United States · United States Congress · 15 February 1979
National Service Act - Declares that the purpose of this Act is to establish a program under which all citizens of the United States between the ages of 18 and 30 are requested to perform one or two years of either military or civilian service, but in which no one is required to serve except to the extent that the needs of the military require that some persons be inducted for military training and service. Title I: National Service System - Declares it the obligation of each citizen to perform some service for the United States and to fulfill this obligation each citizen between the ages of 17 and 24 shall perform suitable civilian service, enlist in the armed forces, or be subject to induction into the armed forces. Establishes within the executive branch an independent agency to be known as the National Service System to be headed by a Director appointed by the President with the advice and consent of the Senate. Stipulates that such System shall include at least one placement center in each county or comparable political subdivision in each State and there shall be at least one appeals board in each State. Requires each citizen within ten days after becoming 17 years of age to register at his or her local placement center. Requires citizens who are between the ages of 17 and 21 on the effective date of this Act and who are not already registered under the Military Selective Service Act to register within six months of the effective date of this Act. Requires registrants at least ten days before reaching the age of 18 to notify their local placement center of their election to enlist in the armed forces, to participate in the military lottery, or to participate in the civilian service program as well as what age the registrant will begin such service. States that the age for beginning such service shall be not less than 18 years nor more than 23 years of age. Stipulates that individuals who fail to begin their service at such time shall be placed in a lottery pool and shall be liable for a period of six years induction into the armed forces. Stipulates that individuals who elect to enlist in the armed forces but who are not accepted by the age of 25 solely because the manpower needs of the armed forces have already been met will be considered to have discharged their obligation to perform service under this Act. Sets forth the conditions under which an individual may be exempted from the provisions of this Act. Sets forth legal proof requirements for conscientious objectors. Sets forth conditions for deferring participation in the military lottery and the civilian service program. Sets forth registrant classification and reclassification procedures. Sets forth procedures for appeal of a classification or the denial of a request for a change in classification. Sets forth active training and service requirements for individuals who enlist or are inducted into the armed forces or who elect to participate in civilian service pursuant to this Act. Establishes procedures for conducting the military lottery. Specifies the order for induction for training and service in the armed forces in the event of war. Sets forth the rates of monthly basic pay for members of the uniformed services. Transfers the personnel and funds of the Selective Service System to the National Service System. Provides criminal penalties for individuals who refuse to register in the National Service System as required or who fail to report for induction when ordered to do so. Title II: National Youth Service Foundation - Creates the National Youth Service Corps for those registrants in the National Service System electing to perform civilian service. Establishes within the executive branch an independent agency to be known as the National Youth Service Foundation. Empowers such Foundation to administer the National Youth Service Corps and to make grants to units of State and local government in order to provide employment opportunities for civilian service registrants in the Corps. Provides for a Board of Trustees of the Foundation to be appointed by the President. Provides for the appointment of a Director of the Foundation by the President with the advice and consent of the Senate. Sets forth the duties of registrants who have elected to perform civilian service. Requires each registrant who has located a position in which to perform civilian service to perform satisfactory service for a period of one year. Designates as "sponsors" those persons and units of State, local, and regional government that have positions available in which civilian service registrants may perform service. Stipulates that each sponsor shall provide supervision and training to civilian service registrants in accordance with minimum standards to be prescribed by the Board. Stipulates that civilian service registrants shall be paid a subsistence stipend determined by the Board based upon the local cost-of-living of the geographic area. Requires any civilian service registrant who withdraws or is dismissed from a civilian service position to report to the local placement center nearest to the registrant's current place of residence for reassignment within ten day of a Board's determination that the registrant is to continue in the civilian services. Requires any civilian service registrant who is not able to find a position in a qualified service category, or who fails to complete satisfactorily a year of service, shall perform such service, or complete such year of service, in the Young Adult Conservation Corps, or shall be placed in the military lottery pool. Authorizes the Board to promulgate regulations designating specific service categories as qualified service categories in which civilian service registrants may serve for the purposes of this Act. Sets forth the conditions under which an activity shall be deemed to be a qualified service category pursuant to this Act. Delineates suitable service categories to include positions in: (1) the Foundation and State, local, and regional government agencies; (2) schools; (3) nonprofit hospitals; (4) law enforcement agencies; (5) penal and probation systems; (6) private, nonprofit organizations whose principal purpose is social service; and (7) certain seasonal farm labor on commercial farms. Stipulates that suitable service categories may not include positions in: (1) profitmaking business organizations; (2) labor unions; (3) partisan political organizations; (4) organizations engaged in religious functions, unless the position itself does not involve any religious functions; and (5) domestic or personal service companies or organizations. Requires the Board to solicit information from sponsors who are authorized to participate in the civilian service program with regard to the types and impact of positions available for civilian service registrants. Provides for Board certification of specific positions as qualified for civilian service. Sets forth limited appeal procedures for sponsors or registrants who are adversely affected by decisions of the Board relating to the suitability of a specific position for civilian service pursuant to this Act. Requires that sponsors provide civilian service registrants with the same hours of work and leave as they afford their new employees. Directs the Board to contract for health care plans for registrants and to prescribe how the costs of such health care shall be borne by registrants and by sponsors. Stipulates that registrants shall not be considered Federal employees except that such an individual shall be considered to be an employee of the United States for the purposes of specified laws. Requires sponsors to submit annual reports to the Board regarding the number and reason for registrants leaving service with such sponsor. Sets forth the conditions under which an individual may be dismissed from civilian service by a sponsor. Stipulates that registrants who are dismissed for cause shall be deemed to have elected to participate in the next military lottery. Authorizes the Board to make grants to units of State and local government for: (1) paying stipends to registrants; (2) encouraging local private persons and other governmental entities to become sponsors in the civilian service program; and (3) such other purposes as the Board may authorize to carry out the provisions of this title. Establishes the National Advisory Council on Youth Service to advise the Board on policy matters relating to the administration of this title. Title III: Veterans Benefits - Entitles individuals who volunteer or who are inducted into the armed forces pursuant to this Act to specified educational benefits. Title IV: Miscellaneous Provisions - Repeals the Military Selective Service Act. Sets forth the effective date of this Act.
United States · United States Congress · 13 February 1979
Amends the Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970 to exclude from coverage: (1) employers with ten or fewer employees; and (2) employees not employed on a regular basis for 30 or more consecutive days. Requires that a warning rather than a citation be given for a first instance violation, other than a willful or serious violation, to an employer who has not employed more than 25 employees at any time during the 30 days prior to an inspection or investigation. Prohibits the imposition of a civil penalty against an employer for a nonserious violation if: (1) such employer has not previously received a citation for the same violation; and (2) the inspection upon which such citation was based resulted in the issuance of citations for ten or fewer violations of a nonserious nature.
United States · United States Congress · 8 February 1979
Amends title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act to provide payment for optometric and medical vision care under the supplementary medical insurance program.
United States · United States Congress · 8 February 1979
Amends the Administrative Procedure Act to require Federal agencies to prepare and publish in the Federal Register an economic impact analysis of all proposed and final rules subject to the provisions of the Act.
United States · United States Congress · 8 February 1979
Regulatory Flexibility Act - Requires Federal agencies to include the following information in the general notice of a proposed rule: (1) the goals and purpose of the rule; (2) the estimated number of individuals, businesses, organizations, and governmental jurisdictions affected by the rule; (3) a statement that the agency seeks alternative proposals which could achieve the goal of the proposed rule at a lower cost to individuals, small businesses, small organizations, and small governmental jurisdictions; and (4) a list of the measures necessary for compliance with any reporting requirement affecting more than ten persons. Requires Federal agencies to accept and consider alternative proposals to a proposed rule and to publish those proposals with justification of the selection of the final rule. Defines a small business, small organization, small governmental jurisdiction, and an individual as used in this Act. Directs each agency to publish a plan for reviewing its rules within 180 days after enactment of this Act. Requires each agency to determine whether such rules are efficiently achieving the goals of the implementing legislation. Directs each agency to publish annually a list of the rules to be issued and reviewed during the next year.
United States · United States Congress · 5 February 1979
Zero-Based Paperwork Act of 1979 - Requires a biennial justification for the continued use of any form used to solicit information from private sources and State and local government agencies.
United States · United States Congress · 1 February 1979
Amends the Internal Revenue Code to permit taxpayers who do not itemize income tax deductions to claim a deduction from gross income for charitable contributions.
United States · United States Congress · 1 February 1979
Administrative Rulemaking Reform Act - Requires a Federal agency preparing to hold a rulemaking session to make a reasonable effort to inform those likely to be affected by the proposed rulemaking. Requires that if the affected group is large, representatives of such group must be notified. Requires, in addition to present requirements, that the notice of rulemaking include the projected effective date of the rules, the purpose of the rulemaking, the text of the proposed rules, and the technical or other studies on which the agency intends to rely in the rulemaking proceedings. Applies the requirements of this Act to all rulemaking sessions except: (1) those specifically authorized to be kept secret in the interest of national security, and (2) those relating to agency management. Requires public notice and public opportunity for comment on all rulemaking proceedings under this Act unless the agency finds that the rules to be proposed are emergency rules or are of routine or insignificant impact in which case the rule must be published with reasons for its adoption. Requires Federal agencies to give interested persons at least 45 days to participate in the rulemaking. Requires the agency to maintain a file of each proceeding to be made available to the courts, Congress, and to the public in connection with review of the rule. Limits the period for public comment to a maximum of 90 days. Requires a copy of all proposed rules to be sent to Congress. States that such rule, other than an emergency rule, shall not become effective if it is disapproved within 90 days by both Houses of Congress, or it is disapproved within 60 days by one House and no action is taken on the disapproval resolution by the other House. Provides that either House of Congress may, by resolution, require any agency to reconsider and resubmit any rule to which this Act applies. Requires that such proposed rule be repromulgated anew in accordance with all the provisions of this Act unless it is reconsidered and resubmitted to Congress within 180 days after the adoption of the resolution requiring such reconsideration. Requires the Administrative Conference of the United States to study Congressional review of agency rulemaking under this Act and report the effect of such review on such rulemaking before July 1, 1984. Authorizes to be appropriated $200,000 to finance such study. Makes this Act effective 90 days after enactment. Terminates the Congressional review required by this Act at the adjournment of the Ninety-eight Congress.
United States · United States Congress · 31 January 1979
Small Business Regulatory Relief Act - Amends the Small Business Act to direct each Federal department, agency, and instrumentality engaged in rulemaking to prepare a written analysis of whether it is legal, feasible, and desirable to exempt small businesses (or classes thereof) from a rule or whether the agency should promulgate a rule with lesser compliance standards for small businesses. Sets forth information which must be present in such analysis.
United States · United States Congress · 31 January 1979
Product Liability Tax Assistance Act - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to allow an income tax deduction for amounts contributed to a product liability trust, up to the fair market value of product liability insurance for the taxpayer. Sets forth the requirements such a product liability trust must meet to be tax-exempt. Includes distributions from such a trust other than for payment of product liability claims in the recipient's gross income. Imposes excise taxes on such trusts for self-dealing, unqualified expenditures, and contributions in excess of the fair market value of product liability insurance.
United States · United States Congress · 31 January 1979
Amends title XVI (Supplemental Security Income for the Aged, Blind, and Disabled) of the Social Security Act to provide that an individual may work without being considered as having engaged in substantial gainful activity, and thus forfeiting disability status, if such individual's earnings are at a rate that does not exceed the amount specified by this Act. Excludes from an individual's income, for purposes of determining eligibility for benefits under such title, an amount equal to the expenses which such individual incurs in earning income.
United States · United States Congress · 31 January 1979
Amends title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act to authorize payment for specified services performed by chiropractors, including x-rays and for physical examinations, and for related routine laboratory tests.
United States · United States Congress · 31 January 1979
Requests the Secretary of Defense to rescind that portion of the Department of Defense directive which permits deserters from military service to receive in absentia discharges.
United States · United States Congress · 29 January 1979
Small Business Tax Relief Act of 1979 - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to limit recognition on the gain from the sale or exchange of an unincorporated trade or business prior to the time that the taxpayer attains age 55 by providing that such gain shall be recognized only to the extent that it exceeds the cost of reinvesting in replacement property for another small business venture. Provides for the taxation of such gain, after age 55, as ordinary income according to the ten year averaging rules applicable to lump sum distributions from employee benefit plans. Increases the additional first year depreciation allowance for small businesses. Permits a taxpayer election to amortize over a 36 month period expenses for depreciable property which is acquired to put a small business in compliance with Federal regulations and which does not have any economic usefulness for the business. Exempts domestic international sales corporations (DISC) which have adjusted taxable income of $1,000,000 or less from the limitations on deferral of base period export gross receipts which are applicable to larger corporations. Permits businesses with gross receipts of less than $1,000,000 to elect the cash method of accounting in reporting income. Allows a refund to employers of their proportionate share of excess social security payments made on behalf of employees who were employed by two or more employers during the taxable year. Permits an income tax credit of $5 for each form or document which a small business is required to file pursuant to Federal law.
United States · United States Congress · 23 January 1979
Declares the public policy of the United States to prohibit the manufacture, sale, interstate shipment, and use of leg-hold and steel-jaw traps in the United States and abroad. Prohibits the shipment into interstate or foreign commerce of fur or leather products which come from animals trapped in any State or foreign country which has not banned such traps. Requires the Secretary of Commerce to publish a list of States and foreign countries which have not banned the manufacture, sale, and use of leg-hold and steel-jaw traps. Sets forth penalties for violations of this Act.
United States · United States Congress · 18 January 1979
American Tax Reduction Act of 1979 - States as the purposes of this Act: (1) the reduction of the public debt; (2) the imposition of limits on Federal spending; (3) the inducement of Members of Congress to eliminate unneeded Federal programs; (4) the reduction of individual income taxes; (5) tax relief for homeowners; and (6) the indexation of tax rates to reflect inflation of income. Title I: Individual Income Tax Rate Reductions - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to reduce individual and estate and trust income tax rates for 1979, 1980, and 1981, and to make a permanent reduction in such rates for years after 1981. Title II: Provisions Relating to Capital Gains - Reduces the alternative tax on capital gains to 15 percent of the net capital gain. Eliminates capital gains as an item of tax preference for purposes of the minimum and maximum tax. Repeals the alternative minimum tax schedule for capital gains of individual taxpayers which was enacted by the Revenue Act of 1978. Permits a taxpayer to elect to offset against taxable income all capital losses not in excess of taxable income. Permits a one-year carryover of losses in excess of taxable income. Eliminates the age requirement (55) for eligibility for the one-time $100,000 exclusion of gain from the sale of a principal residence. Title III: Provisions Relating to Indexing for Inflation - Requires cost-of-living adjustments to income brackets for purposes of the individual income tax and the normal tax on corporate income. Requires a similar adjustment to capital assets for purposes of determining gain or loss and to estates and gifts in determining the tax at the time of transfer. Replaces the corporate income tax rates with a graduated, five-tier schedule, imposing the uppermost (46 percent) marginal rate upon income in excess of $100,000. Title IV: Reduction in Federal Spending - Amends the Congressional Budget Act of 1974 to limit Federal spending to 18 percent of the gross national product by fiscal year 1983. Prohibits the consideration of any bill in Congress which would cause the spending limit to be exceeded. Title V: Reduction of the Public Debt - Amends such Act further to the application of two percent of the annual Federal budget to the retirement of the Federal deficit.
United States · United States Congress · 18 January 1979
Wildlife on Federal Lands Trapping Act of 1979 - Requires the Secretary of the Interior to issue such regulations relating to trapping as are necessary to carry out the purposes of this Act. Prohibits the Secretary from approving any type of trap unless such trap utilizes the most humane capture method available for the species concerned, and minimizes the probability of capturing species for which such trap was not intended. Directs the Secretary to undertake a research program to develop such types of traps. Establishes an advisory commission to make recommendations to the Secretary with respect to traps designed or intended for use. Prohibits the Secretary from permitting trapping on Federal lands where such trapping may reduce any species below specified levels. Sets forth a procedure for the application and issuance of trapping permits. Requires the attachment of a shipping certificate to any package containing the fur, hide, skin, horn, or feathers of any mammal or bird captured by any trap within any State or the District of Columbia if such package is transported in interstate or foreign commerce. Establishes criminal penalties for: (1) engaging in trapping without a permit issued pursuant to this Act; (2) violating any condition of such permit; (3) violating any regulation of the Secretary relating to trapping; (4) selling or transporting in interstate commerce an unapproved trap; (5) falsifying the shipping certificate; or (6) conveying any package under this Act without affixing the shipping certificate or affixing a false certificate. Authorizes the Secretary to enter into cooperative agreements with States with respect to the imposition of trapping regulations consistent with those prescribed under this Act. Authorizes such appropriations as may be necessary to carry out the purposes of this Act.
United States · United States Congress · 18 January 1979
Amends the Legislative Reorganization Act of 1970 to require House of Representatives committee reports on proposed legislation of a public character to contain statements estimating the reporting and recordkeeping requirements imposed on individuals, private industry, and State and local governments as a result of the enactment of such legislation. Prohibits the House of Representative from considering any legislation reported in the House unless it contains such a statement. Declares that the requirements of this Act shall be considered as part of the rules of the House.
United States · United States Congress · 18 January 1979
Authorizes and requests the President to designate the week beginning on the Sunday preceding the fourth Thursday in November of each year as "National Family Week."
United States · United States Congress · 15 January 1979
Amends the Internal Revenue Code to exempt taxpayers from the payment of interest or a penalty on tax deficiencies attributable to erroneous advice obtained in writing from an Internal Revenue Service Officer or employee acting in an official capacity.
United States · United States Congress · 15 January 1979
Regulatory Agency Abolition Act - Abolishes each Federal regulatory agency three years after enactment of this Act unless prior to such date the President and Congress study the effectiveness of such agencies and Congress thereafter adopts a resolution disapproving such abolition. Provides that each regulatory agency established after the date of enactment of this Act shall be abolished three years from the date on which it was first empowered unless the President and Congress take the steps outlined above. Directs the President to submit to Congress a plan for the orderly transfer of duties essential to the public health, safety, or welfare from an abolished agency to the President or to a successor agency. Provides that all orders, rules, certificates, judicial proceedings and licenses made effective by agencies abolished by this Act shall continue in effect until repealed or superceded by the President.
United States · United States Congress · 15 January 1979
Amends the Internal Revenue Code to allow an individual age 62 or over an exclusion from gross income of up to $3,000 of interest income that would otherwise be includible. Reduces the amount of the exclusion by one-half of the amount by which the individual's adjusted gross income exceeds $5,500.
United States · United States Congress · 15 January 1979
Government Economy and Spending Reform Act of 1979 - Title I: Authorizations of New Budget Authority - Terminates all budget authority for Federal programs on specified dates every five years according to the functional or subfunctional category of each program as set forth in the fiscal year 1977 budget. Requires the Comptroller General to report to Congress by April 1, 1979, on specified programs with respect to the laws under which such program is carried on, the amount of new budget authority received by such program during the four fiscal years ending before April 1, 1979, and to identify programs for which no outlays have been made during the last two fiscal years ending before April 1, 1979. Requires the Committees on Appropriations and the Committees on the Budget of both Houses of Congress to review such report and to identify each program's functional and subfunctional category. Prohibits providing new budget authority after the applicable review date set forth in this Act unless the provision of such budget authority is specifically authorized by law or the standing rules of either House of Congress. Title II: Zero-Base Program Review - Sets forth a timetable for Congressional zero-base review of new budget authority. Defines "zero-base review" as an evaluation of a given program to determine whether its merits warrant its termination or continuation at a level less than, equal to, or more than its existing level. Requires each congressional committee conducting a zero-based program review to adopt tentative and final review plans, receive reports from the Comptroller General and Federal agencies on the program being reviewed, and report to their respective House the results of such zero-base review of the program. Sets forth minimum objectives of inquiry for such reviews. Requires that any committee reporting pursuant to this Act recommend the extent to which any program reviewed should be continued or eliminated. Title III: Continuing Review - Amends the Legislative Reorganization Act of 1970 to require, whenever the Comptroller General issues a report which discloses any substantial deficiency in the achievement of the objectives of any Federal program, the agency conducting such program to report to specified congressional committees 60 days after such report and every six months thereafter to delineate the actions taken with respect to such deficiency. Requires that such agency continue to issue such reports until such time as the Comptroller General determines that no purpose is served by their submission. Amends the Budget and Accounting Act, 1921, to require the inclusion in the Budget of a statement of the specific objectives of each Government program, and a comparison, in each subsequent Budget, of the achievement of such objectives for the last completed fiscal year with the planned objectives of such year. Title IV: Miscellaneous - Requires the Director of Management and Budget to study the feasibility of zero-base budgeting for Federal agencies. Requires the Director of the Congressional Budget Office to study the relationship between personnel ceilings on employees of the United States and the use of private contracts to carry out programs and activities. Requires the Directors to report to Congress on the results of such studies. Requires Federal agency heads to report requests for new budget authority to Congress. Requires specified committees to study the effectiveness of the zero-base review procedures required by this Act. Directs Congress to complete action during the second session of the Ninety-eighth Congress on legislation which will continue or terminate the zero-base review of programs.
United States · United States Congress · 15 January 1979
Amends the Internal Revenue Code to allow an income tax deduction of up to $1,500 for household expenses to any taxpayer who maintains a household in which a dependent aged 65 or over resides.
United States · United States Congress · 15 January 1979
Amends the Internal Revenue Code to allow individuals an income tax credit for specified medical expenses (including insurance) paid for themselves, their spouses, and dependents. Limits such credit to 50 percent of the amount by which such medical expenses exceed ten, but are less than 20, percent of the individuals adjusted gross income. Allows a full credit for amounts by which such medical expenses exceed 20 percent of adjusted gross income. Repeals the current income tax deduction for medical and dental expenses. Directs the Secretary of the Treasury, in consultation with the Secretary of Health, Education, and Welfare, to draft regulations to prevent fraudulent claims under this Act and to provide for timely payments of refunds to individuals claiming a credit under the provisions of this Act.
United States · United States Congress · 15 January 1979
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 · 15 January 1979
Requires that whoever uses or carries a firearm during the commission of a felony over which a Federal court has original and exclusive jurisdiction, or whoever uses or carries a firearm transported in, or affecting, interstate or foreign commerce during the commission of any crime punishable by imprisonment for a term over one year and is convicted of such crime in a State court, shall in addition to the punishment provided for the commission of such crime, be sentenced to a term of imprisonment of not less than five nor more than ten years. Requires in the case of a second or subsequent conviction the imposition of a term of imprisonment of not less than ten years, or to life imprisonment. Stipulates that the execution or imposition of any term of imprisonment under this Act: (1) may not be suspended; (2) may not run concurrently; and (3) may not include probation.
United States · United States Congress · 15 January 1979
Amends the Internal Revenue Code to exempt government chartered air museums operated exclusively for the care or use of antique, custom-built, racing, military or other special types of aircraft from the excise taxes on special fuels and the use of civil aircraft.
United States · United States Congress · 15 January 1979
Title I: Authorizations and Miscellaneous Amendments - Amends the Small Business Act to authorize appropriations for specified programs and expenses of the Small Business Administration. States that all appropriations, whether specifically or generally authorized, shall remain available until expended. Authorizes the Administration to make disaster loans available to small business concerns affected by a shortage of energy-producing resources caused by a strike, boycott, or embargo unless such strike, boycott or embargo is directly against such small business concern. Makes specified low-interest disaster loans available until October 1, 1982. Amends the Small Business Investment Act of 1958 to repeal the authority of the Administration to invest sums from the revolving fund for surety bond guarantees in Treasury bonds, obligations, and other guaranteed debt securities. Authorizes such investments from the revolving fund for qualified contract guarantees. Transfers specified provisions of the Act which established an Office of Advocacy within the Small Business Administration to the Small Business Act. Title II: Small Business Development Centers - Authorizes the Small Business Administration to make grants to States, State agencies, regional entities, State-chartered development credit corporations, and institutions of higher learning to assist in establishing Small Business Development Centers. Requires such grants to be matched in equal amounts by funds from non-Federal sources. Establishes additional restrictions on such grants for fiscal years 1979 through 1982. States that Small Business Development Centers shall have a full-time staff, business and technology analysts, information and professional specialists, and access to laboratory and engineering facilities. Requires such Centers to provide small businesses with business and technology counseling, information on government regulations, library services, and comprehensive studies and surveys. Directs federally funded laboratories and innovation centers to cooperate with the Small Business Development Centers. Requires the Administrator of the Small Business Administration to appoint a Deputy Associate Administrator for Management and Technical Assistance to administer the Small Business Development Center program. Establishes a National Small Business Development Center Advisory Board consisting of nine civilian members. Sets forth provisions governing the appointment of members, a Chairman, meetings, and compensation of the Board. Directs the Small Business Administration to conduct an evaluation of the Development Center program and to submit a report to the appropriate committees of Congress within three years. Title III: White House Conference on Small Business - White House Conference on Small Business Act - Directs the President to convene a White House Conference on Small Business by June 30, 1980, to identify the problems of small business concerns and to make recommendations for executive and legislative action. Requires the Conference to submit a report to the President and the Congress within one year of the date it convenes. Requires the Small Business Administration to report to the Congress within three years on the status and implementation of the findings and recommendations of the Conference. Authorizes appropriations for the expenses of the Conference.
United States · United States Congress · 15 January 1979
Authorizes the inclusion of military service performed by an individual after December, 1956 in the aggregate period of service on which a civil service annuity is based. Stipulates that this Act applies only to individuals becoming eligible for such annuity after the date of enactment. Directs the Civil Service Commission, upon request, to recompute the annuity of an individual receiving such annuity before the date of enactment.
United States · United States Congress · 15 January 1979
Amends the Small Business Act to make the following loans available until October 1, 1982, for the relief of small business concerns affected by disasters occurring on or after October 1, 1978: (1) loans bearing interest at three percent for amounts not exceeding $55,000, for the repair or replacement of a principal residence or personal property; and (2) loans bearing interest at five percent on amounts not exceeding $250,000 for relief from major disasters declared by the President or natural disasters determined by the Secretary of Agriculture pursuant to the Consolidated Farm and Rural Development Act.
United States · United States Congress · 15 January 1979
Age Discrimination in Employment Amendments of 1979 - Amends the Age Discrimination in Employment Act of 1967 to remove the existing 70-year upper age limit to which the prohibitions of such Act apply, thereby extending the protection of such Act to all individuals who are at least 40 years of age. Specifies that there shall be no exceptions to the prohibitions of such Act because of the nature of employment of an individual, or retirement benefits to which an individual may be entitled. Repeals provisions restricting the employment or compensation of an individual in the Federal civil service, Government of the District of Columbia, Foreign Service, or Army Corps of Engineers after such individual retires with an annuity or reaches retirement age. Repeals automatic separation requirements based on age and length of service which relate to employees of the Alaska Railroad, the Panama Canal Company, the Canal Zone Government, and to air traffic controllers and Federal law enforcement officers and firefighters.
United States · United States Congress · 15 January 1979
Sunset Act of 1979 - Title I: Reauthorization of Government Programs - Sets forth a ten-year schedule for reauthorization of all Federal programs according to budget function and subfunction as set forth in the Budget of the United States Government for Fiscal Year 1979. Sets forth the procedure in the House of Representatives and the Senate for the consideration of any bill, resolution, or amendment which authorizes new budget authority. States that it is not in order for either House to consider any legislation which authorizes the enactment of new budget authority for a program for a period of more than ten years, for an indefinite period, or for any fiscal year beginning after the next reauthorization date applicable to such program. Provides that before the Congress can appropriate funds for any program, after its first reauthorization date, there must be a specific authorization in law to support the appropriation. Requires the committees of the Senate and House of Representatives to conduct a sunset review of programs during the Congress in which such programs are scheduled for review. Requires that the report accompanying such reauthorization contain specified information, and that the report be completed during the Congress in which the program is scheduled for reauthorization. Exempts from the requirements of this Act specified programs such as interest on Federal debts, health care services, general retirement and disability payments, as well as litigation activities which have as their objectives the protection and implementation of civil rights guaranteed by the Constitution of the United States and specified retirement pay and benefits. Allows the reauthorization schedule set forth in this Act to be changed by concurrent resolution of the two Houses of Congress and sets forth the procedure for such change. Requires all legislation and other matters related to changes in the dates for programs under this Act to be referred to the committee with legislative jurisdiction over any program affected by the proposal and, sequentially, to the Committee on Rules in the House of Representatives and to the Committee on Rules and Administration in the Senate. Requires such committees to report any concurrent resolution or bill referred to it by a committee of legislative jurisdiction within 30 days, with a statement on each of its recommendations. Makes provisions for any proposed change which has been reported by a committee before June 1, 1980. Title II: Program Inventory - Directs the Comptroller General and the Director of the Congressional Budget Office, in cooperation with the Director of the Congressional Research Service, to prepare an inventory of Federal programs. Declares that the purpose of such program inventory is to advise and assist Congress in carrying out the reauthorization and reexamination requirements and to link such reauthorization and review process with the budget process. Requires the Comptroller General to submit such program inventory to each House of Congress no later than January 1, 1980. Sets forth the contents of the inventory program, including the type of authorization provided for such programs' new budget authority; and the manner in which related program areas may be grouped for evaluation and review. Permits the congressional committees, the Congressional Budget Office, and the Congressional Research Service to review the program inventory and suggest revisions. Requires that the program inventory be revised at the end of each session of Congress, and that such revisions be reported to each House. Requires that periodic reports tabulate the progress of congressional action on bills and resolutions authorizing budget authority for programs in the inventory. Requires the Comptroller General and the Director of the Congressional Budget Office to submit periodic reports to the Congress on the adequacy of the functional and subfunctional categories for grouping programs of like missions or objectives. Title III: Program Reexamination - Requires each committee of the Senate and the House of Representatives to reexamine selected programs or groups of programs over which it has jurisdiction. Sets forth procedures for such review, and criteria for selection of program areas for evaluation. Directs each committee to consult with the appropriate committees of either the House of Representatives or the Senate in order to achieve coordination of program reevaluation and inform itself of the related activities of or available assistance from the General Accounting Office, the Congressional Budget Office, the Congressional Research Service, the Office of Technology Assessment, and appropriate instrumentalities in the executive and judicial branches. Requires each committee to deliver a report on the reexamination to the Secretary of the Senate or the Clerk of the House at the date specified in the funding resolution first reported by such committee in 1981 and thereafter for the first session of each Congress. Allows two or more committees which have legislative jurisdiction over the same programs or portions of the same programs to examine such programs jointly and submit a joint report. Stipulates that such report: (1) contain the findings, recommendations, and justifications of the program; and (2) include specified information including, but not limited to, an assessment of the cost-effectiveness of the program and an identification of any trends, developments, and emerging conditions which are likely to affect the nature and extent of the problems or needs which the program is intended to address. Requires each executive department or agency which is responsible for a program selected for reexamination to submit a report to the Office of Management and Budget and to the appropriate committees of the Congress on its findings, recommendations, and justifications of specified aspects of the program. Title IV: Citizens' Commission on the Organization and Operation of Government - Establishes, as an independent instrumentality of the United States, the Citizens' Commission on the Organization and Operation of Government to conduct a nonpartisan study and investigation of the organization and methods of operation of all departments, agencies, independent instrumentalities, and other authorities of the executive branch of the Government, and to make such recommendations as it determines are necessary to promote economic, efficient and improved services in the transaction of public business. Requires the Commission to submit interim reports to the President and the Congress, and to submit a final report with its findings and recommendations. Requires the Comptroller General to report once a year for two years after submission of the Commission's final report on the status of actions taken as a result of the report. Specifies the composition of the 15-member Commission and sets forth the duties and powers of the Commission. States that the Commission shall cease to exist 90 days after submission of its final report. Authorizes to be appropriated until September 30, 1984, without fiscal year limitations, $4,000,000 to carry out the provisions of this Title. Title V: Regulatory Impact - Requires the President to submit, at the beginning of each of the five congresses beginning with the 97th Congress, an analysis of the purposes, function, and efficiency of 16 specified regulatory agencies. Requires the President to submit legislative plans, based on such analyses, for the improvement of operations of such agencies. Establishes a schedule according to which plans for specified agencies will be submitted early in each of the five congresses for which the required analyses are submitted. Directs the President, with each plan, to submit a report on the cumulative impact of government regulatory activity on specific industry groupings. Directs the Comptroller General and the Director of the Congressional Budget Office to assess each of the agencies included in the President's plan and to analyze the plan, and submit such information to the Congress. Title VI: Government Accountability - Requires the President, beginning with the first year of the 97th Congress, to submit biennially, as part of the budget, a report on the management of the executive branch. Requires the Director of the Office of Management and Budget to provide an evaluative report on Federal programs to the President to be included with the President's report. Title VII: Tax Expenditures - Requires the Director of the Congressional Budget Office, after consultation with the Joint Committee on Taxation of the Congress, to prepare an inventory of tax expenditure provisions and to submit a report on such inventory to the Committee on Ways and Means of the House and the Senate Finance Committee. Defines the term "tax expenditure provision" as any provision of Federal law which allows a special exclusion, exemption, or deduction in determining liability for any tax or which provides a special credit against any tax, a preferential rate of tax, or a deferral of tax liability. Specifies the contents of the report which include an estimate of the revenue loss from each tax provision. Requires the Director to: (1) submit a revised inventory to each House of Congress by December 1, 1980; (2) revise the inventory after the close of each session of Congress and report such revisions to Congress; and (3) periodically report on congressional action on bills and resolutions which create or affect tax provisions. Directs the House Committee on Ways and Means and the Senate Committee on Finance to prepare a reauthorization schedule for all tax provisions similar to the schedule set out for Federal programs in title I of this Act. Requires Congress to take final action on the reauthorization schedule for tax provisions before the end of the 96th Congress. Provides that each tax expenditure provision shall expire unless it is reauthorized by a law enacted during the Congress in which it is scheduled for review. Sets forth procedures and restrictions for the consideration of bills reauthorizing tax provisions, which are similar to the restrictions and procedures governing bills authorizing new budget authority for Federal programs as described in title I. Requires that the report accompanying a reauthorization bill include specified information. Permits Congress to prescribe technical rules as may be necessary to mitigate adverse effects which might result for taxpayers who rely on a certain tax provision. Title VIII: Miscellaneous - Amends the Budget and Accounting Act of 1921 to permit the committees of Congress to obtain from the agencies of the Government estimates or requests for appropriations or requests for increases in an item of any such estimate or request, and recommendations as to how the revenue needs of the Government should be met. Declares that nothing shall require the public disclosure of records which are specifically authorized under criteria established by an Executive order to be kept secret in the interest of national defense or foreign policy and are in fact properly classified pursuant to such Executive order, or which are otherwise specifically protected by law. Sets forth administrative procedures and requirements. Directs the President, with the cooperation of the head of each appropriate agency, to submit to the Congress a "Regulatory Duplication and Conflicts Report" for all programs scheduled for reauthorization in the next Congress. Stipulates that each such report identify duplicative or conflicting rules and regulations promulgated by executive departments, independent agencies, and State and local governments and contain recommendations which address such conflicts or duplications. Defines the term "required authorization waiver resolution" for purposes of this Act. Sets forth the procedure which the chairman of the committee of the Senate or the House of Representatives having legislative jurisdiction over programs must follow in order to introduce a required authorization waiver resolution. Makes it the duty of the Committees on Governmental Affairs and on Rules and Administration of the Senate and the Committees on Government Operations and on Rules of the House of Representatives to review the operation of the procedures established by this Act and to submit a report every five years beginning December 31, 1986. Authorizes to be appropriated through fiscal year 1990 such sums as may be necessary to carry out the review requirements and for the compilation of the inventory of Federal programs.
United States · United States Congress · 15 January 1979
Constitutional Amendment - Stipulates that the House of Representatives shall be composed of Members chosen every fourth year. Increases the term of office of a Representative to four years. Terminates the term of a Member of the House who is a candidate for a Senate term commencing in the calendar year in which a presidential term begins. Directs the executive authority of the State from which such Representative was chosen to issue writs of election for a special two-year term for a Member of the House to fill the vacancy created by the candidacy of such Member.
United States · United States Congress · 15 January 1979
Expresses the sense of Congress that there shall be a national policy to recognize the inherent right of all citizens, regardless of physical disability, to free use of the man-made environment.
United States · United States Congress · 15 October 1978
Declares the sense of the Congress that the President and the Secretary of State should take all necessary steps to bring the Baltic States question before the United Nations and to urge the United Nations to request the Soviet Union to withdraw all non-native troops, agents, colonists, and controls from the Republics of Lithuania, Latvia, and Estonia, and to return all Baltic exiles from Siberia and from prisons and labor camps in the Soviet Union. Requires the Secretary of State to do his utmost to bring the matter of the Baltic States to the attention of all nations by means of special radio programs and publications. Declares that the United States should not agree to the recognition of the Soviet Union's annexation of Lithuania, Latvia, and Estonia. Directs the President to take steps to provide that all maps of Europe show the Republics of Lithuania, Latvia, and Estonia as independent states. Calls for a return of self-determination to the peoples of Lithuania, Latvia, and Estonia through free elections conducted under the auspices of the United Nations.
United States · United States Congress · 13 October 1978
American Tax Reduction Act - States as the purposes of this Act: (1) the reduction of the public debt; (2) the imposition of limits on Federal spending; (3) the inducement of Members of Congress to eliminate unneeded Federal programs; (4) the reduction of individual income taxes; (5) tax relief for homeowners; and (6) the indexation of tax rates to reflect inflation of income. Title I: Individual Income Tax Rate Reductions - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to reduce individual and estate and trust income tax rates for 1979, 1980, and 1981 and to make a permanent reduction in such rates for years after 1981. Title II: Provisions Relating to Capital Gains - Reduces the alternative tax on capital gains to 15 percent of the net capital gain. Eliminates capital gains as an item of tax preference for purposes of the minimum and maximum tax. Allows a taxpayer to elect to offset against taxable income all capital losses not in excess of taxable income. Permits a one year carryover of losses in excess of taxable income. Permits a one-time exclusion from gross income of $100,000 of the gain from the sale or exchange of a principal residence. Title III: Provisions Relating to Indexing for Inflation - Requires inflation adjustments to income brackets for purposes of the individual income tax, the normal tax on corporate income, and the surtax exemption. Requires a similar adjustment to capital assets for purposes of determining gain or loss and for estates and gifts in determining the tax at the time of transfer. Title IV: Reduction in Federal Spending - Limits Federal spending to 18 percent of the gross national product by 1983. Prohibits the consideration of any bill in Congress which would cause the spending limit to be exceeded. Title V: Reduction of the Public Debt - Requires the application of two percent of the annual Federal budget to the retirement of the Federal deficit.
United States · United States Congress · 12 October 1978
Space Industrialization Act - Title I: Establishment of Space Industrialization Corporation - Establishes, as a Federal agency, the Space Industrialization Corporation which shall promote the development of new processes and industries in space and encourage private industry to invest in such activities. Directs the Corporation to provide funds to industrial space ventures under negotiated management plans. Specifies that such funds shall be repaid with a profit if the venture is profitable and that full documentation is required if it is unprofitable. Establishes in the United States Treasury the "Space Industrialization Trust Fund" which shall be held and administered by the Secretary of the Treasury and made available to the Corporation for use in funding industrial space ventures. Authorizes to the Trust Fund appropriations not to exceed $50,000,000 per year for the first two fiscal years after enactment. Directs the President to aid in the planning, development, and review of a national program for the establishment and operation of a space industrial system. Directs the National Aeronautics and Space Administration to advise, assist, and cooperate with the Corporation in the development of the space industrial system. Title II: Public Ownership of Space Industrialization Corporation - Provides that at such time as the Board of Directors and the President approve, the Corporation shall become a publicly owned entity, which shall be authorized to issue shares of capital stock, nonvoting securities, bonds, debentures, and other certificates of indebtedness as the corporation may determine. Requires all proceeds from such securities to be deposited in the Trust Fund established by Title I.
United States · United States Congress · 6 October 1978
American Tax Reduction Act - States as the purposes of this Act: (1) the reduction of the public debt; (2) the imposition of limits on Federal spending; (3) the inducement of Members of Congress to eliminate unneeded Federal programs; (4) the reduction of individual income taxes; (5) tax relief for homeowners; and (6) the indexation of tax rates to reflect inflation of income. Title I: Individual Income Tax Rate Reductions - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to reduce individual and estate and trust income tax rates for 1979, 1980, and 1981 and to make a permanent reduction in such rates for years after 1981. Title II: Provisions Relating to Capital Gains - Reduces the alternative tax on capital gains to 15 percent of the net capital gain. Eliminates capital gains as an item of tax preference for purposes of the minimum and maximum tax. Allows a taxpayer to elect to offset against taxable income all capital losses not in excess of taxable income. Permits a one year carryover of losses in excess of taxable income. Permits a one-time exclusion from gross income of $100,000 of the gain from the sale or exchange of a principal residence. Title III: Provisions Relating to Indexing for Inflation - Requires inflation adjustments to income brackets for purposes of the individual income tax, the normal tax on corporate income, and the surtax exemption. Requires a similar adjustment to capital assets for purposes of determining gain or loss and for estates and gifts in determining the tax at the time of transfer. Title IV: Reduction in Federal Spending - Limits Federal spending to 18 percent of the gross national product by 1983. Prohibits the consideration of any bill in Congress which would cause the spending limit to be exceeded. Title V: Reduction of the Public Debt - Requires the application of two percent of the annual Federal budget to the retirement of the Federal deficit.
![Official portrait of Rep. Lloyd, James F. [D-CA-35]](https://www.congress.gov/img/member/l000379_200.jpg)