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United States · Official source
2,386 records where Rep. Kolbe, Jim [R-AZ-8] is listed as a sponsor, author, or other actor. Search with topics and years
United States · United States Congress · 19 March 1985
Tax Fairness for Families Act - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to increase the amount of the deduction allowed for the personal exemption from the current amount of $1,000 to $2,000.
United States · United States Congress · 19 March 1985
Designates the month of June 1985 as Youth Suicide Prevention Month.
United States · United States Congress · 19 March 1985
Directs the President to designate May 1985 as Older Americans Month.
United States · United States Congress · 19 March 1985
Expresses the sense of the Congress that a bilateral summit on trade relations between the United States and Mexico should be held. Specifies the objectives that should be included at such summit.
United States · United States Congress · 7 March 1985
Authorizes the Board of Regents of the Smithsonian Institution to plan and construct facilities for the Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory and the Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute. Authorizes appropriations for such purposes effective October 1, 1986. Provides for transfer of any portion of such funds to the General Services Administration to carry out such purposes.
United States · United States Congress · 7 March 1985
National Copper Policy Act of 1985 - Declares that it is U.S. policy to negotiate agreements temporarily limiting copper production by foreign copper producers in order to: (1) ensure an adequate supply of domestic copper; (2) expand employment in the copper industry; and (3) stabilize foreign copper production. Declares that if such an agreement is not reached an additional tariff should be applied to all imported copper for at most five years. Directs the Secretary of the Interior (the Secretary) to conduct a study to determine how the recent closures of U.S. copper mines and smelters affected the U.S. copper reserves and production capacity. Requires the Secretary to submit the results of the study to the Congress within 90 days of the date of enactment of this Act. Directs the President, acting through the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR), to undertake negotiations during the six months after enactment of this Act with all major copper producing countries for the purpose of achieving voluntary restraint agreements. Directs the President to report to the Congress whether such voluntary restraint agreements will take effect between the United States and the major copper producing countries. Directs the USTR, if such voluntary restraint agreements take effect, to monitor the production of unwrought copper by those countries during each 12-month period within the copper import restraint period. Directs the USTR to report the results of such monitoring to the Congress. Imposes a surcharge on all copper imports if voluntary restraint agreements do not take effect for the copper import restraint period. Imposes a surcharge on copper imports if the USTR reports that major copper producing countries during a specified 12-month period did not satisfactorily comply with the voluntary restraint agreements. Directs the Secretary to determine if the U.S. copper mining and smelter industry, during any 12-month period when copper surcharges are in effect: (1) improved productivity through facility modernization or invested in such modernization, or both; and (2) provided retraining and relocation of displaced workers. Prohibits imposing further copper surcharges if the U.S. copper mining and smelting industry did not meet such requirements.
United States · United States Congress · 7 March 1985
Social Security Trust Funds Act of 1985 - Amends title VII (Administration) of the Social Security Act to exclude from Federal budget totals and limitations: (1) the receipts and disbursements of the Federal Old-Age and Survivors Insurance Trust Fund, the Federal Disability Insurance Trust Fund, the Federal Hospital Insurance Trust Fund, and the Federal Supplementary Medical Insurance Trust Fund; and (2) employment related social security taxes. Repeals superseded provisions relating to budgetary treatment of social security trust operations.
United States · United States Congress · 7 March 1985
Designates the month of April 1985 as Fair Housing Month.
United States · United States Congress · 7 March 1985
States that the Congress: (1) reaffirms the Organization of American States declaration that the solution to Nicaragua's political problems is within the exclusive jurisdiction of the Nicaraguan people; (2) urges the President to grant political recognition to the democratic Nicaraguan Resistance; and (3) urges the President and the Organization of American States to support the Resistance.
United States · United States Congress · 6 March 1985
Grants a Federal charter to the Retired Enlisted Association, Incorporated.
United States · United States Congress · 6 March 1985
Expresses the sense of the Congress that: (1) Paraguay should carry out an investigation to locate and arrest Josef Mengele and extradite him to the Federal Republic of Germany; and (2) the United States should take actions to ensure that Josef Mengele is brought to justice.
United States · United States Congress · 4 March 1985
Congressional Pay Reform Act of 1985 - Amends the Legislative Reorganization Act of 1946 to specify that pay adjustments for Members of Congress shall become effective on March 1 following the beginning of the next Congress after the Congress during which such adjustment is approved. Amends the Federal Salary Act to require the President to transmit to the Congress within a specified time period, recommendations for rates of pay of Members of Congress legislative and judicial employees. (Currently such recommendations are included in the Federal budget.) Prohibits the House of Representatives and the Senate from considering any bill or joint resolution carrying an appropriation for compensation of Members of Congress for any fiscal year if such bill or joint resolution carries an appropriation, or a limitation of appropriations, for any other purpose. Requires a recorded vote on such bill or resolution.
United States · United States Congress · 4 March 1985
Designates the month of October 1985 as National Spina Bifida Month.
United States · United States Congress · 28 February 1985
Designates the week beginning on October 6, 1985, as Mental Illness Awareness Week.
United States · United States Congress · 27 February 1985
Readiness Enhancement of Air Force Reserve Special Operations Act of 1985 - Authorizes appropriations for FY 1986 for the operation and maintenance of: (1) a Special Operations Wing of the Air Force Reserve; and (2) the Directorate of the Department of Defense Task Force on Drug Law Enforcement. Directs the Secretary of Defense, not later than September 30, 1985, to report to specified congressional committees concerning the expenditure of funds authorized by this Act. Outlines information to be included in such report.
United States · United States Congress · 27 February 1985
Amends the Internal Revenue Code to provide that for purposes of the small issue industrial development bonds tax exemption, the $10,000,000 exclusion of capital expenditures where there is an urban development action grant shall apply whether the grant was made before or after the issuance of bonds.
United States · United States Congress · 26 February 1985
Amends the Internal Revenue Code to allow an individual an income tax credit equal to 25 percent of the amount of expenses paid or incurred during the taxable year for new security devices for the taxpayer's residence. Limits the amount of the tax credit to a maximum of $125. Provide that the tax credit shall be 100 percent of such expenses for individuals who have attained the age of 65 before the close of the taxable year. Provides that where the basis of property is increased as a result of an expenditure for security devices, the taxpayer must reduce such property's basis by the amount of the allowed credit. Provides that no credit shall be allowed where the property is eligible for the investment credit.
United States · United States Congress · 26 February 1985
Expresses the sense of the Congress that: (1) veterans' disability compensation payments should remain exempt from Federal income taxation; and (2) the President should reject any proposals to tax such payments.
United States · United States Congress · 25 February 1985
Defense Cost Reduction Act of 1985 - Directs the Secretary of Defense to provide for the development, use, and joint use of standard equipment, including systems, components, parts, weapons, and automated data processing systems, throughout the Department of Defense. Requires the Secretary to consider cost, performance, reliability, and field maintainability. Directs the Secretary to review and adjust equipment specifications and to require defense contracts to specify functional or performance characteristics rather than method-of-manufacture or design. Directs the Secretary to simplify procurement procedures by replacing regulations with policy guidelines, simplifying contract language, limiting contractor to subcontractor flow down of terms, training procurement personnel, and centralizing procurement. Directs the Secretary to modernize and standardize existing automated data processing systems used for inventory management and control, including changes which would improve the readiness of the armed forces. Directs the Secretary to report to the Congress by December 1 of every year after 1984 on the progress of equipment standardization, procurement simplification, and inventory and management, including information on which equipment has been standardized and training improvements. Revises the commencement dates of military pensions for certain members of the uniformed services. Sets forth a formula for the computation of the military pension of a person who first became a member of a uniformed service after the enactment of this Act. Reduces the amount of such pension for a person who has completed fewer than 30 years of service and elects to receive such pension on the first day of entitlement.
United States · United States Congress · 21 February 1985
Children's Justice Act - Amends the Child Abuse Amendments of 1984 to authorize a Children's Justice Grant program. Authorizes the Secretary of Health and Human Services to make additional grants to States under specified provisions of the Child Abuse Prevention and Treatment Act for identification, treatment, and prevention of sexual abuse. Makes a State eligible for such assistance if the Secretary determines that the State, within one year after the enactment of this Act, has enacted specified legal and administrative changes with respect to the investigation and prosecution of child sexual abuse cases. Requires a State, to be eligible for such assistance, to have in effect a child sexual abuse program which includes at least one statute or administrative procedure to carry out the following categories of reforms: (1) handling such cases so as to reduce the trauma to the child victim; (2) improving the chances of successful prosecution or legal action against child molesters; and (3) improving procedures to protect children from sexual abuse. Directs the Secretary to issue necessary regulations for such assistance program. Authorizes appropriations for FY 1986 and 1987.
United States · United States Congress · 21 February 1985
Requires Government procurement contracts to include provisions under which the contractor is prohibited from employing former Government officers or employees or former or retired members of the uniformed services who, during the five years preceding separation from Government service, had significant responsibilities for any procurement function with respect to such contracts. Declares such prohibition period to be that which ends five years after the end of the contract or the five-year period beginning on the date of the individual's separation from Government service. Sets forth the method of determining the liquidated damages to be paid by any contractor who violates such prohibition. Requires each contractor to send an annual report listing each former Government employee hired by that contractor within the previous five years to the agency by which each employee was last employed. Directs the Inspector General of each such agency to review the report to identify any violation of this Act. Requires the Director of the Office of Government Ethics to: (1) conduct an annual random survey of the reports to check for violations of this Act; and (2) report to the Congress annually on the operation of this Act. Makes this Act inapplicable to contracts for amounts less than $25,000.
United States · United States Congress · 21 February 1985
High Technology Research and Scientific Education Act of 1985 - Title I: The Credit for Increasing Research Activities - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to make permanent the tax credit for research and development (R&D) expenditures. Modifies the definition of qualified research for purposes of the R&D credit to narrow the category of eligible activities for which the credit is allowable. Provides that in-house and contract research expenses paid or incurred by a regular corporation (not an S corporation, a personal holding company, or a service corporation) will constitute qualified research expenses for R&D credit purposes if the corporation undertakes the research with the intention to use the result thereof in the active conduct of a present or future trade or business. Provides that in the case of research being conducted in partnership form, research expenses will constitute qualified research expenses if they are incurred by the partnership in carrying on a trade or business as applied at the partnership level, and the credit is apportioned among the partners in accordance with general partnership rules. Provides exceptions to this general rule where: (1) there is a joint venture enterprise of regular corporations; or (2) not all of the members of the joint venture are regular corporations, but each member's own trade or business would satisfy the trade or business test with respect to the partnership's research expenditures. Provides that for these two exceptions the research expenses will flow through to the partners, with the trade or business test being applied at the partner level. Title II: Promotion of University Research and Scientific Investigation - Establishes a new income tax credit equal to 20 percent of that portion of a corporation's payments to universities (and other qualified non-profit tax-exempt organizations for basic research) which exceeds a fixed, historical "minimum university basic research" floor. Defines the "minimum university basic research" floor as one percent of the annual average of the corporate taxpayer's combined qualified in-house research expenses, contract research expenses and university basic research payments for the base period composed of the period from 1981 through 1983. Provides that the amounts of research expenses which fall below the floor shall remain eligible for the present R&D credit and are included in the corporation's base period for purposes of calculating the present R&D credit. Treats the amounts which exceed the "minimum university basic research" floor as ineligible for the present R&D credit and excludes such amounts from the corporate taxpayer's base year research expenses for purposes of calculating the corporations R&D credit under present law. Provides that a corporation's payments to universities for basic research that is eligible for the new tax credit shall be reduced to the extent that the corporation's general (i.e., not designated for research purposes) charitable giving to all universities falls below historical levels (the annual average of undesignated payments for three of the immediately preceding four years as selected by the taxpayer). Makes additions to the list of organizations to which corporate payments for basic research may be made and be eligible for the tax credit. Allows a corporation an income tax deduction for contributions of scientific or technical property to an institution of higher education. Defines scientific property to mean tangible personal property (including computer software) used in a trade or business, which is donated for the direct education of students or faculty, for research and experimentation, or for research training in the United States in mathematics, the physical, biological, or chemical sciences, engineering, or advanced computer sciences. Sets forth a formula for determining the amount of the allowable deduction for contributions of scientific property. Provides for an income tax exclusion for the scholarships, fellowship grants, student loan forgiveness, or stipends of a graduate student in mathematics, engineering, computer science, or the physical or biological sciences. Provides that such tax exclusion is not forfeited merely because the student is required, as a condition of the scholarship or fellowship, to perform future service in teaching or research.
United States · United States Congress · 21 February 1985
Designates August 4, 1985, as Freedom of the Press Day.
United States · United States Congress · 21 February 1985
Expresses the sense of the House of Representatives that: (1) the President should express to the Soviet Union U.S. opposition with respect to the harassment and arrests of Hebrew teachers and Jewish activists in the Soviet Union; and (2) the Soviet Union should comply with its commitments under specified international human rights agreements and cease its persecution of individuals on the basis of their Jewish faith.
United States · United States Congress · 20 February 1985
Amends the Federal Tort Claims Act to allow members of the armed forces to bring claims for damages against the United States for personal injury or death arising out of medical or dental care furnished by a Department of Defense hospital.
United States · United States Congress · 20 February 1985
Amends the law regarding the maximum national speed limit to direct the Secretary of Transportation to disapprove State highway projects seeking Federal proportional contribution if the applicant State permits: (1) a maximum speed limit exceeding 55 miles per hour on any public highway portion lying within a traffic-congested area; (2) a maximum speed limit exceeding 70 miles per hour on any public highway portion lying outside a traffic-congested area; or (3) speed limits which are not uniformly applied to all motor vehicles on any other portion of public highway if such portion had a uniformly applicable speed limit on November 1, 1973. Directs the Secretary to establish standards for the determination of traffic-congested areas within 180 days after enactment of this Act.
United States · United States Congress · 19 February 1985
Liberty Double-Eagle Bullion Coin Act - Requires the Secretary of the Treasury to mint and issue gold double-eagle coins. Sets forth specifications for and the design of such coins. Makes such coins legal tender. Permits the sale of such coins at a price equal to the cost of minting and issuing such coins plus a surcharge equal to the amount by which the fair market value of gold bullion held by the United States and used in the minting of the coins exceeds the statutory maximum value of any gold certificates outstanding against the bullion. Requires the revenue from such surcharges to be used to reduce the national debt. Authorizes appropriations.
United States · United States Congress · 19 February 1985
Amends rule X of the Rules of the House of Representatives to require each standing committee to review, on a continuing basis and when considering public bills or resolutions, those portions of the President's Private Sector Survey on Cost Control (Grace Commission report) pertaining to such committee's jurisdiction. Amends rule XI to require each committee report on a public bill or resolution to contain: (1) an identification of each recommendation of the Survey to be implemented and the resulting estimated program cost savings or revenue enhancement; and (2) a statement setting forth the disposition of each recommendation pertaining to such bill or resolution.
United States · United States Congress · 7 February 1985
Amends the patent laws to make it an infringement of patent to use, sell, or import into the United States without authority a product produced by a patented process. Places the burden of proof upon the party asserting that a product was not produced with the patented process in an infringement action where the court finds a substantial likelihood that the product was so produced and the claimant has exhausted all means of discovery.
United States · United States Congress · 7 February 1985
Grants a Federal charter to the Pearl Harbor Survivors Association.
United States · United States Congress · 7 February 1985
Summer Youth Employment, Training, and Education Act of 1985 - Amends the Job Training Partnership Act (JTPA) to require the addition of an education component to the summer youth employment and training programs under part B of title II (Training Services for the Disadvantaged) of JTPA. Requires that each service delivery area (SDA) be allotted an amount equal to at least 90 percent of the amount available to such area for the summer youth program in the preceding fiscal year. Requires ratable reductions in the allocation to each SDA if appropriations are not sufficient to provide such amount to each SDA. Requires that allotments to States and allocations to SDAs be: (1) made in accordance with provisions for prompt allocation of funds; and (2) available for planning purposes before the beginning of the summer months for which allotted and allocated. Requires that summer youth program funds be used so that participants spend a portion of their time on individualized, self-paced, remedial and basic academic and functional competency development and achieve specified types of performance standards established and developed in each SDA. Requires that the portion of a participant's time spent on such competency development be in addition to, and not in place of, regular employment under the summer youth program. Prohibits summer youth program funds from being used to provide employment to any individual who fails to comply with attendance standards established by the SDA with respect to such education components. Prohibits summer youth program funds from being used to compensate or reward participants for attendance at such education components, except under specified provisions which require that a portion of matching funds be used to provide bonuses to participants for achievement of academic and functional competence. Specifies that planning for summer youth programs does not have to be conducted during the summer months. Sets forth matching fund requirements for summer youth programs. Requires each private industry council (PIC), for each program year beginning after June 30, 1987, to make available from non-Federal sources an amount for use in such programs equal to at least one and one-half percent of the amount made available under JTPA for such programs in that SDA for the applicable program year. Allows each PIC, for program years beginning July 1, 1985, and July 1, 1986, to make available such matching amounts. Limits, for any program year beginning after June 30, 1987, such matching amounts to not less than $20,000 and not more than $100,000 per SDA. Requires each PIC to notify the State of the PIC's matching amount by April 1 of the preceding program year. Requires each State, for program years beginning after June 30, 1987, to provide to each PIC an amount equal to the PIC matching amount. Allows States to provide such State matching amount from non-Federal sources or to use funds available to them under part A (Adult and Youth Programs) of title II of JTPA and under chapter 2 (Consolidation of Federal Programs for Elementary and Secondary Education) of the Educational Consolidation and Improvement Act of 1981. Requires each State, for program years beginning July 1, 1985, and July 1, 1986, to reserve one and one-half percent of its State allotment under part A, to be allocated to PICs in proportion to the matching amounts made available by such PICs for such program years. Requires that such matching amounts be used to: (1) support the education and training components of the summer youth programs; (2) provide bonuses to participants for achievement of academic and functional competence; and (3) after complying with (1) and (2), create additional employment opportunities under the summer youth programs. Allows matching amounts to be in cash or in-kind, but requires that in-kind matching amounts be in the form of state-of-the-art basic and remedial education materials and equipment suitable for use for summer youth programs for the applicable program year. Requires each SDA to maintain complete records on the improvements in academic and functional competency attained by participants in the summer youth programs. Requires that such records be compiled by reference to State and locally determined general education diploma and basic education competency requirements. Requires each SDA to submit summaries of such records to the State. Requires States to submit annual reports on such summaries to the Secretary of Labor. Directs the Secretary to include an analysis of such reports in the Secretary's annual report to the Congress on employment and training programs. Provides that a specified portion of the State allotment under JTPA which is currently available for State education programs shall also be available to carry out matching requirements for summer youth programs.
United States · United States Congress · 6 February 1985
Firearms Owners' Protection Act - Title I: Amendments to Title 18, United States Code - 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, dealer, or importer of firearms a person who manufactures or deals in 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. Allows for the sale or delivery of any firearm to a resident of a State other than a State in which the licensee's place of business is located if such sale or delivery complies with the laws of both States. Presumes a licensee to have actual knowledge of the published laws of the State. Requires such transfer to be face to face. 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. Declares that a licensed dealer's personal collection of firearms shall not be subject to recordkeeping requirements, under specific circumstances. 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. Allows the Government to voluntarily dismiss criminal charges prior to trial and still proceed with revocation. Imposes as a condition for the inspection or examination of records, documents, firearms, or ammunition that the Secretary has reasonable cause to believe that a violation has occurred and that evidence may be found on the premises. Requires a warrant to be issued for such search. Restricts the kind of 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. Makes it a defense to a prosecution under this section that the conduct constituting the offense consisted of simple carelessness. Amends the forfeiture provision to subject to seizure any firearm or ammunition "involved in or used" in any violation of the Gun Control 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 by allowing such a person to appeal a denial to the U.S. district court. 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). 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. Declares 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 · 6 February 1985
Designates the month of October 1985 as National High-Tech Month.
United States · United States Congress · 6 February 1985
Designates the month of October 1985 as National Down Syndrome Month.
United States · United States Congress · 6 February 1985
Requires that funds be made available from appropriations under the Departments of Labor, Health and Human Services, and Education and Related Agencies Appropriation Act, 1985 to enable the National Institutes of Health to award 6,500 new and competing research grants in FY 1985.
United States · United States Congress · 6 February 1985
Authorizes and requests the President to designate the last Friday of April each year as National Arbor Day.
United States · United States Congress · 4 February 1985
Synthetic Fuels Corporation Fiscal Responsibility Act - Amends the United States Synthetic Fuels Corporation Act of 1980 to terminate the authority of the United States Synthetic Fuels Corporation (the Corporation) to enter into any awards or commitments for financial assistance. Directs the Corporation's Board of Directors to submit a final report to the Congress regarding the status of the Corporation within 60 days after enactment of this Act. Prohibits the Corporation from expending any funds or acting in furtherance of any commitment made after February 5, 1985, unless a joint resolution approving such transaction is enacted. Requires the Secretaries of Energy and of the Treasury and the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency to agree on a Memorandum of Understanding which includes a plan for: (1) the abolition of the Corporation; and (2) for the administration of synthetic fuels projects which will continue after the abolition of the Corporation.
United States · United States Congress · 4 February 1985
Expresses the sense of the House of Representatives that no change in Federal tax law enacted by the Congress should: (1) apply to any taxable year beginning before the end of the calendar year in which enacted; or (2) apply to investigations made, transactions entered into, or property placed in service before the effective date of such change.
United States · United States Congress · 31 January 1985
Amends the Housing and Community Development Act of 1974 regarding urban development action grant criteria to require at least one-half of aggregate grant amounts to be made solely on the basis of specified criteria, of which job creation, especially for low-income persons and minorities, shall be given priority. Requires a report to the Congress.
United States · United States Congress · 31 January 1985
Designates the month of April 1985 as National Child Abuse Prevention Month.
United States · United States Congress · 30 January 1985
Extends through FY 1989 the revenue sharing program for local governments.
United States · United States Congress · 30 January 1985
Amends the Internal Revenue Code to continue the excise tax on cigarettes at its present 16 cents per pack level (rather than reducing the excise tax to eight cents per pack October 1, 1985, as currently provided). Authorizes the Secretary of the Treasury to transfer amounts received from this excise tax on cigarettes to the Federal Hospital Insurance Trust Fund.
United States · United States Congress · 30 January 1985
Directs the President to: (1) secure from the Indochina nations a full accounting of Americans captured or missing as a result of the Vietnam conflict; and (2) work for the release of captive Americans and the return of the remains of those American servicemen and civilians who died in Southeast Asia. Requires the President to submit two reports to Congress on American POW/MIAs in Southeast Asia.
United States · United States Congress · 28 January 1985
Biennial Budgeting Act of 1985 - Amends the Congressional Budget Act of 1974 to establish a two-year cycle for the presidential and congressional budget process. Requires each standing committee of Congress to review the laws and programs under its jurisdiction every other year and to consider the desirability of new legislation in such areas. Eliminates provisions requiring a second concurrent resolution on the budget. Permits revisions only in new spending authority, revenues, and the public debt limit through the reconciliation process.
United States · United States Congress · 28 January 1985
Designates December 7, 1985, as National Pearl Harbor Remembrance Day.
United States · United States Congress · 24 January 1985
Amends the Federal criminal code to establish criteria for the imposition of the death penalty for treason and espionage. Requires the Government, for an offense punishable by death, to serve notice upon the defendant a reasonable time before trial or acceptance of a plea that it intends to seek the death penalty, as well as notice of the aggravating factors upon which it will rely. Requires a separate sentencing hearing before a jury or the court upon motion by the defendant when the defendant is found guilty or pleads guilty to an offense punishable by death. Provides that no presentence report shall be prepared in such cases. Allows the defendant and the Government to present any information relevant to sentencing, without regard to the rules of evidence, but permits information to be excluded where its probative value is substantially outweighed by the danger of unfair prejudice, confusion of the issues, or misleading of the jury. Specifies mitigating factors which the defendant must establish by a preponderance of the information and aggravating factors which the Government must prove beyond a reasonable doubt. Sets forth special aggravating factors with respect to the crimes of treason and espionage. Includes among the mitigating factors that the defendant was less than 18 years old at the time of the crime. Conditions imposition of the death penalty on a unanimous finding by the jury that: (1) some aggravating factor exists in addition to a threshold factor; and (2) the aggravating factor sufficiently outweighs any mitigating factor found to exist. Directs the court to impose the death penalty upon a finding that such sentence is justified. Requires the court to instruct the jury not to consider the race, color, national origin, creed, or sex of the defendant in its consideration of the death sentence. Limits the circumstances under which the offense of delivering defense information to aid foreign governments is punishable by death. Establishes procedures for appeal from a death sentence. Requires the court of appeals, upon considering the record and the information and procedures of the sentencing hearing, and any special finding, to affirm the decision if: (1) the sentence was not imposed under influence of passion, prejudice, or arbitrariness; and (2) the information supports the finding of aggravating factors or the absence of mitigating factors. Requires the court to provide a written explanation of its determination.
United States · United States Congress · 24 January 1985
Amends the Federal criminal code to establish penalties for damaging or destroying any cemetery, religious building, or any religious article contained in such a building or interfering with any person freely exercising his or her religion.
United States · United States Congress · 24 January 1985
Congressional and Judicial Equal Employment Opportunity Act of 1985 - Amends the Civil Rights Act of 1964 to require that personnel actions affecting employees or applicants in the legislative and judicial branches of the Government be free from any discrimination based on race, color, national origin, religion, sex, handicap, or age. Allows Members of Congress to take into consideration an individual's domicile and political affiliation. Establishes within the judicial branch an Employment Review Board. Provides that members of the board be appointed from the retired judges of the Supreme Court and Courts of Appeals. Authorizes an aggrieved individual to file a written complaint with the Board. Establishes procedures for the Board to investigate, settle, hear, and determine the claims alleged. Provides that if a violation is found an order for relief may compel the defendant to: (1) employ or reinstate such individual on such terms and conditions as may be appropriate; (2) pay compensatory damages; (3) pay punitive damages; and (4) pay fees and allowances of witnesses and reasonable attorneys' fees. Authorizes the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit to review, enjoin, set aside, suspend, modify, or enforce orders of the Board. Requires members of the Board to submit written reports to the Committee on Standards of Official Conduct of the House of Representatives and the Senate Select Committee on Ethics describing complaints during the reporting period involved.
United States · United States Congress · 24 January 1985
Amends the Internal Revenue Code to provide for inflation adjustments to the income levels at which social security benefits and tier I railroad retirement benefits are subject to income tax.
United States · United States Congress · 24 January 1985
Amends the Internal Revenue Code to repeal the taxation of social security benefits and tier I railroad retirement benefits.