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United States · Official source
5,039 records where Rep. LaFalce, John J. [D-NY-29] is listed as a sponsor, author, or other actor. Search with topics and years
United States · United States Congress · 3 October 1985
Directs the President to designate February 16, 1986, as Lithuanian Independence Day.
United States · United States Congress · 3 October 1985
Designates November 6, 1985, as Ignacy Jan Paderewski Day.
United States · United States Congress · 2 October 1985
Corporation for Small Business Investment Charter Act - Amends the Small Business Investment Act of 1958 to provide that references to small business investment companies operating under the Act shall be deemed to refer to small business investment companies operating under the provisions of this Act. Includes in the term "small business investment company" any organization which is qualified to conduct business with the Corporation for Small Business Investment. Requires small business investment companies to provide a source of equity capital for incorporated and unincorporated small businesses under such terms as the small business investment company may fix in accordance with the rules of the Corporation. (Currently, such capital is provided by small business investment companies in accordance with the regulations of the Small Business Administration.) Provides that small business investment companies may provide to small businesses: (1) equity investments and loans on a participation or guaranteed basis; and (2) consulting and advisory services on a fee basis. Establishes the Corporation for Small Business Investment. Authorizes the Corporation to: (1) make loans to small business investment companies; (2) purchase preferred securities, debentures, and guarantee debentures issued by such companies; and (3) act as issuer of such securities. Requires the Corporation to establish criteria for the qualification of: (1) small business investment companies to conduct business with such corporation; and (2) small business investment companies whose investments will be made solely in small businesses which will help facilitate the ownership in such businesses by persons who have been hampered by social or economic disadvantages. Permits the purchase of ownership interests in small business investment companies by national banks. Authorizes small business investment companies to: (1) purchase stock issued by the Corporation; (2) borrow money; and (3) issue its debenture bonds, promissory notes, or other obligations under conditions as prescribed by the Corporation. Authorizes and directs the Corporation and the Small Business Administration (SBA) to enter into an agreement in which the Corporation will acquire title to preferred securities and debentures issued by small business investment companies whose policy is to facilitate small business ownership by socially and economically disadvantaged persons, and held by the SBA, and Funds held by the SBA representing the reserve for losses against such preferred securities and debentures. Sets forth the conditions under which the Corporation shall hold such securities, debenture, and loss reserve Funds. Authorizes the Corporation to: (1) enter into agreements regarding the operation of small business investment companies; and (2) issue common and preferred stock. Authorizes the Secretary of the Treasury to purchase obligations issued by the Corporation. Exempts from the securities laws of the United States all stock and obligations issued by the Corporation. Requires the Corporation to adopt rules on conflicts of interest which may be detrimental to: (1) small businesses; (2) small business investment companies; or (3) the Corporation. Requires the accounts of the Corporation to be audited annually. Requires a report of each such audit to be: (1) furnished to the Secretary; and (2) made by the Secretary to the President and the Small Business Committees of the Congress not later than six months following the close of each fiscal year. Requires the Corporation, after the end of each fiscal year, to transmit to the President, the Small Business Committees of the Congress, and the Administrator a report of its operations and activities during each year. Exempts from State usury laws all business loans made by a small business investment company pursuant to this Act. Transfers to the Corporation all title to small business investment company securities that are guaranteed by the SBA and held by the Federal Financing Bank.
United States · United States Congress · 1 October 1985
Amends the copyright law to make permanent the prohibition against importing certain English language books not manufactured in the United States and Canada, denying copyright protection to books imported in violation of this restriction (the manufacturing clause).
United States · United States Congress · 1 October 1985
Social Security Budget and Administrative Reorganization Act of 1985 - Title I: Establishment of the Social Security Administration - Amends title VII (Administration) of the Social Security Act to establish as an independent executive agency a Social Security Administration, headed by a Social Security Board. Provides that it shall be the duty of the Administration to administer the programs established by titles II (Old Age, Survivors and Disability Insurance) and XVI (Supplemental Security Income) of the Social Security Act. Requires the Board to study and make recommendations as to the most effective methods of providing economic security through social insurance and as to legislation and matters of administrative policy. Establishes in the Administration: (1) a Commissioner of Social Security; (2) a Deputy Commissioner of Social Security; (3) a General Counsel; (4) an Inspector General; and (5) an Office of the Beneficiary Ombudsman, to be headed by a Beneficiary Ombudsman who shall represent the interests of beneficiaries under the Old Age, Survivors and Disability Insurance program and the Supplemental Security Income Program within the Administration. Requires the annual report of the Board to include a description of the activities of the Beneficiary Ombudsman. Requires the Board to make annual budgetary recommendations relating to the Administration. Requires that appropriations requests by the Administration for staffing and personnel be based upon a comprehensive workforce plan as established by the Board. Provides for the apportionment of administrative costs. Requires the annual report of the Board to include a section reflecting the use of budget authority provided to the Administration. Requires that authority for automated data processing procurement and facilities construction be provided in the form of contract authority covering the total cost of such acquisitions. Makes amounts needed for the liquidation of contract authority so provided available from the Federal Old-Age and Survivors Insurance Trust Fund and the Federal Disability Insurance Trust Fund to the extent that such amounts are not needed to meet current obligations for benefit payments. Requires the Board and the Director of the Office of Personnel Management to implement demonstration projects relating to personnel matters. Directs the Board and the Administrator of General Services to implement such projects relating to delegations from the Administrator. Specifies the authorities which are to be delegated to the Board from the Administrator and the Director. Requires the Comptroller General to report to specified congressional committees concerning such projects, including an evaluation of the Board's readiness to assume full and permanent authority. Requires the Board to cause a seal of office to be made and judicial notice taken thereof. Provides for the transfer to the Administration of all functions carried out by the Secretary of Health and Human Services with respect to the programs and activities to be carried out by the Administration under this Act. Abolishes the position of Commissioner of Social Security in the Department of Health and Human Services. Sets forth effective date and transitional rule provisions. Title II: Conforming Amendments and Rules of Construction - Requires the Secretary and the Board to report to Congress within 120 days after the beginning of each regular session on their administration under this Act. Requires the Secretary to study and make recommendations on the most effective methods of providing economic security and on the administrative policy for the programs which he or she administers. Directs the Board to appoint, quadrennially, an Advisory Council on the Old-Age, Survivors, and Disability Insurance program and an Advisory Council on Health and Supplementary Medical Insurance to review the relation of the trust funds supporting the Old-Age, Survivors and Disability Insurance program and the Medicare program and the long-term commitments of those programs. Requires each council to submit a report to the Board for transmittal to the Congress and the Board of Trustees of each Trust Fund. Sets forth the effective dates of this title. Title III: Budgetary Treatment of Old-Age, Survivors, and Disability Insurance Program - Provides for off-budget treatment of the Federal Old-Age and Survivors Insurance Trust Fund and the Federal Disability Insurance Trust Fund beginning with FY 1987.
United States · United States Congress · 26 September 1985
National Adoption Information Clearinghouse Act of 1985 - Amends title X (Population Research and Voluntary Family Planning Programs) of the Public Health Service Act to direct the Secretary of Health and Human Services to establish a National Adoption Information Clearinghouse to: (1) collect and synthesize data and information concerning all aspects of infant adoption and adoption of children with special needs; (2) compile, maintain, and revise directories of information; and (3) disseminate information regarding adoption.
United States · United States Congress · 26 September 1985
Designates 1987 as the Year of Thanksgiving.
United States · United States Congress · 26 September 1985
Designates the week of October 20 through October 26, 1985, as National Temporary Help Services Week.
United States · United States Congress · 26 September 1985
Commemorates the accomplishments of the Education for All Handicapped Children Act on its tenth anniversary.
United States · United States Congress · 26 September 1985
Expresses the sense of the Congress that the current Government of Guatemala is to be commended for its perseverance and determination to return to civilian rule.
United States · United States Congress · 20 September 1985
Requests the President to resubmit the proposed Agreement for Cooperation with China to the Congress, together with a formal exemption from the safeguard and non-alteration requirements of transferred nuclear materials under the Atomic Energy Act of 1954.
United States · United States Congress · 19 September 1985
Covert Agent Disclosure Federal Pension Forfeiture Act - Requires the forfeiture of Federal employee retirement benefits upon conviction of the felony of the unauthorized disclosure of the identity of a covert agent.
United States · United States Congress · 12 September 1985
Designates the rose as the national floral emblem.
United States · United States Congress · 11 September 1985
Gifted and Talented Children and Youth Education Act of 1985 - Establishes a Federal gifted and talented education (GTE) program to improve the capability of State and local education agencies (SEAs and LEAs) and private nonprofit schools to: (1) identify gifted and talented children and youth; and (2) provide those children and youth with appropriate educational opportunities. Directs the Secretary of Education from specified sums appropriated under this Act and after consultation with the advisory committee established by this Act to make grants to or contracts with SEAs, LEAs, institutions of higher education, or other public and private agencies to assist them in carrying out authorized GTE programs or projects, including personnel or supervisory training. Sets forth authorized GTE programs and projects, including: (1) preservice and inservice training (including fellowships) for GTE personnel (including leadership personnel); (2) model projects and exemplary programs for identification and education, including summer programs and cooperative programs involving business, industry, and education; (3) strengthening SEA and higher education institutions' capability to provide leadership and assistance to LEAs and nonprofit private schools in planning, operating, and improving such programs; (4) technical assistance and information dissemination; (5) research on methods and techniques for identifying and teaching gifted and talented children and youth; (6) conducting program evaluations and surveys; and (7) developing information and analysis. Establishes the National Center for Research and Development in the Education of Gifted and Talented Children and Youth (the National Center) through grants or contracts with one or more higher education institutions or SEAs, or a consortium or combination of such institutions and agencies, to carry out clauses (5), (6), and (7) of the preceding paragraph. Requires the Director of the National Center to carry out such National Center functions as may be agreed upon through arrangements with other higher education institutions, SEAs, LEAs, or other public or private agencies and organizations. Limits to 30 percent of the funds for authorized programs and projects that portion which may be used to conduct activities pursuant to provisions relating to the National Center and its research, evaluation, and information functions. Directs the Secretary and the advisory committee established by this Act, in administering this Act, to give highest priority to programs for: (1) identifying and educating gifted and talented children and youth who may not be identified through traditional assessment measures (such as the limited-English speaking, economically disadvantaged, handicapped, and women); and (2) developing or improving the capability of schools in an entire State or region of the Nation, through cooperative efforts and participation of SEAs, LEAs, higher education institutions, and other public and private agencies and organizations (including business, industry, and labor) to identify and educate gifted and talented children and youth. Sets forth provisions relating to participation of private school children and teachers in programs under this Act. Directs the Secretary to appoint an advisory committee on GTE, with members representative of State education agencies, teacher education institutions, researchers, teachers, and parents. Directs the Secretary to establish or designate an administrative unit within the Department of Education to: (1) administer the programs authorized by this Act; (2) coordinate all GTE programs that the Department administers; and (3) serve as a focal point for national leadership and information on the educational needs of gifted and talented children and youth and the availability of services and programs to meet those needs. Requires that such administrative unit be headed by a person of recognized professional qualifications and experience in GTE. Authorizes appropriations for FY 1987 through 1991.
United States · United States Congress · 10 September 1985
Designates September 22, 1986, as American Business Women's Day.
United States · United States Congress · 9 September 1985
Designates December 5, 1985, as Walt Disney Recognition Day.
United States · United States Congress · 5 September 1985
Designates the week beginning January 12, 1986, as National Fetal Alcohol Syndrome Awareness Week.
United States · United States Congress · 1 August 1985
Designates March 16, 1986, as Freedom of Information Day.
United States · United States Congress · 1 August 1985
Expresses the sense of the House of Representatives that in any amendment of the Internal Revenue Code: (1) education should remain a national priority, receiving at least the current level of tax incentives; and (2) care should be taken to facilitate State and local efforts to raise educational revenues and to encourage individuals to save for educational expenses.
United States · United States Congress · 30 July 1985
Amends the Highway Beautification Act of 1965 to declare that the effective control of outdoor advertising along the Interstate System shall be interpreted to allow signs, displays, and devices which advertise the direct sale by farmers of their farm produce, and which do not exceed 150 square feet.
United States · United States Congress · 30 July 1985
Comprehensive Nuclear Weapons Freeze and Arms Reduction Act of 1985 - Expresses the sense of the Congress that the President should immediately invite the Soviet Union to enter into negotiations with the United States which seek an agreement on a comprehensive freeze (a bilateral and adequately verifiable halt by the United States and the Soviet Union in all testing, production, and deployment of nuclear weapons systems). Declares the President should inform the Soviet Union of the U.S. intention to engage in a bilateral halt in the testing, production, and deployment of nuclear weapons systems. Expresses the sense of the Congress that: (1) both during and after negotiations for a comprehensive freeze the President should pursue reductions in nuclear arsenals; and (2) a comprehensive freeze is entirely consistent with, and an essential part of mutual stabilizing reductions in nuclear forces. Requires both the Senate and the House Intelligence Committees to begin oversight hearings on verification procedures for the comprehensive freeze. Sets forth which committees and subcommittees may have members participate in such hearings. Requires the Intelligence Committees to report to their respective Houses within six months of enactment of this Act on the adequacy of U.S. monitoring systems and existing procedures for verifying Soviet compliance with the comprehensive freeze. Requires the reports to include: (1) an assessment of the nature and extent of Soviet activities and installations involved in the testing, production, and deployment of nuclear weapons systems; (2) an assessment of current U.S. capabilities to monitor threatening changes in the status of Soviet nuclear forces under the comprehensive freeze; and (3) an assessment of additional monitoring systems and cooperative procedures that may be needed to increase monitoring confidence of compliance. Requires the Director of the U.S. Arms Control and Disarmament Agency to begin preparing an operational plan for implementation of the comprehensive freeze. Requires the Director to report to the Congress on the plan within nine months of enactment of this Act. Requires the report to specify: (1) procedures for the cessation of activities and closure or conversion of facilities affected by the comprehensive freeze; (2) a program for the retraining and re-employment of Government and defense industry personnel directly affected by the termination of nuclear weapons-related activities; and (3) a program of economic adjustment assistance for adversely affected communities. Directs the President to submit semi-annual reports to the Congress on: (1) the status of U.S. and Soviet negotiation efforts; (2) Soviet military activities relating to the testing, production, and deployment of nuclear weapons systems; and (3) any uncertainties concerning verification of the comprehensive freeze, the status of efforts to reduce those uncertainties, and the national security implications of those uncertainties. Imposes the following restrictions on nuclear testing, deployment, and production only if the Soviet Union, within a specified time, informs the President that the Soviet Union will observe a bilateral halt in the testing, production, and deployment of nuclear weapons systems. Prohibits obligating or spending appropriations for testing, producing, or deploying nuclear weapons systems, unless the Congress expressly provides otherwise. Allows the testing and deployment of specified nuclear missiles for a limited time. Sets forth the effective dates of such restrictions. Authorizes the President to request the Congress to remove the funding restrictions on the testing, production, and deployment of nuclear weapons systems only if the President certifies to the Congress that: (1) the Soviet Union has failed to demonstrate a restraint with respect to nuclear weapons systems which corresponds to the restraint being shown by the United States; or (2) continuation of the funding restrictions would cause significant and irreparable damage to U.S. national security. Provides for expedited congressional consideration of such a request by the President.
United States · United States Congress · 30 July 1985
Amends the Communications Act of 1934 to direct the Federal Communications Commission to: (1) establish regulations necessary to ensure access (currently, reasonable access) to telephone service by persons with impaired hearing; and (2) require that all telephones (currently, essential telephones) provide internal means for effective use with hearing aids specially designed for telephone use. Repeals a provision directing the Commission to consider the costs and benefits to all telephone users when making rules concerning telephone service for the disabled.
United States · United States Congress · 26 July 1985
Designates the week of December 15 through December 21, 1985, as National Drunk and Drugged Driving Awareness Week.
United States · United States Congress · 26 July 1985
Designates the week beginning January 5, 1986, as National Bowling Week.
United States · United States Congress · 24 July 1985
Designates the week of October 6 through October 13, 1985, as National Housing Week.
United States · United States Congress · 23 July 1985
Designates March 1986 as Music In Our Schools Month.
United States · United States Congress · 23 July 1985
Designates November 18, 1985, as Eugene Ormandy Appreciation Day.
United States · United States Congress · 18 July 1985
Authorizes the President, on behalf of the Congress, to present a gold medal to Aaron Copland in recognition of his contributions to American musical composition. Authorizes the Secretary of the Treasury to provide for the sale of bronze duplicates of the medal. Authorizes appropriations.
United States · United States Congress · 18 July 1985
Dropout Prevention and Reentry Act of 1985 - Amends the Elementary and Secondary Act of 1965 (ESEA) to add a new title X, the Dropout Prevention and Reentry Act of 1985. (Redesignates the current title X as title XI.) Authorizes appropriations for FY 1987 through 1990 for such new title X. Directs the Secretary of Education, from such title X funds for any fiscal year, to allot 20 percent to each of five categories of local educational agencies (LEAs) (based on total elementary and secondary school student enrollments). Directs the Secretary, from the amounts allotted to such categories of LEAs, to award as many grants as practicable within each such category to LEAs whose applications: (1) have been approved; and (2) propose a program of sufficient size and scope to be of value as a demonstration. Limits an LEA to no more than one such grant in each of three fiscal years. Requires the amount of a grant to be, to the extent practicable, proportionate to the extent and severity of the local dropout problem. Limits the amount of a grant to 90 percent of the total cost of a project during its first fiscal year, 80 percent in the second, and 70 percent in the third. Sets forth grant application requirements (including plans for addressing the needs of pregnant minors and school-age parents). Directs the Secretary to give first priority within each category of LEA to applicants with either very high numbers or very high percentages of school dropouts. Sets forth requirements for review of LEA second or third year projects. Requires such grants to be used to carry out plans set forth in the applications. Lists activities such grants may also be used for, including counseling, remedial education, work-study, community-organization service, curriculum review, and school staff training. Requires at least 30 percent of each grant to be used for dropout prevention activities, and another 30 percent for dropout reentry activities (i.e. persuading dropouts to return to school and assisting former dropouts with specialized services once they return to school). Directs the Secretary, from amounts appropriated to the Secretary for FY 1986, to use a specified limited amount to conduct a one-year study of the nature and extent of the dropout program. Sets forth requirements for such study, (including development of a model dropout information collection and reporting system and minimum reporting system requirements). Sets forth general provisions for title X, including provisions relating to withholding payments, annual reports, and audits. Requires that title X grants supplement other funds.
United States · United States Congress · 18 July 1985
Foreign Language Assistance for National Security Act of 1985 - Directs the Secretary of Education to make grants to State educational agencies to fund model programs, designed and operated by local educational agencies, for the improvement and expansion of foreign language study for children aged five through 17 who reside within their school districts. Sets forth formulas for determining the amount of such grants based on State population. Sets forth provisions relating to the availability of such funds. Sets forth grant application requirements for State educational agencies, including provisions for periodic student proficiency evaluation. Provides for program participation by private school children. Requires ratable reduction of such grants when appropriations are insufficient. Directs the Secretary to make grants to State agencies to fund model foreign language programs designed and operated at community and junior colleges. Bases the amount of such grants on State population. Sets forth grant application requirements, including periodic student proficiency evaluation. Requires ratable reduction of such grants when appropriations are insufficient. Directs the Secretary to make grants to institutions of higher education to cover part of the costs of undergraduate foreign language instruction. Sets forth formulas to determine whether an institution is eligible for such grants, based on the percentage of its student body enrolled in qualified postsecondary language courses. Provides that to be eligible for such grants an institution must require that: (1) each entering student have successfully completed at least two years of secondary school foreign language instruction; or (2) each graduating student have earned two years postsecondary credit in a foreign language (or have demonstrated equivalent competence in a foreign language). Authorizes the Secretary to establish standards, including reporting requirements, for programs assisted by such grants. Sets forth formulas for determining the amounts of such grants, based on numbers of undergraduate students enrolled in such courses. Requires ratable reduction of such grants when appropriations are insufficient. Directs the Secretary to make grants to institutions of higher education, or consortia of such institutions, in each Federal region for summer intensive language training institutes for exceptional secondary school students. Bases the amount of each grant on the number of students (up to a limited number) enrolled in such institute. Sets forth application requirements for such grants. Directs the Secretary to encourage, to the extent possible, diversity in the languages taught in summer institutes. Bases awarding of such grants on the excellence of the proposed program, taking specified elements into consideration. Permits such grant funds to be used to cover costs associated with enrollment in an institute. Requires ratable reduction of such grants when appropriations are insufficient. Directs the Secretary to make grants to institutions of higher education, or consortia of such institutions, in each Federal region for summer language training institutes for the professional development of the proficiency of elementary and secondary school language teachers. Bases the amount of each grant on the number of students (up to a limited number) enrolled in such institute. Sets forth application requirements for such grants. Bases awarding of such grants on the excellence of the proposed program, taking specified elements into consideration. Permits such grant funds to be used to cover costs associated with enrollment in an institute. Requires ratable reduction of such grants when appropriations are insufficient. Directs the Secretary to make matching grants to institutions of higher education, or consortia of such institutions, to assist advanced foreign language students to develop their language skills and knowledge of foreign cultures and societies through study abroad. Allows such study abroad to be combined with an internship in an international business enterprise. Requires such program to provide the opportunity for language-proficient students with majors in various other fields to combine language study with studies in those fields. Sets forth a range of world regions and languages which such programs may include. Limits the amount of each grant to one-half the cost of providing such assistance. Sets forth application requirements for such grants. Permits grant funds to be used to cover costs associated with enrollment in an institute. Requires ratable reduction of such grants when appropriations are insufficient. Prohibits any grant or contract under this Act except to such extent, or in such amounts, as may be provided in appropriation Acts. Defines "foreign language" as any language other than English, except that with respect to programs and activities conducted under this Act in the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico such term includes English. Authorizes appropriations for FY 1986 through 1989 to carry out grant programs under this Act.
United States · United States Congress · 16 July 1985
Entitles individuals who performed service as National Guard technicians before January 1, 1969, to credit for such service when determining length of service for purposes of civil service retirement, leave, employee death and disability compensation, group life and health insurance, severance pay, tenure, and status.
United States · United States Congress · 11 July 1985
Expresses the sense of the House of Representatives that the: (1) local field office structure of the Social Security Administration should be maintained, strengthened, and fully staffed; and (2) proper amount of administrative costs of such offices should approximate 1.5 percent of the costs of the social security benefit programs serviced by such offices.
United States · United States Congress · 10 July 1985
Home and Community Based Services for the Elderly Act of 1985 - Amends title XIX (Block Grants) of the Public Health Service Act to authorize a block grant program for home and community based services for the elderly. Authorizes appropriations for FY 1986 through 1988. Allots a State's funds on the basis of its elderly population compared to the elderly population of the nation. Reserves a portion of such allotment for Indian tribes and tribal organizations. States that grants may be used to: (1) identify individuals eligible for services; (2) plan and manage services to be provided to such individuals; (3) educate the public and medical and social service professionals concerning the availability of such services; and (4) encourage and enhance the participation of families and voluntary organizations in the provision of such services. Permits the Secretary of Health and Human Services to provide technical assistance to the States. Prohibits the use of funds for: (1) inpatient services; (2) cash payments to intended recipients; (3) land purchases and construction; and (4) satisfying any requirement for the expenditure of non-Federal funds. Sets forth State application requirements.
United States · United States Congress · 10 July 1985
Urges the President to begin talks with the Soviet Union aimed at creating a jointly administered U.S.-Soviet student exchange program. Sets forth certain aspects of such exchange program.
United States · United States Congress · 27 June 1985
Authorizes and requests the President to designate September 21, 1986, as Ethnic American Day.
United States · United States Congress · 27 June 1985
Designates the Week of October 6 through October 12, 1985, as Myasthenia Gravis Awareness Week.
United States · United States Congress · 26 June 1985
Authorizes the Secretary of the Interior to erect a monument, given as a gift from Morocco in recognition of mutual friendship, on Federal land within the District of Columbia. Directs the Secretary, with the approval of the Commission of Fine Arts and the National Capital Planning Commission, to select a design and site for the monument. Directs the Secretary to maintain the monument. Makes the authority to erect the monument contingent on construction beginning within five years. Directs that U.S. funds may not be used to build the monument.
United States · United States Congress · 26 June 1985
Consumer Products Energy Efficiency Amendments of 1985 - Amends the Energy Policy and Conservation Act to provide that the labeling rules regarding consumer product energy efficiency standards shall require disclosure of such standards at the point of sale and in any advertising of the product. Directs the Secretary of Energy (the Secretary) to: (1) publish and make available comparative guides of the energy efficiency and annual operating cost of certain consumer products; (2) prescribe an energy efficiency standard for certain consumer products; (3) include in the Secretary's annual report on consumer product energy efficiency standards the percentage of covered products or components which are imported. Requires the Secretary, before determining whether a standard is economically justified, to weigh its effect on domestic production, reduction of unemployment, electric utilities, and the human environment. Authorizes the Secretary to prescribe an energy efficiency standard for certain consumer products if it is determined that improvement of 20 percent or more is feasible. Delineates the criteria to be considered by the Secretary in determining whether a performance-related feature justifies the establishment of either a higher or a lower energy efficiency standard. Directs the Secretary to: (1) issue energy efficiency improvement guidelines for each of the following five years if no standard for a covered consumer product is prescribed; (2) monitor the improvements in efficiency; and (3) prescribe an energy efficiency standard whenever a certain type of consumer product type fails for three consecutive years to achieve at least half of the improvement under such guideline.
United States · United States Congress · 25 June 1985
Amends the Internal Revenue Code to allow an income tax credit in an amount equal to 50 percent of expenses incurred for the purchase and installation of television subtitle equipment to be used by a hearing-impaired individual. Limits the amount of such credit to $250 ($125 in the case of a married individual filing a separate return).
United States · United States Congress · 25 June 1985
Designates November 1, 1985, as National Philanthropy Day.
United States · United States Congress · 25 June 1985
Designates July 13, 1985, as Live Aid Day.
United States · United States Congress · 21 June 1985
Expresses the sense of the Congress that proposals to repeal provisions of the Internal Revenue Code which allow taxpayers to make designations of payments to the Presidential Election Campaign Fund should not be enacted.
United States · United States Congress · 20 June 1985
Designates the week beginning October 6, 1985, as National Sudden Infant Death Syndrome Awareness Week.
United States · United States Congress · 19 June 1985
Designates the week beginning on December 1, 1985, as National Home Health Care Week.
United States · United States Congress · 18 June 1985
Money Laundering and Related Crimes Act of 1985 - Amends the Federal criminal code to establish money laundering as a Federal offense. Sets forth fines and penalties to be imposed on anyone who conducts transactions involving the movement of funds by wire or other electronic means, or involving monetary instruments, through a financial institution engaged in or affecting interstate commerce: (1) with the intention of carrying out specified types of unlawful activity; or (2) with knowledge or reckless disregard of the fact that such a monetary instrument represents income derived from such unlawful activity. Provides for a fine of not more than $250,000 or twice the value of the monetary instrument, whichever is greater, or imprisonment for not more than 20 years, or both. Imposes a civil penalty of the greater of the value of the funds or the monetary instrument involved or $10,000. Authorizes components of the Department of Justice and the Department of the Treasury to investigate such an offense, as appropriate. Establishes extraterritorial jurisdiction if certain conditions are met. Amends the Right to Financial Privacy Act of 1978 to permit a financial institution to provide records to law enforcement agencies without notice to customers when it has reason to believe that those records are relevant to the commission of a crime. Permits a financial institution to alert a law enforcement agency that it has information relevant to a possible violation. Provides as a defense for a financial institution in a civil suit under the Right to Financial Privacy Act that it provided records in a good faith belief that they were relevant to a possible violation of law. Amends the Federal Rules of Criminal Procedure to allow the court to prohibit any person to whom a subpoena is directed from notifying any other person of the existence of the subpoena. Authorizes the Secretary of the Treasury to: (1) examine books, papers, and records of domestic financial institutions; and (2) summon an officer or employee having possession or custody of reports or records to appear before the Secretary and give testimony under oath. Allows the Secretary to disclose such information when relevant to a matter within the jurisdiction of the receiving agency or for national security reasons. Increases the civil penalties for violations of the Bank Secrecy Act's reporting rules. Provides in the case of a reporting violation for a maximum penalty of $1,000,000 and a minimum penalty of $25,000. Imposes a $10,000 fine in any other case. Reduces the civil penalty by any amount forfeited to the United States. Imposes a civil penalty for the criminal violation of such section, in the amount of the transaction or $25,000, whichever is greater, where the violation involves a transaction. Provides for a fine of the entire amount deposited in an account during the reporting year or $250,000, whichever is greater, where the violation involves the failure to report or omissions in such report. Imposes a civil penalty of not more than $10,000 in the case of a negligent violation. Increases the penalty, if such violation is in conjunction with violations of other laws, or if it is part of a pattern of illegal activity involving more than $100,000 in a year, to imprisonment for not more than ten years. Lists money laundering as a predicate offense for purposes of the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations statute. Authorizes wiretapping for purposes of the investigation of money laundering. Makes whoever knowingly facilitates, by providing substantial assistance, the commission by another person of an offense against the United States punishable as a principal. Makes it a Federal offense for any person to receive, possess, or conceal any money or property which has been obtained in connection with a violation of any law of the United States or to bring or transfer into the United States any money or other property which has been obtained in connection with a violation of any law of a foreign country concerning the manufacturing of or trafficking in a controlled substance. Provides for a fine of not more than $250,000 and imprisonment for not more than ten years or both. Establishes civil and criminal forfeiture procedures for the offenses of money laundering and of receiving the proceeds of a crime.
United States · United States Congress · 17 June 1985
Designates the square dance as the national folk dance for 1985 and 1986.
United States · United States Congress · 13 June 1985
Amends the Federal Water Pollution Control Act to permit all grant recipients for waste treatment works to use dedicated ad valorem taxes to satisfy the grants' requirement that recipients adopt operation and maintenance user charges.
United States · United States Congress · 13 June 1985
Amends the Federal Water Pollution Control Act to require the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency to reimburse State or municipal agencies for increased costs of constructing or operating any publicly owned treatment works attributable to compliance with any international treaty. Authorizes appropriations.
United States · United States Congress · 12 June 1985
Designates the month of November 1985 as National Diabetes Month.
United States · United States Congress · 11 June 1985
Depository Institutions Acquisition Act of 1985 - Amends the Bank Holding Company Act of 1956 to permit a State to authorize an out-of-State bank holding company to acquire interest in, or voting shares or assets of, a bank in such State: (1) without restriction; or (2) on the basis of the location of the other State involved or reciprocal treatment by such other State. Provides that where a State has enacted a law allowing such an acquisition (with specified exceptions), and such acquisition has been implemented, such State shall, beginning the later of July 1, 1990, or two years after enactment of this Act, permit such acquisitions without regard to the location of the other States involved. Permits such State to require out-of-State bank holding companies that control banks within the State to comply with reporting, examination, and other requirements applicable to bank holding companies located within the State. Amends the Federal Deposit Insurance Act to prohibit a Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation-insured bank from establishing or maintaining branches outside the State in which the bank is chartered and maintains the largest number of its branches, unless such branch was established before the date of enactment of this Act. Prohibits the Federal Reserve Board from approving an interstate acquisition that would result in: (1) an undue concentration of resources in the provision of banking services nationally or in any State or region of the United States; (2) the merger of a bank holding company and a banking organization both among the 25 largest banking organizations in the United States in terms of total domestic deposits; (3) the applicant bank holding company controlling more than two-and-a-half percent of the total domestic deposits in depository institutions, unless the target bank is a de nova institution or a bank with less than $100,000,000 in total assets; or (4) a single banking organization or depository institution holding company controlling a percentage of the total assets or deposits in all State depository institutions which exceeds the limit established by State statute. Waives such prohibition if the Comptroller of the Currency or the appropriate State bank supervisory authority certifies to the Board that the proposed acquisition is necessary in order to prevent a bank failure or to permit a bank (or successor) to resume operations after failing. Permits the Board to impose additional financial and managerial requirements on interstate bank holding companies as necessary to assure the stability of the banking system. Prohibits the Board from approving an interstate acquisition if: (1) the financial performance and condition of the applicant bank holding company are unsatisfactory according to the inspection report; and (2) the acquisition would threaten the safety or soundness of the institutions involved. Directs the Federal Financial Institutions Examination Council to recommend to all Federal banking agencies any changes needed in the method and frequency of examinations for depository institutions and holding companies involved in interstate acquisitions. Prohibits the Board from approving an interstate acquisition unless the Board determines that the acquisition is likely to result in: (1) reduced rates and fees for existing services; (2) new or improved community services; (3) increased operating efficiency; or (4) greater convenience. Amends the National Housing Act to permit a State to authorize an out-of-State savings and loan holding company to acquire control of an insured or uninsured institution in such State: (1) without restriction; or (2) on the basis of the location of the other State involved or reciprocal treatment by such other State. Provides that where a State has enacted a law allowing such an acquisition (with specified exceptions), and such acquisition has been implemented, such State shall, beginning the later of July 1, 1990, or two years after enactment of this Act, permit such acquisitions without regard to the location of the other States involved. Amends the Garn-St Germain Depository Institutions Act of 1982 to extend the Deposit Insurance Flexibility Act for three years. Amends the Federal Deposit Insurance Act to eliminate asset level requirements under interstate emergency bank acquisition provisions.