United States · United States Congress · 26 February 1986
Agricultural Loan Assistance Act of 1986 - Amends the Federal Deposit Insurance Act to require Federal banking agencies to permit an agricultural bank to: (1) amortize over ten years any loss on a qualified agricultural loan that the bank would otherwise be required to show on an annual financial statement for 1985 through 1989; and (2) reappraise the value of any real estate or other real or personal property that the bank acquired coincident to making a qualified agricultural loan and that it owned on January 1, 1985, and any additional property that it acquired before January 1, 1990, and to amortize over ten years any loss resulting from such reappraisal that it would otherwise be required to show on its annual financial statements. Allows such amortization only if there is no evidence that fraud or criminal abuse by the bank led to such losses.
United States · United States Congress · 24 February 1986
Amends the National Aeronautics and Space Act of 1958 to authorize the National Aeronautics and Space Administration to accept gifts or donations to build a manned space shuttle which may be named Challenger II.
United States · United States Congress · 20 February 1986
Advisory Panel on Government Debt Collection Act - Establishes an Advisory Panel for Coordination of Government Debt Collection and Delinquency Prevention Activities to: (1) evaluate Federal policies on debt collection and delinquency prevention; (2) develop and recommend new policies and procedures; and (3) establish training manuals to increase the efficiency of employees involved in collection activities. Directs the Panel to submit a final report to the President and the Congress within 18 months after its first meeting. Terminates the Panel 30 days after submission of such report.
United States · United States Congress · 19 February 1986
Authorizes and requests the President to present, on behalf of the Congress, gold medals to Anatoly and Avital Shcharansky in recognition of their supreme dedication and total commitment to human rights and freedoms. Requires the Secretary of the Treasury to determine the design of the medals. Authorizes appropriations. Authorizes the Secretary to sell bronze duplicates of the medals.
United States · United States Congress · 19 February 1986
Air Passenger Safety and Equity Act of 1986 - Prohibits the receipts and disbursements of the Airport and Airway Trust Fund from being included in: (1) the Federal budget totals submitted by the President; or (2) the congressional budget. Exempts such receipts and disbursements from any general budget limitation imposed upon Federal expenditures or budget outlays.
United States · United States Congress · 19 February 1986
Authorizes the Board of Regents of the Smithsonian Institution to plan, design, and construct facilities for the National Air and Space Museum at Washington Dulles International Airport for expansion of the Museum. Authorizes the Board of Regents to receive and use private donations for carrying out this Act.
United States · United States Congress · 19 February 1986
Amends the Agricultural Act of 1949 to provide that, notwithstanding the Balanced Budget and Emergency Deficit Control Act of 1985 (Gramm-Rudman-Hollings Act) and the sequestration order issued by the President (under such Act) on February 1, 1986, FY 1986 dairy expenditure reductions shall be implemented through a reduction in the price received by milk producers rather than through a reduction in Commodity Credit Corporation payments for dairy product purchases. States that such reductions shall be no greater than needed to equal the reduction in milk support expenditures required by such order.
United States · United States Congress · 6 February 1986
General Aviation Tort Reform Act of 1986 - Amends the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure to provide uniform rules for negligence and products liability claims arising from general aviation accidents. Allows any person claiming damages from such an accident to bring a products liability action against the general aviation manufacturer if: (1) the product was defective when it left the control of the manufacturer; (2) the defective condition was the proximate cause of the harm; (3) the condition would not have been corrected by actions described in directives issued by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) or the manufacturer; and (4) the aircraft was being used for a purpose and in a manner for which it was manufactured. Provides an alternative method to establish manufacturer liability where the manufacturer failed to provide reasonable warnings (unless such warnings would not have affected the conduct of the product user). Provides a third method to establish manufacturer liability where: (1) the manufacturer made an express warranty with respect to the product; (2) the warranty related to that aspect of the product which caused the harm; (3) the product failed to conform to the warranty; and (4) such failure was the proximate cause of the harm. States that all actions for damages arising from a general aviation accident shall be governed by the principles of comparative responsibility. Provides that defendants in such actions are severally but not jointly liable for damages (except that manufacturers of airframes and systems or components of aircraft may be jointly and severally liable under certain circumstances). Provides a 12-year limitation on liability of manufacturers. States that express warranties running for a longer period of time and the duty to provide additional warnings shall not be affected by such limitations. Allows awards of punitive damages. Prescribes a statute of limitations for such actions. Preempts State laws to the extent that this Act establishes applicable rules or procedures. Grants Federal district courts (concurrently with State courts) original jurisdiction (without regard to the amount in controversy) in all civil actions for damages arising out of a general aviation accident. Allows the removal of State actions to an appropriate Federal district court by any defendant. Prescribes venue restrictions. Expresses the intent of the Congress that orders to pay reasonable expenses, including attorney's fees, be enforced.
United States · United States Congress · 6 February 1986
Amends title V (Teacher Corps and Teacher Training Programs) of the Higher Education Act of 1965 to redesignate part F (National Talented Teacher Program) as "Part F-Christa McAuliffe National Talented Teacher Fellowship Program." Renames the fellowships awarded under part F the McAuliffe Fellowships.
United States · United States Congress · 6 February 1986
Amends the Export-Import Bank Act of 1945 to prohibit the Export-Import Bank from guaranteeing, insuring, or extending credit in connection with any export of goods or services to Angola until the President certifies to the Congress that no Cuban military personnel or military personnel from any other controlled country remain in Angola.
United States · United States Congress · 6 February 1986
Declares that each standing committee of the House of Representatives may, within two days of adoption of this resolution, submit to the House Budget Committee alternatives to the President's sequestration order under the Balanced Budget and Emergency Deficit Control Act of 1985 (Gramm-Rudman-Hollings Act), insofar as such order affects laws within the jurisdiction of the committee. Requires the Budget Committee, within four days of adoption of this resolution, to report a resolution containing instructions to committees sufficient to achieve the total level of deficit reduction contained in the President's sequestration order for FY 1986. Provides that such instructions shall require that each committee (and each subcommittee of the Committee on Appropriations) achieve the same level of deficit reduction with respect to programs under its jurisdiction as would have been saved under the President's order. Requires committees to submit recommendations to the Budget Committee by February 21, 1986, sufficient to meet deficit reductions. Requires the Budget Committee to promptly report a reconciliation bill carrying out such recommendations. Authorizes the Budget Committee to include legislative language within the jurisdiction of any noncomplying committee. Requires such reconciliation bill to include a provision which states that if it is enacted on or before March 1, 1986, then the sequestration order for FY 1986 is null and void. Establishes procedures for floor consideration of such reconciliation bill, including limitation on debates and amendments.
United States · United States Congress · 6 February 1986
Expresses the sense of the Congress that: (1) the United States, in cooperation with other members of the international donor community, should call upon the Ethiopian Government to recognize that resources donated for famine relief should be used for that purpose and not diverted to resettlement efforts; (2) such forced resettlements by the Ethiopian Government should be halted and monitored by the United Nations (U.N.); (3) the Ethiopian Government should commit sufficient resources to move food and relief goods to meet the needs of its people; and (4) the U.N. should insist on free access to resettlement sites for international observers and the news media and report on conditions in the resettlement camps.
United States · United States Congress · 4 February 1986
Amends the Agricultural Act of 1949 to establish 1986 and 1987 minimum farm payment yields at 1985 levels for wheat, feed grains, upland cotton, and rice.
United States · United States Congress · 30 January 1986
Expresses the sense of the House of Representatives that the President should award the Presidential Medal of Freedom posthumously to Michael J. Smith, Francis R. Scobee, Ronald E. McNair, Ellison S. Onizuka, Sharon Christa McAuliffe, Gregory B. Jarvis, and Judith A. Resnik, all of whom died in the explosion of the space shuttle Challenger.
United States · United States Congress · 29 January 1986
Farm Tax Relief Act of 1986 - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to exclude from income any gain from the sale of farm property by insolvent farmers where substantially all of the proceeds from the sale or exchange are applied to the indebtedness of the taxpayer. Provides that gross income does not include any income resulting from a discharge of indebtedness of a farmer who: (1) has a debt to asset ratio in excess of 70 percent; and (2) earned 50 percent or more of his gross income in the preceding taxable year in the trade or business of farming. Prohibits any investment tax credit recapture on sales of farm property by insolvent farmers.
United States · United States Congress · 29 January 1986
Agricultural Investment Act of 1985 - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to allow an income tax exclusion for up to $1,000 ($2,000 for a joint return) of interest earned each year on an agricultural savings certificate. Defines an agricultural savings certificate as a certificate issued by a qualified savings institution in a specified denomination ranging from $10 to $1,000 which matures in 10, 15, or 20 years. Requires institutions to: (1) use the proceeds of such certificates to purchase U.S. agricultural savings bonds; or (2) pay a penalty. Revokes the tax exclusion of interest on any certificate redeemed or used as loan security before its maturity date. Authorizes the Secretary of the Treasury to issue agricultural savings bonds. Requires the proceeds from the sale of such bonds to be credited to the Farm Trust Fund established by this Act. Authorizes the Secretary to prescribe how such a bond may be issued to a taxpayer in lieu of a refund check for overpayment of taxes. Directs the Secretary of Agriculture to make loans from such Fund to certain lending institutions, with priority given to those institutions with the higher percentages of loans outstanding to bona fide farmers. Requires such institutions to loan the amount received to bona fide farmers meeting specified financial criteria and to return the portion not loaned within 60 days or incur a penalty. Limits the annual interest rate on such loans to farmers to nine percent. Defines a bona fide farmer as any individual 50 percent of whose annual gross income is directly attributable to the raising or cultivating of livestock or agricultural commodities.
United States · United States Congress · 29 January 1986
Authorizes the L-5 Society to establish a memorial on Federal land in the District of Columbia or its environs to honor America's astronauts, especially those astronauts who gave their lives in pursuit of knowledge for all mankind. Requires the L-5 Society to select, subject to the approval of the Commission of Fine Arts and the National Capital Planning Commission, the site, design, and plans for the memorial. Terminates the authority to establish the memorial if its construction is not begun within five years with non-Federal funds sufficient to ensure its completion.
United States · United States Congress · 28 January 1986
Prohibits any benefits payable from the Civil Service Retirement and Disability Fund, including cost-of-living increases, during calendar year 1987 from being subject to reduction or suspension by statute or presidential order.
United States · United States Congress · 28 January 1986
Amends rule XV of the Rules of the House of Representatives to prohibit the House from passing or adopting any bill or joint resolution making or authorizing appropriations of at least $1,000,000,000, or increasing or decreasing revenues by at least $1,000,000,000, except by a rollcall vote.
United States · United States Congress · 22 January 1986
Whistleblower Protection Act of 1986 - Separates the Office of Special Counsel from the Merit Systems Protection Board. Empowers the Special Counsel to represent and act as legal counsel on behalf of employees alleging prohibited personnel practices, especially whistleblowers. Revises current law with respect to the Special Counsel to reflect its advocate status. Authorizes the Special Counsel to file a petition to the Board against an official for: (1) committing prohibited personnel practices; (2) violating a law within the jurisdiction of the Special Counsel; or (3) failing to comply with an order of the Board. Sets forth disciplinary actions for such officials. Requires the Special Counsel to report annually to the Congress on its activities. Authorizes employees who have been adversely affected by a prohibited personnel practice to bring an action before the Board (instead of or in addition to taking such action to the Special Counsel). Authorizes such employees to obtain judicial review of the Board's decision in the appropriate U.S. district court. Authorizes appropriations for the Merit Systems Protection Board for 1987 through 1991 and for the Office of Special Counsel for FY 1987 through 1989.
United States · United States Congress · 19 December 1985
Pharmaceutical Export Amendments of 1986 - Amends the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act to permit the export of certain drugs (including biological products) intended for human or animal use even though such drugs have not been approved or licensed for use in the United States. Directs the Secretary of Health and Human Services to establish and update a two-tiered list of countries with adequate governmental health authorities which in the first tier includes developed regulatory procedures and tests with experienced scientific personnel and in the second tier includes sufficient ability to assure consistency of labeling information. Permits shipments to nonlist countries if differing health conditions there make such shipments desirable, e. g. tropical diseases. Permits the export of an unapproved drug to a second tier country if such drug is approved for use in any first-tier country and not banned for use in any first-tier country. Prohibits the export of drugs denied approval on the basis of safety and efficacy or whose manufacture in the United States has been determined to be contrary to U.S. health and safety. Sets forth other criteria and restrictions on the export of such drugs, including notice requirements on shipments and notice of and opportunity to cure deficiencies in such shipments. Permits the Secretaries of Agriculture and Health and Human Services to prohibit noncomplying shipments and shipments otherwise permitted if either Secretary determines a shipment would present an imminent hazard to the public health of the recipient country. Requires the Comptroller General to report biennially to the Secretary of Health and Human Services and the Congress on the extent to which drugs unauthorized for a country are being received by such country and the extent to which labeling is consistent. Directs the Secretary to contract for a study to be submitted to the Congress within five years on the economic and international health impact of this Act. Includes conditions prevalent in a developing country among the criteria for orphan drugs.
United States · United States Congress · 19 December 1985
Expresses the sense of the House of Representatives that: (1) the President should continue to 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 · 18 December 1985
Amends rule XV of the Rules of the House of Representatives to prohibit the House from passing or adopting any bill or joint resolution making appropriations or providing revenue except by a rollcall vote.
United States · United States Congress · 10 December 1985
Requires that the economic assumptions pertaining to inflation that are used for major weapon system programs of the Department of Defense included in the annual budget transmitted by the President to the Congress be the same as those used for all other programs, projects, and activities included in such budget.
United States · United States Congress · 20 November 1985
Telecommunications Equipment and Information Services Act of 1985 - Authorizes the Bell operating companies to provide information services (excluding electronic publishing) and to manufacture telecommunications equipment, subject to such regulations as the Federal Communications Commission may prescribe. Conditions such authority on the Commission's determination that no Bell operating company could impede competition in the information services or telecommunications equipment manufacturing businesses. Requires the Commission to include in its annual report to the Congress an assessment, providing for public comment, of the impact of this Act on employment in such businesses.
United States · United States Congress · 19 November 1985
Small Contribution Tax Credit Reform Act of 1985 - Amends the the Internal Revenue Code to repeal the income tax credit for contributions to presidential, state, and local candidates, political action committees, and newsletter fund contributions. Allows an income tax credit for congressional candidate contributions. Limits the amount of such credit to $100 for a taxable year ($200 in the case of a joint return).
United States · United States Congress · 14 November 1985
Amends title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act to permit certain rural hospitals located within 75 miles of an urban area to request increased payments for inpatient hospital services so that the portion of such services paid for by Medicare approximates the portion covered for hospitals in the nearest urban area. Authorizes the Secretary of Health and Human Services to require hospitals making a request for increased payments to submit an audit of its costs. Entitles the hospital to an evidentiary hearing before an appeals board if the Secretary disapproves the hospital's request. Requires the Secretary to appoint an appeals board composed of specified members of the health care community. Specifies the board's powers and duties of review. Sets deadlines for the publication of, comment on, and finalization of regulations implementing this Act.
United States · United States Congress · 12 November 1985
Provides for free travel on military aircraft for any former member of the armed forces who has a service-connected disability rated total by the Veterans Administration.
United States · United States Congress · 6 November 1985
Social Security Trust Fund Protection Act of 1985 - Directs the Secretary of the Treasury to issue public debt obligations to the Federal Old-Age and Survivors Insurance Trust Fund, Federal Disability Insurance Trust Fund, Federal Hospital Insurance Trust Fund, Federal Supplementary Medical Insurance Trust Fund, Railroad Retirement Account, Civil Service Retirement and Disability Fund, and Department of Defense Military Retirement Fund for such terms and at such interest rates as will ensure a projected annual interest income to such funds equivalent to the income which would have been earned by those funds from public debt obligations which: (1) were redeemed on or after September 1, 1985, and on or before the date of the enactment of this Act; and (2) would not have been redeemed had the public debt limit been raised pursuant to a specified resolution of the House of Representatives. Directs the Secretary to pay to the funds the interest which would have accrued to the funds but for such non-investments, redemptions, and disinvestments. Amends title II (Old Age, Survivors and Disability Insurance) of the Social Security Act to require the Managing Trustee of the Federal Old-Age and Survivors Insurance Trust Fund and the Federal Disability Insurance trust fund (OASDI trust funds) to submit an advance report to the Board of Trustees of such trust funds and to each House of the Congress of the effects on the OASDI trust funds of reaching the public debt limit. Authorizes the Managing Trustee to disinvest either trust fund only to the extent necessary to prevent a shortfall in amounts available for benefit payments. Restricts the authority of the Secretary of the Treasury to transfer specified tax revenues to the OASDI trust funds by requiring the Secretary to first determine that the balance in either trust fund would otherwise be insufficient to permit full payment of benefits for any month.
United States · United States Congress · 30 October 1985
Makes it a Federal offense, punishable by imprisonment for not more than ten years, for any person with acquired immune deficiency syndrome (AIDS) or with a high risk of acquiring such deficiency syndrome to intentionally donate blood.
United States · United States Congress · 30 October 1985
Directs the Secretary of the Treasury to instruct the U.S. Executive Directors of specified development credit institutions to oppose any aid by such institutions for the production of any agricultural commodity for export if: (1) such commodity is in surplus on world markets; and (2) the export of such commodity would cause substantial injury to U.S. producers of the same or a similar competing commodity. Limits the amount of increase in U.S. contribution to each such institution based upon the amount of assistance furnished by such institution for the production of surplus agricultural commodities that are injurious to U.S. producers or for the subsidization of the export of agricultural commodities from certain countries.
United States · United States Congress · 30 October 1985
Prohibits Federal financial assistance to any hospital which denies a physician, nurse, or other health care delivery personnel the opportunity to wear protective garments while dealing with patients with acquired immune deficiency syndrome(AIDS).
United States · United States Congress · 30 October 1985
Declares that no hospital or other health care facility may receive Federal funds if it knowingly permits a physician, dentist, nurse, or other health care delivery personnel who has acquired immune deficiency syndrome (AIDS) to practice in the hospital facility.
United States · United States Congress · 30 October 1985
Prohibits Federal financial assistance to any city, town, or political jurisdiction which permits the operation of a public bath which is hazardous to the public health or is used for sexual relations between males.
![Official portrait of Rep. Lightfoot, Jim [R-IA-3]](https://www.congress.gov/img/member/l000305_200.jpg)