United States · United States Congress · 9 June 1983
Amends the Internal Revenue Code to provide that losses attributable to disasters determined to warrant assistance under the Disaster Relief Act of 1974 shall be allowable as an income tax deduction without regard to whether they exceed ten percent of the adjusted gross income of the taxpayer.
United States · United States Congress · 9 June 1983
Fair Tax Act of 1983 - Title I: Reduction of Individual and Corporate Tax Rate-Subtitle A: Reduction of Rates - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to reivse individual tax rates. Imposes a flat tax rate of 14 percent on the taxable income of individuals. Imposes a surtax of between 12 and 16 percent of the amount by which adjusted gross income exceeds specified levels. Imposes a flat tax rate of 30 percent on the taxable income of estates and trusts. Imposes a flat tax rate of 30 percent on the taxable income of corporations. Subtitle B: Increase in Personal Exemption for Taxpayer and Standard Deduction - Increases the personal exemption for an individual taxpayer and spouse to $1,600 and $1,800 for an individual who is a head of a household. Raises the standard deduction to $6,000 in the case of a joint return or a surviving spouse or $3,000 in the case of an individual, or a married individual filing a separate return. Subtitle C: Repeals Related to Reduction in Rates - Repeals provisions relating to: (1) tax tables for individuals; (2) minimum tax for tax preferences; (3) personal service corporations; (4) special averaging rules for lump-sum distributions; (5) accumulated corporate surplus; (6) personal holding companies; (7) income averaging; and (8) graduated corporate tax rates. Repeals the indexing of tax rates. Applies the trust throwback rules only to amounts distributed from foreign trusts. Title II: Base Broadening-Subtitle A: Credits - Repeals the general tax credit, the investment tax credit, the possessions tax credit and the income tax credits relating to: (1) the elderly and the permanently and totally disabled; (2) contributions to candidates for public office; (3) home purchases; (4) residential energy conservation; (5) producing fuel from a nonconventional source; (6) alcohol used as fuel; (7) increasing research activities; (8) employee stock ownership; and (9) clinical testing for certain drugs. Allows an income tax deduction for household and dependent care expenses necessary for employment. (Present law allows an income tax credit for such expenses.) Subtitle B: Exclusions - Repeals the partial income tax exclusion for interest and dividends. Repeals the exclusion for: (1) qualified transportation furnished by an employer; (2) cafeteria plans furnished by an employer; (3) dependent care assistance programs; (4) dividend reinvestment in public utilities; (5) payments to encourage mining for defenses purposes; (6) earned income of citizens living abroad; (7) certain allowances; (8) income from sources within the United States; and (9) income from sources within Puerto Rico. Treats as taxable income: (1) tier two railroad retirement benefits; (2) amounts paid by an employer for group-term life insurance; (3) unemployment compensation; (4) the annual increase in the the cash surrender value of life insurance policies; (5) interest on industrial development bonds and mortgage subsidy bonds; and (6) amounts contributed by an employer to accident and health plans. Provides that the transfer of a corporation's stock in satisfaction of indebtedness will be treated as having satisfied the indebtedness with money equal to the fair market value of the stock. Provides a limited exclusion from income for scholarships and fellowships. imposes the surtax on the gain from the sale of a principal residence. Amends the Merchant Marine Act to repeal the tax exemption for deposits into, and withdrawals from, a capital construction fund. Subtitle C: Deductions - Repeals the deduction for two-earner married couples, and the deduction for adoption expenses. Limits the amount of the interest deduction for individuals. Repeals the deduction for State and local personal property and sales taxes. Restricts the charitable contribution for corporations to 50 percent of the charitable contributions during the year. Increases the floor on the deduction for medical and dental expenses from five percent to 10 percent. Subtitle D: Repeal of Special Capital Gains Treatment - Repeals the alternative tax on capital gains for corporations, and the deduction for individuals for capital gains. Limits the amount of the capital loss deduction without regard to distinctions between short term and long term capital losses. Eliminates the distinction between short-term and long-term gains and losses. Title III: Capital Cost Recovery-Subtitle A: Simplified Cost Recovery Systems - Allows individuals and corporations a deduction from gross income for a percentage of the balance in a recovery account for each year. Includes in the recovery account the cost of recovery property which is depreciable property used in a trade or business or held for the production of income which is placed in sevice after December 31, 1984. Establishes six classes of recovery property and specifies a class life for each. Assigns property to each class according to the class life of the property. Sets forth rules for the calculation of the recovery percentage on the basis of the class life of the property. Allows individuals and corporations a deduction for depletable property determined as a percentage of the balance in a recovery account for each year. Establishes six classes of depletable property and assigns a class life to each. Assigns a ten year class life for oil, gas, and geothermal wells. Subtitle B: Other Changes - Repeals the income tax deductions for: (1) intangible drilling and development costs for oil, gas, and geothermal wells; (2) depreciation; (3) amortization of pollution control facilities; (4) improvements made by a leasee on a lessor's property; (5) certain depreciable assets; (6) amortization of reforestation expenditures; (7) percentage depletion; (8) development expenditures; and (9) mining and exploration expenditures. Allows a ten-year period for the amortization of construction period interest and taxes. Allows a deduction of circulation expenses for a newspaper, magazine, or other periodical ratably over a ten-year period. Excludes amounts chargeable to a capital account from such treatment. Provides for the deduction of 50 percent of tertiary injectant expenses in the taxable year and 50 percent of such expenses in the succeeding taxable year. Title IV: Miscellaneous Provisions - Subtitle A: Foreign Income - Requires an individual who owns stock in a corporation which is a controlled foreign corporation to include in income a pro rata share of the corporations's earnings and profits for such year. Reduces such amount by any amount required to be included in in income by reason of the amount being foreign personal holding company income. Repeals the domestic international sales corporations (DISC) provisions for taxable years beginning after December 31, 1984. Subtitle B: Other Miscellaneous Provisions - Repeals the tax exemption for credit unions. Reduces the limit on benefits which may be paid to a participant under defined benefit plans and defined contribution plans. Repeals the cost-of-living adjustment for defined benefit plans. Continues the cost-of-living adjustment for purposes of calculating a participant's average compensation for his high three years. Requires farmers to compute their taxable income using the accrual method of accounting with the capitalization of preproduction expenses. Exempts taxpayers who do not have gross receipts exceeding $1,000,000. Requires farming syndicates to use the accrual method of accounting without regard to gross receipts. Provides that farmers who must use the accrual method cannot expense the following: (1) soil and water conservation expenditures; (2) fertilizer; and (3) expenses for clearing land. Requires the deferral of income or loss must be taken into account in determining tax liability under completed contract method of accounting. Requires that the taxpayer with adjusted gross income in excess of $100,000 must make estimated payments equal to 90 percent of current year tax. Requires the recognition of the gain or loss on distributions of property by corporations. Eliminates the special bad debt reserves of financial institutions. Title V: Effective Dates - Sets forth the effective dates of the provisions of this Act.
United States · United States Congress · 8 June 1983
Requests the President to issue a proclamation commemorating the fortieth anniversary of the establishment of the George Washington Carver National Monument in Diamond, Missouri.
United States · United States Congress · 7 June 1983
Designates the U.S. Post Office Building, 41-65 Main Street, Flushing, New York, as the Benjamin S. Rosenthal Post Office Building. Requires the Postmaster General to install an appropriate plaque indicating such designation.
United States · United States Congress · 6 June 1983
Amends the Civil Rights Act of 1957 to allow appointees to the Commission on Civil Rights to serve for a term of six years. Provides that a Commission member may only be removed by the President for neglect of duty or malfeasance in office. Extends the life of the Commission 15 years. Authorizes appropriations.
United States · United States Congress · 2 June 1983
Terminated Employee Pension Restoration Act of 1983 - Authorizes payment of a Federal annuity to persons (or spouses of such persons) who: (1) were participants in a private employee pension plan which was terminated before September 2, 1974; (2) had immediately before termination a nonforfeitable benefit under the plan; and (3) have not received payment in full of such benefit because of the plan's termination. Sets forth the method of computing the annuity. Directs the Secretary of Labor to approve a claim for such an annuity if the claim meets the Secretary's regulation and includes evidence establishing that the claimant is a qualified participant or a qualified spouse. Sets forth the procedure for review of denial of such an annuity claim. Directs the Secretary of the Treasury to make annuity payments to entitled individuals after the receipt of specified information from the Secretary of Labor. Authorizes the Secretary of Labor to work with other Federal agencies to avoid unnecessary expense and duplication of functions. Amends the Internal Revenue Code to require disclosure of tax return information to Labor Department employees for comparison of specified records in order to establish the validity of an annuity claim. Authorizes appropriations for FY 1984 to the Department of Labor to carry out its functions under this Act. Authorizes appropriations to the Department of the Treasury to make annuity payments under this Act beginning with FY 1984 and continuing until the last such payment is made.
United States · United States Congress · 1 June 1983
Urges the United States, the Soviet Union, and other countries possessing the technology to produce separated plutonium to begin negotiations leading to a verifiable halt in the production of separated plutonium and in the export of technology for such production. Calls for the United States and other nuclear supplier and consumer nations to begin negotiations leading to an agreement to: (1) reject the commercial use of separated plutonium as a nuclear power reactor fuel; (2) base civilian nuclear power technology only on nonweapons usable fuel; and (3) make available reliable supplies of natural and low-enriched uranium.
United States · United States Congress · 24 May 1983
Hazardous Waste Reduction Act of 1983 - Title I - Amends the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act of 1980 (the Superfund Act) to authorize the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to make grants to States to assist States in: (1) carrying out hazardous waste enforcement programs under the Solid Waste Disposal Act; (2) carrying out remedial actions and other response measures necessary with respect to the release, or substantial threat of release, of any pollutant or contaminant from a facility not on the 400 top priority known response targets list but which the State determines may present an imminent and substantial danger to the public health or welfare; and (3) providing technical assistance to companies engaged in the recycling of hazardous substances. Requires that at least $200,000,000 of the amounts appropriated to the Hazardous Substance Response Trust Fund shall be reserved to make such grants to States. Revises provisions for audits by each Inspector General of each department or agency delegated responsibility to obligate money in the Hazardous Substance Response Trust Fund. Directs each such Inspector General to report annually to the President and the Congress on such auditing of the Fund and to specifically identify any improper uses of the Fund. Provides for reimbursement to the Fund for any improper expenditures. Extends through FY 1995 the authorization of appropriations for the Fund. Increases the yearly amount of such authorization of appropriations for FY 1986 through 1995 (above the yearly amount currently authorized through FY 1985). Amends the hazardous waste management provision of the Solid Waste Disposal Act (as amended by the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act of 1976) to establish a hazardous waste quantity assessment program. Directs the Administrator, in cooperation with the Secretary of the Treasury and the States, to develop and implement methods to estimate the quantities of hazardous waste which are generated in each calendar year, on the basis of specified data. Directs the Administrator to report at least annually to the Congress, comparing the quantities of hazardous waste estimated to have been generated during the preceding calendar year and the quantities of waste on which the recycling incentive tax on disposal of hazardous wastes was paid. Title II - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to replace (effective October 1, 1985) the environmental taxes on petroleum and chemical feedstocks with a recycling incentive tax on disposal of hazardous wastes (effective for FY 1985 through 1995). Sets forth tables for determining the amount of such tax. Distinguishes between: (1) toxic and nontoxic hazardous waste; (2) waste disposal before and after the end of FY 1990; and (3) disposal of waste and storage of waste for more than one year. Imposes such tax on the person disposing of such waste. Sets forth requirements for records, statements, and returns relating to such tax. Authorizes the Secretary of the Treasury to prescribe any such requirements, as necessary, for persons involved in the treatment, storage, or disposal of hazardous wastes. Extends through FY 1995 the authority to collect taxes conferred by the Superfund Act.
United States · United States Congress · 12 May 1983
National Industrial Strategy Act - Title I: Economic Cooperation Council - Establishes the Economic Cooperation Council to collect and analyze economic data and, upon request to make recommendations to Congress, Federal departments and agencies, and the National Industrial Development Bank (established by this Act) regarding national industrial policy and sectoral strategies. Requires the Council, within one year after enactment, to report to Congress and the President its recommendations for changes in any Federal policy necessary to implement an effective national industrial strategy. Exempts the Council from the provisions of the Federal Advisory Committee Act. Establishes within the Council a Bureau of Economic Information and a Bureau of Economic Analysis. Requires the Council to send annual reports to the President, Congress, and the National Industrial Development Bank about the major industrial development priorities of the United States and the policies needed to meet them. Authorizes appropriations. Title II: National Industrial Development Bank - Establishes the National Industrial Development Bank to make loans and loan guaranties and to issue debt instruments in such a way as to improve the overall economic goals of the Nation and broad public interest. Sets forth general provisions regarding the issuance of financial assistance. Directs the Bank to provide financial assistance to those mature and linkage industries which can be restructured to become competitively successful in the long term. Requires such a company to submit a plan to the Bank which demonstrates that it will be viable in the long run without additional Federal financial assistance. Authorizes financial assistance to develop and market new technologies and to aid in the growth of emerging industries. Authorizes financial assistance to regional development banks. Requires annual reports to Congress. Terminates the Bank on September 30, 1989. Authorizes appropriations.
United States · United States Congress · 12 May 1983
Productivity Incentive Act of 1983 - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to allow an income tax credit for payments made by a taxpayer to an employee under a productivity incentive plan. Sets the amount of such credit at: (1) ten percent of amounts paid in the first year of such plan; (2) five percent of amounts paid in the second year; and (3) three percent of amounts paid in the third year. Defines "productivity incentive plan" as a written plan which provides bonuses to employees due to profits cost savings resulting from increases in productivity.
United States · United States Congress · 12 May 1983
Expresses the sense of the House of Representatives that the President should seek a consensus at the Williamsburg Summit, aimed at: (1) reducing disparities in certain financial rates and economic policies among summit countries; and (2) arranging a meeting of summit country finance ministers with the Secretary of the Treasury, to achieve an alignment between the interest rates and major currencies. Urges the President to arrange, in conjunction with the Williamsburg Summit, bilateral discussions with the Prime Minister of Japan to bring about further realignment of the yen and dollar exchange rates.
United States · United States Congress · 10 May 1983
Expresses the sense of the House of Representatives that regulations relating to title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972 (concerning sex discrimination in education) should not be amended or altered in any manner which will lessen the comprehensive coverage of such statute in eliminating gender discrimination throughout the American educational system.
United States · United States Congress · 28 April 1983
Amends the Internal Revenue Code to set forth transitional rules for estate and gift tax treatment of qualified disclaimers of property interests transferred before November 15, 1958.
United States · United States Congress · 28 April 1983
Export-Import Bank Act Amendments of 1983 - Amends the Export-Import Bank Act of 1945 to extend the authority of the Export-Import Bank of the United States until September 30, 1985. Declares that it is the policy of the United States to insist that participants in the Guidelines for Officially Supported Export Credits honor their pledge not to offer "tied aid credit" containing a grant element less than the minimum specified in the Guidelines. Defines "tied aid credit" to mean credit which is: (1) provided for development aid purposes; (2) financed by public funds or, as a mixed credit, partly from public and partly from private funds; and (3) tied to the purchase of exports from the country granting the credit. Declares that the United States shall try to negotiate an increase in the minimum grant element of tied aid credits. Establishes the Competitive Tied Aid Fund. Requires the money in the Fund to be used to cover a portion of the subsidy contained in any credit granted by the Bank. Permits the Bank to extend such credit only if the Board of Directors and the Secretary of the Treasury determine that: (1) the credit will help U.S. exports competing with exports assisted by foreign official financing in the form of a tied aid credit; (2) the foreign official financing is an abuse of the tied aid credit; and (3) the Secretary of the Treasury determines that the Bank has properly calculated the portion of the subsidy to be covered by money in the fund. Sets forth the criteria for an abuse of tied aid credit. Prohibits the Board from approving tied aid credit unless a portion of its subsidy is covered by funds drawn from the Fund. Requires the Board to report to both Houses of Congress on any approved tied aid credit within 30 days of approving it. Authorizes appropriations. Requires the Board to report to Congress if, at the end of any quarter of any fiscal year after FY 1983, the value of the total capital stock and retained earnings of the Bank falls below 50 percent of the capital stock and retained earnings of the Bank at the end of FY 1983. Emphasizes that the Bank's primary policy is to support U.S. exports in all the Bank's programs. Requires the Bank to reserve not less than: (1) six percent of the Bank's new FY 1984 loans and loan guarantees for financing exports by small businesses; and (2) ten percent of the Bank's new FY 1985 loans and loan guarantees for financing exports by small businesses. Requires the Bank to submit its annual report to Congress on January 1 of each year. Requires the report to contain a comprehensive and detailed description of plans for implementing the provisions relating to loans and loan guarantees to small businesses. Requires that the Bank's annual report to the appropriate congressional committees shall be submitted within three months of the end of the reporting period. Requires the President to appoint at least one member of the Bank's Board to represent the interests of small business. Authorizes appropriations to prepare the U.S. International Trade Commission report on the adverse effect of the Bank's loans and guarantees on domestic industries. Imposes a 60 day deadline for completion of inquiries into purported foreign noncompetitive financing. Requires the Secretary of the Treasury to authorize the Bank to issue financing to U.S. sellers who are competing with foreign exporters who have received noncompetitive financing only if: (1) the availability of foreign official noncompetitive financing is likely to be a "significant" (currently "determining") factor in the sale; and (2) such foreign noncompetitive financing has not been withdrawn.
United States · United States Congress · 27 April 1983
Defense Industrial Base Revitalization Act - Title I: Industrial Modernization and Strategic and Critical Materials - Amends the Defense Production Act of 1950 to direct the President to take immediate action to assist in the modernization of industries related to defense. Limits such assistance to small and medium-sized businesses unless national security requires otherwise. Directs the Secretary of Defense to determine immediately and semiannually which industries should be given priority and the type of assistance which would be most helpful. Requires each proposal to include a financial plan which specifies how the assistance offered will insure that the company involved will become more economically viable. Directs the President to assist persons expanding the domestic capability to produce or process critical and strategic materials. Sets forth the terms of such assistance, including qualification through public solicitation and the President's right to refuse delivery of items exceeding market price. Prohibits the extension of assistance for establishments relocating from one area to another or for persons divesting other persons of contracts customarily performed by them. Authorizes appropriations for FY 1984-1986. Permits the President to utilize the borrowing authority of the Treasury as specified and to use unobligated funds in Department of Defense appropriations. Limits the amount of funds used to the amounts provided in advance in appropriation Acts. Title II: Defense-Related Skill Training and Education -- Directs the President to implement a national program to train workers in skills necessary in key defense industries. Requires the Secretary of Defense to transmit to the President recommendations as to the necessary skills. Makes assistance available through grants to Governors for allotment to State vocational education programs in States with previously approved plans for a three-year program of skills training. Requires that the State job training coordinating council be given an opportunity to participate in the development of, review, and comment on such plan. Requires each State to make contributions to such program of ten percent of its costs to qualify for extensions of such programs. Directs the President to implement a grant program to assist institutions of higher education in obtaining and installing modern equipment to train scientific and technical personnel needed in the key industries. Sets forth the terms of such assistance, including application procedures, limits on grants, and the requirement that such equipment be purchased through competitive bidding. Requires such equipment to be of U.S. origin. Authorizes appropriations for such purpose for FY 1984-1986. Directs the Comptroller General to monitor this program and submit an annual report to Congress. Directs the Office of Technology Assessment to study the public facilities or infrastructure essential to the defense industrial base and report to Congress on recommendations for measures to avoid serious impediments to production. Sets forth the labor standard to be maintained on any project funded under this Act, including compliance with the wage requirements of the Davis-Bacon Act. Directs the President to transmit to Congress every six months a listing of all loans, loan guarantees and commitments for loan guarantees made in assisting in the modernization of defense-related industries. Title III: Amendments to Defense Production Act of 1950 - Requires each executive department and agency to follow the principle of geographical dispersal to the degree possible in constructing any Government-owned industrial facility. Directs such departments and agencies to continuously assess the capability of the defense industrial base to satisfy near-term and increased mobilization production requirements. Increases the maximum obligation of any guaranteeing agency for loans necessary to prevent personal insolvency or bankruptcy that would impede the production and delivery of materials or the performance of services for the national defense. Decreases from 60 to 30 days the period provided for the congressional review and veto of such loan guarantees. Permits such a loan guarantee to be made immediately if both Houses adopt a concurrent resolution approving it. Postpones until the end of FY 1986 the termination date of certain provisions of the Defense Production Act of 1950, including certain priorities, allocations, and expansion of productive capacity and supply provisions. Repeals the National Commission on Supplies and Shortages Act of 1974. Amends the Defense Production Act of 1950 to require any defense contractor who includes an offset agreement in excess of $5,000,000 in a defense contract with a nation other than the United States to file an annual report with the Secretary of the Treasury. Directs the Secretary to report annually to the appropriate congressional committees on the number and amount of offsets in such contracts. Directs the Secretary of Defense to report to the appropriate congressional committees within 30 days of signing any memoranda of understanding involving offsets in contracts in excess of $5,000,000.
United States · United States Congress · 21 April 1983
Agricultural Productivity Act of 1983 - Directs the Secretary of Agriculture to: (1) make an inventory of existing research and extension materials and recommend further areas of research regarding crop rotation, intercropping, biological pest control, and other related farming and soil conservation systems; and (2) make such information available to the public. Directs the Secretary to conduct research on 12 pilot farms (having specified mixes of livestock and crops) to examine the effects of the transition from practices relying on chemical fertilizers and pesticides and traditional soil tillage to systems relying on organic and biological pest control, crop rotation, and conservation tillage. Requires such farms to be chosen within 120 days. Directs the Secretary to make a parallel study of 12 farms which have been using such farm systems for at least five years. Sets the term of such projects at five years each. Sets forth on-farm study data, including soil profile changes, crop yields, energy and water use, and farm income. Directs the Secretary to make payments to the owner of a pilot farm if the Secretary determines such payments are justified. Stipulates that these payments may be made only during a project's last four years. Directs the Secretary to coordinate such pilot farms project with specified Federal and State agricultural services, colleges, and farmers. Directs the Secretary to report to the appropriate congressional committees: (1) within 15 months regarding the information inventory; and (2) by April 1 of each year from 1985 through 1988 regarding the pilot farms, with a final project summary and recommendations by April 1, 1989. Provides for a five-year program of intercropping assistance under the Soil Conservation and Domestic Allotment Act. Authorizes appropriations for FY 1984 through 1988.
United States · United States Congress · 19 April 1983
Proclaims Nelson Mandela an honorary citizen of the United States and requests the President to take steps to secure his unconditional release from prison in South Africa.
United States · United States Congress · 19 April 1983
Proclaims Winnie Mandela an honorary citizen of the United States and requests the President to seek from South Africa a revocation of her banishment to Brandfort, South Africa.
United States · United States Congress · 14 April 1983
Amends the Internal Revenue Code to repeal provisions which terminate the income tax exclusion for amounts received by an employee under an educational assistance program.
United States · United States Congress · 13 April 1983
Balanced Monetary Policy Act of 1983 - Amends the Federal Reserve Act to require the Board of Governors and the Federal Open Market Committee of the Federal Reserve System to establish yearly targets for money and total credit aggregates and for real interest rates consistent with historic levels. Requires the Board and the Federal Open Market Committee to take necessary actions to assure that such targets are achieved, on average, on an annual basis. Requires a written report to specified Congressional committees if such targets cannot or should not be achieved because of unfavorable economic conditions. Requires the Board of Governors to transmit specified information to Congress biannually. Requires the Board to announce publicly changes in objectives and plans at the time those changes are determined. Requires the President to state for the System's record the administration's position on each vote on monetary policy taken by the Board and by the Federal Open Market Committee.
United States · United States Congress · 13 April 1983
Expresses the sense of the Congress that: (1) the United States should not encourage or support efforts to destabilize or overthrow the government of any Central American nation; (2) other nations in the region should not engage in such activities; (3) all interested parties should encourage the peaceful resolution of conflicts in the region; and (4) the United States should engage in multilateral negotiations with Nicaragua and Honduras to reduce the tensions in the region.
United States · United States Congress · 12 April 1983
Requests the President to grant posthumous citizenship to William Penn, founder of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, and his wife, Hannah Callowhill Penn.
United States · United States Congress · 7 April 1983
Housing for the Elderly and Handicapped Act of 1983 - Amends the Housing Act of 1959 to limit to 9.25 percent per year the interest rate plus the allowance for administrative costs and probable losses on loans for the provision of housing and related facilities for elderly or handicapped families. Allows a maximum of 25 percent of the units in an elderly or handicapped housing project financed under such Act to be efficiencies, if the Secretary of Housing and Urban Development determines that such units are appropriate for the local elderly or handicapped population. Prohibits the Secretary from establishing general limitations or preferences concerning the number of units in a project or the number of units made available to any sponsor. Authorizes the Secretary to require a corporation to deposit in a special escrow account a minimum capital investment of up to $10,000 with respect to an assisted project. Directs the Secretary to: (1) consider design features necessary for elderly and handicapped residents when establishing cost limitations on project units; and (2) adjust such limitations annually to reflect changes in construction costs. Requires the project sponsor to determine the basis of employment of development or construction contractors. Prohibits the Secretary from approving the prepayment, sale, or transfer of a loan for such a project without assurances that the project will continue to provide housing for elderly or handicapped families on equally advantageous terms. Requires that all specific eligibility requirements for assistance under such Act be published in the Federal Register in clear and complete language at least 90 days before applications for such assistance are due. Requires the Secretary to afford applicants an opportunity to correct application deficiencies. Allows loan applicants that were rejected during FY 1982 because of religious references in their articles of incorporation or bylaws to reapply for a comparable number of units in the FY 1983 or 1984 funding cycle. Replaces the Secretary's authority to provide such loans with authority to provide assistance in the form of a deferred payment, noninterest bearing advance to any corporation, consumer cooperative, or public agency or body for the provision of housing for elderly or handicapped families. Conditions such assistance only on the Secretary's finding that the construction will be undertaken in an economical manner with no extravagant design or materials. Limits the amount of such assistance to the total development cost of a project. Authorizes the Secretary to provide additional assistance to such an entity in an amount not exceeding 75 percent of the total development cost of a project if part of the financing is to be provided by a public housing agency. Requires repayment of such assistance after 20 years. Permits the Secretary to forgive a portion of an advance for each year after 20 years that a project continues to serve elderly and handicapped families, and the entire advance after 40 years of continued service. Directs the Secretary to require that at least 75 percent of the units of a project receiving an advance be made available to lower income families during the initial 20-year period of such advance. Authorizes appropriations. Requires the rents for lower income families occupying such projects to be determined in accordance with provisions governing the determination of rents for lower income occupants of units assisted under the United States Housing Act of 1937, with certain exceptions. Directs the Secretary to enter into contracts with owners of assisted projects to make payments to cover the costs of units occupied by lower income families that are not met from project income. Limits: (1) the annual contract amount per project; (2) the aggregate contracting authority of the Secretary per year; and (3) the aggregate amount that may be obligated over the duration of the contracts. Authorizes the Secretary to enter into contracts to make monthly homeownership expense payments to lower income families who purchase dwellings from elderly or handicapped families who move into assisted projects. Limits: (1) the amount of such payments for individual families; (2) the duration of such payments; and (3) the annual and aggregate contract authority of the Secretary with respect to such payments. Amends the Housing and Community Development Amendments of 1978 to establish the eligibility of assisted projects for the elderly or handicapped for operating assistance for troubled housing projects. Amends the Congregate Housing Services Act of 1978 to authorize appropriations for the congregate services program for FY 1984 through 1986. Amends the Housing and Community Development Act of 1974 to authorize the use of community development assistance provided under such Act for grants to neighborhood-based nonprofit organizations for the development of shared housing opportunities for the elderly. Amends the United States Housing Act of 1937 to direct the Secretary to: (1) permit assistance provided under existing housing and moderate rehabilitation programs to be used by elderly families in shared housing arrangements; and (2) issue minimum property standards for shared housing. Amends the Housing Act of 1949 to require the Secretary to allow the use of rental assistance by elderly families or persons who elect to live in a shared housing arrangement in a single-family dwelling. Amends the Department of Housing and Urban Development Act of 1965 to establish in the Department an Office of Housing for the Elderly. Lists the responsibilities of the Office, including: (1) coordinating the Department's housing programs for the elderly with other Federal, State, and local programs; (2) making recommendations to the Assistant Secretary for Housing on research needs, demonstrations, and evaluations with respect to housing for the elderly; and (3) coordinating preparation of a report, to be submitted by the Secretary to Congress annually, on the Department's efforts during the previous and the current fiscal years with respect to housing for the elderly. Directs the Assistance Secretary to establish an advisory Committee on Housing for the Elderly.
United States · United States Congress · 7 April 1983
Prohibits the implementation of certain regulations proposed by the Office of Personnel Management (published in the Federal Register on March 30, 1983) that change the administration of the civil service system by establishing a performance management system and revising regulations concerning reductions-in-force, pay administration under the Fair Labor Standards Act, bargaining policy in labor-management relations, and the prevailing rate pay system. Voids any such regulations which became effective before enactment of this Act. Prohibits the implementation of any other regulations that would have the same effect.
United States · United States Congress · 24 March 1983
Amends the Communications Act of 1934 to prohibit the Federal Communications Commission from restricting the hours of operation or reducing the operating power of any AM broadcast station if: (1) such restriction or reduction would prevent the station from operating at full daytime power from two hours before sunrise until two hours after sunset; and (2) operation during such period would not interfere with the protected signal of an existing station. Prohibits the Commission from denying an application for a license to operate a new AM station or an application to expand the hours of operation of an existing station solely on the grounds that: (1) the area has adequate broadcasting service; or (2) an FM channel is available for the area. Prohibits the Commission from placing an applicant for a station license or construction permit at a disadvantage because that applicant is licensed to operate a station with restricted hours in the area if such applicant certifies that it will relinquish the restricted license if its application is approved. Exempts any application to alter the hours of operation of a standard broadcast station from public notice and comment requirements.
United States · United States Congress · 24 March 1983
Broadcast Licensing, Renewal, and Deregulation Act of 1983 - Amends the Communications Act of 1934 to establish new procedures for reviewing petitions to deny broadcast license applications. Requires the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to grant a license renewal application by a radio or television broadcast station licensee unless the actions of the licensee evidences such serious disregard for the Communications Act and for the rules and policies of the FCC that denial of the application is justified. Prohibits the FCC from considering the applications of other persons for a broadcast station's facilities when the FCC is acting upon a license renewal application by a radio or television broadcast station. Permits persons holding construction permits or station licenses to transfer the permit or license without first obtaining an FCC finding that the transfer serves the public interest. Requires the FCC to be notified of such transfer. Provides for public notice of the transfer. Provides for disposition by the FCC of objections to such transfer. Prohibits the FCC from considering whether the public interest would be served by the transfer of the permit or license involved to a different person. Repeals certain provisions relating to the application of the antitrust laws. Prohibits the FCC from imposing requirements on radio or television licensees relating to: (1) programs; (2) programming formats; (3) ascertainment; (4) commercialization; and (5) maintenance of program logs.
United States · United States Congress · 23 March 1983
Amends the Low-Income Home Energy Assistance Act of 1981 to increase the authorization of appropriations for low-income home energy assistance for FY 1984. Decreases the maximum amount of grant money allotted for a fiscal year to States for low-income home energy assistance which a State may request to be held available for the next fiscal year. Requires the Secretary of Health and Human Services to collect home energy and home energy assistance data on a State-by-State basis. Requires the Secretary to submit the annual report on such data required under such Act no later than September 30 of each calendar year.
United States · United States Congress · 23 March 1983
Expresses the sense of Congress that the family planning program under title X of the Public Health Service Act should be administered in the Health Resources and Services Administration of the Department of Health and Human Services.
United States · United States Congress · 22 March 1983
Motor Vehicle Theft Law Enforcement Act of 1983 - Title I: Improved Identification for Motor Vehicle Parts and Components - Amends the National Traffic and Motor Vehicle Safety Act of 1966 to direct the Secretary of Transportation to promulgate a Federal motor vehicle security standard applicable to parts used in the manufacture of motor vehicles, other than motorcycles, after the effective date of such standard, or manufactured as new replacement parts after such date. Directs the Secretary to conduct a cost-benefit analysis before promulgating such standard, which includes the effect on domestic motor vehicle production and sales. Stipulates that the standard shall not: (1) impose additional costs upon manufacturers in excess of $10 per motor vehicle; or (2) require the identification of more than 14 parts for any motor vehicle, nine parts for any truck, or four parts for any trailer. Declares that a Federal motor vehicle standard supercedes any State or local standard. Authorizes the Secretary to conduct studies on the development of security devices and systems. Directs the Secretary to report to Congress on such devices and systems within one year of enactment. Provides for repeal of this title on a specified date. Title II: Antifencing Measures - Amends the Federal criminal code to establish penalties for removing or altering any identification number of any motor vehicle or motor vehicle part required by regulation. Requires the forfeiture of any vehicle or part which has had such number removed, with specified exceptions. Applies to the seizure and forfeiture of motor vehicles and parts those provisions of law relating to the seizure and forfeiture of vessels and merchandise under the customs laws. Establishes penalties for anyone who buys, receives, possesses, or obtains control of, with intent to sell or otherwise dispose of, any motor vehicle or motor vehicle part knowing that such identification number has been removed or altered. Designates as nonmailable matter any manipulative type device which is designed or adapted to operate, circumvent, remove, or render inoperative the ignition switch or lock, or door or trunk lock of two or more motor vehicles, or any advertisement for the sale of such device. Title III: Importation and Exportation Measures - Establishes criminal and civil penalties for anyone who imports, exports, or attempts to import or export any motor vehicle, off-highway vehicle or vehicle part knowing that it has been stolen or that its identification number has been altered. Amends the Tariff Act of 1930 to require persons who export or attempt to export a used motor vehicle or off-highway mobile equipment to present to the appropriate customs officers the vehicle and a document describing that vehicle. Title IV: Reporting Requirements - Directs the Secretary of Transportation to establish a task force to study problems relating to motor vehicle titling and controls over motor vehicle salvage which may affect the motor vehicle theft problem. Directs the Attorney General, in consultation with the Secretaries of the Treasury and Transportation and the Postmaster General, to report to Congress on the implementation of this Act.
United States · United States Congress · 22 March 1983
Declares that the House of Representatives deplores the denial of the rights of Hungarians and people of other nationalities in Transylvania by the Romanian Government. Requests the President and the Secretary of State to discuss the human rights of the Hungarians in Transylvania with the Government of Romania.
United States · United States Congress · 21 March 1983
Authorizes and requests the President to designate Monday, April 4, 1983, as Swedish-American Friendship Day, in order to commemorate the 200th anniversary of the signing of the Treaty of Amity between Sweden and the United States.
United States · United States Congress · 17 March 1983
Expresses the sense of the Congress that the United States should use the upcoming Economic Summit meetings to indicate its willingness to pursue monetary and fiscal policies necessary to stimulate growth in this country and to help lead a world economic recovery. Urges an agenda that includes: (1) consideration of a multilateral agreement to adopt national fiscal and monetary policies designed to reduce worldwide unemployment promptly; (2) inauguration of a plan to extend the maturity of foreign debt owed by developing nations; and (3) commitment to correct any lack of uniformity or deficiencies in the regulation and supervision of international banking.
United States · United States Congress · 16 March 1983
Amends the Department of Defense Authorization Act, 1983, to postpone from July 1, 1983, to February 1, 1984, the effective date for denial of Federal educational assistance to students who failed to comply with the registration requirements of the Military Selective Service Act. Directs the Comptroller General to conduct an ongoing study and report to Congress by March 1, 1985, on the effectiveness of enforcing the registration requirement through student assistance programs.
United States · United States Congress · 16 March 1983
States that the Government should restore balance to the Department of Energy's FY 1984 budget by maintaining funding for energy conservation, solar and renewable energy, and weatherization programs and by distributing information on conservation and renewable and solar energy.
United States · United States Congress · 14 March 1983
Economic Equity Act of 1983 - Title I: Tax and Retirement Matters - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to provide that the maximum deduction for contributions to an individual retirement plan: (1) shall be computed separately for each individual who is married; and (2) in the case of a married individual who has no compensation or less compensation than that of the spouse, shall be determined as if such compensation were the same as that of the individual's spouse. Treats alimony as compensation for purposes of determining an individual's income tax deduction for retirement savings. Amends the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA) and the Internal Revenue Code to require that a retirement plan that provides an annuity to a participant with at least ten years of creditable service shall provide a survivor's annuity for the spouse of a participant who dies before the annuity starting date in an amount not less than the amount that would have been provided if the participant had survived and retired on such annuity date. Provides that a participant's election not to take a joint and survivor's annuity shall not be effective unless the spouse of the participant consents in writing to such an election. Requires a retirement plan to treat an individual who was the spouse of the participant on the annuity starting date and who survives the participant as if such individual were the spouse of the participant on the date of death of the participant whether or not divorced after the annuity starting date. Allows the assignment of the benefits of a qualified retirement plan in the case of a judgment decree or order relating to child support, alimony payments, or marital property rights pursuant to a State domestic relations law. Amends ERISA to lower the age limitation for participation in a qualified retirement plan from age 25 to age 21. Amends ERISA and the Internal Revenue Code to provide for accruals of creditable service to continue while an individual is on approved maternity or paternity leave at the rate of 20 hours service for each week of approved leave. Entitles former spouses of civil service employees or Members of Congress, who were married to an employee or Member for at least ten years during creditable service, to an annuity based upon a portion of retired or retainer pay unless otherwise provided by a spousal agreement or a state court decree of divorce or annulment. Entitles former spouses to survivor's benefits under the civil service plan unless the former spouse remarries before becoming 60 years of age or the employee or Member and former spouse elect to waive such benefit. Requires that such waiver be jointly made in writing. Includes displaced homemakers as a targeted group for purposes of the targeted jobs tax credit. Defines "displaced homemaker" as a person who: (1) has not worked, except in the home, for a substantial number of years; (2) has been dependent on public assistance or on the income of a family member but is no longer supported by that income; and (3) is a member of an economically disadvantaged family and is experiencing difficulty obtaining or upgrading employment. Increases the zero bracket amount for heads of households from $2,300 to $3,400. Title II: Dependent Care Program - Increases the income tax credit for household and dependent care services from a maximum of 30 percent of amounts paid to a maximum of 50 percent of amounts paid. Reduces such percentage to a minimum of 20 percent based on the taxpayer's adjusted gross income. Makes such income tax credit refundable. Treats as tax-exempt organizations certain organizations which provide nonresidential dependent care to the general public. Requires the Secretary of Health and Human Services (through the Commissioner of the Administration of Children, Youth, and Families) to establish a grant program to assist nonprofit organizations in the establishment or operation of community-based child care information. Title III: Nondiscrimination in Insurance - Nondiscrimination in Insurance Act of 1983 - Prohibits discrimination on the basis of race, color, religion, sex, or national origin in the consideration of applications for, or the granting of, insurance policies and the terms of such policies. Permits insurers who regularly provide insurance solely to persons of a single religious affiliation to continue to do so. Grants to State or local governments having insurance discrimination laws the primary opportunity to enforce this Act. Permits an aggrieved person to file a civil action in State or Federal court against an insurer, if a State or local authority: (1) has received notice of a complaint and fails to act within 60 days; or (2) has no insurance discrimination laws. Authorizes the Attorney General to bring a civil action in district court when there is reasonable cause to believe that a person or group is engaged in a pattern or practice of resistance to the rights granted by this Act and that such denial raises an issue of general public importance. Title IV: Regulatory Reform and Sex Neutrality - Requires the head of each Federal agency to: (1) conduct an ongoing review of the rules, regulations, programs, and policies of the agency to identify any which result in different treatment based on sex; and (2) submit annually a report to the Congress on such review. Sets forth rules of statutory construction relating to gender. Title V: Child Support Enforcement - Amends the Social Security Act to specify that the purpose of the child support enforcement program is to assure compliance with obligations to pay child support to each child in the United States living with one parent. Allows offsets of income tax refunds of an absent parent on behalf of children not receiving Aid to Families with Dependent Children. (Present law permits such offsets only in the case of children receiving AFDC payments.) Requires States to establish a child support clearinghouse through which child support payments can be paid, recorded, and forwarded. Revises State child support enforcement procedures. Allows allotments for child and spousal support to be taken from the pay of Federal employees.
United States · United States Congress · 10 March 1983
Air Travelers Security Act of 1983 - Amends the Federal Aviation Act of 1958 to declare congressional policy with respect to the marketing and sale of passenger air transportation. Directs the Civil Aeronautics Board to vacate Order 82-12-85, adopted on December 16, 1982, and to adopt as its final decision in docket numbered 36595 the recommended order of an administrative law judge dated June 1, 1982.
United States · United States Congress · 10 March 1983
Defense Industrial Base Revitalization Act - Amends the Defense Production Act of 1950 to direct the President to take immediate action to assist in the modernization of industries related to defense. Limits such assistance to small and medium-sized businesses unless national security requires otherwise. Directs the Secretary of Defense to determine immediately and semiannually which industries should be given priority and the type of assistance which would be most helpful. Directs the President to assist persons expanding the domestic capability to produce or process critical and strategic materials. Sets forth the terms of such assistance, including qualification through public solicitation and the President's right to refuse delivery of items exceeding market price. Prohibits the extension of assistance for establishments relocating from one area to another or for persons divesting other persons of contracts customarily performed by them. Authorizes appropriations for FY 1984 - 1988. Permits the President to utilize the borrowing authority of the Treasury as specified and to use unobligated funds in Department of Defense appropriations. Limits the amount of funds used to the amounts provided in advance in appropriation Acts. Directs the President to implement a national program to train workers in skills necessary in key defense industries. Makes such assistance available through grants to State vocational education programs in States with previously approved plans for a five-year program of skills training. Requires that the State employment and training council be given an opportunity to participate in the development of, review, and comment on such plan. Requires the States to make contributions to such program in specified percentages to qualify for extensions of such programs. Directs the President to implement a grant program to assist institutions of higher education in obtaining and installing modern equipment to train scientific and technical personnel needed in the key industries. Sets forth the terms of such assistance, including application procedures, limits on grants, and the requirement that such equipment be purchased through competitive bidding. Requires such equipment to be of U.S. origin. Authorizes appropriations for such purpose for FY 1984 - 1988. Directs the Comptroller General to monitor this program and submit an annual report to Congress. Directs the Office of Technology Assessment to study the public facilities or infrastructure essential to the defense industrial base and report to each Congress on recommendations for measures to avoid serious impediments to production. Sets forth the labor standards to be maintained on any project funded under this Act, including compliance with the wage requirements of the Davis-Bacon Act. Requires each executive department and agency to follow the principle of geographical dispersal to the degree possible in constructing any Government-owned industrial facility. Directs such departments and agencies to continuously assess the capability of the defense industrial base to satisfy near-term and increased mobilization production requirements. Increases the maximum obligation of any guaranteeing agency for loans necessary to prevent personal insolvency or bankruptcy that would impede the production and delivery of materials or the performance of services for the national defense. Decreases from 60 to 30 days the period provided for the congressional review and veto of such loan guarantees. Permits such a loan guarantee to be made immediately if both Houses adopt a concurrent resolution approving it. Postpones until the end of FY 1988 the termination date of certain provisions of the Defense Production Act of 1950, including certain priorities, allocations, and expansion of productive capacity and supply provisions. Repeals the National Commission on Supplies and Shortages Act of 1974. Amends the Defense Production Act of 1950 to require any defense contractor who includes an offset agreement in excess of $5,000,000 in a defense contract with a nation other than the United States to file an annual report with the Secretary of the Treasury. Directs the Secretary to report annually to the appropriate congressional committees on the number and amount of offsets in such contracts.
United States · United States Congress · 9 March 1983
Emergency Housing Assistance Act of 1983 - Amends the Emergency Housing Act of 1975 to direct the Secretary of Housing and Urban Development to make emergency mortgage relief payments to mortgagees on behalf of certain delinquent mortgagors in a district when, for three consecutive months, the amount of delinquent mortgage loans exceeds a specified percentage of the amount of all loans accounted for in the mortgage delinquency series maintained by the Federal Home Loan Bank Board for such district or the nation. Provides for the discontinuation and reinstitution of such assistance program depending on such delinquency rate condition. Directs the Secretary to notify the mortgagees in a district of the institution or reinstitution of such a program in that district. Lists the conditions for assistance eligibility, which include requirements that: (1) the mortgage is not federally insured under the National Housing Act or the Housing Act of 1949; (2) the mortgagor has suffered a substantial reduction in income as a result of circumstances beyond the mortgagor's control which renders the mortgagor unable to make full mortgage payments; and (3) the Secretary has determined that assistance is necessary to avoid foreclosure and that it is likely that the mortgagor will be able to resume full mortgage payments within 36 months and pay the mortgage in full by its maturity date. Establishes a rebuttable presumption that a mortgagor will be able to resume making full payments and pay the mortgage in full if the mortgagor suffered a reduction in income because of a loss of, or reduction in, employment. Requires each mortgagee, at least 30 days before instituting any foreclosure proceeding, to assist the mortgagor involved in applying for assistance under this Act, unless the mortgagor waives such assistance. Prohibits a mortgagee from instituting foreclosure proceedings until it receives notice of the Secretary's decision on such an application. Allows a mortgagor to apply for assistance after foreclosure proceedings have begun, in which event such proceedings shall be stayed pending the Secretary's decision. Requires an application to contain the mortgagee's certification that at least three full monthly payments are past due and that the mortgagee has extended a specified amount of voluntary forebearance. Declares that assistance payments shall: (1) not exceed amounts necessary to supplement the amounts the mortgagor is able to contribute; (2) be not less than the amount necessary to ensure that the total monthly housing expense of the mortgagor does not exceed 38 percent of his or her net effective income; and (3) be provided for a period not to exceed 18 months plus any period of delinquency, with an 18-month extension if necessary to avoid foreclosure. Directs the Secretary to establish certain procedures for ascertaining the mortgagor's financial circumstances to determine whether such payments should be adjusted or terminated. Declares that all assistance payments shall be secured by a lien on the property and repayable on terms prescribed by the Secretary, with certain restrictions. Allows a mortgagor to receive assistance under this Act more than once, except that payments may not be provided for a mortgagor for more than an aggregate of 36 months. Sets forth the authority of the Secretary to recapture such assistance. Directs the Secretary to: (1) provide homeownership counseling to persons assisted under this Act; and (2) approve or disapprove an application for assistance within 45 days. Creates the Homeowners Emergency Relief fund to be available to carry out this Act. Authorizes appropriations and limits expenditures for assistance under this Act. Requires the Secretary and certain Federal agencies which supervise financial institutions to: (1) encourage such institutions to exercise forebearance with respect to residential mortgages; and (2) waive or relax limitations pertaining to the operations of such institutions or mortgagees with respect to mortgage delinquencies. Directs the Federal home loan banks, the Federal Reserve banks, and the National Credit Union Administration to give special consideration to advance, discount, or credit applications of the institutions or borrowers that have exercised forebearance in residential mortgage foreclosures. Requires the Secretary to report to Congress every 90 days on: (1) the rate of delinquencies and foreclosures in various housing markets; (2) the prospects of voluntary forebearance by mortgagees in such areas; (3) Government actions to encourage such forebearance and to provide assistance under this title; and (4) the default status of mortgages on multifamily properties with recommendations on curing and avoiding such defaults. Directs the Secretary to study and report on the use of alternative mortgage delinquency series under this title. Amends the Housing and Community Development Act of 1974 to authorize appropriations for grants by the Secretary to local governments and Indian tribes for the provision of shelter and essential services for individuals who are subject to life-threatening situations because of their lack of housing. Requires that a house which is rehabilitated with such assistance be used for emergency housing for at least three years. Directs the Secretary to: (1) consider the special housing needs of families and single women; and (2) ensure that such grants do not replace funds currently expended for such shelter and services. Amends the Housing Act of 1949 to require the Secretary of Agriculture, prior to taking any action that would result in a borrower losing housing financed by a rural housing loan, to grant a moratorium on loan payments if the borrower shows that he or she is unable to continue making payments because of circumstances beyond his or her control. Requires the Secretary to: (1) ensure that delinquent borrowers are informed of the availability of such assistance; and (2) provide technical assistance to borrowers applying for such assistance. Authorizes the Secretary to reamortize the accrued debt of a borrower if reamortization is likely to result in the resumption of payments by the borrower.
![Official portrait of Rep. Lundine, Stanley N. [D-NY-34]](https://www.congress.gov/img/member/l000516_200.jpg)