United States · United States Congress · 6 August 1984
Conrail Sale Rail Infrastructure Fund Act - Amends the Regional Rail Reorganization Act of 1973 to establish a revolving fund through which proceeds from the sale of Conrail shall be used for rail-related infrastructure capital improvements. Directs the Secretary of Transportation to allocate money in the fund among the States in accordance with a survey of improvement needs. Requires the Secretary to conduct such survey within six months of enactment of this Act.
United States · United States Congress · 2 August 1984
Law Enforcement Officers Protection Act of 1984 - Amends the Federal criminal code to define "armor piercing ammunition." Excludes from the definition: (1) shotgun shot composed in order to comply with Federal or State law; (2) frangible projectiles for target shooting; (3) ammunition containing frangible projectiles; and (4) any ammunition or projectiles which the Secretary of the Treasury determines are primarily intended for sporting purposes. Makes it unlawful for any person to manufacture or import armor piercing ammunition. Allows: (1) the manufacture or importation of armor piercing ammunition for the use of the United States or any State or local government; (2) manufacture for the sole purpose of exportation; or (3) manufacture or importation for the purposes of testing and experimentation authorized by the Secretary. Establishes a licensing fee of $1,000 per year for manufacturers and importers of armor piercing ammunition. Imposes an additional mandatory sentence of not less than five years for any person who uses or carries a firearm and is in possession of armor piercing ammunition during the commission of a violent felony. States that such sentence shall not be suspended nor shall probation or parole be granted.
United States · United States Congress · 1 August 1984
Idaho Wilderness Act of 1984 - Designates the following lands in Idaho as components of the National Wilderness Preservation System: (1) the Salmo-Priest Wilderness in the Panhandle National Forest; (2) the Long Canyon-Selkirk Crest Wilderness in the Panhandle National Forest; (3) the Scotchman's Peak Wilderness in the Panhandle National Forest; (4) the Grandmother Mountain Wilderness in the Panhandle National Forest; (5) the Mallard-Larkins Wilderness in the Panhandle and Clearwater National Forests; (6) the Great Burn Wilderness in the Clearwater National Forest; (7) the Moose Mountain Wilderness in the Clearwater National Forest; (8) the Elk Summit Wilderness in the Clearwater National Forest; (9) the Salmon River Breaks Wilderness in the Payette National Forest; (10) the Payette Crest Wilderness in the Payette and Boise National Forests; (11) the Peace Rock Wilderness in the Boise National Forests; (12) the Red Mountain Wilderness in the Boise National Forest; (13) the Sawtooth Completion Wilderness in the Boise, Sawtooth, and Challis National Forests; (14) the Trinities Wilderness in the Boise National Forest; (15) the Danskin-South Fork Boise River Wilderness in the Boise National Forest; (16) the Pioneer Wilderness in the Sawtooth and Challis National Forests; (17) the Cache Peak Wilderness in the Sawtooth National Forest; (18) the Borah Peak Wilderness in the Challis National Forest; (19) the Pahsimeroi Wilderness in the Challis National Forest; (20) the North Lemhi's Wilderness in the Salmon and Challis National Forests; (21) the West Bigholes Wilderness in the Salmon National Forest; (22) the Diamond Peak Wilderness in the Targhee, Salmon, and Challis National Forests; (23) the Italian Peaks Wilderness in the Targhee National Forest; (24) the Lionhead Wilderness in the Targhee National Forest; (25) the Garns Mountain Wilderness in the Targhee National Forest; (26) the Palisades Wilderness in the Targhee National Forest; (27) the Bear Creek Wilderness in the Targhee National Forest; (28) the Caribou Mountain Wilderness in the Caribou National Forest; (29) the Cache Crest Wilderenss in the Caribou National Forest; (30) the Mt. Naomi Wilderness in the Caribou National Forest; (31) the West Fork Mink Creek Wilderness in the Caribou National Forest; and (32) the Boulder-White Clouds Wilderness in the Sawtooth and Challis National Forests and in the Salmon District of the Bureau of Land Management. Requires the Secretary of Agriculture to file maps of these areas with the Congress as soon as practicable after enactment of this Act. Permits livestock grazing in the North Lemhi's Wilderness. Directs the Secretary to review and report to the President within five years of enactment of this Act on the suitability for inclusion in the National Wilderness Preservation System of the following areas in Idaho: (1) the North Fork Clearwater Further Planning Area in the Clearwater National Forest; (2) the Fish and Hungry Creeks Further Planning Area in the Clearwater National Forest; (3) the South Fork Salmon River Further Planning Area in the Payette and Boise National Forests; (4) the Snowbank Mountain Further Planning Area in the Boise and Payette National Forests; (5) the Deadwood River Further Planning Area in the Boise National Forest; (6) the Breadwinner Further Planning Area in the Boise National Forest; (7) the Lime Creek-Soldier Mountains Further Planning Area in the Boise and Sawtooth National Forests; (8) King Mountain Further Planning Area in the Challis National Forest; (9) the Centennial Further Planning Area in the Targhee National Forest; and (10) the Caribou City Further Planning Area in the Caribou National Forest. Sets forth factors for the Secretary to consider in making such report.
United States · United States Congress · 29 June 1984
State and Local Narcotics Control Assistance Act of 1984 - Authorizes the Attorney General to make grants to States to assist States and local governments to increase their drug enforcement activities. Requires such grants to be based on the relative needs of the States, taking into consideration the severity of drug trafficking and abuse and the availability of State and local resources to resolve such problems. Establishes a procedure for grant applications. Requires such an application to include a State-wide strategy for the enforcement of State drug laws. Imposes limitations on the use of such grants, including a maximum ten percent allocation for administrative purposes. Requires each State which receives a grant to submit a yearly report to the Attorney General, who shall in turn report to Congress with respect to such grants. Allows the Secretary of Health and Human Services to make grants to States for developing more effective drug prevention, treatment and rehabilitation programs. Establishes a procedure for grant applications. Authorizes appropriations for both grant programs for FY 1986 through 1990.
United States · United States Congress · 28 June 1984
Establishes the National Commission on Federal Budget Deficit Reductions to review all relevant elements of fiscal and monetary policy. Requires particular emphasis to be given to the causes of cyclical and structural Federal budget deficits and the impact which growing structural Federal deficits have on employment, capital formation, and the vigor and viability of economic growth in the United States. Requires the Commission to: (1) identify problems which may hinder the control and reduction of Federal budget deficits; and (2) analyze all potential options which would result in deficit reductions and place the Government on a sound financial basis. Requires the Commission to report to the President and Congress by January 15, 1985, detailed findings, conclusions, and recommendations for such legislation and administrative actions as it considers appropriate. Terminates the Commission 30 days after submission of such report.
United States · United States Congress · 19 June 1984
Head Start and Human Services Amendments of 1984 - Title I: Project Head Start - Amends the Head Start Act to direct the Secretary of Health and Human Services (the Secretary, for purposes of this title) to administer Project Head Start through the Administration for Children, Youth, and Families within the Department of Health and Human Services. Makes technical amendments to such Act. Authorizes appropriations for the Head Start program for FY 1985 through 1986. Requires the Secretary to reserve for training and technical assistance for each fiscal year funds which are not less than the amount spent for such activities under such Act in FY 1982. Prohibits funds reserved for discretionary payments by the Secretary under such Act from being combined with funds appropriated under any other Act if the purposes of combining funds is to make a single discretionary grant or a single discretionary payment. Authorizes the Secretary to designate a Head Start agency from among qualified applicants in a community if there is no Head Start agency or program serving such community. Requires that any such designation be governed by the program and fiscal requirements, criteria, and standards applicable on September 1, 1983, to then existing Head Start agencies. Requires that specified provisions relating to designation of Head Start agencies be carried out in FY 1985 and 1986 in accordance with the rules issued under such provisions by the Secretary as in effect on September 1, 1983. Prohibits the Secretary from making any change in the method, as in effect on April 25, 1984, of calculating income used to prescribe eligibility for the participation of persons in Head Start programs if such change would result in any reduction in, or exclusion from, participation of persons in any such programs. Prohibits any such change during the period from the date of enactment of this Act to October 1, 1986, unless such a change is specifically authorized in any Federal statute enacted after such date of enactment. Permits each Head Start program operated in a community to provide services to any eligible child for any period from age three to the age of compulsory school attendance in the State where the program operates. Requires the Secretary to provide technical assistance and training in connection with Head Start programs. (Under current law, the Secretary is authorized to provide such assistance and training.) Requires that such training activities include: (1) a national child development associate training and assessment program providing the necessary credentials for such personnel; and (2) training, including resource access projects, which improves the ability of such personnel to provide Head Start services to handicapped children. Prohibits funds for Head Start research, demonstration, and pilot projects from being combined with funds available to carry out any other provision of law if the purpose of combining funds is to make a single discretionary grant or a single discretionary payment to a recipient of such funds. Prohibits any revision in Head Start performance standards which would result in either the elimination of, or the reduction in the scope of, types of health, education, parent involvement, social, or other services required by the performance standards issued by the Secretary as in effect on November 2, 1978. Title II: Follow Through Programs - Amends the Follow Through Act to authorize appropriations for such program for FY 1985 and 1986. Requires the Secretary of Education (the Secretary, for purposes of this title) to provide financial assistance for research, demonstration, and pilot projects relating to the Follow Through program. (Under current law, the Secretary is authorized to provide such assistance.) Requires that such projects be designed to test or assist in the development of new approaches or methods that will aid in overcoming the special problems of primarily low-income children previously enrolled in Head Start or similar programs to develop to their full potential in kindergarten and the primary grades. Directs the Secretary to provide for a review and analysis of all previous evaluations and reports made in connection with all Follow Through programs and projects authorized by any Act of Congress in effect after August 20, 1964, and to provide a comprehensive evaluative report. Requires that such report measure the impact of such programs and projects in specified ways. Permits such review to be conducted only by persons who are not directly involved in the development, design, administration, or implementation of such programs and projects. Requires that such report be submitted to the President and Congress by January 30, 1986. Makes a technical amendment which repeals the applicability of specified Head Start Act provisions to the Follow Through Act. Adds provisions for child care information and referral services to the Follow Through Act. (Entitles such provisions the "Child Care Information and Referral Services Act.") Directs the Secretary of Health and Human Services, through the Administration for Children, Youth, and Families, to make grants to assist public or private nonprofit organizations to establish and operate community-based child care information and referral centers. Sets forth grant application requirements. Requires that grant recipients be selected through a competitive process, taking into consideration the demonstrated ability of applicants to provide such services, and giving priority to applicants for grants of less than $75,000. Requires an applicant to make specified assurances, including an assurance that it shall obtain the following percentages of its projected budget through non-Federal sources of funding during the grant period: (1) at least 25 percent in the first and second years; (2) at least 50 percent in the third year; and (3) at least 65 percent in the fourth and fifth years. Limits to five years the aggregate period for which such grants may be made to any single center. Sets reporting requirements for centers receiving such grants. Directs the Secretary of Health and Human Services to report annually to specified congressional committees on activities under such child care information and referral services provisions. Authorizes appropriations for FY 1985 and 1986 for such child care information and referral services. Makes specified provisions for administration of the Head Start program applicable to the administration of such child information and referral services program. Title III: Community Services Programs - Amends the Community Services Block Grant Act to increase the authorization of appropriations for FY 1985 and 1986 for community services grants to States to ameliorate the causes of poverty in communities. Revises grant application provisions to require States to assure that: (1) at least 85 percent of the State allotment will be used for grants to community action agencies (or to organizations serving seasonal or migrant farmworkers) for specified purposes; and (2) the remainder will be used to make grants to local governments (or to specified types of nonprofit private community organizations or to migrant and seasonal farm worker organizations) for such specified purposes. Includes services under the Temporary Emergency Food Assistance Act of 1983 among those activities to which a State may transfer funds from a portion of its community services grant allotment. Authorizes a State, whenever it determines that a local government, or a combination of local governments, is not served by a community action agency, to: (1) use funds earmarked for grants to local governments through an existing community action agency to provide such services; or (2) if that is not feasible, establish a new community action agency to provide such services. Authorizes the Secretary of Health and Human Services (the Secretary, for purposes of this title) to waive for any State specified limitations relating to eligibility to receive grants, under specified conditions. Directs the Secretary to: (1) conduct, in several States in each fiscal year, evaluations of the uses made of community services block grants; and (2) annually submit the results of such evaluations to specified congressional committees. Provides that the Director of the Office of Community Services within the Department of Health and Human Services shall be appointed by the President by and with the advise and consent of the Senate. Revises provisions relating to investigations conducted by the Secretary and the Comptroller General of the use of community service grant funds. Makes such investigations by the Comptroller General mandatory. Repeals a prohibition against the Secretary either requesting information not readily available to a State or requiring that any information be compiled, collected, or transmitted in any new form not already available. Requires the Secretary to provide for specified training and other ongoing activities of national or regional significance related to the purposes of the community services grants program, including certain special emphasis programs. (Under current law the Secretary has discretionary authority to provide for such training and other activities.) Adds to the list of such special emphasis programs a specified type of program for senior opportunities and services which is described under specified provisions of the Economic Opportunity Act of 1964, as in effect on August 12, 1981. Sets forth provisions for community food and nutrition programs. Directs the Secretary, through grants to public and private, nonprofit agencies, to provide for community-based, local, and statewide programs to: (1) identify food and nutritional needs of low-income populations, especially high-risk infants and children; (2) assist low-income communities to identify potential sponsors of child nutrition programs and initiate new programs in underserved or unserved areas; (3) coordinate existing private and public food assistance resources to better serve low-income populations; and (4) increase public awareness of hunger and develop strategies to minimize dependence on emergency food assistance. Authorizes appropriations for FY 1985 and 1986 for such programs. Requires that some of such funds be expended for programs for each of the purposes specified. Authorizes appropriations for FY 1985 and 1986 for Native American programs under title VIII (the "Native American Programs Act of 1964") of the Economic Opportunity Act of 1964. Title IV: Native American Programs - Native American Programs Act Amendments of 1984 - Amends the Native American Programs Act of 1974 to provide that decisions to grant financial assistance shall not consider whether such aid accrues to the benefit of Indians who are not members of a federally recognized tribe. Prohibits the rejection of financial assistance solely on the grounds that the request serves Indians or an Indian organization in a nonreservation area. Requires that programs under such Act be administered within the Department of Health and Human Services. (Currently they may be delegated to other Federal departments and agencies.) Prohibits any transfer of such administration outside of the Department. Directs the Secretary of Health and Human Services to continue the administration of grants through the Administration for Native Americans (the Administration). Requires the Commission of such Administration to delegate all functions within the Administration. Restricts the delegation and redelegation of functions by the Secretary to personnel within the Department. Permits interagency funding agreements between the Administration and other Federal agencies. Specifies the percentage of appropriated funds which shall be used for financial assistance under such Act. Title V: Effective Date - Sets forth the effective date of this Act and the amendments made by this Act.
United States · United States Congress · 19 June 1984
Establishes a commission to be known as the Martin Luther King, Jr. Federal Holiday Commission to: (1) encourage appropriate ceremonies and activities throughout the United States relating to the first observance of the Federal legal holiday honoring Martin Luther King, Jr.; and (2) provide advice and assistance to the Federal Government and to State and local governments and private organizations with respect to the observance of the holiday. Sets forth requirements regarding the membership and staff of the Commission. Authorizes the heads of all Government departments and agencies, upon the request of the Commission, to detail any of their personnel to the Commission and to otherwise assist the Commission in carrying out its responsibilities under this Act. Requires that all of the Commission's expenditures be made from donated funds. Directs the Commission, not later than April 20, 1986, to report to the President and the Congress concerning its activities under this Act. Terminates the Commission after the submission of such report.
United States · United States Congress · 19 June 1984
Synthetic Fuels Reform and Budget Reduction Act - Provides that, except as provided below, all funds in the Energy Security Reserve shall be deposited in the Treasury and shall not be available for obligation with respect to synthetic fuels projects. Sets aside $500,000,000 of the funds in the Reserve to be made available to the Secretary of Energy to carry out a five-year program for the advanced research and development of coal utilization technologies. Provides that $2,500,000,000 which shall be available for obligations by the United States Synthetic Fuels Corporation in accordance with this Act and with the Energy Security Act, plus the funds necessary to meet obligations with respect to binding commitments entered into before enactment of this Act and still in effect, shall be retained in the Reserve. Requires the Corporation to submit for congressional approval a proposed comprehensive strategy to achieve the national synthetic production goal established under the United States Synthetic Fuels Corporation Act of 1980. Requires that such strategy be submitted within a specified time period. Requires that such strategy include a financial or investment prospectus justifying the proposed obligation of amounts retained in the Reserve for synthetic fuels projects. Permits such obligations only after the proposed strategy has been approved by joint resolution. Amends the United States Synthetic Fuels Corporation Act of 1980 to provide that the Administrative Procedure Act, the Freedom of Information Act, the Government in the Sunshine Act, and Federal law relating to disclosure of confidential information shall apply to the Corporation as if it were a Federal agency. Requires the Board of Directors of the Corporation to fix the compensation of Corporation officers and other employee categories in accordance with the Executive Schedule and the General Schedule. (Under current law, the Board must take the Executive and General Schedules into consideration in fixing such compensation.) Requires the Board of Directors, the Secretary of Energy, and the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency to agree on a Memorandum of Understanding establishing a program for monitoring and accumulating data with respect to the technical performance, environmental and socioeconomic impacts, and economic viability of projects funded by the Corporation. Provides that contracts for financial assistance shall require the financial assistance recipient to develop a plan ensuring full cooperation with such program. Changes the date on which the Corporation shall terminate from September 30, 1997, to June 30, 1987. Provides that the liquidation of the Corporation and the winding up of its affairs shall be transferred to the Secretary of the Treasury, the Secretary of Energy, and the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency jointly in accordance with a Memorandum of Understanding agreed to by them if the Board of Directors of the Corporation has not completed the termination of the Corporation's affairs and its liquidation by the termination date. (Under current law, such duties are to be transferred to the Secretary of the Treasury only.)
United States · United States Congress · 19 June 1984
Expresses the sense of the Congress that the President should: (1) ensure that U.S. officials carry out his pledge to resolve the issue of the Americans still missing and unaccounted for in Indochina; (2) work for the immediate release of any Americans still held captive and the return of the remains of those who died in Southeast Asia; and (3) make every effort to secure the cooperation pledged by Laos and Vietnam in resolving this issue.
United States · United States Congress · 14 June 1984
Cancer Patients Employment Rights Act - Amends the Civil Rights Act of 1964 to make it an unlawful employment practice for an employer, employment agency or labor organization to: (1) require an employee or prospective employee with a cancer history to meet certain medical standards unrelated to job requirements; or (2) reveal any confidential medical information without consent. Makes it an unlawful employment practice for an employer to fail to make a good faith effort to explore where reasonable accommodations may be made for an employee with a cancer history. Provides that it shall not be an unlawful employment practice to fail or refuse to hire or to discharge an employee: (1) if the employer demonstrates no reasonable accommodation can be made; or (2) the employee is unable to perform the job safely. Includes cancer history within the protections of the Civil Rights Act of 1964.
United States · United States Congress · 13 June 1984
Amends the Federal criminal code to define "armor piercing ammunition." Excludes from the definition: (1) shot gun shot required by Federal or State regulations for hunting; (2) frangible projectiles for target shooting; and (3) projectiles that the Secretary of Treasury determines are primarily intended for sporting purposes. Makes it unlawful for any person to manufacture or import armor piercing ammunition. Allows for: (1) the manufacture or importation of armor piercing ammunition for the use of the United States or any State or local government; and (2) manufacture for the sole purpose of exportation. Establishes a licensing fee of $1,000 per year for manufacturers and importers of armor piercing ammunition. Imposes an additional mandatory sentence of not less than five years for any person who uses or carries a firearm and is in possession of armor piercing ammunition during the commission of a violent felony. Provides that such sentence shall not be suspended nor probation nor parole granted.
United States · United States Congress · 31 May 1984
Amends the Adoption Assistance and Child Welfare Act of 1980 and part E (Foster Care and Adoption Assistance) of title IV of the Social Security Act to make permanent certain provisions relating to foster care assistance. Requires the Secretary of Health and Human Services to provide for the establishment or continuation of a network of Child Welfare Resource Centers to help in the implementation of programs relating to child welfare under part B (Child Welfare Services) of title IV and programs relating to foster care and adoption assistance under part E. Directs the Secretary to provide the necessary funding for the Centers from: (1) certain funds which remain unclaimed by States under part E; and (2) such sums as may be appropriated for the Centers.
United States · United States Congress · 24 May 1984
Improved Standards for Laboratory Animals Act - Amends the Animal Welfare Act to include Federal agencies which use animals for research or experimentation as research facilities for purposes of such Act. Revises the humane standards for animals transported in commerce. Requires the Secretary of Agriculture to promulgate standards for research facilities with respect to animal care and treatment and practice in experimental procedures to ensure that animal pain and distress are minimized. Directs the Secretary to require research facilities to report at least annually that such standards are being followed. Specifies those items which must be included in a research facility's statement of compliance with such standards. Provides that a research facility shall be required to establish an animal research committee which shall inspect all animal study areas and facilities of the research facility at least semiannually and file an inspection certification report at the research facility. Requires that such report include any violations by the research facility of the standards promulgated by the Secretary. Provides that the research facility shall be given an opportunity to correct any such violations. Requires the committee to notify the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service of the Department of Agriculture and the Federal agency funding the research facility if the research facility fails to correct conditions. Provides that the committee report shall be maintained by the research facility for at least three years and shall be made available for inspection by the Secretary, the funding Federal agency, and the Department of Agriculture inspectors. Requires a research facility to provide annual instruction for scientists, animal technicians, and other personnel in humane animal maintenance and experimentation and animal research and testing methods. Requires that employees of a research facility be told to report any violations of this Act by the research facility to the committee. Directs the Secretary to establish an information service at the National Agricultural Library which shall provide information on improved methods of animal experimentation. Requires a funding Federal agency to suspend or revoke Federal support for any project where animal care, treatment, and practices are not in compliance with applicable standards despite notification to the research facility involved. Provides that no rules or regulations promulgated by the Secretary may require a research facility to disclose trade secrets or privileged or confidential commercial or financial information. Makes it unlawful for any member of an animal research committee to release or use to his or her advantage any confidential information of a research facility. Sets forth criminal penalties for any such violations. Permits any person injured by such a violation to recover all damages, court costs, and attorney's fees.
United States · United States Congress · 23 May 1984
States that the Congress: (1) adopts as an objective the release of all Americans still held captive in Southeast Asia and the full accounting of those still missing; (2) recognizes and supports the President's leadership with respect to those Americans; (3) supports his efforts in impressing upon the Southeast Asian nations the determination of the United States to resolve this issue; and (4) encourages him to continue to use all means to secure a full accounting of those Americans still missing and to inform the Congress of his progress regarding this matter.
United States · United States Congress · 17 May 1984
Expresses the sense of the Congress that: (1) the parties in the New Ireland Forum are to be commended for their efforts to promote reconciliation of the two communities in Northern Ireland; and (2) all political parties in Northern Ireland and the British and Irish Governments should review the findings and recommendations of the Forum.
United States · United States Congress · 3 May 1984
Amends the Foreign Service Act of 1980 to provide an annuity for any person who was a former spouse of a participant or former participant in the Foreign Service Retirement and Disability System on February 15, 1981, and for whom no election is made by the participant or former participant. Declares that a former spouse shall not be qualified for an annuity if, before the annuity commences, the former spouse remarries before becoming 60 years old. Sets forth the method of determining when the annuity shall commence and when it shall terminate. Prohibits a former spouse who has been paid a lump-sum payment from receiving an annuity unless the former spouse returns the payment to the Foreign Service Retirement and Disability Fund. Prohibits payment of an annuity until after the appropriate application has been provided to the Secretary of State. Directs the Secretary to: (1) prescribe the regulations for such application within 120 days of enactment of this Act; and (2) inform each person who was a former spouse on February 15, 1981, of any rights such person might have. Requires that limitations on health care payments to an eligible person shall be waived if the Secretary determines that the person's illness was clearly caused or materially aggravated because the person is or has been located abroad. (Current law authorizes waiver of such limitations.) Authorizes a former spouse of a member or former member of the Foreign Service to enroll in the health benefits plan which covered the former spouse before the divorce or separation if within 31 days of the date the divorce or separation becomes final the former spouse: (1) files an election for such enrollment; and (2) arranges to pay currently into the Employees Health Benefits Fund an amount equal to the sum of the employee and agency contributions payable by an employee in the same health benefits plan. Authorizes waiver of the 31 day time limit for enrollment by a former spouse. Permits any individual who becomes a former spouse on or before the date of enactment of this Act to enroll in a health benefits plan if, within six months of enactment of this Act, such individual files an election for such enrollment and arranges to make the appropriate payments. Requires the Secretary to take all practicable steps to: (1) determine the identity and address of each former spouse; and (2) notify such former spouse of that individual's rights to enrollment in a health benefits plan. Requires waiver of the six month time limit for enrollment by a former spouse if the Secretary determines the waiver is necessary. Declares that any former spouse who remarries before age 60 is not eligible to elect coverage by such a health benefit plan.
United States · United States Congress · 3 May 1984
Consumer Products Energy Efficiency Amendments of 1983 - Amends the Energy Policy and Conservation Act to provide that a labeling rule applicable to a consumer product covered under such Act shall require the disclosure, in any printed matter displayed or distributed at the time of sale of such product, of information which is required under such Act to be disclosed on the product's label or in advertising related to such product. Requires the Federal Trade Commission to require a manufacturer of a covered product to which a labeling rule applies to disclose in any of its advertisements the information which is required to be disclosed on the product's label. Requires that such disclosures be made in a manner likely to assist consumers in making purchasing decisions. Requires the Secretary of Energy to make available to consumers comparative guides of each type and class of covered products, indicating its energy efficiency and annual operating cost. Directs the Secretary to prescribe energy standards for water heaters, central air conditioners, and furnaces, which shall be no less than the median energy efficiency for each type of product for 1980 and which shall be based upon test procedures prescribed by the Secretary. Includes as factors to be considered by the Secretary in doing a cost-benefit analysis with respect to an energy efficiency standard: (1) the effect of such standard on the promotion of domestic production; and (2) the effect of such standard on the reduction of unemployment and the improvement of the economy. Requires that the Secretary's annual report on the energy conservation program for consumer products include information on the percentage of covered products which are imported and on the percentage of components of covered products which are imported. Authorizes the Secretary to prescribe energy efficiency standards for covered products if the Secretary determines, among other factors, that an improvement of 20 percent or more in the energy efficiency of the products is technologically feasible. (Under current law, it must be determined that a substantial improvement in the energy efficiency of a product is technologically feasible before the Secretary may prescribe such standards.) Revises the factors which the Secretary must consider in determining whether a performance-related feature of a covered product justifies the establishment of a higher or lower energy efficiency standard for such product. Requires the Secretary to prescribe a combined average energy efficiency standard for each of the types of covered products under the Energy Policy and Conservation Act. Provides that if the average energy efficiency of the total number of a type of covered product made by a manufacturer or marketed by a private labeler are determined to meet the combined average energy efficiency standard for such type, such manufacturer or labeler shall be treated as meeting the applicable energy efficiency standard for the 12-month period beginning with the date of such determination. Requires the Secretary to issue a guideline for improvement in the energy efficiency for a type of covered product for each of the following five years if no standard is prescribed for such product. Requires the Secretary to monitor such improvements and to prescribe an energy efficiency standard whenever a type of product fails, for three consecutive years, to achieve at least half of the improvement under such a guideline.
United States · United States Congress · 2 May 1984
Arms Race Moratorium Act - Expresses the sense of the Congress that the President should immediately communicate to the Soviet Union the willingness of the United States to enter into a mutual United States - Soviet Union moratorium on the flight testing and deployment of new ballistic missiles and anti-satellite weapons and the testing of nuclear warheads. Prohibits spending or obligating any U.S. funds for the flight testing or deployment of new ballistic missiles, the flight testing against objects in space or the deployment of anti-satellite weapons, or the testing of nuclear warheads if, within 90 days of enactment of this Act, the President has not made such a communication with the Soviet Union and, within such period, the Soviet Union communicates to the President that at the end of the 90 days the Soviet Union will observe a mutual United States - Soviet Union moratorium on such testing and deployment. Authorizes U.S. funding for such testing and deployment if, after the beginning of the moratorium, the President certifies to Congress that the Soviet Union has conducted a test or deployed a missile or anti-satellite weapon or tested a nuclear warhead inconsistent with the moratorium. Requires the President, as part of such certification, to submit to Congress an unclassified report summarizing the basis for the certification and a classified report describing in detail the basis for the certification. Directs the President to report annually to the Congress: (1) on the progress in negotiating nuclear arms control agreements with the Soviet Union; (2) on whether the President believes that continuation of the moratorium is in the best national security interests of the United States. Authorizes Congress, if the President states that continuation of the moratorium is not in the best national security interests of the United States, to enact a joint resolution which terminates the moratorium and permits funds, to be used for testing and deployment.
United States · United States Congress · 2 May 1984
Truck Safety Act of 1984 - Amends the Surface Transportation Assistance Act of 1982 to authorize the Secretary of Transportation to exempt segments of the Interstate Highway System from the requirement that commercial motor vehicle combinations consisting of a truck tractor and two trailing units (double bottom trucks) be allowed to operate on the National System of Interstate and Defense Highways. Authorizes the Secretary to make similar exemptions from length and width limitations on federally-assisted highways.
United States · United States Congress · 2 May 1984
States that the United States joins in recognizing the anniversaries of the Warsaw uprising and the Polish resistance to the World War II invasion of Poland.
United States · United States Congress · 26 April 1984
Expresses the sense of the Congress that the President should express to the Soviet Union the U.S. disapproval of the Soviet Union's: (1) systematic nondelivery of U.S. mail addressed to persons in the Soviet Union; and (2) violation of specified treaties governing international mail. States that at the meeting of the Congress of the Universal Postal Union in Hamburg, Germany, U.S. representatives should; (1) bring such violations to the attention of the Union; (2) request that an investigation of such violations be conducted by the Union; and (3) consider possible sanctions against the Soviet Union for such violations.
United States · United States Congress · 12 April 1984
Requires the Secretary of the Interior to establish the Chimon Island National Wildlife Refuge in Connecticut. Authorizes appropriations to the Department of the Interior for land acquisition and for the establishment and operation of the refuge.
United States · United States Congress · 12 April 1984
Civil Rights Act of 1984 - Amends the Education Amendments of 1972, the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, the Age Discrimination Act of 1975 and the Civil Rights Act to prohibit discrimination by any recipient of Federal financial assistance. (Currently, discrimination is prohibited only in a program or activity receiving Federal assistance.) Defines the term "recipient" to extend comprehensive coverage for purposes of the four Acts to any State or local governmental unit, any public or private agency or entity, and any subunit, successor, assignee, or transfereee of any such unit, agency, or entity.
United States · United States Congress · 12 April 1984
Interstate Banking Act of 1984 - Amends specified Federal banking laws to: (1) permit a bank to operate out-of-State if the foreign State's statutory law specifically grants such authority; and (2) provide that in considering bank acquisitions, mergers, or reorganizations effect shall be given to any State laws authorizing such activities by out-of-State banks.
United States · United States Congress · 12 April 1984
Redesignates the Office of Under Secretary of Health and Human Services in the Department of Health and Human Services as the Office of the Deputy Secretary of Health and Human Services. Establishes in such Department the Offices of: (1) Under Secretary for Health; and (2) Under Secretary for Human Services. Makes the Under Secretary for Health responsible for the Public Health Service, the Health Care Financing Administration, and the Office of Assistant Secretary for Health. Makes the Under Secretary for Human Services responsible for the Social Security Administration, the Office of Human Development Services, and the Office of Community Services.
United States · United States Congress · 5 April 1984
Authorizes the President to: (1) enter into a trade agreement with Israel providing for the continuance of existing duty-free treatment of and the elimination of existing duties and other import restrictions on products of Israel; and (2) proclaim such continuances and modifications of tariff treatment of and import restrictions on such articles as necessary to carry out the trade agreement.
United States · United States Congress · 3 April 1984
SSI Equitable Improvements and Reform Amendments of 1984 - Title I: Treatment of Income - Amends title XVI (Supplemental Security Income) of the Social Security Act to exclude from income unearned income received in the form of real or personal property: (1) if it meets the existing criteria for exclusion from resources; (2) which is of a type not normally converted into cash or otherwise used for the production of income, which is not so converted or used, and which cannot be used for food or clothing; or (3) which is received as a gift or heirloom possessing emotional or sentimental value and which is not converted into cash or otherwise used for the production of income. Makes permanent SSI and AFDC (Aid to Families with Dependent Children, part A of title IV of the Social Security Act) provisions which exempt in-kind home energy assistance provided by a private nonprofit organization. Provides for the exclusion of certain interest and dividend income. Provides that any temporary one-time income which is received by an individual in the individual's initial month of SSI eligibility shall be taken into account only for that month. Excludes from income amounts received by holocaust survivors as reparations from foreign countries. Title II: Treatment of Resources - Provides that to the extent that an overpayment results because a recipient's resources exceed the applicable limit, such overpayment shall be determined to be the lesser of: (1) the amount of benefits received or for which the recipient would have been eligible but for such resources; or (2) the amount by which the value of the resources exceeded the applicable resource limit. Modifies penalties where assets are transferred at less than fair market value. Provides that if assets are so transferred, the period of ineligibility shall bear a reasonable relationship to the uncompensated value of such resource. Permits a waiver of the penalty if: (1) the individual is in a hospital, nursing home, or other medical institution and cannot reasonably be expected to be discharged; (2) title was transferred to the individual's spouse or to the individual's child who is under age 21 or is blind or disabled; (3) the individual intended to dispose of the resource either at fair market value or for other valuable consideration; or (4) the inclusion of the resource in the individual's resources would work an undue hardship. Provides that in any event, if a State waives a similar penalty under Medicaid (title XIX of the Social Security Act) for such individual, the SSI penalty shall also be waived. Excludes from resources, for 12 months from the date of receipt, SSI or OASDI (Old Age, Survivors and Disability Insurance, title II of the Social Security Act) underpayment amounts received in the form of a retroactive check. Increases the SSI resources limit for single individuals from $1,500 to $2,000, and for married couples from $2,250 to $3,000. Excludes from the SSI resources limit an automobile, household goods, and personal effects. (Current law also exempts such items, but only to the extent determined reasonable by the Secretary of Health and Human Services.) Title III: Determination of Benefit Amounts - Revises SSI provisions providing for a one-third reduction in benefits for an SSI recipient who lives in another person's household and who receives support and maintenance in kind from such person. Provides that an individual shall not be considered to be "living in another person's household and receiving support and maintenance in kind from such person" if such individual lives in a household with another person and such individual's pro rata share of the expenses of maintaining such household does not exceed the benefit payable to an individual with no other income who is living in another person's household and receiving support and maintenance from such person. Provides for the continuation of regular SSI benefits until the end of the second consecutive month of institutionalization if an eligible individual is institutionalized. Increases the benefits standard payable annually to: (1) an institutionalized individual from $300 to $420; and (2) an institutionalized couple from $600 to $840. Title IV: Provisions Relating to Eligibility - Provides that a disabled child who is living outside the United States with his or her parents shall maintain SSI eligibility so long as the parents retain legal residence in the United States. Provides for the payment of benefits due a deceased SSI recipient to certain individuals who contributed to the support of the deceased. (Current law provides for the payment of benefits following a beneficiary's death only to the surviving spouse.) Provides for an exemption from the requirement that an SSI applicant or recipient must file for OASDI or other pension benefits if receipt of such benefits would cause the applicant or recipient to be ineligible for SSI or Medicaid. Reduces from six months to one month the length of time that an SSI individual and spouse must live separately before they will be treated as separate individuals for SSI purposes. Title V: Overpayments, Underpayments, and Benefit Reductions - Provides that, in situations where there has not been fraud in connection with an SSI overpayment, overpayments shall be recovered through adjustments in future benefits which do not reduce any benefit payment by more than the greater of ten percent or ten dollars. Expands the SSI interim assistance program to include payment of retroactive SSI funds to a State for assistance provided during any period following the termination of an individual's SSI benefits, if and to the extent that: (1) the individual is subsequently found on reconsideration of the termination to have been eligible for such benefits; and (2) a retroactive payment of benefits for months in that period is due the individual. Repeals the penalty imposed against an SSI recipient because the group living facility in which the recipient lives fails to meet applicable standards. Increases from $100 to an amount equal to monthly SSI benefits for three months the emergency cash advances available to a presumptively eligible individual. Provides that: (1) if at any time both an overpayment and an underpayment exist in the case of an individual without a final adjustment or recovery having yet been made with respect to either of them, no such adjustment shall be made with respect to the underpayment until the individual has had a reasonable opportunity to seek a waiver of the overpayment; and (2) the existence of the underpayment shall not preclude the granting of such a waiver of the overpayment or otherwise affect the disposition thereof. Prohibits the Secretary from taking any action to recover an SSI overpayment until the Secretary has sent the SSI recipient who has been overpaid a notice containing, in clear and understandable language, certain information, including a statement of the individual's right to seek a waiver of the overpayment and to seek a reconsideration of the determination that an overpayment exists. Title VI: Extension of SSI Program - Includes the Virgin Islands and Guam within the SSI program. Directs the Secretary to conduct a study of the feasibility of extending the SSI program to Puerto Rico and to report the results to Congress. Title VII: Other Amendments - Directs the Secretary to conduct a statistically reliable survey of current and potential recipients of SSI benefits, with the objective of determining the extent to which the program is being used by individuals who are or may be eligible for SSI benefits and the extent to which current data (on the number of such individuals and their reasons for filing or not filing SSI applications) are accurate, and to report the results of such survey to Congress together with any recommendations. Directs the Secretary to establish and conduct an ongoing program designed to provide information about SSI benefits (and State supplementary benefits) to individuals who are not currently receiving such benefits. Directs the Secretary to assist applicants and recipients in executing and filing applications for SSI benefits and in furnishing any other information which may be required, with particular attention to cases where such applicants and recipients because of their physical or mental condition are incapable without undue difficulty of executing or filing such applications or furnishing such information. Directs the Secretary to take certain steps to assure that all information and forms for SSI applicants and recipients are clear and readily understandable. Sets forth the effective date.