United States · United States Congress · 22 January 1981
Amends title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act to provide that the reasonable cost of physical, occupational, speech, or other therapy services shall be based on a reasonable rate per unit of service, plus expenses, rather than on a reasonable salary paid for such services. Removes the $100 limitation on "outpatient physical therapy services" furnished to an individual while an inpatient of a hospital or extended care facility.
United States · United States Congress · 22 January 1981
National Voluntary Health Insurance Act of 1979 - Creates a National Voluntary Health Insurance Agency to operate a National Voluntary Health Insurance Plan with funds supplied by voluntary subscriptions and matching United States Treasury funds, to pay reasonable costs of all medically necessary and appropriate medical and hospital services for all enrollees. Stipulates that the Agency shall issue no rules or regulations, but shall be governed solely by this Act and its amendments. Authorizes appropriations of $50,000,000 for the first calendar year after this Act becomes effective for the Agency to carry out its duties. Eliminates hospital and medical service insurance benefits or payments provided by other Government agencies, including Medicare, Medicaid, the Civilian Health and Medical Plan of the Uniformed Services (CHAMPUS). Extends coverage to: (1) medical services, wherever furnished, including psychiatric medicine, surgery, obstetrics, radiological and electrical procedures, pathology tests, transfusions, medication and immunization, injections and anesthesia, and osteopathic services; (2) reconstructive oral surgery; (3) podiatric surgery; (4) laboratory services; and (5) inpatient or outpatient hospital service, supplies, medication, transfusions, and food provided by approved hospitals, including general or special category hospitals, outpatient clinics, emergency wards, convalescent hospitals, nursing homes, and acute alcohol or drug toxification treatment centers. Excludes from coverage: (1) cosmetic surgery not approved under this Act; (2) certain services which are not medically necessary; (3) services for the benefit of a second party other than enrollee; (4) certain employer responsibilities, such as a workmen's compensation insurer; (5) services which are already covered by another plan; (6) unapproved hospital or laboratory services; and (7) certain other medical advice and services. Sets the amount of premium payments at $25 per month for each adult and one-half of such amount for each child. Entitles subscribers with a total earned and unearned family income of less than $12,000 per year to have their premiums calculated at 2.5 percent of such income for each adult and one-half of such amount for each child. Provides for the payment of premiums by employers and for the reinstatement of coverage on account of unpaid premiums. Directs the Agency to establish a trust fund for the deposit of all premiums and at least an equal amount of money appropriated from the United States Treasury. Directs Congress to deposit in such fund the amount of $5,000,000,000 by the effective date of the Plan, but provides that the total amount of general funds appropriated to the fund shall not exceed the total amount of subscribers' premiums after the Plan's fifth year of operation. Reserves 35 percent of the total amount of subscribers' premiums for the payment of medical and laboratory service benefits; 62 percent of such premiums for hospital service benefits; and three percent for administrative costs. Entitles an enrollee in the Plan to reimbursement in the lesser amount of either the scheduled fee payable by the Plan to a participating provider or the actual fee paid by the enrollee to any qualified nonparticipating provider. Entitles every nonexcluded and licensed medical doctor, doctor of osteopathic or podiatric medicine, and doctor of dental surgery to be listed by the Plan as a participating provider by making appropriate application. Allows such providers to require an enrollee to pay a reasonable charge in addition to the fee payable by the Plan. Provides for the approval and participation in the Plan of laboratories and hospitals. Directs the Agency to: (1) set a fee for every professionally recognized diagnostic and therapeutic medical service procedure or treatment and laboratory pathological test and procedure that is proportionate to the customary and reasonable fee for such service in each general area of the United States; and (2) provide each approved hospital with a schedule or per diem rate and charges that will be paid by the Plan to such hospital for each specified and covered service which is ordered on behalf of an enrollee by an attending doctor. Requires such hospital charges to be based on each hospital's certified annual financial and operating cost statement. Specifies certain additional requirements with respect to hospital charges. Specifies information to be included in all claimed by participating providers. Sets forth requirements with respect to the auditing, payment, and assessment of claims, and utilization of plan benefits. Authorizes the Agency to temporarily or permanently exclude any enrollee or provider of services found to have made any false claim for payment for services. Requires the Congress, at the time this Act becomes operational, to amend the rates of Social Security taxes relative to the reduction in Social Security health insurance expenditures effected by this Act. Requires the arbitration of claims for damages resulting from alleged malpractice in the provision of any service that is a benefit of the plan. Stipulates that the resources of the Agency and Plan shall not be used in any way directly to regulate the quality or availability of, or to establish or operate, medical and hospital services. Details the estimated cost of the Plan for fiscal year 1980.
United States · United States Congress · 22 January 1981
Amends title II (Old Age, Survivors and Disability Insurance) of the Social Security Act to remove the limitation on the amount of outside income which an individual may earn while receiving benefits.
United States · United States Congress · 22 January 1981
Payroll Tax Reduction Act - Amends the Internal Revenue Code and the Social Security Act to finance the hospital insurance program under title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act through general revenues rather than through taxes on employers, employees, and the self-employed.
United States · United States Congress · 22 January 1981
Requires the Federal Government and persons conducting federally assisted programs, projects, and activities to pay interest to business concerns for overdue sales and lease agreement payments not made by the thirtieth day after the bill for such payment is received. Specifies the procedure for computing such interest.
United States · United States Congress · 22 January 1981
Modifies the termination date for veterans eligible for educational assistance to December 31, 1989, or five years after discharge or release from active duty, whichever is later.
United States · United States Congress · 22 January 1981
Congressional Pay Reform Act of 1981 - Amends the Legislative Reorganization Act of 1946 and the Federal Salary Act of 1967 to specify that pay adjustments for Members of Congress shall become effective on the March 1 following the beginning of the next Congress after the Congress during which such adjustment was approved. Conditions such adjustment on the adoption of a concurrent resolution by each House of Congress. Requires a recorded vote on such resolution to reflect the vote of each Member. Prohibits any congressional employee from being paid at a rate in excess of the rate payable for Senators and Members of the House of Representatives. Requires the President to transmit to the Congress, within a specified time period, recommendations with respect to the rates of pay of Members of Congress, legislative, and judicial employees. 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 on appropriations for any other purpose.
United States · United States Congress · 22 January 1981
Amends the Internal Revenue Code to exclude from gross income amounts received from certain sales of land to the United States, any State, or a tax-exempt conservation authority, if the primary use of such land after sale is for purposes of fish and wildlife conservation or preservation as a natural area.
United States · United States Congress · 22 January 1981
Amends the Internal Revenue Code to allow an additional income tax credit for political contributions to candidates for Congress in the district where the taxpayer lives. Limits the amount of such credit to $10 ($20 for joint returns) for each candidate to whom a contribution is made.
United States · United States Congress · 22 January 1981
Congressional Pay Raise Deferral Act - Amends the Federal Salary Act of 1967 and the Legislative Reorganization Act of 1946 to provide that any adjustment in the rate of pay for Members of Congress proposed during any Congress shall not take effect earlier than the beginning of the next Congress. States that any such pay adjustment proposed in an even-numbered year of any Congress after the Congressional elections and before the beginning of the following Congress shall be considered as occurring during the first session of the following Congress for the purposes of this Act.
United States · United States Congress · 22 January 1981
Congressional Pay Reform Act of 1981 - Amends the Federal Salary Act of 1967 to: (1) subject Presidential recommendations for rates of pay for Members of Congress and the Resident Commissioner from Puerto Rico to the approval of Congress under this Act; and (2) deem any such recommendation approved if each House of the Congress passes a specific resolution of approval within 180 calendar days of continuous session after the date of the President's transmittal of the recommendation. Sets forth the form of the resolution granting such approval and the rules and procedure to be followed in each House with respect to the consideration of such resolution. Provides for a highly privileged discharge motion in the event that the committee concerned has not reported a resolution within 30 days after referral.
United States · United States Congress · 22 January 1981
Individual Housing Account Act - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to allow a income tax deduction from gross income for cash contributions to a tax-exempt savings account established for the benefit of the taxpayer (or the taxpayer and spouse if married) for the exclusive purpose of purchasing a principal residence. Limits the maximum annual deduction to $2,500, with a maximum lifetime deduction of $10,000. Excludes distributions from such account from gross income so long as they are used exclusively for the purpose of purchasing a principal residence.
United States · United States Congress · 22 January 1981
Authorizes the President to present on behalf of the Congress specially struck gold medals to fifty-three individuals held hostage in the United States Embassy in Iran. Directs the Secretary of the Treasury to: (1) strike fifty-three gold medals with suitable emblems, devices and inscriptions; and (2) coin and sell bronze duplicates of such medals. Authorizes appropriations.
United States · United States Congress · 22 January 1981
Amends the Internal Revenue Code to exclude from gross income interest or dividends earned on savings deposits which are used by the deposit institutions for residential mortgage lending purposes.
United States · United States Congress · 22 January 1981
Constitutional Amendment - Prohibits total Federal expenditures from exceeding total revenues. Authorizes the suspension of such prohibition in time of war or national emergency by a concurrent resolution which has passed each House of Congress by an affirmative vote of at least two-thirds of its authorized membership.
United States · United States Congress · 22 January 1981
Constitutional Amendment - Prohibits total budget outlays and total new budget authority for any fiscal year from exceeding the corresponding levels for the preceding fiscal year by a percentage greater than the average annual percentage of increase in the gross national product during the three preceding calendar years. Permits suspension of such limitation for a two-year term of the Congress in time of war or national emergency by a concurrent resolution agreed to by three-fourths of the authorized membership of each House.
United States · United States Congress · 22 January 1981
Constitutional Amendment - Defines "person" to include the unborn for the purpose of the right to life guarantee. Makes such amendment inapplicable to laws permitting medical procedures required to prevent the death of the mother.
United States · United States Congress · 22 January 1981
Constitutional Amendment - Prohibits any Member of Congress sentenced for a violation of any State or Federal law for a term of imprisonment exceeding one year from continuing to serve as a Member after the date of sentencing.
United States · United States Congress · 22 January 1981
Constitutional Amendment - Prohibits any person from being a Senator or Member of the House of Representative during more than six consecutive Congresses.
United States · United States Congress · 22 January 1981
Constitutional Amendment - Prohibits any increase in compensation for Senators and Representatives to take effect until an election of Representatives has intervened.
United States · United States Congress · 22 January 1981
Constitutional Amendment - Requires any change in the U.S. tax law to increase Federal revenue to be approved by not less than two-thirds of all Members of Congress.
United States · United States Congress · 22 January 1981
Constitutional Amendment - Provides for enactment and repeal of laws by popular vote, except for the constitutional powers of Congress to declare war and execute laws. Excludes the right to propose constitutional amendments. Requires an issue to be placed on the ballot in the next congressional election if a petition proposing enactment or repeal of a law is signed by three percent of the whole number of people who voted in the last presidential election in each of ten States. Requires for passage that such proposal receive a majority of votes cast in all States. Declares that no law passed by popular vote is subject to presidential approval or amendment or repeal during the two-year period after enactment except by a two-thirds vote of each House of Congress.
United States · United States Congress · 22 January 1981
Requires Federal departments and agencies which make various conditional grants to State and local governments to conduct and submit to Congress a study on consolidating such grants under a single grant program. Sets out guidelines for the scope of such study.
United States · United States Congress · 22 January 1981
Expresses the sense of the House of Representatives that the President should convene a meeting of the major grain exporting nations to coordinate policies and prices to counter the effects of rising oil prices.
United States · United States Congress · 22 January 1981
Establishes in the House of Representatives a Select Committee on the Embassy Crisis in Iran to investigate the events preceding and during the takeover of the U.S. embassy. Requires the Committee to report to the House on its investigation not later than November 30, 1981.
United States · United States Congress · 22 January 1981
Expresses the appreciation of the American people for the efforts of the Algerian Government to secure the safe and peaceful release of the Americans held hostage in Iran.
United States · United States Congress · 20 January 1981
Amends title XI (General Provisions) of the Social Security Act to abolish the Professional Standards Review Organizations which were established to review services covered under the Medicare and Medicaid programs.
United States · United States Congress · 20 January 1981
Constitutional Amendment - Prohibits the total amount of money expended by the United States in any fiscal year from exceeding the total amount of revenue received by the United States during such fiscal year, except in time of war as declared by the Congress. Allows the suspension of the amendment by a joint resolution approved by a vote of three-fifths of the Members of each House of the Congress and approved and signed by the President, or by a vote of two-thirds of the Members of each House of the Congress. Requires tax rates to be reduced to offset the effects of inflation. Establishes a procedure for the approval of bills or joint resolutions affecting taxes.
United States · United States Congress · 19 January 1981
Family Enterprise Estate and Gift Tax Equity Act - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to increase the unified credit against the estate and gift taxes from $47,000 to $155,800 by specified annual increments through 1985. Increases from $175,000 to $500,000, by specified annual increments through 1985, the minimum gross estate requirement for filing of a return. Repeals the existing limitations on the marital deduction for gift and estate taxes. Increases from $3,000 to $6,000 the annual gift tax exclusion. Qualifies estates of decedents who were disabled or retired for the special valuation of certain farms based on use if such decedents materially participated in the operation of the farm for five out of eight years preceding the year in which they became disabled or eligible for disability benefits, under title II (Old Age, Survivors and Disability Insurance) of the Social Security Act. Permits the spouse of a decedent to use such valuation if the spouse has managed the farm or business for ten years preceding the decedent's death or takes over active management upon the decedent's death. Qualifies the owner of a woodland for the special use valuation if the owner or a member of the owner's family actively managed the property for ten years prior to the owner's death. Reduces from 15 to ten years the length of time a qualified property must be held and put to a qualified use following the decedent's death before it can be disposed of without incurring a recapture of estate tax benefits. Permits active management rather than material participation as a test for qualification of the estate for spouses, children under 21, students, and disabled individuals who receive property from a decedent who qualified for special use valuation. Repeals the $500,000 limitation on the reduction of the value of qualified real property permitted by the special use valuation. Allows the like kind exchange of property without loss of special use valuation eligibility. Allows valuation based on net crop share rentals as an alternative method of valuing farms. Repeals the requirement that an heir elect special treatment for involuntary conversions of qualified real property, thus making such treatment automatic upon such conversion. States that gifts made within three years of a decedent's death shall be valued as of the time of transfer rather than as of the date of death. Authorizes an individual to elect to pay a gift tax rather than use the unified tax credit. Modifies the alternate extension of time for payment of the estate tax where the estate consists largely of an interest in a closely held business to: (1) allow an installment payment election if the value of the interest in the closely held business is either 35 percent of the value of the gross estate or 50 percent of the taxable estate; (2) increase to 50 percent the value of an interest disposed of which will accelerate the payment of tax; and (3) permit payment, but with a penalty, of an installment within six months after the due date. Allows a disclaimer of an interest in property for estate tax purposes in specified circumstances where such disclaimer does not result in the passing of the interest concerned under the applicable State law.
United States · United States Congress · 19 January 1981
Amends the Internal Revenue Code to increase from $20,000 to $75,000 in 1981 (with annual adjustments up to $95,000 in 1985 and thereafter) the earned income exclusion for U.S. citizens working abroad who are bona fide residents of a foreign country. Repeals the requirement that, as a condition of their employment, such individuals reside in a hardship area. Reduces from 17 to 11 months the residency requirement for such exclusion. Provides for an income tax exclusion for the value of employer-provided lodging in a camp in cases where satisfactory housing is not generally available. Reduces from 17 to 11 months the foreign residency requirement with respect to the deduction for certain housing expenses of living abroad.
United States · United States Congress · 19 January 1981
Amends the Internal Revenue Code to exempt from taxation income earned from sources outside the United States for all individuals who are bona fide residents of foreign countries or who are present in a foreign country for a specified time (current law excludes such income of such individuals only if they reside in camps located in hardship areas). Eliminates restrictions on such tax exclusion with respect to: (1) the dollar amount of such exclusion; (2) the taxable year to which the income earned abroad is attributed; (3) community income earned abroad; and (4) meals and lodgings provided by the employer. Repeals provisions added by the Tax Reform Act of 1976 which allow income tax deductions for various expenses related to living abroad.
United States · United States Congress · 19 January 1981
Constitutional Amendment - Requires a two-thirds vote of both Houses of Congress to pass any concurrent resolution on the budget which carries a deficit.
United States · United States Congress · 19 January 1981
Establishes a Joint Select Committee on Defense Readiness and Mobilization Capability to investigate and report on defense readiness and mobilization capability, including an analysis of: (1) the kind and extent of threats to the national defense; and (2) the quality and quantity of manpower, material, transportation, budgetary, and programmatic resources needed at present and able to be mobilized in the future. Sets forth the requirements for appointment to the joint select committee.
United States · United States Congress · 16 January 1981
Title I: Limitation on Authorizations - Makes authorization of appropriations under this title effective on October 1, 1981. Limits contractual obligations under this Act to the authority provided in advance in appropriation Acts. Title II: Amendments to the National Trails System Act - National Trails System Act Amendments of 1980 - Amends the National Trails System Act to state as an additional purpose of such Act the encouragement of volunteer citizen involvement in the development and management of national trails. Provides that national scenic trails may be located so as to represent various natural areas which exhibit significant characteristics of the physiographic regions of the United States. Defines the term "extended trails" for purposes of this Act. Permits national recreation trails to be designated on private land if the owners consent. Designates the following as national trails: (1) the Santa Fe National Historic Trail; (2) the Chisolm, Shawnee, and Western National Historic Trails, Texas and Kansas; (3) the Potomac Heritage National Scenic Trail; (4) the Natchez Trace National Scenic Trail, Tennessee and Mississippi; and (5) the Florida National Scenic Trail, Florida. Requires the feasibility of designating a trail to be based on an evaluation of the physical possibility and financial feasibility of developing a trail along a route being studied. Requires the appropriate Secretary to inform specified congressional committees if a proposed route is not feasible for designation as a national trail. Permits the Secretary to terminate further study by notice in the Federal Register unless one committee adopts a resolution of disapproval within 30 days of being informed. Designates the following routes for consideration as national scenic trails: (1) the Juan Bautista de Anza Trail, California; (2) the Trail of Tears, North Carolina, Georgia, Alabama, Tennessee, Kentucky, Illinois, Missouri, Arkansas, and Illinois; (3) the Illinois Trail, Illinois; (4) the Jedediah Smith Trail, Wyoming, California, Utah, and Washington; (5) the General Crook Trail, Arizona; and (6) the Beale Wagon Road, Arizona. Requires the appropriate Secretary to notify the appropriate congressional committees if a trail advisory council cannot be established because of lack of public interest. Redefines the Federal members of trail advisory councils. Requires additional information in the comprehensive management plans for national historic trails. Removes the requirement that connecting or side trails provide additional points of access. Permits the location of such trails on private lands if the owners consent. Requires the appropriate Secretary to consult with all affected State and Federal agencies in the management of a trail. Allows management transfer of any specified trail segment. Authorizes the Secretary to provide for trail interpretation at historic sites. Authorizes the acquisition, if the owner consents, of an entire tract of land when such tract lies partly outside and partly within a right-of-way. Permits lands acquired outside the right-of-way to be exchanged for non-Federal lands within the right-of-way or to be disposed of under existing sales authorities. Provides that cooperative agreements to develop and maintain national trails may include financial assistance provisions, or volunteer status provisions, or both. Requires Federal consultation with State and local governments to encourage the development of laws to regulate land practices and to protect private landowners from trespass, unnecessary personal liability, and property damage caused by trail use. Specifies some activities and vehicle types allowed on designated components of the national trails system. Requires certain Federal officials to encourage the establishment of national trails using the provisions of the Railroad Revitalization and Regulatory Reform Act of 1976. Provides that the interim use of a railroad right-of-way for trail use shall not constitute an abandonment of the use of the right-of-way for railroad purposes. Authorizes the expenditure of land acquisition funds to provide for one trail interpretation site in each State crossed by the trail. Authorizes appropriations for fiscal year 1982 for the national trails designated in this Act. Limits the funds available for land acquisition for the Natchez Trace Trail and for development of the Natchez Trace Trail system. Authorizes the establishment of a volunteer action trails demonstration program administered by the Secretaries of the Interior and Agriculture. Authorizes each Secretary to make grants to volunteer trail groups involved in the maintenance or development of national trails or trails which could qualify as national trails. Specifies the permissible uses for such grant money. Sets forth application requirements for volunteer trail groups. Authorizes appropriations for fiscal years 1982 and 1983 to carry out this program. Amends the Land and Water Conservation Fund Act of 1965 to prohibit the imposition of Federal entrance fees at national recreation areas, units of the National Wild and Scenic Rivers System, or units of the National Trails System. Prohibits the continued imposition of Federal entrance fees at national parks where the collection costs exceeded the receipts in calendar year 1979. Permits the Secretary of the Interior to continue an entrance fee at a national park unit, upon notice to specified congressional committees, if the Secretary determines before April 1, 1981, that the fee is necessary to protect park resources.
United States · United States Congress · 16 January 1981
Establishes the Barrier Islands National Parks. Authorizes the Secretary of the Interior to acquire lands within the boundaries of the barrier islands units except that the Secretary may acquire developed land only with the consent of the owner or following a determination by the Secretary that an actual or proposed change in the use of such land would impair the quality of the unit. Withdraws lands within the barrier islands units from entry or appropriation under U.S. mining laws and from the operation of the mineral leasing laws subject to valid existing rights. Prohibits any Federal agency from providing financial assistance or issuing any form of approval for: (1) the construction of any structure, road, or facility of any type on any barrier island unit of the Atlantic or gulf coast of the United States; (2) any road, airport, boat landing facility or other facility to be used for providing access to any such barrier island contrary to the purposes of this Act; (3) any project to prevent the erosion of, or to otherwise stabilize, any shoreline or inshore area of such a barrier island, and (4) the replacement, reconstruction, or repair of any property owned by any person other than the United States if such property is located on a barrier island and damaged or destroyed by a natural disaster. Authorizes appropriations to carry out the provisions of this Act.
United States · United States Congress · 9 January 1981
Amends the Immigration and Nationality Act to allow preference visas to be given to an alien who: (1) requests such treatment; (2) was born after 1950 in Korea, Vietnam, Laos, or Thailand; (3) was fathered by an American serviceman; and (4) provides a guarantee of financial support. Stipulates that such guarantee must: (1) be signed by a citizen or lawful permanent resident who is at least 21 years old; and (2) provide that such signing sponsor will provide necessary financial support for five years. Allows the Attorney General to enforce such guarantee against the sponsor in a civil suit unless such sponsor dies or is adjudicated bankrupt.
United States · United States Congress · 9 January 1981
Amends the Immigration and Nationality Act to authorize the Attorney General to order the deportation of certain nonimmigrant aliens (including foreign students) in the United States who: (1) knowingly participated in a political demonstration resulting or intending to result in personal injury or property damage; or (2) while in the United States, took part in any unlawful activity or advocated the overthrow by violence of any organized government. Permits the Attorney General to suspend deportation of such students.
United States · United States Congress · 9 January 1981
Amends title II (Old Age, Survivors and Disability Insurance) of the Social Security Act to remove the limitation on the amount of outside income which an individual may earn while receiving benefits.
United States · United States Congress · 6 January 1981
Fairness for California Fishermen Act of 1981 - Amends the Fishery Conservation and Management Act of 1976 to establish a ninth Regional Fishery Management Council, the California Pacific Council, consisting of the State of California, and having authority over the fisheries in the Pacific Ocean seaward of such State.
United States · United States Congress · 6 January 1981
Grants a Federal charter to the Daughters of Union Veterans of the Civil War, 1861-1865. Directs such corporation to submit to Congress an annual report on its activities.
United States · United States Congress · 6 January 1981
Veterans' Administration Adjudication Procedure and Judicial Review Act - Title I: Adjudication Procedures - Codifies, for Veterans' Administration (VA) adjudication purposes, the burden of proof and reasonable doubt standard currently provided for by VA regulation. States that a claimant has the burden of submitting sufficient evidence to justify his or her claim, and that if an approximate balance of positive and negative evidence exists regarding the merits of a claim, the VA is to resolve such doubt in favor of the claimant. Stipulates that VA subpoenas may be served either by personal delivery or by registered or certified mail. Increases the size of the Board of Veterans' Appeals from 50 to 65 members. Requires the chairman of such Board to submit an annual report to the appropriate congressional committees concerning the Board's current handling of cases and projections for the subsequent fiscal year. Requires the Board to: (1) provide notice to a claimant and an opportunity for a hearing before a decision may be based on "additional official information" received after a Board decision has previously been made; (2) provide the claimant with an opportunity for a hearing; and (3) make its decision exclusively on evidence and material of record in the proceeding. Removes the requirement that new material sufficient to allow the Board to reopen a previously disallowed claim be in the form of official reports. Provides that the Board's discretionary authority to reopen a claim will not be diminished by a judicial decision following an appeal as provided for by this Act. Requires the Board to mail to the claimant notice of its decision and the reasons for such decision. Provides that, upon the request of a claimant, the Board shall provide an independent advisory medical opinion when there exists substantial medical disagreements with respect to a material issue in a veterans' appeal. Sets forth new procedural rules for adjudication hearings regarding: (1) oaths, affirmations, and witness examination; (2) admissibility of evidence; (3) procedural rights of claimants; (4) disqualification of a hearing officer; (5) the record of the proceedings and the claimants' right to examine and obtain a copy of such record; and (6) the exclusiveness of veterans' adjudication procedures and rights prescribed by the Administrator. Requires the Administrator to provide at each stage of the appeal proceedings written notice to a claimant of procedural rights and procedures. Directs the Administrator to conduct a study of two alternate claims resolution methods, one a new intermediate-level adjudication process, the other an enhanced schedule of formal Appeals Board hearings. Title II: Veterans' Administration Rule Making - Includes the VA's rulemaking procedures under the relevant provisions of the Administrative Procedure Act. Title III: Judicial Review - Provides for judicial review of VA decisions in the Federal court system. States, with regard to jurisdiction: (1) that judicial review of a final decision in a claim for benefits may be obtained in a civil action brought within 180 days of the Board's mailing of notice of its decision, and that such action shall be brought in Federal district court; (2) that in cases not directly involving a claim for benefits a civil action otherwise authorized by law shall not be precluded; (3) the definition of final decision; (4) that the judicial review procedures established under this Act shall not apply to insurance and home loans; (5) that the VA shall file the various materials constituting the record in a case together with its answer to the claimant's complaint; and (6) that the court render a decision on the pleadings. States, with regard to the reviewing court's scope of review, that such court: (1) decide questions of law and interpret constitutional, statutory, and regulatory provisions, but that questions of fact (unless unsupported by substantial evidence) will not be subject to a trial de novo; and (2) in reviewing a final decision of the VA which is adverse to a party solely because such party failed to comply with VA procedures, such court may only review questions concerning such procedures. Sets out provisions regarding remand, survival of actions, and appellate review. Title IV: Attorneys' Fees - Authorizes the Administrator to allow attorneys' fees above the present $10 maximum if the appealing party's claim is allowed by the VA after an initial denial. States that such fee shall be the lesser of: (1) the fee agreed upon by the party and attorney; (2) $500, unless the Administrator approves a greater amount; or (3) if the party and attorney have entered into a contingent-fee agreement, not more than 25 percent of the total of any past-due benefits' awarded on the basis of such party's claim. Provides for the approval of attorneys' fees, in successful veterans' claims brought before a court, as provided for under this Act. Stipulates that such fees shall be determined by such court, and in contingent-fee agreements such fees shall not exceed 25 percent of the total of any past-due benefits awarded on the basis of such claim. Authorizes attorneys' fees of up to $750 in certain unsuccessful veterans' claims. Prohibits the VA from authorizing payment to a claimant's attorney based on past-due benefits unless such benefits are owed as of the date of the VA's or a court's award. Establishes procedures for the review of the VA's or a court's approval of attorneys' fees. States that in the case of a benefits claim resolved before the VA, either the claimant or the attorney may challenge the award in the Federal district court in which the claimant resides or has his principal place of business within 30 days after notice of the attorneys' award. Provides that all parties be given notice. Stipulates that such provisions regarding attorneys' fees shall only apply to claims for benefits under the laws administered by the VA and shall not apply in cases in which the VA is the plaintiff or in which other attorneys' fees statutes are otherwise controlling. Title V: Effective Dates - States that this Act shall become effective 180 days after enactment. Permits review of Board of Veterans' Appeals decisions rendered on or after January 1, 1977, and prior to the effective date of this Act.
United States · United States Congress · 6 January 1981
Amends the Internal Revenue Code to reduce from 70 percent to 50 percent the maximum rate of income tax for individuals. Requires separate computation of personal service income and nonpersonal service (unearned) income, applying each category to the lowest tax rates initially. Prohibits separate computations in the case of any taxpayer with more than $10,000 in tax preference items.
United States · United States Congress · 5 January 1981
Amends the Internal Revenue Code to exclude from gross income a corporate stock distribution to a stockholder based upon the reinvestment of stock dividends in the corporation by such stockholder pursuant to his election to participate in a qualified dividend reinvestment plan, as defined in this Act. Limits the amount of such exclusion to $1,500 per year. Establishes a rebuttable presumption that a distribution made by a corporation which purchases its common stock within one year of such distribution shall not be deemed a distribution pursuant to a qualified dividend reinvestment plan.
United States · United States Congress · 5 January 1981
Small Business and Family Farm Preservation Act of 1981 - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to increase the unified credit against estate and gift taxes from $47,000 to $155,800. Increases the amount of the annual gift tax exclusion from $3,000 to $6,000.
![Official portrait of Rep. Lagomarsino, Robert J. [R-CA-19]](https://www.congress.gov/img/member/l000020_200.jpg)