United States · United States Congress · 12 September 1978
American Arts Gold Medallion Act - Directs the Secretary of the Treasury to strike and sell gold medallions to the general public commemorating Grant Wood, Marian Anderson, Mark Twain, Willa Cather, Louis Armstrong, Frank Lloyd Wright, Robert Frost, Alexander Calder, Helen Hayes, and John Steinbeck.
United States · United States Congress · 6 September 1978
Sunset Program Reauthorization and Evaluation Act - Title I: Reauthorization of New Budget Authority - Requires Government programs to be evaluated pursuant to a specified schedule to determine whether each such program should be continued, terminated, or altered (reauthorization review). Prohibits the authorization of new budget authority for a period of more than ten years. Prohibits the authorization of new budget authority for any program for which there has not been conducted a reauthorization review. Requires the Director of the Congressional Budget Office, in consulation with the Comptroller General and the Director of the Congressional Research Service, to compile a list of programs subject to a reauthorization date for which new budget authority was not authorized. Title II: Program Inventory - Requires the Comptroller General to compile an inventory of Federal programs including a description of such programs covering specified topics. Title III: Program Review and Evaluation - Requires each House of Congress to select from the programs scheduled for reauthorization review in any given year a number of programs for comprehensive reauthorization review. Requires the President and each congressional committee to recommend such programs. Title IV: Citizens' Commission on the Organization and Operation of Government - Establishes an independent Citizen's Commission on the Organization and Operation of Government to study the organization and operation of Federal agencies and to recommend ways to improve the efficiency and operations of such agencies. Requires the Commission to submit its final report by July 1, 1983, and terminates the Commission 90 days after the submission of such report. Title V: Miscellaneous - Requires the Comptroller General to furnish Congress with the results of prior audits and reviews of programs being reviewed under this Act. Requires all agencies which are exempt from reauthorization review to submit a status report to Congress.
United States · United States Congress · 16 August 1978
Sales Representatives Protection Act - Requires a principal who, without good cause, terminates or fails to renew a contract between such principal and a sales representative, or reduces the rate of commission for orders solicited on behalf of such principal, to indemnify the representative according to this Act. Requires a principal who reduces the size of the geographic territory assigned to a representative for a specified account, which results in a specified reduction in commissions, to indemnify such representative. Sets forth formulae for the indemnification of such representatives. Requires a principal to furnish specified information to a sales representative concerning orders placed through the representative's account and a monthly accounting of commissions due such representative. Allows a plaintiff to bring an action to enforce any rights or liabilities created by this Act in a United States district court. Stipulates the procedure for such action.
United States · United States Congress · 16 August 1978
Directs the Civil Aeronautics Board to immediately dissolve the Airlines Mutual Aid Pact. Directs the Board to study the collective bargaining process within the airline industry and to make recommendations to Congress within six months on methods of alleviating the occurrence of protracted airline strikes.
United States · United States Congress · 7 August 1978
States that the Territory of American Samoa shall be represented in the United States Congress by a nonvoting delegate to the House of Representatives. Sets forth the procedure for the election of such delegate.
United States · United States Congress · 1 August 1978
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 · 27 July 1978
Directs 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 · 19 July 1978
Tax Cut Extension Act - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to extend until 1981: (1) the general tax credit; (2) the earned income credit; (3) withholding of tax requirements; (4) present corporate tax rates and the surtax extension; and (5) the credit for the employment of new employees.
United States · United States Congress · 19 July 1978
Federal Paperwork Reduction Act - Requires each Federal agency to reduce the paperwork burden such agency places upon the private sector and State and local government by a specified amount each year until fiscal year 1982. Directs that in such year, such paperwork burden shall not exceed 65 percent of the paperwork required by Federal agencies of the private sector and State and local governments in fiscal year 1977. Limits the budget authorizations of any agency which fails to meet the annual reduction quotas established by this Act. Requires the Director of the Office of Management and Budget to review and report to Congress on the progress of agency paperwork reduction programs. Amends the Legislative Reorganization Act of 1970 to require all public legislation reported by any congressional committee to be accompanied by a Paperwork Impact Statement detailing the paperwork burden which would be imposed upon the public sector and State and local governments by such legislation.
United States · United States Congress · 18 July 1978
Provides that where two or more Members of the House of Representatives pay the basic pay of an individual from the clerk-hire allowance of each such Member, such individual shall be considered to be on the payroll of only one such Member for purposes of determining the number of individuals employed by such Members under the clerk-hire allowance. Requires such Members to designate who shall be considered the employer for the month involved and to report such designation to the Office of Finance.
United States · United States Congress · 12 July 1978
Steel Trade Negotiations Act - Lists products the manufacture of which shall constitute the "steel sector" for purposes of determining the appropriate product sector with respect to import restriction authority under the Trade Act of 1974.
United States · United States Congress · 29 June 1978
Expresses the sense of the Congress that the President should be continually committed to assuring that Federal regulations are issued expeditiously, written clearly, and designed to efficiently meet the goals of the programs they are designed to regulate.
United States · United States Congress · 22 June 1978
Act to Combat International Terrorism - Directs the President to transmit a report to the Congress every six months on those incidents determined to be acts of international terrorism as defined in this Act. Requires that, where the incident involves citizens or property of the United States, such report be transmitted not more than 30 days after the incident. Stipulates that such report shall include a description of the incident and persons involved, the identity of any government providing support for such terrorist acts, a description of the actions of any government which assisted in bringing about a positive termination of the incident, and a description of the response of the United States to such incident. Directs the President to submit to the Congress a list of governments which have demonstrated a pattern of support for international terrorism. Directs the President with respect to countries appearing on such list to: (1) provide no assistance under the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961; (2) not authorize any sale or extend any credit or guaranty, with respect to defense articles or services; (3) approve no export license for the export of commodities or technical data which has a potential military application or which would otherwise enable a foreign government to support acts of international terrorism; or (4) extend no duty-free treatment under the Trade Act of 1974. Authorizes the President to suspend such sanctions in the interest of national security. Authorizes the President to take such other actions with respect to such countries as are deemed appropriate. Amends the Federal Aviation Act of 1958 to direct the Secretary of Transportation to assess the effectiveness of the security measures at foreign airports. Directs the Secretary, upon a finding that such an airport does not maintain effective security measures, to notify the appropriate authorities of such foreign government of his findings and to recommend any steps necessary to bring the security measures in use to the standards established by the International Civil Aviation Organization. Directs the Secretary to publish the names of foreign airports which fail to bring their security measures into compliance with such standards and to display the names of such airports at United States airports. Authorizes the Secretary to withhold, revoke, or impose conditions on the operating authority of any carrier or foreign air carrier to engage in foreign air transportation utilizing such an airport. Authorizes the Secretary to provide technical assistance concerning aviation security to foreign governments. Makes it unlawful for any person to manufacture explosive materials which do not contain identification taggants which are retrievable after detonation and which make possible the identification of the manufacturer, the date of manufacture and which provide such other information as the Secretary of the Treasury may require. Makes it unlawful to manufacture explosive materials which do not contain a detection taggant which permits detection of such material prior to its detonation. Makes the importation, transportation, or receipt of explosive materials without identification and detection taggants, illegal. Sets forth criminal penalties for violations of such taggant requirements. Makes it illegal: (1) to interfere with the operation of any civil aircraft; (2) to commit any act of violence against an aircraft passenger; or (3) to willfully communicate false information which endangers the safety of any aircraft while in flight. Imposes criminal penalties on individuals committing specified offenses against or on board aircraft registered in a State other than the United States and who are afterwards found in this country. Establishes criminal and civil penalties for individuals imparting false information regarding attempts or alleged attempts to commit specified crimes against aircraft.
United States · United States Congress · 22 June 1978
Citizens Postal Rate Relief Act - Sets the postal rate for personal domestic letter mail of individuals sealed against inspection at 13 cents for the first ounce of each piece and 11 cents for each additional ounce for each piece. Requires the Postal Service to maintain the rate for the class of mail established by this Act at not more than 80 percent of the rate for the transmission of ordinary letters sealed against inspection.
United States · United States Congress · 22 June 1978
Directs the Secretary of the Treasury to strike bronze, silver, and gold national medals and deliver them to the Lake Placid 1980 Olympic Winter Games Corporation, a nonprofit corporation. Requires such medals to be struck at not less than their estimated cost of manufacture, plus a surcharge equal to 25 percent of such cost. Requires such surcharge to be deposited in the Treasury as miscellaneous receipts.
United States · United States Congress · 21 June 1978
Amends the Internal Revenue Code by providing graduated corporate income tax rates ranging, over seven brackets, from a 16 percent rate on a corporation's first $25,000 income to a 45 percent rate on income over $150,000.
United States · United States Congress · 7 June 1978
Amends the Trade Act of 1974, with respect to the authority of the President to negotiate trade agreements, to direct the President to reserve any article for which an agreement limiting agricultural imports has been entered into, from negotiations to reduce or eliminate customs duties or import restrictions.
United States · United States Congress · 31 May 1978
Authorizes the President of the United States 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 · 18 May 1978
Authorizes a certain nonprofit corporation to have medals struck in commemoration of the XIII Olympic Winter Games to be held in Lake Placid, New York in 1980.
United States · United States Congress · 17 May 1978
Unemployment Compensation Cost Equalization Act - Entitles, under the Social Security Act, states whose rates of insured unemployment is at least six percent to partial reimbursement on an ascending sliding scale of unemployment compensation costs incurred above a certain amount.
United States · United States Congress · 8 May 1978
Solar Power Satellite Research, Development, and Demonstration Program Act - Directs the Secretary of Energy and the Administrator of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration to initiate a Solar Power Satellite Research, Development, and Demonstration Program to study technical problems regarding the viability of the solar power satellite concept. Requires the Secretary, after consultation with the Administrator, to submit to the Congress, by January 3, 1979, a comprehensive plan to implement the Program.
United States · United States Congress · 1 May 1978
Elephant Protection Act - Prohibits the import, export, possession, transport, or sale of any elephant product. Directs the Secretary of the Interior to administer this Act. Authorizes the Secretary to issue permits for acts herein prohibited for scientific purposes. Establishes civil and criminal penalties for violation of this Act. Establishes rewards for persons providing information regarding violations of this Act. Requires the Secretaries of the Interior, Treasury, and the department in which the Coast Guard is operating to enforce this Act, and to promulgate regulations for such enforcement. Permits citizens suits to enforce this Act.
United States · United States Congress · 24 April 1978
Regulatory Flexibility Act - Requires any Federal agency, in promulgating any regulation pursuant to the Administrative Procedure Act, to publish its findings regarding whether such regulation should set lesser standards for compliance for individuals and small businesses and small organizations or whether such small entities or individuals should be exempt from such regulation. Requires such promulgating agency to obtain the comments of the Small Business Administration with respect to the impact of such regulation on such individuals and small entities. Requires that such exemptions or lesser standards be incorporated in the proposed regulation where appropriate. States that no person shall have standing in any court to challenge compliance with this Act save individuals, small organizations and small businesses.
United States · United States Congress · 12 April 1978
Repeals the requirement, under the Social Security Amendments of 1977, that the amount of monthly benefits payable to a spouse or surviving spouse under Title II (Old-Age, Survivors, and Disability Insurance) of the Social Security Act be reduced by the amount such spouse or surviving spouse receives monthly payments from a Federal or State pension fund.
United States · United States Congress · 12 April 1978
Federal Statistical Activity Control Act - Directs the President to make a compilation of all Federal statistical activities and to submit such compilation to Congress. Specifies the type of data to be included in such compilation including the purpose, statutory authority, and cost of such activities. Terminates all Federal statistical authority at the end of the five year period beginning on the date such authority takes effect or the date the President's compilation is submitted to Congress, whichever is later, unless the statistical authority is otherwise provided for by law. Requires that each report accompanying any bill or resolution which provides for Federal information authority to contain specified information regarding the authority involved including its cost, the number of respondents involved, and the purpose for which the information is being collected. Requires the Bureau of the Census, upon request, to provide Congress with information regarding the evaluation of any existing or proposed Federal statistical authority or information which would be appropriate for the formation or evaluation of the estimates required to be included in committee reports pursuant to this Act.
United States · United States Congress · 6 April 1978
Amends the Internal Revenue Code to allow an individual who has attained the age of 62 before the close of the taxable year to exclude up to $3,000 of interest which would otherwise be includible in gross income. Reduces the amount of interest which may be excluded by one-half of the excess of the taxpayer's adjusted gross income over $5,500.
United States · United States Congress · 3 April 1978
Entitles members of the Armed Forces Reserves who were on active duty after August 13, 1961, and before May 31, 1963, or after August 4, 1964, and before March 28, 1973, to retired pay.
United States · United States Congress · 3 April 1978
Reserve Survivors' Benefits Act - Title I: Annuities Under Survivor Benefit Plan - Grants annuities to the survivors of individuals who would have been eligible for retired military pay for non-regular service but who died before reaching the age of 60. Establishes formulae for computing such benefits. Title II: Medical and Dental Care - Entitles such survivors to specified medical and dental benefits.
United States · United States Congress · 22 March 1978
Requires that Federal employees be given compensatory time off to conform to religious requirements of abstention from work during certain periods of time.
United States · United States Congress · 20 March 1978
Bilingual Education Act Amendments - Revises the Bilingual Education Act to extend the general authorization for appropriations under such Act to 1981. Stipulates that grants for assistance to bilingual education programs will be available for fiscal years 1979, 1980, and 1981. Revises application requirements for such grants, including provisions regarding an evaluation plan and bilingual personnel recruitment. Provides special provisions for Puerto Rico regarding use and distribution of funds under such Act. Directs the Commissioner of Education to conduct a study of the need for compensatory English proficiency programs in Puerto Rico. Directs the Commissioner to make authorized payments directly to the applicants rather than to the Secretary of the Interior for specified programs of bilingual education for Indian children. Transfers specified evaluation responsibilities of the Secretary regarding such programs to the Commissioner of the Bureau of Indian Affairs. Revises specified bilingual education training provisions under such Act to place particular emphasis on degree programs in bilingual education. Extends indefinitely the Commissioner of Education's authority to award fellowships for bilingual teacher training. Directs the Commissioner to undertake an ongoing study of the impact of such fellowships on the field of bilingual education. Revises the definition of "eligible applicant" for purposes of such training grants. Requires an individual receiving such assistance to work in a bilingual education related activity for a period equivalent to the period such assistance was received. Establishes within the Office of Education in place of the existing Office of Bilingual Education a Bureau of Bilingual Education to be headed by a Deputy Commissioner of Bilingual Education. Revises the composition of the National Advisory Council on Bilingual Education, including a requirement that at least two parents of children whose language proficiency is other than English be included in such Council. Extends authorizations for research and demonstration projects under such Act to fiscal year 1981. Authorizes appropriations for fiscal years 1979-1983 for a grant program to local educational agencies and private nonprofit organizations eligible for Emergency School Aid assistance to meet the needs of minority children from an environment in which English is not the dominant language. Stipulates that such grants be designed to complement local programs carried out under the Emergency Aid Act. Provides for a program of grants for fiscal years 1982 and 1983 to States for bilingual education and for supplementary incentive grants to States providing State assistance to bilingual education programs. Provides guidelines for State applications for such bilingual education grants, including an annual State plan for distribution of such funds to local educational agencies giving priority to those programs that have been funded in previous years. Amends the Emergency School Aid Act to revise certain appropriation allocations and application requirements regarding: (1) educational television; (2) special projects; and (3) evaluations of specific projects assisted under such Act.
United States · United States Congress · 16 March 1978
Solar Energy Transition Act - Directs each Federal agency to use and encourage the use of solar energy technologies. Requires each agency to review the programs, projects, and policies it is administering and assess the feasibility of alternative approaches utilizing solar energy technologies. Directs the Secretary of Energy to develop guidelines and otherwise assist the Federal agencies in the review required by this Act. Establishes the National Solar Energy Advisory Council to advise the Secretary in the performance of his duties under this Act. Directs the Secretary to report to the President and Congress annually starting April 20, 1980 on the progress of the Federal Government and the nation in converting to solar energy.
United States · United States Congress · 16 March 1978
Amends Title XX (Grants to States for Services) of the Social Security Act to increase the ceiling imposed upon payments for services under such Title for the fiscal years 1979, 1980, 1981 and maintains the 1981 level for succeeding years.
United States · United States Congress · 16 March 1978
Small Business Government Contracting Reform Act - Simplifies Government contracting procedures with respect to small businesses. Establishes Government contract arbitration panels within the Small Business Administration to facilitate the resolution of disputes between any small business concern and any Federal agency having procurement authority. Directs Federal agencies to take the apparent low responsive bidder's small business concern subcontracting plan into account in determining the responsibility of such bidder for the award of such contract. Assigns an employee of the Small Business Administration to each Federal agency to monitor compliance with specified small business programs. Establishes the Small Business Procurement Advisory Committee.
United States · United States Congress · 16 March 1978
Expresses the condemnation of the House of Representatives of the kidnapping of Aldo Moro. Declares it the sense of the House of Representatives that (1) Italy deserves the support of the United States, and (2) the President should instruct the Permanent Representative to the United Nations to press for consideration of solutions to the problem of terrorism in all appropriate forums.
United States · United States Congress · 14 March 1978
Expresses the condemnation by the Congress of the March 11, 1978, attack on Israel by the Palestine Liberation Organization, and the expressed intention of the PLO to continue such attacks and to disrupt the peace efforts between Israel and Egypt. Requests the President to make the disapproval of the Congress known to governments approving the PLO attack. Expresses Congressional approval of the peace efforts between Israel and Egypt. Urges other Middle East countries to join such efforts. Declares negotiation to be the best way to bring peace to the Middle East.
United States · United States Congress · 13 March 1978
Authorizes appropriations in specified amounts out of the Airport and Airway Trust Fund for specified aviation research, development, and demonstration projects for fiscal year 1979. Directs the Federal Aviation Administration to provide the House Committee on Science and Technology with quarterly reports concerning the Microwave Landing System (MLS) development program. Requires the Administration to submit annual updates of the 1971 National Plan for Development of the Microwave Landing System to such committee. Amends the Airport and Airway Development Act of 1970 to increase the authorization for appropriations for fiscal year 1978 for aviation safety research and development projects under such Act and to repeal such authorizations for fiscal years 1979 and 1980.