule. Grants the Temporary Emergency Court of Appeals exclusive jurisdiction to review all rulings of such district court. Permits the Council to terminate a priority designation at any time. States that such a termination renders this Act no longer applicable to such project. Permits reapplication for a priority designation. Title IV: Judicial Review - Sets forth procedures governing judicial review by the Temporary Emergency Court of Appeals of actions with respect to priority energy projects. Makes judgments or orders by the Temporary Emergency Court of Appeals subject to review by the Supreme Court under certain circumstances. Limits any grant of temporary injunctive relief to 120 days. Specifies the types of actions over which the Temporary Emergency Court of Appeals shall have original and exclusive civil jurisdiction, as well as those actions which shall not be subject to judicial review. Title V: Application of New Federal Statutes or Regulations to Priority Energy Projects - Permits the sponsor of a priority energy project to petition the Council for relief from any Federal law or regulation enacted or issued after the date of the priority designation but before commercial operation begins which would substantially impede project completion. Authorizes the Council to recommend to the President the suspension of final regulations or statutes as they apply to such a project. Permits such a suspension only upon Council determination that it would not threaten public health or safety and only for a period of up to ten years. Requires a separate suspension for each Federal statute affected. Makes each suspension granted applicable to only one priority energy project. Prohibits suspensions which: (1) relate to labor standards, civil rights, securities laws, the Internal Revenue Code, or antitrust laws; (2) violate a primary air quality standard under the Clean Air Act; (3) abridge any person's Constitutional rights; (4) contravene any interstate compact, State or local law, or Federal contract relating to water rights; or (5) suspend, modify, or amend any Federal, State, or local criminal code. Title VI: Miscellaneous Provisions - Directs the Council to report annually to Congress on the current status of its activities, on the status of each priority energy project, and on energy projects which are being delayed for any reason. Requires an annual report to Congress which contains a comprehensive list and analysis of all Federal laws that significantly hinder energy project completion. States that this Act shall not affect State law governing the appropriation, use, or diversion of water. Authorizes appropriations to carry out this Act.
United States · United States Congress · 9 April 1981
Makes price support, marketing quota, base acreage allotment, and related provisions of the Agricultural Adjustment Act of 1938 inapplicable to the 1982 through 1985 crops of upland cotton. Amends the Agricultural Act of 1949 to: (1) extend the nonrecourse loan program through 1985; (2) revise the standard for determining cotton loan levels (from Strict Middling one and one-sixteenth inch to Middling one and three-thirty seconds inch cotton C.I.F. Northern Europe); and (3) raise the minimum loan level from 48 cents to 55 cents per pound. Declares that any upland cotton imported during a special import quota period shall be duty-free. Extends the disaster payment program for cotton through 1985. Denies eligibility for such payments to any person in a county in which crop insurance is generally offered. Changes the deadline for announcement of the national program acreage from December 15 to November 1. Authorizes the Secretary of Agriculture to limit, on a uniform basis to all cotton-producing farms, the acreage planted to cotton if the Secretary determines that the total supply will otherwise likely be excessive. Directs the Secretary to require acreage set-asides only if such acreage limitations are in effect (currently, the Secretary must require set-asides upon determining the likelihood of an excessive supply.) Eliminates compliance with the set-aside program as a condition for loan eligibility. Directs the Secretary to delegate to State and county committees his present authority to make loans, purchases, and payments with respect to a non-complying producer on an equitable basis in relation to the seriousness of default. Prohibits the making of regulations which condition loans and payments on cross-compliance and offsetting-compliance procedures. Directs the Secretary to make available recourse loans on seed cotton to encourage and assist producers in orderly ginning and marketing. Extends through July 31. 1986 the Commodity Credit Corporation's present authority to sell upland cotton at not less than 115 percent of the loan rate. States that the permanent State, county, and farm base acreage allotments for the 1977 crop of upland cotton, as adjusted for under plantings in 1977, shall again become effective as preliminary allotments for the 1986 crop. Requires the Secretary to carry out a special price support or loan program through the Commodity Credit Corporation whenever the Executive Branch of the Federal Government suspends, for any reason other than a national emergency, the commercial export sales of upland cotton to any country or area with which the United States otherwise continues commercial trade. Limits such programs to instances where the country or area in question imported more than three percent of total cotton exports in the two years preceding such suspension. Prescribes formulae to assure producers, through payments or interest free loans, the export prices they would have received in the absence of such suspension. Directs the Secretary, through the Corporation, to compensate U.S. firms for losses incurred with respect to cotton and cotton product sales contracts canceled due to such suspension. Directs the Secretary to establish in the Corporation a revolving fund for financing export credit sales of cotton in accordance with GSM-5 (42 FR 10999). Requires the Secretary to provide for, and credit to such fund, all repayments on export sales of cotton made under GSM-5.
United States · United States Congress · 7 April 1981
Amends the Mineral Land Leasing Act of 1920 and the Mineral Leasing Act for Acquired Lands to expand the application of such Acts to include gilsonite and all vein-type solid hydrocarbons. Authorizes the Secretary of the Interior to establish a lower aggregate acreage limitation for oil and gas leases in designated tar sand areas. Increases the size of units which may be leased within producing oil or gas fields if such fields are in designated tar sand areas. Directs the Secretary, under specified conditions, to extend a lease for not less than five years beyond its primary term in designated tar sand areas. Directs the Secretary to review, prior to the commencement of commercial operations, the royalty rates in each combined hydrocarbon lease issued in designated tar sand areas. Entitles the owner of an oil and gas lease issued prior to the date of enactment of the Combined Hydrocarbon Leasing Act of 1980 to convert such lease to a combined hydrocarbon lease for a primary term of five years. Authorizes the Secretary to permit the horizontal segregation of a combined hydrocarbon lease.
United States · United States Congress · 7 April 1981
Amends the Federal criminal code to specify prohibited activities with respect to the administration or use of a polygraph or other detection of deception examination on behalf of an employer engaged in business affecting interstate commerce. Forbids any such examination from including inquiries into the truthfulness or untruthfulness of an individual with respect to: (1) any event occurring more than seven years before the examination date; (2) any information or belief relating to any matter involving religion, race, politics, or labor organizations; and (3) any matter relating to sexual behavior, unless such behavior is related to job performance. Requires a person administering a polygraph or other detection of deception examination to an individual to: (1) provide such individual a verbatim statement of each question to be asked; (2) obtain the consent in writing of such individual; (3) inform such individual that no Federal law requires his participation; (4) provide such individual an opportunity to explain any reaction indicating emotional stress; and (5) use an instrument which records cardiovascular, respiratory, and galvanic skin responses patterns as minimum standards. Prohibits a person administering such an examination from: (1) refusing to provide the individual with a copy of any report or recommendation prepared for the employer on whose behalf the examination was administered; (2) disclosing the test results to anyone except the individual or employer in certain types of investigations; (3) intentionally preparing any misleading, biased, or falsified report or recommendation in connection with such examination; and (4) administering such examination surreptitiously.
United States · United States Congress · 1 April 1981
Directs the President to award a special gold medal to Fred Waring. Stipulates that funds may not be appropriated under this Act for any period before October 1, 1981.
United States · United States Congress · 31 March 1981
Amends the Bankruptcy Reform Act of 1978 to require the bankruptcy court, in the case of a bankruptcy petition filed by a person engaged in the business of operating a farm produce storage facility, to: (1) identify those farm producers who have produce in storage, and those parties which have secured interests in farm produce, within such facility; (2) audit the assets of the farm produce storage facility for the purpose of determining the extent of farm produce available for distribution to such producers and secured creditors; and (3) direct the abandonment of such farm produce according to procedures set forth by this Act. Declares that such procedures shall be applied by the court solely for the purpose of effectuating abandonment of farm produce which is not property of the estate, or is of inconsequential value to the estate, and shall not be construed to limit the right of any party to seek abandonment of any other property. Prohibits distribution of farm produce ordered abandoned by the court from being delayed due to the pendency of any appeal from the orders of abandonment, except that a stay of orders may be entered under specified conditions. Makes any such stay of orders appealable as of right by any aggrieved party. Grants to any person who has delivered agricultural products to a licensed warehouseman upon a contract for sale and who has not received the agreed upon payment a lien against products of like quantity, quality, and type, title to which may be then vested in such warehouseman, to the extent of the payment agreed upon for the purchase of the product sold. Attaches such lien at the time of the formation of the oral or written contract for sale and continues it until the obligations of the warehouseman to the seller of the products are satisfied.
United States · United States Congress · 26 March 1981
Amends the Mineral Leasing Act to revise the authority of the Secretary of the Interior to lease lands containing oil shale deposits. Permits such leases to exceed 5,120 acres of land if necessary to permit long-term commercial operations. Revises guidelines pertaining to the number of leases which may be issued to any one person, association, or corporation. Authorizes holders of oil shale leases to acquire additional leases for purposes, other than the removal of mineral deposits, connected with the development of an oil shale operation. Establishes guidelines for other lease provisions including environmental considerations, rent, and duration.
United States · United States Congress · 26 March 1981
Rice Production Act of 1981 - Amends the Agricultural Act of 1949 to extend the established price and loan program for rice through the 1985 crop year. Increases from $6.31 to $8.00 per hundredweight the minimum loan level for rice. Sets a formula for the determination of additional payments to cooperators, but not on a greater acreage than that actually planted to rice. Limits the maximum number of acres eligible for prevented planting disaster payments to the acreage actually planted to rice for harvest in the immediately preceding year. Denies eligibility for disaster payments on the 1982 through 1985 crops of rice to any person in a county in which Federal crop insurance is generally offered. Establishes a general guideline for the determination of the national program acreage for the 1982 through 1985 crops of rice in place of the current mandatory 1,800,000 acres. Requires the Secretary of Agriculture to determine a program allocation factor for each crop (no more than 100 percent nor less than 80 percent), which shall be used in the computation of individual farm acreage allotments. Continues the Secretary's authority to provide for a set aside of cropland but only if the total supply of rice will likely exceed national needs. Requires any rice producer setting cropland aside for conservation uses to limit rice actually planted for harvest to an acreage which when added to the amount set aside will not exceed the sum of the acreage planted and the acreage set aside, if any, from the previous crop year. Repeals certain provisions of the Agricultural Adjustment Act of 1938 with respect to acreage allotment and marketing quotas which are not in conformity with the provisions of this Act.
United States · United States Congress · 26 March 1981
Makes price support, marketing quota, base acreage allotment, and related provisions of the Agricultural Adjustment Act of 1938 inapplicable to the 1982 through 1985 crops of upland cotton. Amends the Agricultural Act of 1949 to: (1) extend the nonrecourse loan program through 1985; (2) revise the standard for determining cotton loan levels (from Strict Middling one and one-sixteenth inch to Middling one and three-thirty seconds inch cotton C.I.F. Northern Europe); and (3) raise the minimum loan level from 48 cents to 55 cents per pound. Declares that any upland cotton imported during a special import quota period shall be duty-free. Extends the disaster payment program for cotton through 1985. Denies eligibility for such payments to any person in a county in which crop insurance is generally offered. Changes the deadline for announcement of the national program acreage from December 15 to November 1. Authorizes the Secretary of Agriculture to limit, on a uniform basis to all cotton-producing farms, the acreage planted to cotton if the Secretary determines that the total supply will otherwise likely be excessive. Directs the Secretary to require acreage set-asides only if such acreage limitations are in effect (currently, the Secretary must require set-asides upon determining the likelihood of an excessive supply). Eliminates compliance with the set-aside program as a condition for loan eligibility. Directs the Secretary to delegate to State and county committees his present authority to make loans, purchases, and payments with respect to a non-complying producer on an equitable basis in relation to the seriousness of default. Prohibits the making of regulations which condition loans and payments on cross-compliance and offsetting- compliance procedures. Directs the Secretary to make available recourse loans on seed cotton to encourage and assist producers in orderly ginning and marketing. Extends through July 31, 1986, the Commodity Credit Corporation's present authority to sell upland cotton at not less than 115 percent of the loan rate. States that the permanent State, county, and farm base acreage allotments for the 1977 crop of upland cotton, as adjusted for underplantings in 1977, shall again become effective as preliminary allotments for the 1986 crop. Requires the Secretary to carry out a special price support or loan program through the Commodity Credit Corporation whenever the Executive Branch of the Federal Government suspends, for any reason other than a congressionally declared national emergency, the commercial export sales of upland cotton to any country or area with which the United States otherwise continues commercial trade. Limits such program to instances where the country or area in question imported more than three percent of total United States cotton exports in the two years preceding such suspension. Prescribes formulae to assure producers, through payments or interest-free loans, the export prices they would have received in the absence of such suspension. Directs the Secretary, through the Corporation, to compensate U.S. firms for losses incurred with respect to cotton and cotton-product sales contracts canceled due to such suspension. Directs the Secretary to establish in the Corporation a revolving fund for financing export credit sales of cotton in accordance with GSM-5 (42 FR 10999). Requires the Secretary to provide for, and credit to such fund, all repayments on export sales of cotton made under GSM-5.
United States · United States Congress · 25 March 1981
Nuclear Waste Policy Act - Title I: Findings and Purposes - Declares the purpose of this Act to be to: (1) assume Federal responsibility for the acquisition and interim storage of spent fuel and the disposal of high-level radioactive waste from civilian nuclear activities; (2) establish a Federal policy for the disposal of high-level radioactive waste from civilian nuclear activities; (3) authorize the Secretary of Energy to acquire or construct nuclear waste storage and disposal facilities; and (4) provide for consultation and cooperation between the Federal Government and States and Indian tribes with regard to nuclear waste storage facility and repository siting. Title II: Definitions - Defines the terms used in this Act. Title III: Interim Storage of Spent Fuel From Civilian Nuclear Powerplants - Directs the Secretary to enter into contracts providing that the Federal Government will: (1) take title to spent fuel from civilian nuclear powerplants; (2) transport and store such spent fuel in Federal facilities; and (3) dispose of waste products associated with such spent fuel. Provides for a one-time payment by the owner of such spent fuel in an amount adequate to cover the proportionate costs of such transportation, storage, and disposal. Directs the Secretary to publish in the Federal Register notice of intent to enter into such contracts and of the one-time payment charged to owners of spent fuel. Directs the Secretary to construct or acquire one or more facilities for interim storage of spent fuel. Directs the Secretary to enter into contracts with private industry for the transportation of spent fuel to such facilities. Authorizes the Secretary to use Federal transportation services if private industry is unable or unwilling to provide such transportation at a reasonable cost. Makes funds available for the establishment of such facilities. Directs the Secretary to inform the Governor and the legislature of any State in which a potential facility site or an existing facility is located of the investigation and selection of such site or facility for interim storage of spent fuel. Requires that the Secretary suspend work on such facility upon receipt of objections by the Governor and transmit such objections with recommendations to the President. Directs the Secretary to terminate such work unless, within 90 days after receipt of the Secretary's transmission, the President determines such facility is essential to the national interest. Amends the Energy Reorganization Act of 1974 to provide that the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) shall have licensing and related regulatory authority over storage facilities for spent fuel from foreign reactors transferred under an arrangement authority under such Act. Title IV: Disposal of High-Level Radioactive Waste Resulting from Civilian Nuclear Activities - Directs the Secretary to transmit to Congress within one year from enactment of this Act a proposal for the construction of one or more safe repositories for the permanent disposal of high-level radioactive waste from civilian nuclear activities. Requires the preparation of an environmental assessment on such proposal based on information regarding alternative waste disposal technologies. Makes any facility authorized by Congress subject to the licensing authority of the NRC, but prohibits the NRC from considering any design criteria for such facility other than those required by this Act. Directs the Secretary to make annual impact aid payments to the local governments of areas in Alaska where: (1) such repositories are located and have a substantial impact on the governments; (2) the construction or modification of such repositories is completed after the date of this Act; and (3) in the case of a modification, such modification substantially increases the repository's capacity. Title V: Financial Arrangements - Establishes in the U.S. Treasury a separate account for the operation of the storage and disposal program. Permits the Secretary to borrow from the Treasury such amounts as may be provided in appropriation Acts, but not to exceed $300,000,000. Sets forth the terms and repayments of such loans. Authorizes appropriations for fiscal year 1982. Title VI: State Role in Nuclear Waste Repository Siting - States that this title shall not apply to the transportation, management, or disposal of spent fuel or radioactive waste from atomic energy defense activities of the Secretary or Federal research and development activities. Directs the Secretary to establish with each State and Indian tribe affected by repository siting under this Act a cooperative agreement under which the State and Indian tribe shall have the right to participate in a process of consultation and concurrence, based on public health and safety concerns, in all stages of the planning, siting, construction, and operation of a repository. Requires such agreement to provide procedures for resolving objections of the State and Indian tribe at any stage in the repository siting process. Directs the Secretary to inform the Governor, the legislature, and any affected Indian tribe of a State if a repository for the permanent disposal of spent fuel and high-level radioactive waste is to be located in such State. Requires that they be notified at least 90 days prior to formal application by the Secretary to the NRC for a construction permit. Requires the Secretary to suspend work on a repository site upon receipt of objections by the Governor or an Indian tribe within such 90-day period and transmit such objections with recommendations to Congress and the President. Directs the President to inform Congress in writing upon a determination that such repository is essential to the national interest and the concerns of the State and the Indian tribe have been addressed sufficiently. Prohibits the Secretary from continuing work on such site unless both Houses of Congress enact an approval resolution.
United States · United States Congress · 25 March 1981
State and Local Government Financing Reform Act of 1981 - Excludes from the Federal law limiting and restricting the corporate powers of national banking associations to deal in and underwrite investment securities, specified dealings in and underwriting of all other nongeneral obligations issued or guaranteed by or on behalf of a State or any political subdivision thereof (except special assessment obligations and industrial revenue bonds) which are at the time eligible for purchase by a national bank for its own account, subject to specified limitations. Requires the Secretary of the Treasury to submit an annual report to the Congress showing the extent to which the business of underwriting and dealing in State and local obligations is being carried on by commercial banks as compared with other banking institutions with a view to determining the effect of the provisions of this Act on the institutional distribution of such business.
United States · United States Congress · 24 March 1981
Prohibits the United States Postal Service from requiring the inclusion of a ZIP code in the address of any piece of mail, except as a condition for mailing at a reduced rate or rates for a subclass established to recognize the costs of handling mail bearing such a code.
United States · United States Congress · 19 March 1981
Constitutional Amendment - Prohibits the adoption of any Federal budget in which expenditures exceed receipts unless approved by a roll call vote of three-fifths of the Members of each House of Congress directed solely to that subject. Prohibits the Congress from passing and the President from signing any appropriation bill which would cause the total expenditures of the Federal Government to exceed its total receipts in any fiscal year. Permits the Congress to waive such provisions with respect to any single year in which a declaration of war is in effect. Prohibits any annual increase in the proportion of Federal receipts to the national income unless passed by a roll call vote, directed solely to such purpose, of each House of Congress.
United States · United States Congress · 18 March 1981
Amends Federal law to require bankruptcy courts to give priority to determinations made with respect to requests of agricultural producers for relief from stays of acts against agricultural commodities stored in grain elevators involved in bankruptcy proceedings.
United States · United States Congress · 12 March 1981
Amends the Urban Mass Transportation Act of 1964 to permit a recipient of Federal financial assistance under such Act to submit a program to the Secretary of Transportation with regard to the transportation of handicapped persons. Directs the Secretary, in consultation with the Architectural and Transportation Barriers Compliance Board, to approve, subject to specified criteria, such programs. Requires the recipient of such Federal financial assistance to consult with the community of handicapped persons for whom such transportation will be provided. Requires that such program be developed in cooperation with the responsible local elected officials. Directs the Secretary to withhold not less than 25 percent of a recipient's Federal funding under this Act if such recipient does not comply with its program or the requirements of this Act. Requires each recipient to certify annually that it is complying with such program. Exempts specified fixed rail systems from the provisions of this Act. Directs the appropriate Congressional committees to conduct periodic oversight hearings on the effect of this Act no less than annually for the first five years after the date of enactment of this Act. Defines "handicapped individual" for the purposes of this Act.
United States · United States Congress · 12 March 1981
Forestry Loan Act of 1981 - Directs the Secretary of Agriculture to conduct a five-year pilot program of financial assistance to nonindustrial owners of private forest land which shall provide for the guaranteeing of loans under which periodic loan disbursements shall be made to eligible landowners. Limits the cumulative total of principal and interest on such loans to $50,000,000. Declares eligible for such program any private individual, group, Indian Tribe or other native group, association, partnership, corporation or other legal entity which owns forest land capable of producing crops of industrial wood, if such person: (1) owns less than 1,000 acres of land capable of producing industrial wood (except in specified circumstances); (2) is not principally engaged in the manufacture of wood products; and (3) certifies in writing that such person is unable to obtain sufficient credit elsewhere at comparable rates and terms. Authorizes the Secretary to guarantee 90 percent of that portion of the overall loan obligation which exceeds the market value of the assets securing such loan. Bases the amount of the periodic loan disbursement upon the projected market value of the timber securing such loan, limiting the total principal and interest obligation to 80 percent of such value. Allows for adjustment of loan terms, as agreed by both landowner and lender, following periodic reviews of individual loan agreements and forest management plans. Entitles borrowers to prepayment of all or any part of an outstanding loan obligation without penalty. Allows the interest rate to be set by the lender and borrower, but not in excess of a rate determined by the Secretary. Directs the Secretary to appoint a program development and evaluation committee. Requires funding for the program to be drawn from the Rural Development Insurance Fund. Requires annual reports to Congress on the progress of the pilot program. Authorizes necessary appropriations for administrative expenses.
United States · United States Congress · 12 March 1981
Prohibits the Federal Trade Commission or any administrative law judge from issuing antitrust decisions, findings, or cease-and-desist orders in concentrated market structure or shared monopoly proceedings until Congress establishes and defines the elements of such a violation. Declares that this Act shall apply to any proceeding pending on March 10, 1981. Vacates any decision or order issued in such proceeding before the enactment of this Act.
United States · United States Congress · 9 March 1981
Food Stamp Reform Act of 1981 - Amends the Food Stamp Act of 1977 to make individuals 19 years of age or over, with countable income and participating in the food stamp program as a member of an eligible household, liable for any benefits received in excess of an exempt amount. Sets forth the method of determining such amount and such liability. Requires the liability to be paid as if it were a personal income tax imposed by the Internal Revenue Code. Directs State agencies administering the food stamp program to notify such individuals before February 1 of each calendar year of the amount of coupons allotted to them and to notify the Secretary of the Treasury before March 1 of such amounts and the names and addresses of such individuals. Authorizes the Secretary of Agriculture to transfer sufficient appropriated funds to the Secretary of the Treasury to provide for the collection of assessed funds to the Secretary of the Treasury to provide for the collection of assessed liabilities. Provides for the distribution of such collected amounts to State administrative agencies. Makes technical and conforming amendments to the Food Stamp Act of 1977 and the Internal Revenue Code of 1954 consistent with provisions of this Act.
United States · United States Congress · 24 February 1981
Amends the Federal criminal code to establish penalties for taking or attempting to take by force and violence or intimidation a controlled substance from a pharmacy. 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 commission of such offense. Directs the Federal Bureau of Investigation to include pharmacy robbery data in its annual Uniform Crime Reports. Directs the Attorney General to report to Congress on the enforcement of this Act within 120 days of enactment and biannually for the subsequent three-year period.
United States · United States Congress · 23 February 1981
Exempts nonprofit veterans' organizations and nonprofit fraternal organizations from the requirement that nondramatic literary or musical performance royalties be paid to copyright holders.
United States · United States Congress · 6 February 1981
Family Farm Estate Tax Relief Act of 1981 - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to permit the executor of an estate to exclude the value of real property used in farming from a decedent's gross estate for purposes of the estate tax. Excludes up to the first $750,000 of the value of the farm property and certain percentages of the value in excess of $750,000. Requires a percentage reduction of the amount of the exclusion for farm property in excess of $1,350,000.
![Official portrait of Rep. Huckaby, Thomas J. (Jerry) [D-LA-5]](https://www.congress.gov/img/member/h000901_200.jpg)