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
Requires that whoever uses or carries a firearm during the commission of any felony which may be prosecuted in a United States court shall, in addition to the punishment provided for the Commission of such offense, be sentenced to a minimum of five years imprisonment. Requires in the case of a second conviction the impositon of a term of imprisonment of at least ten years, up to life. Stipulates that the imposition of any term of imprisonment under this section: (1) may not be suspended; (2) may not run concurrently; and (3) may not include probation. Prohibits a defendant charged with such offenses from: (1) entering a plea of guilty to a lesser charge; or (2) being covered by any provisions of the Federal Youth Corrections Act.
United States · United States Congress · 8 February 1979
Grain Products Utilization Act - Title I: Department of Agriculture-Research and Studies on the Economic and Agricultural Effects of Using Agricultural Products in the Development and Use of Fuels - Directs the Secretary of Agriculture to conduct research and studies concerning the economic and agricultural effects of using agricultural products in the development of fuels. Requires the Secretary to submit an annual report to the President and the Congress regarding such research and studies. Title II: Department of Energy-Research and Studies on the Use of Agricultural Products in the Development and Use of Fuel - Directs the Secretary of Energy to conduct research and studies concerning the use of agricultural products in the development of fuels. Requires the Secretary to submit an annual report to the President and the Congress regarding such research and studies. Title III: Tax Provisions - Amends the Internal Revenue Code of 1954 to provide a deduction with respect to the amortization of any qualified ethanol-producing facility. Defines qualified ethanol-producing facility for purposes of such deduction. Provides an annual tax credit of one penny for each gallon of qualified gasoline sold by an eligible taxpayer during the taxable year. Defines taxpayer and qualified gasoline for purposes of such tax credit. Title IV: Guaranteed Loans for Ethanol-Producing Facilities - Directs the Secretary of Agriculture to establish a program of federally guaranteed loans for the construction of ethanol-producing facilities. Directs that farmers and farm groups be given priority for such guaranteed loans. Prohibits the Secretary from guarantying more than 75 percent of any such loan. Limits the amount of indebtedness guaranteed under any such loan to not more than $5,000,000. Limits the amount of indebtedness guaranteed under this section to not more than $750,000,000 at any one time.
United States · United States Congress · 8 February 1979
Title I: Meat and Meat Products - Amends the Federal Meat Inspection Act to require the labeling as imported of the package or container of any imported meat or meat product capable of use as human food. Requires that such products: (1) meet the same health standards as domestically produced meat; and (2) be tested in the exporting country. Requires periodic tests of such products in the United States by the Department of Agriculture. Authorizes the Secretary of Agriculture to prescribe necessary assessments and fees. Title II: Dairy Products - Prohibits the importation of dairy products into the United States unless certified wholesome and pure by the Secretary of Health, Education, and Welfare. Requires the Secretary to establish standards for such products comparable to standards imposed on domestic dairy products. Directs the Secretary to inspect imported dairy products and to require a certificate of compliance to accompany them. Requires imported dairy products to comply with United States labeling and packaging requirements, and to carry indications on their labeling that they are imported.
United States · United States Congress · 8 February 1979
Amends the Agricultural Act of 1949 to direct the Secretary of Agriculture to permit the production of hay on set-aside wheat or feed grains acreage in any area where a drought, flood, or other natural disaster, or other condition beyond the control of the producers, has depleted hay stocks.
United States · United States Congress · 8 February 1979
Public Disclosure of Lobbying Act of 1979 - Requires organizations which expend more than $2,500 per quarter year or which employ at least one individual who spends all or part of each of 13 days or more per quarter year for lobbying purposes to register with the Comptroller General and to update annually such registration. Requires the identification of any such person retained for such lobbying purposes. Requires such organization to file quarterly reports concerning such lobbying activities including: (1) listing of total lobbying expenditures including each expenditures over $35 made to or for the benefit of any Federal officer, congressional employee, or Member of Congress; (2) the identification of retainees of an organization or certain employees making lobbying communications and the disclosure of certain expenditures; (3) a description of the issues for which such an organization has lobbied; (4) the identification of the means of communicating an advertisement intended to solicit over 500 people; (5) known business contacts with the person whom such organization is attempting to influence; and (6) the disclosure of any lobbying communication made on the floor of either House of Congress. Requires that the final quarterly report identify by amount each organization which contributed $3,000 or more to the reporting organization. Requires the Comptroller General to make copies of each registration and report required by this Act available for public inspection and copying. Makes it the duty of the Attorney General to investigate alleged violations of any provision of this Act or regulations promulgated thereunder. Requires the Attorney General to attempt to correct any violation by informal methods of conference or conciliation. Authorizes the Attorney General to institute civil or criminal actions in appropriate circumstances. Grants to the United States district courts jurisdiction for actions brought under this Act. Directs the Comptroller General to transmit reports to the President and each House of the Congress no later than March 31 of each year concerning activities under this Act. Provides a Congressional veto of rules and regulations promulgated by the Comptroller General pursuant to this Act. Makes any person or organization who knowingly fails to comply with the registration, reporting, and recordkeeping requirements of this Act, or regulations promulgated thereto, subject to a civil penalty of not more than $10,000 for each such violation. Provides criminal penalties of not more than $10,000 or imprisonment for not more than two years, for knowing and willful violations of this Act, and for knowingly and willfully making misstatements or omitting material facts. Repeals the Federal Regulation of Lobbying Act and specified provisions of the Legislative Reorganization Act.
United States · United States Congress · 8 February 1979
Amends the Controlled Substances Act to provide mandatory minimum sentences for anyone who: (1) manufactures, distributes, or dispenses a schedule I or II narcotic drug or a counterfeit thereof; (2) possesses such drug with the intent to manufacture, distribute, or dispense; or (3) attempts or conspires to commit such offenses. Prohibits a defendant charged with such offenses from: (1) entering a plea of guilty to a lesser charge; or (2) being covered by any provisions of the Federal Youth Corrections Act.
United States · United States Congress · 8 February 1979
Taxpayer Relief Amendments to Panama Treaty Legislation - Specifies that all expenses incurred implementing the Panama Canal Treaty of 1977 shall be treated as an expense of the Panama Canal Commission. Prohibits payments to Panama out of U.S. Treasury revenues. Requires the Panama Canal Company to pay its cash assets to the U.S. Treasury to be applied against its debt. Directs the Commission to continue repaying its debt to the United States. Amends the Panama Canal Code to require the Commission to pay: (1) all canal operating revenues to the U.S. Treasury; and (2) the payments required under the Treaty to Panama only with express congressional authorization. Directs the General Accounting Office to monitor all costs incurred by the Commission and report annually to Congress on the differences in costs to the U.S. taxpayer. Prohibits unless expressly authorized by Congress: (1) the use of U.S. funds to implement the Treaty; (2) the transfer of U.S. property in the Canal Zone to Panama; and (3) the cessation of the Panama Canal Company and the Canal Zone Government.
United States · United States Congress · 8 February 1979
Requires the Administrator of Veterans' Affairs to pay a monthly pension at a rate not to exceed $150 to: (1) each veteran of World War I who meets specified service requirements and whose annual income does not exceed $10,000; (2) certain qualified surviving spouses of each such veteran (whose own annual income does not exceed $10,000); or (3) the child or children of each such veteran.
United States · United States Congress · 8 February 1979
Expresses the disapproval of the House of Representatives with respect to the Secretary of Transportation's recommendations designating the basic route system for the National Railroad Passenger Corporation as submitted to the Congress on January 31, 1979.
United States · United States Congress · 8 February 1979
Expresses the disapproval of the House of Representatives with respect to the Secretary of Transportation's recommendations designating the basic route system of Amtrak, the National Railroad Passenger Corporation, as submitted to the Congress.
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 · 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 · 29 January 1979
Spending Limitation Act - Amends the Congressional Budget and Impoundment Control Act of 1974 to limit the total Federal outlays agreed to in the second or any further concurrent resolution on the Budget to the following percentages of the gross national product: 21 percent in fiscal year 1980; 20 percent in fiscal year 1981; 19 percent in fiscal year 1982; and 18 percent in the fiscal year 1983. Authorizes the Congress to waive such limitations by a two-thirds vote of each House.
United States · United States Congress · 29 January 1979
Tax Rate Reduction and Indexing Act of 1979 - Title I: Individual Tax Rates - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to reduce the income tax rates for individuals for the taxable years 1980 through 1982. Title II: Inflation Adjustment - Requires the Secretary of the Treasury, not later than December 15 of each calendar year beginning in 1982, to prescribe individual income tax rate tables: (1) by increasing the maximum dollar amount on which no tax is imposed under each table, and the minimum and maximum dollar amounts for each rate bracket for which a tax is imposed, by the cost-of-living adjustment for such year; (2) by not changing the rate applicable to any rate bracket as adjusted; and (3) by adjusting the amounts setting forth the tax to the extent necessary to reflect the adjustments in the rate brackets. Declares the cost-of-living adjustment for any calendar year as the percentage by which the Department of Labor's Consumer Price Index for all-urban consumers for the preceding calendar year exceeds the Consumer Price Index for calendar year 1981. Requires cost-of-living adjustments in zero bracket amounts, personal tax exemptions, and withholding taxes. Sets the minimum gross income for which an income tax return is required from certain individuals at an amount less than the sum of the exemption amount plus the applicable zero bracket amount.
United States · United States Congress · 29 January 1979
Amends the Federal Mine Safety and Health Amendments Act of 1977 to provide that provisions of such Act shall not apply to stone mining or sand and gravel mining operations.
United States · United States Congress · 25 January 1979
Amends the Internal Revenue Code to allow certain individuals to compute the amount of the income tax deduction for retirement savings on the basis of the earned income of their spouses.
United States · United States Congress · 24 January 1979
Amends the Disaster Relief Act of 1974 to provide that a declaration of a state of emergency is effective as of the date on which the emergency or major disaster commenced.
United States · United States Congress · 23 January 1979
Amends the Agricultural Act of 1949 to raise the price support levels for milk, wheat, corn, soybeans, and cotton to 90 percent of their respective parity prices. Reduces the price levels at which producers participating in the wheat and feed grains storage program: (1) may redeem and market commodities securing price support loans (from between 140 to 160 percent of their respective parity prices to 100 percent); and (2) must repay such loans (from 175 to 110 percent of their respective parity prices).
United States · United States Congress · 22 January 1979
Agricultural Parity Equity Act of 1979 - Title I: Wheat - Amends the Agricultural Act of 1949 to set the established price for an individual producer for the 1979 and 1980 crops of wheat at levels related to such producer's voluntary set-aside, so that if the set-aside is: (1) 20 percent, the established price shall be 66 2/3 percent of parity per bushel; (2) 40 percent, 80 percent of parity per bushel; or (3) 50 percent, 100 percent of parity per bushel. Title II: Feed Grains - Amends the Agricultural Act of 1949 to set the established price for an individual producer for the 1979 and 1980 crops of corn at levels related to such producer's voluntary set-aside, so that if the set-aside is: (1) 20 percent, the established price shall be 66 2/3 percent of parity per bushel; (2) 40 percent, 80 percent of parity per bushel; or (3) 50 percent, 100 percent of parity per bushel. Title III: Upland Cotton - Amends the Agricultural Act of 1949 to set the established price for an individual producer for the 1979 crop of upland cotton at levels related to such producer's voluntary set- aside, so that if the set-aside is: (1) 20 percent, the established price shall be 72 1/2 percent of parity per pound; (2) 40 percent, 85 percent of parity per pound; or (3) 50 percent, 100 percent of parity per pound. Title IV: Grain Release Prices - Amends the Agricultural Act of 1949: (1) to prohibit the Secretary of Agriculture from providing for the redemption of stored wheat and feed grains loans unless the market price for such commodities is not less than parity; (2) to prohibit the Secretary from calling such loans until the market price for wheat and feed grains is at least 105 percent of parity; and (3) to prohibit the Commodity Credit Corporation from selling its stocks of wheat and feed grains for less than the parity price of such commodities.
United States · United States Congress · 18 January 1979
Amends the Clean Air Act to postpone for one year the application of certain restrictions to areas which have failed to attain national ambient air quality standards and to delay for one year the date required for adoption and submission of State implementation plans applicable to these areas.
United States · United States Congress · 18 January 1979
Radioactive Waste Management Act of 1978 - Requires the Secretary of Energy, before investigating any site for construction of a radioactive waste storage facility, to notify each chamber of the concerned State legislature and publish notice of such investigation in the Federal Register. Requires notice to State legislatures of decisions and contracts for the construction of such facilities. Allows a 120-day period for disapproval of construction by the affected State's legislature or by statewide referendum.
United States · United States Congress · 18 January 1979
Expresses the sense of Congress that the new Department of Labor health and safety training regulations for miners places an undue burden on small store, sand, and gravel surface mining operations and should not apply to operations with 35 or fewer employees.
United States · United States Congress · 15 January 1979
Solar Energy Bank Act - Establishes a Government corporation in the Department of Housing and Urban Development to be known as the Solar Energy Development Bank to make long-term, low-interest loans to encourage the use of solar energy in commercial and residential structures. Sets forth requirements for loan eligibility concerning the term and amount of the loan and necessary warranties for the solar energy systems covered by such loan. Prohibits conflicts of interest on the part of officers or employees of the Bank. Imposes criminal penalties for the furnishing of false or misleading information by applicants for loans under this Act. Establishes a seven-member Advisory Board to make annual reports to Congress and the President on the operation of the program established by this Act. Prohibits subsidy payments under this Act to any person who has received other Federal assistance for purchase and/or installation of energy systems similar to the solar systems assisted under this Act.
United States · United States Congress · 15 January 1979
Amends title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act to include rural health facilities of 100 beds or less within the definition of the term "hospital." Makes special provision with respect to nursing services, health, fire, and safety requirements for such facilities.
United States · United States Congress · 15 January 1979
IRA-Employer Plan Coordination Act of 1979 - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to extend to participants in qualified (tax-exempt) private employer pension plans the income tax deduction for cash contributions made by, or on behalf of, such participants to a retirement savings account. Limits such deduction to the excess of the lesser of $1,500 or an amount equal to 15 percent of an individual's employment compensation for the taxable year, over the total amount of contributions made on behalf of such individuals to a plan under which the individual has a nonforfeitable right to 100 percent of his accrued benefits. Specifies limits on the amount of deductible contributions to simplified employee pensions and individual retirement plans. Reduces, by five percent, the allowable deduction for participants in a multiemployer defined benefit plan or church plan. Disallows deductions for employees covered by Government plans, owner-employees, officers of corporations maintaining a plan, ten percent shareholders, and individuals who have attained age 70 1/2. Disallows deductions for individuals who are otherwise qualified but who do not conform to methods prescribed by the Secretary of the Treasury for computing the total amount of plan contributions for a taxable year. Requires the recapture of specified amounts taken as deductions for contributions to a plan in the gross income of a plan participant whose rights under such plan become fully vested. Excludes employee contributions to a qualified employer pension plan from the gross income of the employee. Requires the inclusion in the gross income of a plan participant distributions, not received as an annuity, from a plan to which the participant has made one or more deductible contributions. Imposes an additional tax of ten percent on plan distributions which a plan participant receives before 59 1/2. Requires the administrator of a qualified private employer pension plan to submit an annual written statement of information concerning the plan to its participants. Requires an individual retirement account to contain a method for determining the taxable year in which specific contributions are made to it and the amount of income and loss which is attributable to a specific contribution for each taxable year.
United States · United States Congress · 15 January 1979
Soft Drink Interbrand Competition Act - Declares that exclusive territorial arrangements made as a part of a licensing agreement for the manufacture, distribution, or sale of a trademarked soft drink product are lawful under the antitrust laws provided such product is in substantial and effective competition with other products of the same general class.
United States · United States Congress · 15 January 1979
Requires, upon application by the insured, waiver of the payment of premiums for National Service Life Insurance during any time after which the insured has attained the age of 70 and has paid premiums on the insurance for not less than 25 years.
United States · United States Congress · 15 January 1979
Press Protection Act - Prohibits any person acting under color of law, without a prior adversary court proceeding, from searching any place or seizing any things in the possession, custody, or control of any person engaged in the gathering or dissemination of news for the print or broadcast media, unless with a warrant issued by a court upon probable cause that such person has committed or is committing a criminal offense. Establishes a criminal fine of not more than $10,000 for violation of this Act, and creates a civil cause of action for any person aggrieved by a violation. Allows punitive damages of up to $10,000, and reasonable attorneys' fees.
United States · United States Congress · 15 January 1979
Amends title XIX (Medicaid) of the Social Security Act to require that States include standards for determining need for continued skilled nursing services or intermediate care services in their plan for medical assistance. Directs the Secretary of Health, Education, and Welfare to conduct investigative and oversight activities designed to determine whether there exists any basis to support a finding that the plan no longer complies with minimum requirements for such plan. States that an individual shall be deemed to be in need of skilled nursing facility services if such individual is determined to need care in such a facility on a daily basis.
United States · United States Congress · 15 January 1979
Amends the Internal Revenue Code to repeal the carryover basis provisions enacted by the Tax Reform Act of 1976 which provide that beneficiaries receiving property from a decedent's estate will retain the decedent's basis in the property. Restores prior law which "stepped up" or "stepped down" the property's basis to its market value at the time of death without imposing tax consequences on the appreciation or depreciation the property underwent while held by the decedent.
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 - Provides that total appropriations shall not exceed estimated revenues. Authorizes the suspension of such prohibition in time of war or national emergency. Prohibits any increase in the national debt as it exists on the date this article is ratified. Sets forth a schedule for repayment of the national debt.
United States · United States Congress · 14 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 · 28 September 1978
Amends the Railroad Revitalization and Regulatory Reform Act of 1976 to provide emergency financial assistance to railroads in reorganization serving the Northwestern United States which are or may be subejct to an application for a certificate of abandonment or discontinuance under the Interstate Commerce Act. Defines "Northwestern United States" as the States of Washington, Idaho, Montana, Wyoming, North Dakota, South Dakota, and Minnesota. Stipulates that no more than $135,000,000 in proceeds from the issuance and sale of Railroad Rehabilitation and Improvement Fund notes may be used for such assistance.
United States · United States Congress · 18 September 1978
Expresses the sentiment of the House of Representatives that (1) the Governments of the United States and Canada set up a bilateral task force under the International Joint Commission (established under the Boundary Waters Treaty) to conduct an evaluation of the desirability of a United States-Canadian clear air agreement to be submitted to the two Governments within nine months of the adoption of this resolution; and (2) the President take any diplomatic action necessary to reduce any undesirable impact on both countries from air pollution.
United States · United States Congress · 17 August 1978
Amends existing law governing payments made to local governments for public lands within such localities. Redefines "entitlement lands" for purposes of determining eligibility for such payments.
United States · United States Congress · 17 August 1978
Changes the amount per acre which the Secretary of the Interior must pay to local governments for public lands within the boundaries of such localities.
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 · 16 August 1978
Amends the Agricultural Act of 1949 to raise the price support levels for milk, wheat, corn, soybeans, and cotton to 90 percent of their respective parity prices. Reduces the price levels at which producers participating in the wheat and feed grains storage program: (1) may redeem and market commodities securing price support loans (from between 140 to 160 percent of their respective parity prices to 100 percent); and (2) must repay such loans (from 175 to 110 percent of their respective parity prices).
United States · United States Congress · 15 August 1978
Bread Labeling Act - Requires the label on each loaf of bread packaged and distributed in interstate commerce to specify (in cents per pound) the cost to the manufacturer (based upon its average cost for the previous marketing year) of the farm products which comprise the ingredients of the bread. Prohibits any person from selling, transporting, offering for sale or transportation, or receiving for transportation, in interstate commerce, any loaf of bread not so labelled. Establishes a civil penalty of not more than $1,000 for each violation of this Act. Authorizes the Attorney General of the United States, at the Secretary's request, to seek injunctive relief in the appropriate United States court to prevent or discontinue violations of this Act.
United States · United States Congress · 2 August 1978
Regulatory Flexibility and Reform 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 of limited means, 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 a justification of the selection of the final rule. Defines a small business, small organization, small governmental jurisdiction, and an individual of limited means as used in this Act. Authorizes the Comptroller General to advise and assist the agencies in making rules. Terminates after seven years any rule in effect before the enactment of this Act.
United States · United States Congress · 1 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 · 29 June 1978
Requires approximately 1.8 acres of land situated within the Fort Peck Indian Reservation, Montana, to be held in trust by the United States for the Assiniboine and Sioux Tribes.
United States · United States Congress · 29 June 1978
Farm Water Act - Replaces the existing acreage limitation of 160 acres of reclaimed land per individual with a limitation of 320 acres. Permits larger acreages where the land is less productive or other factors make it less valuable for agriculture. Lists specified lands to which the acreage limitations shall not apply including land within a water district which has paid construction charges of the reclamation project relating to the delivery of water to such landholding. Prevents the delivery of water to irrigable land in excess of 320 acres held in private ownership by a single landowner if such landowner refuses to execute a valid contract for the sale of such excess land. Permits delivery of project water to excess land after the effective date of this Act only if the title to such land is made subject to a condition that the land shall not be sold at a price greater than the landowner's costs increased only by the rate increase of the consumer price index for the period between the dates of purchase and sale. Abolishes the requirement that a qualified recipient must reside on or near a landholding in order for such landholding to be eligible to receive water.
![Official portrait of Rep. Marlenee, Ron [R-MT-2]](https://www.congress.gov/img/member/m000139_200.jpg)