United States · United States Congress · 1 October 1984
Child Molester Registration Act of 1984 - Amends the Federal criminal code to provide that any person subject to special parole who fails to register as required by State law shall be fined not more than $5,000 or imprisoned for not more than two years. Defines "special parole" as a condition of parole imposed by a State court upon a person convicted of an offense involving sexually motivated violence that such person register his presence with a local authority.
United States · United States Congress · 26 September 1984
Requires that every obligation of the United States be issued in registered form. Amends the Internal Revenue Code to prohibit the issuance in bearer form of securities which are interests in U.S. Government-backed securities. Imposes a three percent excise tax on the issuer of registration-required U.S. Government-backed securities which are not issued in registered form. Provides that the issue price of any U.S. Government-backed security shall be treated as the principal amount of the obligation. Imposes a 30 percent withholding tax on interest received by foreigners from U.S. Government-backed securities.
United States · United States Congress · 26 September 1984
Expresses the sense of the Congress that the Federal Government take immediate steps to support funding for a national storm-scale operational and research meteorological (STORM) program under the leadership of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration of the Department of Commerce, with the cooperation of other interested and appropriate departments and agencies. Sets forth certain times the President should submit to Congress proposed activities of the program, including budgetary requirements, progress reports, and a statement of activities.
United States · United States Congress · 25 September 1984
Requires the President to transmit to Congress for FY 1986 and each fiscal year thereafter a balanced budget. Permits the transmittal of alternate budget proposals which, if implemented, would result in a deficit or surplus if the President determines that a balanced budget is inappropriate for any fiscal year. Requires that any such alternate budget proposals for a fiscal year include a comprehensive plan to balance the Federal budget. Requires the Committee on the Budget of each House to report by April 15 of every year a balanced budget for the upcoming fiscal year. Requires the Committee on the Budget of either House also to report a comprehensive plan to balance the Federal budget, if it determines that a balanced budget is inappropriate for any fiscal year.
United States · United States Congress · 25 September 1984
Expresses the sense of the Congress that the Federal Home Loan Bank Board should delay until June 30, 1985, the effective date of its proposed regulations regarding limitations on direct investment in real estate, service corporations, and equity securities by federally insured savings and loan associations. Directs the Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs of the Senate and the Committee on Banking, Finance, and Urban Affairs of the House of Representatives to examine alternatives to the proposed regulations which will ensure safety and sound investment activities.
United States · United States Congress · 20 September 1984
Expresses the sense of the Congress that the President shall initiate negotiations with the principal foreign copper-producing countries to conclude voluntary restraint agreements with those countries that will reduce the total annual foreign copper production for three to five years in order to: (1) allow the price of copper on international markets to rise to levels which will permit the remaining copper operations located in the United States to attract needed capital; and (2) achieve a secure domestic supply of copper.
United States · United States Congress · 13 September 1984
Residential Energy Conservation Tax Credit Act of 1984 - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to extend the income tax credit for residential energy conservation expenditures for five years (from 1985 to 1990). Revises the method of calculating the amount of such credit. Reduces the maximum amount of the expenditures which may be taken into account from $2,000 to $1,000. Increases the percentage of the expenditures which may be taken into account from 15 to 40 percent. Phases out such credit for taxpayers with an adjusted gross income in excess of $30,000.
United States · United States Congress · 12 September 1984
Amends the Tax Reform Act of 1984 to provide that an individual who, as of September 12, 1984, was performing services for one member of a corporate group and was eligible for nontaxable air travel benefits provided by a corporate affiliate shall continue to be eligible for such benefits if as of that date: (1) the primary business of the affiliated group was air transportation of passengers; and (2) at least 50 percent of the persons performing services for the corporation for which the individual is currently performing services were employees of or had previously performed services for the second such corporation.
United States · United States Congress · 11 September 1984
Expresses congressional disapproval of the President's action and determination relating to import relief for unwrought copper. Requires that the import relief recommended by Commissioners Eckes and Lodwick of the International Trade Commission shall take effect.
United States · United States Congress · 11 September 1984
Establishes a Commission on Employment Discrimination in the Legislative Branch. Directs the Commission to: (1) employ a nongovernmental consultant to study the compensation paid to Library of Congress personnel and analyze personnel policies of the Library; (2) evaluate the compensation system of the Library for compliance with title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and make any recommendations needed to achieve compliance; (3) develop a plan for the application of title VII through the legislative branch; and (4) make recommendations to Congress for improvement of personnel policies and practices in the legislative branch. Directs the Commission to submit a final report to Congress 18 months after enactment of this Act. Terminates the Commission 30 days after submission of the final report.
United States · United States Congress · 6 September 1984
Bureau of Indian Affairs Fiscal Accountability Act of 1984 - Requires the Secretary of the Interior (the Secretary) to submit to certain congressional committees an Initial Report on Appropriations Allotment for the Bureau of Indian Affairs. Requires such Report to identify the allotments made to specified Indian programs and activities. Requires such Report to include a certification by the Assistant Secretary of the Interior for Indian Affairs (Assistant Secretary) that funds appropriated to the Bureau of Indian Affairs will be allotted as presented in the Report. Prohibits funds allotted to one activity from being transferred to another activity, except with congressional approval or direction. Requires the Secretary to submit a Reconciliation Report on Appropriations Allotment for the Bureau of Indian Affairs to certain congressional committees after each fiscal year. Requires such Report to explain any differences between actual expenditures within a Subactivity and the allotment assignment to such Subactivity. Requires such Report to include a certification by the Assistant Secretary regarding the accuracy of stated expenditures and actual assignment for each Subactivity. Sets forth administrative and criminal penalties for certain officials who violate the transfer provisions of this Act.
United States · United States Congress · 10 August 1984
Enterprise Zone Community Development and Employment Act of 1984 - Title I: Designation of Enterprise Zones - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to provide for the designation of enterprise zones by the Secretary of Housing and Urban Development for purposes of extending the tax incentives and regulatory flexibility measures provided by this Act. Provides that State and local governments shall nominate areas for such designation. Limits the designation of enterprise zones to a specified number of nominated areas per year (one-third of which must be in rural areas). Limits the period during which such designations shall remain in effect. Provides that the Secretary may designate such zones only if: (1) the area is within the jurisdiction of the local government; (2) the boundary of the area is continuous; (3) the area has a population of at least 4,000 if any portion thereof is located within a standard metropolitan statistical area (with a population of at least 50,000) or 1,000 otherwise, or is within an Indian reservation; and (4) the area meets specified unemployment and poverty requirements. Requires nominating local governments, as a condition of the Secretary's designation, to agree in writing to follow a course of action which may include improving local services, simplifying or streamlining regulation of business, or receiving commitments of private entities to assist employees and residents of the area. Describes areas to which preference shall be given by the Secretary in deciding to designate enterprise zones. Limits the authority of the Secretary to designate enterprise zones to a period of ten years after the publication of regulations pertaining to such zones. Requires the Secretary to report to Congress on the effects of such enterprise zones' designation not later than two years after the Secretary first designates areas as enterprise zones. Requires that any tax reduction effected by a local government under the terms of this Act be disregarded for purposes of determining the eligibility of a State or local government for Federal assistance or benefits. States that designation of an enterprise zone shall not give displaced persons from such an area any rights or benefits under the Uniform Relocation Assistance and Real Property Acquisition Policies Act of 1970. Provides that the designation of an enterprise zone shall not constitute a Federal action for purposes of applying the requirements of the National Environmental Policy Act or other provisions of Federal law relating to the protection of the environment. Title II: Federal Income Tax Incentives - Subtitle A: Credit for Employers - Allows employers located in enterprise zones a nonrefundable income tax credit for increased employment expenditures and employment of the disadvantaged. Allows a three-year carryback and 15-year carryover of such credit. Sets the amount of such credit at the sum of: (1) ten percent of the increase in payroll (taking into account a maximum of $15,000 in wages per year per employee); (2) a specified percentage of the wages paid to certain disadvantaged workers; and (3) 50 percent of the economically disadvantaged medical or day care expenses paid or incurred during the taxable year. Phases out such credit in the last three years of the enterprise zone designation. Disallows a deduction for the portion of wages taken into account for such credit. Allows employees located in enterprise zones an income tax credit for a specified amount of wages earned plus, in the case of economically disadvantaged individuals, a specified amount of medical or day care expenses. Phases out such credit in the last three years of the enterprise zone designation. Subtitle B: Credits for Investment in Tangible Property in Enterprise Zones - Allows businesses an additional investment tax credit for investment in certain tangible property located in enterprise zones. Limits such credit to five percent for zone personal property and ten percent for new zone construction property, including rental property. Requires that the property subject to such credit be predominantly used in the zone, be purchased after zone designation, and not be acquired from relatives or related corporations. Requires the recapture of such credit upon early disposition of the property. Phases out such credit in the last three years of the enterprise zone designation. Allows the waiver of the 30-year rule with respect to the income tax credit for certain rehabilitation expenditures in the case of rehabilitated buildings in enterprise zones. Increases the limitation on used property eligible for the investment tax credit in the case of enterprise zone property. Provides a refundable income tax credit for 35 percent of rehabilitation expenditures incurred by organizations organized and operated primarily for purposes of rehabilitating real property located in an enterprise zone. Subtitle C: Special Rules for Enterprise Zone Corporations - Allows an income tax deduction up to a maximum of $25,000 per year for the purchase of stock originally issued by an enterprise zone small business having a net worth of less than $2,000,000. Treats as ordinary income any amount previously taken as a deduction upon the sale or disposition of such stock. Provides tax penalties if such stock is sold within three years. Treats as an ordinary loss any loss incurred on the sale or exchange of enterprise zone industrial development bonds or enterprise zone corporate bonds. Limits such treatment to an aggregate amount of $50,000 per year. Excludes from gross income 50 percent of income earned from stock in or obligations of enterprise zone corporations. Limits such exclusion to an aggregate amount of $100,000 per year. Extends the net operating loss carryover period for enterprise zone corporations from 15 years to the year in which the designation of enterprise zone expires. Subtitle D: Rules Relating to Industrial Development Bonds - Provides that limitations on the cost recovery deductions for property financed with tax-exempt industrial development bonds shall not apply to enterprise zone property. Provides that the termination of the small issue exemption shall not apply to industrial development bonds the proceeds of which are used to finance facilities in such enterprise zones. Subtitle E: Sense of Congress with Respect to Tax Simplification - Expresses the sense of the Congress that the Internal Revenue Service should simplify the administration and enforcement of any provision of the Internal Revenue Code affected by this Act. Title III: Regulatory Flexibility - Revises the definition of "small entity" for purposes of the analysis of regulatory functions to include qualified businesses (as defined in title II of this Act), governments, and nonprofit enterprises operating within enterprise zones. Authorizes Federal agencies, upon request by a designating government, to waive or modify rules and regulations which pertain to the carrying out of projects or activities within an enterprise zone. Requires agencies to approve such a request if the resulting benefits of job creation, community development, or economic revitalization outweigh the public interest in continuation of the rule unchanged. Disallows waiver or modification of a rule that would directly violate a statutory requirement (including the Davis-Bacon Act and Fair Labor Standards Act) or which would present a danger to the public health and safety. Provides that any waivers or modifications of a rule shall remain in effect as long as the zone designations. Amends the Department of Housing and Urban Development Act to direct the Secretary of Housing and Urban Development to promote the coordination of all enterprise zone programs and consolidate all periodic reports required under such programs into one summary report. Title IV: Establishment of Foreign-Trade Zones in Enterprise Zones - Requires the Foreign-Trade Board to consider on a priority basis and expedite the processing of applications for the establishment of foreign-trade zones within enterprise zones. Requires the Secretary of the Treasury to give priority to, and expedite applications for, the establishment of ports of entry necessary to establish such zones. States that to the maximum extent practicable foreign-trade zones should be established within enterprise zones.
United States · United States Congress · 9 August 1984
Directs the Secretary of Health and Human Services to conduct a clinical trial in order to determine the efficiency and economic feasibility of providing Medicare (title XVIII of the Social Security Act) coverage for personal emergency response systems. Requires each personal emergency response system to include, for purposes of the clinical trial: (1) communication equipment located in the home which transmits signals for emergency medical assistance over the telephone; (2) a local response center to monitor such signals; and (3) medical personnel or other persons to provide emergency medical assistance. Authorizes appropriations. Directs the Secretary to transmit to Congress a report containing the findings and conclusions of the clinical trial, along with any legislative recommendations.
United States · United States Congress · 9 August 1984
Copper and Extractive Industries Fair Competition Act of 1984 - Amends the Bretton Woods Agreements Act to direct the U.S. Executive Director of the International Monetary Fund to present proposals to the Fund's Executive Board to ensure that countries experiencing a shortfall in export earnings from nonfuel, nonmetal, or nonferrous metals or minerals may not borrow from the Fund's compensatory financing facility if such shortfall was produced by declining prices of such commodities in surplus on world markets unless the borrowing country agrees to take certain actions to stabilize the market for the commodity. Directs the U.S. Executive Director to vote against providing financing assistance to countries producing surplus commodities before the Executive Board completes action that would implement the limitation on borrowing by such countries. Directs the Secretary of the Treasury to prepare quarterly reports for the President and Congress: (1) listing all appraisal reports which have been circulated during the preceding quarter within certain international financial institutions for project assistance to help a country produce a commodity for export if the commodity is in surplus or is likely to be in surplus on world markets at the time the country's productive capacity is expected to become operative and such assistance will cause substantial injury to U.S. producers of a competing commodity; and (2) describing requests by any of the major copper producing countries for assistance from the Fund. (Current law requires such a report to be included in the annual report to the Congress of the National Advisory Council on International Monetary and Financial Policies.) Directs the Secretary of the Treasury to instruct the U.S. representatives to the international financial institutions to take into account, in their review of the utilization of the resources of their respective institutions, the effect that country adjustment programs would have upon individual industry sectors and international commodity markets in order to: (1) minimize adverse impacts on such sectors or markets; and (2) avoid government subsidization of production and exports of international commodities without regard to economic conditions in markets for such commodities.
United States · United States Congress · 8 August 1984
Amends the Department of Defense Authorization Act, 1984 to limit eligibility for commemorative bronze medals for families of American personnel missing in Southeast Asia to families of those listed as missing or unaccounted for as of the end of U.S. participation in hostilities.
United States · United States Congress · 6 August 1984
Allows a named individual, notwithstanding certain limitations on actions against the Government, to bring an action for allegedly negligent medical treatment administered to another named individual at an Air Force hospital in West Germany. Requires such action to be brought in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia.
United States · United States Congress · 6 August 1984
Permits three named individuals, notwithstanding limitations provisions, to commence a civil action against the United States for injuries suffered by one such individual due to allegedly negligent medical treatment at a naval hospital in California.
United States · United States Congress · 6 August 1984
Permits three named individuals, notwithstanding limitations provisions, to file a civil action against the United States for the death of another individual allegedly caused by negligent medical treatment at a naval air base in California.
United States · United States Congress · 6 August 1984
Permits a named individual, notwithstanding limitations provisions, to commence a civil action against the United States for injuries suffered by him as a result of allegedly negligent medical treatment at a Coast Guard headquarters in Louisiana.
United States · United States Congress · 6 August 1984
Permits two named individuals, notwithstanding limitations provisions, to commence a civil action against the United States for injuries suffered by one of them as a result of allegedly negligent medical treatment at a U.S. Army hospitals in West Germany and North Carolina.
United States · United States Congress · 2 August 1984
Requires the President to transmit to Congress for FY 1986 and each fiscal year thereafter a balanced budget. Permits the transmittal of alternate budget proposals which, if implemented, would result in a deficit or surplus if the President determines that a balanced budget is inappropriate for any fiscal year. Urges the President to submit to the House and the Senate, not later than September 30, 1984, a comprehensive plan to balance the Federal budget. Requires the Committee on the Budget of each House to report, by April 15, 1985, and by April 15 of each year, a balanced budget for the upcoming fiscal year. Requires the chairmen of the budget committees and an individual designated by the President to meet from time to time and agree upon common economic and technical estimating assumptions which shall be used for the preparation and reestimation of the President's budget. Establishes a commission which shall: (1) review, with respect to FY 1986, the balanced budget proposal submitted by the President and the budgets reported by the Committees on the Budget; (2) study the effectiveness of the provisions of this Act in achieving balanced Federal budgets; and (3) make recommendations for further changes which may be necessary to achieve balanced Federal budgets. Requires the commission to transmit to the President and Congress a report not later then December 31, 1986, containing a detailed statement of its findings, conclusions, and recommendations for such legislation and administrative actions as it considers appropriate. Terminates the commission 30 days after the submission of such report.
United States · United States Congress · 27 July 1984
Indian Health Care Amendments of 1984 - Amends the Indian Health Care Improvement Act, as amended by the Indian Health Care Amendments of 1980, to authorize specific appropriations for FY 1985-1987. Amends the Public Health Service Act to direct the Secretary of Health and Human Services (the Secretary) to grant Indian Health Scholarships to Indians enrolled full-time in certain schools for health professionals. Prohibits the denial of such scholarships solely on the basis of scholastic achievement if the applicant has been admitted into an accredited health professions institution. Deems service under a contract pursuant to the Indian Self-Determination and Education Assistance Act as meeting the active service requirements of the National Health Service Corps Scholarship program. Authorizes appropriations for FY 1985-1987. Prohibits the payment of health professions preparatory scholarships to Indians who are employed in the Indian Health Service during nonacademic periods of the school year. Authorizes appropriations for FY 1985-1987 for specified health services. Designates such appropriations the Indian Health Care Improvement Fund. Sets allocation guidelines. Requires the Secretary to report to Congress regarding a health services priority system. Establishes an Indian Catastrophic Health Emergency Fund to meet the extraordinary costs of medical disasters or catastrophic illnesses. Authorizes appropriations. Requires the Secretary to report to the Congress regarding the Fund's operation by a certain time. Requires the Secretary to submit to the Congress a health facilities priority system report regarding the construction or renovation needs of the top ten priority inpatient and ambulatory care facilities. Requires the Secretary to notify the Congress one year prior to the planned closure of a health care facility. Directs the Secretary to begin implementing in FY 1985 a ten-year plan to provide safe water supply and sanitary sewage and solid waste disposal facilities to Indian homes and communities. Requires the Secretary to report to the Congress the Service's current Indian sanitation facilities priority system, and the funds needed to raise all communities to a zero level of deficiency. Authorizes specified appropriations to provide sanitation facilities. Authorizes the Secretary to provide financial and technical assistance for the operation and maintenance of sanitation facilities, utility organizations, and emergency repairs of sanitation facilities. Authorizes appropriations for FY 1985-1987. Directs the Secretary to contract with urban Indian organizations to provide health care or referral services programs in urban areas. Details eligibility criteria for such programs. Requires the Secretary to submit to the Congress a report which assesses the health status and unmet health care needs of urban Indians. Authorizes appropriations for FY 1985-1987. Removes the Indian Health Service from the Health Resources and Services Administration and places it in the Public Health Service. Directs the Indian Health Service to submit an annual budget directly to the President. Provides that all funds appropriated for obligation by the Indian Health Service shall be directly received by such Service from the President and the Office of Management and Budget. Authorizes the Secretary to waive certain requirements for competitive procurement of health services if the responsible Chief Medical Officer certifies that such requirements would compromise the quality of health services. Directs the Secretary to establish an Office of Alcohol and Drug Abuse within the Indian Health Service. Authorizes appropriations for FY 1985-1987. Directs the Secretary of Health and Human Services (the Secretary) to coordinate efforts with the Secretary of the Interior and the Secretary of Education to develop programs to combat alcohol and drug abuse among Indian juveniles, including preventive education programs in schools under the aegis of the Bureau of Indian Affairs. Directs the Secretary of Health and Human Services to arrange with the National Academy of Sciences to conduct a study of health hazards faced by Indians and Indian miners exposed to nuclear resource developments on or near Indian communities. Directs the Secretary and the Indian Health Service to develop a health care plan which addresses the results of such study. Directs the Secretary to submit to the Congress both the health hazard study and the ensuing health care plan, within certain times. Authorizes appropriations. Establishes eligibility guidelines for certain California Indians and for certain persons who are otherwise ineligible for medical benefits provided by either the Indian Health Service or by tribes contracting with the Service. Requires the Secretary to: (1) provide a vaccination program to prevent and control hepatitis-B among Alaskan Natives; (2) report to the Congress regarding program details; and (3) recommend steps to control the incidence of hepatitis-B. Designates the State of California as a contract health service delivery area. Lists programs eligible for Indian Health Service funds. Restricts circumstances under which the Secretary may remove a member of the National Health Service Corps who is performing obligated service in a health facility under the aegis of the Indian Health Service. Sets a deadline by which the Secretary must develop and implement a plan to reduce Indian infant and maternal mortality rates to that of the general population.
United States · United States Congress · 26 July 1984
Agricultural Patent Reform Act of 1984 - Amends the patent laws to extend the terms of patents which encompass specified products or methods for using a product, including methods of manufacturing which primarily use recombinant DNA technology, any of which are subject to certain nonpatent regulatory review periods. Sets forth the terms and conditions of such extension, including a five year limitation on the extension and a 25 year maximum patent term from the earliest filing. Directs the Commissioner of Patents to notify the appropriate Federal agency upon receipt from a product sponsor of a notice of extension. Requires the notified agency to determine the applicable regulatory review period and whether, within that period, the sponsor acted with due diligence. Provides for notice and informal hearings for persons interested in such determinations. Grants a product sponsor the opportunity to designate any data submitted during the regulatory review period as a trade secret or confidential. Directs the Commissioner, upon a final determination of the applicable regulatory review period, to issue to the owner of record of a patent a certificate of extension stating the fact and length of the extension and identifying the product and the use and the claim to which such extension is applicable. Makes such certificate a part of the original patent. Limits the application of such patent term extension to patents for: (1) any new animal drug or antibiotic subject to regulation under the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act; (2) any veterinary biological product subject to regulation under the Virus-Serum-Toxin Act; (3) any pesticide subject to regulation under the Federal Insectide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act; and (4) any chemical substance or mixture subject to regulation under the Toxic Substances Control Act.
United States · United States Congress · 25 July 1984
Amends the Internal Revenue Code to repeal rules relating to the determination of the issue price of certain debt instruments issued for property. Amends the Tax Reform Act of 1984 to repeal the revisions made to rules for the imputation of interest on certain deferred payments. Provides that the Internal Revenue Code shall be applied and administered as if such revisions had not been enacted.
United States · United States Congress · 29 June 1984
State and Local Narcotics Control Assistance Act of 1984 - Authorizes the Attorney General to make grants to States to assist States and local governments to increase their drug enforcement activities. Requires such grants to be based on the relative needs of the States, taking into consideration the severity of drug trafficking and abuse and the availability of State and local resources to resolve such problems. Establishes a procedure for grant applications. Requires such an application to include a State-wide strategy for the enforcement of State drug laws. Imposes limitations on the use of such grants, including a maximum ten percent allocation for administrative purposes. Requires each State which receives a grant to submit a yearly report to the Attorney General, who shall in turn report to Congress with respect to such grants. Allows the Secretary of Health and Human Services to make grants to States for developing more effective drug prevention, treatment and rehabilitation programs. Establishes a procedure for grant applications. Authorizes appropriations for both grant programs for FY 1986 through 1990.
United States · United States Congress · 29 June 1984
Directs the Administrator of Veterans Affairs to report to Congress a plan to expand the national cemetery system in at least ten areas with the greatest need. Directs the Administrator to consider acquiring existing State cemeteries to meet such need. Authorizes appropriations.
United States · United States Congress · 28 June 1984
Title I: Supplemental Benefits - Establishes a Federal supplemental benefit program for death or disability caused by occupational exposure to asbestos. Provides guidelines for: (1) the calculation of benefits in proportion to disability; (2) payment methods; and (3) payment priorities. Exempts such supplemental benefits from: (1) any tax or legal process; and (2) any offset for administrative benefits under State or Federal law. Sets guidelines for the offset of supplemental benefits where reorganization or liquidation proceedings occur under Federal bankruptcy laws. Makes supplemental benefits payable only out of the Asbestos-Related Disease Trust Fund established by this Act. Conditions eligibility for supplemental benefits upon such benefits' being the exclusive remedy of an individual for occupational exposure to asbestos. Prescribes guidelines for the filing and payment of asbestos-related disease claims. Directs the Secretary of Health and Human Services (the Secretary) to apply by analogy specified portions of the Social Security Act when making determinations of: (1) entitlement to benefits; (2) review of claims; and (3) delegations of authority to State agencies. Directs the Secretary of Labor, in consultation with the Secretary of Health and Human Services, to determine annually the average weekly wage for manufacturing workers in each State. Requires such determinations to govern decisions regarding all claims filed in the following calendar year. Requires the Secretary to rely upon: (1) prior court decisions regarding a claimant; (2) prior determinations by the appropriate workers' compensation program regarding specified eligibility criteria. Specifies exceptions. Requires the Secretary to apply the appropriate workers' compensation law when reviewing supplemental benefit claims. Creates within the Department of Health and Human Services the National Medical Panel on Asbestos-Related Diseases to: (1) decide which diseases belong to the list of asbestos-related diseases; (2) review claims to determine whether a person's disease was caused by asbestos exposure; and (3) publish certain Medical Assessment Guidance Documents. Provides guidelines for the appointment of medical scientists to the Panel from certain organizations. Directs the Panel to promulgate a list of asbestos-related diseases and to provide explanations of any decisions to include or omit a disease from such list. Outlines conditions under which the Panel shall review claims for asbestos-related diseases which do not appear on the panel's list of diseases. Requires the Panel to determine within a specified time whether the disease in the referred claim should be included on such list. Requires the Panel to publish Medical Assessment Guidance Documents including specific medical diagnostic criteria to aid parties and decisionmakers determine whether a death or disability was caused by occupational exposure to asbestos. Title II: Finance - Prescribes guidelines under which: (1) assessments are imposed against each asbestos defendant; (2) assessment allocation factors are assigned to asbestos defendants; (3) assessments are imposed against asbestos insurance policies; and (4) assessments are imposed against companies undergoing Federal bankruptcy proceedings. Sets the aggregate semiannual assessment on defendants in 1985 and 1986 at $150,000,000. Imposes interest upon assessments not paid by the due date. Requires the Secretary of the Treasury to: (1) conduct studies determining assessment allocation factor amounts and assessment apportionment ratios; and (2) promulgate compliance regulations. States that assessment payments do not prejudice the right to recover or challenge such payments. Treats asbestos-related disease assessments imposed upon either an asbestos defendant or an asbestos insurance policy, for Federal income tax purposes, as ordinary and necessary expenses incurred in carrying on the trade or business, on the one hand, and insurance contract losses, on the other. Treats asbestos-related disease assessments as miscellaneous excise taxes. Establishes in the Treasury the Asbestos-Related Disease Trust Fund (the Trust Fund). Details the manner in which such Trust Fund shall be funded and administered. Makes the Secretary of the Treasury the Managing Trustee, and delineates trustee functions. Authorizes appropriations for FY 1985 and subsequent years. Establishes within the Department of the Treasury the Asbestos-Related Disease Trust Fund Conservation Committee (the Committee) comprised of the Managing Trustee and five public members appointed by the President. Includes among the consultation and review functions of such Committee: (1) claim disposition; (2) grant and contract awards; and (3) claims and assessments analysis. Directs the Committee to submit an annual report to the Congress regarding the performance of its responsibilities. Authorizes the Committee, with the advice and assistance of the Secretary of Labor, to instruct the Managing Trustee to award grants and contracts to specified organizations for the purpose of: (1) improving State workers' compensation programs; (2) assuring the availability of medical specialists to assist government agencies; (3) establishing medical evaluation units to determine occupational sources of asbestos-related diseases; and (4) medical treatment research. Title III: Miscellaneous - Makes the supplemental benefits under this Act and the applicable workers' compensation programs the exclusive remedy for occupational exposure to asbestos. Exempts certain persons from liability for occupational exposure to asbestos. Removes jurisdiction from State or Federal tribunals to adjudicate any claim of liability for occupational exposure to asbestos after enactment of this Act. Confers jurisdiction for judicial review of administrative acts under this Act only upon the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit. Confers jurisdiction for questions of assessments and constitutionality under this Act only upon a special three-judge district court established in the District Court for the District of Columbia. Requires all administrative costs and expenses of this Act to be paid out of the Trust Fund. Directs the Secretaries of Health and Human Services, of Labor, of the Treasury, and the Attorney General to submit an analysis and certification of their respective costs under this Act to the Managing Trustee for reimbursement.
United States · United States Congress · 28 June 1984
Establishes the National Commission on Federal Budget Deficit Reductions to review all relevant elements of fiscal and monetary policy. Requires particular emphasis to be given to the causes of cyclical and structural Federal budget deficits and the impact which growing structural Federal deficits have on employment, capital formation, and the vigor and viability of economic growth in the United States. Requires the Commission to: (1) identify problems which may hinder the control and reduction of Federal budget deficits; and (2) analyze all potential options which would result in deficit reductions and place the Government on a sound financial basis. Requires the Commission to report to the President and Congress by January 15, 1985, detailed findings, conclusions, and recommendations for such legislation and administrative actions as it considers appropriate. Terminates the Commission 30 days after submission of such report.
United States · United States Congress · 27 June 1984
National Infrastructure Act - Establishes in the Treasury the National Infrastructure Fund. Authorizes appropriations for each of fiscal years 1985 through 1994. Directs amounts in the Fund to be made available to the Secretary of the Treasury to make interest-free repayable grants to States. Establishes within the Fund a separate account to be known as the Sinking Fund Account for deposits by States of grant obligations. Requires the Secretary to invest amounts in the Account in interest-bearing obligations of the United States. Requires the Secretary to maintain separate records of funds in the Account with respect to each grant made under this Act. Requires the Secretary to report to Congress each year of FY 1986 through 2015 on the financial conditions of the Account. Entitles each State to repayable grants, according to a specified population ratio, for fiscal years 1985 - 1994. Specifies terms for payments to States by the Secretary and repayments by States to the Secretary of such grants. Allows the Secretary to adjust the amount of any payment if deemed necessary. Allows States 20 years for repayment of grants, with adjustments made to the Account for each State at such time. Sets forth qualifications for States receiving such grants, including: (1) a contractual agreement by the State that it will establish an infrastructure revolving fund in its treasury to deposit and maintain records of grants received and make interest- free loans to various departments and agencies within the State; (2) terms and length of repayment; (3) specified uses to which grant funds may be applied; and (4) specified prohibited uses of grant funds. Requires a State to make available to the Secretary and the Comptroller General for inspection such records as either may require. Requires annual independent financial audits of grant-participating States to determine compliance with this Act. Allows States to waive such audit requirement in specified circumstances. Allows the Secretary to waive such audit requirement in certain cases. Requires any audits done to be made available to the public within 30 days after being received by the Secretary. Directs the Comptroller General to review the activities of the Secretary and the States to determine compliance under this Act. Requires a State making an interest-free loan under this Act to hold at least one public hearing on the proposed loan, with adequate notice to the public. Requires the Secretary, before June 2 of each year ending before January 1, 1996, to report to Congress on: (1) the status and operation of the Fund during the prior fiscal year; and (2) the administration of this Act. Requires, at the end of each fiscal year for which repayable grants are made under this Act, each State government receiving such a grant to submit a report to the Secretary on the amount, purposes, and uses of such grant. Requires the Secretary to determine population (used as a statistic in awarding grants) on the same basis that the Secretary of Commerce determines resident population for general statistical purposes. Requires the Secretary to use population estimates provided by the Secretary of Commerce to determine amounts of repayable grants for each fiscal year.
United States · United States Congress · 26 June 1984
Reaffirms that it is U.S. policy to oppose the practice of torture by foreign governments through the implementation of laws and through public and private diplomacy. Requests the President to: (1) instruct the U.S. representative to the United Nations to continue to raise the issue of torture by such governments; and (2) continue to involve the U.S. Government in the formulation of international standards, particularly the draft Convention Against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment. Requests the Secretary of State to issue specified formal instructions to each U.S. mission chief regarding U.S. policy with respect to such torture. States that the Secretary of Commerce should continue to enforce the current restrictions on the export of crime control equipment pursuant to the Export Administration Act of 1979. Directs the heads of U.S. departments that furnish military and law enforcement training to foreign personnel to include in such training instruction regarding international human rights standards with respect to torture.
United States · United States Congress · 21 June 1984
Agricultural Trade and Export Policy Commission Act - Amends the Agriculture and Food Act of 1981 to establish a National Commission on Agriculture Trade and Export Policy (Commission) to conduct a study of the agriculture-related trade and export policies and programs of the United States and the international and domestic factors affecting such policies and programs, including U.S. intergovernmental activities that affect the formulation of policies. Requires the Commission to be composed of ex officio congressional members, plus 23 members appointed by the President. Requires the Commission to submit to the President and the Congress: (1) a report containing its initial findings and recommendations by March 31, 1985; (2) additional interim reports on its work as may be requested by the chairmen of specified congressional committees; and (3) a report containing the final results of its study and recommendations by July 1, 1986. Authorizes Federal and public support to the Commission. Exempts the Commission from specified provisions of the Federal Advisory Committee Act and guidelines relating to the performance appraisals of Federal employees. Terminates the Commission 60 days after the transmission of its final report to the President and the Congress.
United States · United States Congress · 19 June 1984
Expresses the sense of the Congress that the President should: (1) ensure that U.S. officials carry out his pledge to resolve the issue of the Americans still missing and unaccounted for in Indochina; (2) work for the immediate release of any Americans still held captive and the return of the remains of those who died in Southeast Asia; and (3) make every effort to secure the cooperation pledged by Laos and Vietnam in resolving this issue.
United States · United States Congress · 18 June 1984
Designates the week beginning February 17, 1985, as a time to recognize the contributions of volunteers who give their time to become Big Brothers and Big Sisters to youths in need of adult companionship.