A joint resolution to designate 1988 as the "National Year of Friendship with Finland".
United States · United States Congress · 22 May 1986
Designates 1988 as the National Year of Friendship with Finland.
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1,513 records where Rep. Miller, Clarence E. [R-OH-10] is listed as a sponsor, author, or other actor. Search with topics and years
United States · United States Congress · 22 May 1986
Designates 1988 as the National Year of Friendship with Finland.
United States · United States Congress · 19 May 1986
Designates the week of December 1 through December 7, 1986, as National Epidermolysis Bullosa Awareness Week.
United States · United States Congress · 15 May 1986
Designates the week beginning November 9, 1986, as National Reye's Syndrome Awareness Week.
United States · United States Congress · 30 April 1986
Ballistic Knife Prohibition Act of 1986 - Amends the Federal criminal code to prohibit the possession, manufacture, sale, importation, and mailing of ballistic knives (knives with a detachable blade that is propelled by a spring-operated mechanism).
United States · United States Congress · 23 April 1986
Amends the Internal Revenue Code to disallow, while a declaration of national emergency is in effect: (1) a foreign income tax credit for any income, war profits, or excess profits taxes paid or accrued to Libya; (2) a business expense income tax deduction for any such taxes paid to Libya; and (3) the income tax exclusion of earned income of U.S. citizens living abroad for any income attributable to Libya. Describes such a declaration as a declaration by the President of a national emergency under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act after a finding that the policies and actions of Libya constitute an unusual and extraordinary threat to the national security and foreign policy of the United States.
United States · United States Congress · 22 April 1986
Omnibus Debt Collection and Credit Management Act of 1986 - Title I: Establishment of Treasury Department Oversight - Requires the appointment of an Under Secretary of the Treasury for Debt Collection and Credit Management to: (1) supervise the development of, approve, and review the debt collection and credit management system of each Federal agency; (2) evaluate the effectiveness and value of disposing of the Government's loan and delinquent debt portfolio to private sources; (3) require each Federal agency to submit records on its debt status and collection efforts; and (4) provide an annual summary of the activities conducted under this Act to specified congressional committees. Requires the head of each Federal agency to submit for the Under Secretary's approval a comprehensive debt collection and credit management plan. Lists the contents of such a plan, including requirements for: (1) procedures for screening credit applicants; (2) loan origination and application fees to defray costs; and (3) payment schedules comparable to schedules used in private credit transactions. Title II: Improved Debt Collection Practices - Requires each executive and legislative agency to enter into a contract for the collection of indebtedness owed the United States that is delinquent by more than three months. Requires the contractor to report on its debt collection of indebtedness owed the United States that is delinquent by more than three months. Requires the contractor to report on its debt collection efforts at least biannually. Directs an agency to sell such debts which have not been collected within one year after being referred to a contractor, unless: (1) the contractor certifies that the debt is about to be collected; or (2) litigation to collect the debt has been initiated and not concluded. Requires an agency to disclose to consumer reporting agencies information concerning any debt exceeding $100 which is delinquent by more than 31 days. Amends the Internal Revenue Code to require (current law authorizes) the Secretary of the Treasury, upon written request, to disclose the address of a taxpayer for use by a Federal agency in collecting a debt owed the Government. Authorizes the U.S. Attorney General to make contracts retaining private counsel to furnish legal services in U.S. debt collection cases. Directs the Attorney General to obtain at least four such contracts with private individuals or firms in each district in which such a contract is made. Lists contract provision requirements. Authorizes executive and legislative agencies to refer debt claims to such counsel who shall be considered to be a debt collector under the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act. Provides that no counterclaim filed in any debt collection action brought on behalf of the United States by such counsel who shall be considered to be a counterclaim filed in any debt collection action brought on behalf of the United States by such counsel shall be valid unless served directly on the U.S. Attorney General or the U.S. attorney for the appropriate judicial district. Requires each executive agency, in accordance with standards prescribed by the Attorney General, to establish a unit for the conduct of litigation to collect delinquent debts owed to the United States. Directs the Attorney General to report to the Under Secretary quarterly on the status of litigation conducted by such units. Provides that no State law setting an earlier deadline than Federal law shall apply to the time limitation for filing suit for collection of a debt owed to the United States. Prohibits any legislative or executive agency from providing any Government funds to any person identified to be delinquent in the payment of the debt to the United States, unless: (1) the person demonstrates that the debt is no longer delinquent; or (2) satisfactory arrangements for payment of the debt have been made. Prohibits any court from granting any injunction against the collection of a debt owed to the United States pending final judgment on any review of such collection. Directs the Comptroller General to: (1) audit and report to each House of the Congress on the implementation of this title by executive and legislative agencies; and (2) report to each House annually on the status of debts owed to the United States. Title III: Budgetary Incentives for Improved Debt Collection and Credit Management - Expresses the intent and commitment of the Congress to promote implementation of this Act by: (1) conducting annual oversight hearings on such implementation and on the Under Secretary's report on activities under this Act; (2) permitting funds collected on delinquent debt as a result of such implementation to be returned to the program from which they are derived or used to offset reductions under the Balanced Budget and Emergency Deficit Control Act of 1985 (Gramm-Rudman-Hollings Act); (3) requiring that each direct and guaranteed loan program obtain ten percent of its budget authority from debt collection; and (4) requiring each Federal agency to submit a report on such implementation with its annual appropriations request.
United States · United States Congress · 10 April 1986
Designates the Federal building in Columbus, Ohio, as the John W. Bricker Building.
United States · United States Congress · 9 April 1986
Bilingual Education Act Amendments of 1986 - Amends the Bilingual Education Act (the Act) to add to the statement of policy the declaration that, regardless of the method of instruction, programs which serve children of limited English proficiency have the equally important goals of developing both academic achievement and English proficiency. Removes a requirement that the Secretary of Education (the Secretary) reserve limited portions of funds under the Act for special alternative instructional programs and related activities. Removes a requirement that the Secretary reserve at least 75 percent of funds under part A (Financial Assistance for Bilingual Education Programs) of the Act for transitional bilingual education programs.
United States · United States Congress · 9 April 1986
Designates the month of November 1986 as National Hospice Month.
United States · United States Congress · 9 April 1986
Designates June 21, 1986, as National Save American Industry and Jobs Day.
United States · United States Congress · 21 March 1986
Designates the weekend of August 1 through August 3, 1986, as National Family Reunion Weekend.
United States · United States Congress · 20 March 1986
Proclaims the week of June 15, 1986, as National Agricultural Export Week.
United States · United States Congress · 18 March 1986
Designates May 8, 1986, as Naval Aviation Day.
United States · United States Congress · 13 March 1986
Designates the Federal building at Jamaica Avenue and Parsons Boulevard in Jamaica, Queens, New York, as the Joseph P. Addabbo Federal Building.
United States · United States Congress · 13 March 1986
Designates the month of October 1986 as National Down Syndrome Month.
United States · United States Congress · 12 March 1986
Designates September 1986 as Partnerships in Education Month.
United States · United States Congress · 11 March 1986
Designates 1988 as the Year of New Sweden.
United States · United States Congress · 6 March 1986
Authorizes the Administrator of Veterans Affairs to establish a national cemetery in or near Cleveland, Ohio.
United States · United States Congress · 5 March 1986
Designates August 1986 as Polish American Heritage Month.
United States · United States Congress · 5 March 1986
Designates the week beginning on October 5, 1986, as Mental Illness Awareness Week.
United States · United States Congress · 4 March 1986
Designates the month of May 1986 as National Birds of Prey Month.
United States · United States Congress · 3 March 1986
Makes various recommendations to States regarding the availability of medical care and the resolution of medical malpractice claims, including: (1) reforming State tort law to place caps on the recovery of noneconomic losses in medical malpractice suits and proportioning financial liability based on comparative fault; (2) strengthening State agencies which license, certify, and discipline health care professionals; (3) implementing risk management programs; (4) requiring hospitals to confirm the credentials and work history of physicians; (5) reforming State contract law to enforce agreements to forego malpractice litigation in favor of alternative dispute resolution procedures; and (6) strengthening State insurance regulations to protect consumers.
United States · United States Congress · 27 February 1986
Amends part B (Peer Review) of title IX of the Social Security Act to require peer review organizations receiving a Medicare beneficiary's request, while such beneficiary is still a hospital inpatient, for reconsideration of a determination denying payment for continuing inpatient hospital care to give the beneficiary notice of its reconsidered determination within two days of receiving the request.
United States · United States Congress · 27 February 1986
Designates May 7, 1986, as National Barrier Awareness Day.
United States · United States Congress · 27 February 1986
Directs the President to designate May 1986 as Older Americans Month.
United States · United States Congress · 27 February 1986
Designates March 21, 1986, as National Energy Education Day.
United States · United States Congress · 19 February 1986
Authorizes and requests the President to present, on behalf of the Congress, gold medals to Anatoly and Avital Shcharansky in recognition of their supreme dedication and total commitment to human rights and freedoms. Requires the Secretary of the Treasury to determine the design of the medals. Authorizes appropriations. Authorizes the Secretary to sell bronze duplicates of the medals.
United States · United States Congress · 19 February 1986
Designates the week of September 21 through September 27, 1986, as Emergency Medical Services Week.
United States · United States Congress · 19 February 1986
Disapproves the proposed rescission of budget authority for payments to local governments from the Local Government Fiscal Assistance Trust Fund (R86-68) as set forth in the special message of the President transmitted to the Congress on February 5, 1986.
United States · United States Congress · 18 February 1986
Designates December 7, 1986, the anniversary of the attack on Pearl Harbor, as National Pearl Harbor Remembrance Day.
United States · United States Congress · 4 February 1986
Amends the Trade Act of 1974 to extend the trade adjustment assistance programs for workers and firms through March 15, 1986.
United States · United States Congress · 4 February 1986
Designates the week of September 7 through September 13, 1986, as National Independent Retail Grocer Week.
United States · United States Congress · 3 February 1986
Designates the week of May 11 through May 17, 1986, as National Osteoporosis Awareness Week.
United States · United States Congress · 29 January 1986
Designates January 28 of each year as National Teacher Recognition Day.
United States · United States Congress · 18 December 1985
Rural Satellite Dish Owners Protection Act - Amends the Communications Act of 1934 to prohibit encryption of any satellite cable programming for private viewing beginning 30 days after enactment of this Act, unless: (1) the encryption complies with Federal Communications Commission standards; (2) decryption devices are available for lease or purchase by all interested persons within 60 days after request at a reasonable price relative to manufacturing and distribution costs; and (3) monthly subscription fees for such programming do not exceed fees assessed to cable subscribers within the same vicinity. Provides for the civil enforcement of this Act.
United States · United States Congress · 18 December 1985
Amends rule XV of the Rules of the House of Representatives to prohibit the House from passing or adopting any bill or joint resolution making appropriations or providing revenue except by a rollcall vote.
United States · United States Congress · 17 December 1985
Amends the Immigration and Nationality Act to exclude from nonimmigrant admission into the United States nationals from any foreign state with which the United States does not have diplomatic relations. Excludes nationals of Taiwan from such prohibition.
United States · United States Congress · 3 December 1985
Designates September 17, 1987, as Constitution Day. Requires such day to be treated as a legal public holiday.
United States · United States Congress · 20 November 1985
Telecommunications Equipment and Information Services Act of 1985 - Authorizes the Bell operating companies to provide information services (excluding electronic publishing) and to manufacture telecommunications equipment, subject to such regulations as the Federal Communications Commission may prescribe. Conditions such authority on the Commission's determination that no Bell operating company could impede competition in the information services or telecommunications equipment manufacturing businesses. Requires the Commission to include in its annual report to the Congress an assessment, providing for public comment, of the impact of this Act on employment in such businesses.
United States · United States Congress · 18 November 1985
Federal Trust Fund Restoration and Protection Act of 1985 - Requires the Secretary of the Treasury to: (1) reissue to the Federal Old-Age and Survivors Insurance Trust Fund, the Federal Disability Insurance Trust Fund, the Federal Hospital Insurance Trust Fund, the Federal Supplementary Medical Insurance Trust Fund, the Railroad Retirement Account, the Civil Service Retirement and Disability Fund, the Department of Defense Military Retirement Fund, and other Government trust funds obligations at interest rates that will ensure annual interest income equal to the projected annual income that each such trust fund would have earned from public debt obligations that were redeemed on or after October 1, 1984, to avoid a violation of the public debt limit; and (2) pay to each fund the net amount of interest that would have accrued to each fund but for any noninvestments, redemptions, and disinvestments of such fund between October 1, 1984, and the date of enactment of this Act to avoid violating the public debt limit.
United States · United States Congress · 12 November 1985
Financial Export Control Act - Amends the Export Administration Act of 1979 to declare that it is U.S. policy to use export controls to restrict the export of capital, the extension of credit, or the transfer of financial resources to countries subject to national security export controls. Authorizes the President to restrict the export or transfer of money or other financial assets to the government of a country subject to national security export controls. Provides for negotiations with other countries to obtain their cooperation with such export controls on capital. Requires export license applications for the export of capital to be submitted to the Secretary of the Treasury who shall make all determinations with respect to such applications. Requires the annual report on the administration of the Export Administration Act of 1979 to include a report on actions taken to carry out export controls on capital.
United States · United States Congress · 24 October 1985
National Commission on Classified Information and Security Clearance Procedures - Establishes the National Commission on Classified Information and Security Clearance Procedures to investigate: (1) standards and procedures used by Federal authorities to issue security clearances and classify information; (2) procedures used to ensure that persons with a security clearance continue to meet required standards; (3) the extent to which current standards and procedures cause the classification of more information than required by national security; and (4) the dangers to national security by the growth in the number of persons holding security clearances. Directs the Commission to recommend to each branch of the Federal Government uniform standards and procedures for issuing security clearances, classifying documents, and ensuring that a security clearance continues to meet required standards. Makes provisions of the Federal Advisory Committee Act inapplicable to the Commission. Requires the Commission to make a final report to the President, the Congress, and the Supreme Court not later than one year after appropriations are first made for the Commission. Allows the restriction of public access to Commission documents. Terminates the Commission 30 days after submission of the final report.
United States · United States Congress · 24 October 1985
Designates July 2, 1986, as National Literacy Day.
United States · United States Congress · 23 October 1985
Designates the week beginning on May 11, 1986, as National Asthma and Allergy Awareness Week.
United States · United States Congress · 22 October 1985
Designates 1986 as the Year of the Flag.
United States · United States Congress · 17 October 1985
Amends the Federal criminal code to allow the imposition of sanctions against foreign governments for failure to extradite terrorists as required by treaty. Allows the President to: (1) restrict imports from that country; and (2) reduce military and economic assistance to that country. Requires the President to notify specified congressional committees of the intended action.
United States · United States Congress · 10 October 1985
Expresses the sense of the Congress that: (1) the President should initiate, in cooperation with our Western allies, the negotiation of a multinational agreement to establish an allied strategy to respond to international terrorism, procedures to provide and to disseminate intelligence information relating to such terrorism, and a multinational unit to resolve terrorist incidents; and (2) the United States should adopt as a national policy the termination of U.S. foreign assistance to nations that assist or fail to prosecute international terrorists.
United States · United States Congress · 8 October 1985
Amends the copyright law to prohibit a copyright holder from conveying the right to publicly perform an audiovisual work on non-network commercial television without simultaneously conveying the right to perform in synchronization any copyrighted music which accompanies such work.
United States · United States Congress · 8 October 1985
Trade Partnership Act - Title I: International Trade - Directs the President to establish the Commission on Trade which shall: (1) evaluate existing U.S. trade laws and policies; (2) develop recommendations on monetary and fiscal policies for the United States and its chief trading partners; (3) evaluate the export financing practices of major trading partners and of international agencies; and (4) review existing trade agreements to assess their effect on U.S. long-term trading interests. Requires the Commission to report its findings and recommendations to the President and to the Congress. Expresses the sense of the Congress that the President should evaluate such findings and recommendations and take into account the results of an international monetary conference to determine the propriety of convening a summit conference on international trade in order to develop changes in international trade and monetary practices. Expresses the sense of the Congress that the President should call for an international monetary conference to develop: (1) options for reforming institutional mechanisms in order to decrease the disparity among, and to prevent dramatic fluctuations in the value of, the currencies of the major economic powers; and (2) means for reducing interest rates, promoting national and world economic growth, assuring price stability, and promoting higher levels of international trade. Expresses the sense of the Congress that the President should initiate multilateral trade negotiations under the auspices of the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) in order to: (1) resolve the issues not resolved in earlier negotiations; (2) develop multilateral disciplines in those areas where trade problems have emerged or are becoming more acute; (3) focus on improving the dispute settlement mechanisms of the GATT; (4) place a high priority on bringing developing countries into full participation in the international trading community; (5) ensure that all developed countries share equally the responsibility for advancing the economies of developing countries; and (6) increase efforts to bring countries now outside the GATT under accepted multilateral disciplines governing trade. Directs the President to begin negotiations immediately if Canada requests the negotiation of a trade agreement that provides for the elimination or reduction of any duty imposed by the United States. Directs the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) to review the bilateral relationships between the United States and its major trading partners in order to determine those countries that offer the most potential for the establishment of free trade areas with the United States. Sets forth factors to be considered in making such review. Authorizes the President, during the year following enactment of this Act, to negotiate with Japan on a trade agreement under which the United States will permit the exportation to Japan of Alaskan petroleum and natural gas in return for substantial concessions by Japan regarding the importation into Japan of agricultural products, wood products, and other kinds of export products that are important to the United States. Amends the Trade Act of 1974 to transfer to the USTR specified functions relating to import relief that are currently performed by the President. Directs the President to review the USTR's determination on whether to provide import relief and what form such relief should take. Requires the President to complete such review within 15 days of receiving the USTR's determination. Directs the President to notify the Congress of the President's decision and of the USTR's determination. Directs the USTR to take action to implement the import relief which the USTR decided to provide if the President concurs in the USTR's decision. Directs the USTR to take action to implement the President's decision on import relief if it differs from the USTR's decision and no joint resolution disapproving the President's decision is enacted. Directs the USTR to order the implementation of the import relief recommended by the International Trade Commission if the decision of the President differs from the decision of the USTR and a joint resolution disapproving the President's decision is enacted. Authorizes interim relief after a petition for import relief is filed if the USTR determines that: (1) it is likely that the article is being imported in such increased quantities as to be a substantial cause of serious injury or threat thereof to the competing domestic industry; and (2) the absence of such interim relief would result in irreparable harm to the domestic industry. Authorizes emergency relief from imports of perishable products (other than perishable products from a beneficiary country under the Caribbean Basin Economic Recovery Act) after a petition for such relief is filed if the USTR, after consultation with the Secretary of Agriculture, decides that: (1) there is a reasonable indication that the perishable product is being imported in such increased quantities as to be a substantial cause of serious injury, or threat thereof, to the competing domestic industry; and (2) emergency action is warranted. Directs the USTR, upon deciding to grant interim relief or emergency relief, to: (1) determine the method and extent of such relief; (2) notify the President of such decision; and (3) unless the President decides within 15 days that such relief is not in the national economic interest, order the Commissioner of Customs to impose such relief. Declares that such relief may consist of tariff increases or import limitations. Provides for the termination of such relief. Directs the USTR to order the Commissioner of Customs to implement actions necessary to enforce U.S. rights under any trade agreement if: (1) the President and the USTR agree on the appropriate action; or (2) the President differs with the USTR on the appropriate action but a joint resolution disapproving such action is not enacted. Reduces the number of days from 21 to 15 between the President's receipt of the USTR's recommendation of appropriate action and the President's decision on what action is appropriate. Requires the President to determine during such 15 day period if: (1) the President concurs in the USTR's recommendation; or (2) it is in the national economic interest not to take any action or to take action different from the action determined by the USTR. Requires the President to notify the Congress of such decision. Provides that if 90 days after the Congress receives notice of such decision no joint resolution is enacted disapproving it then such decision shall take effect. Reduces the amount of time the USTR may take to make a recommendation on a petition for enforcement of U.S. trade rights. Sets forth the actions the USTR may recommend to the President based on such petition. Directs the USTR to include in the annual report to the Congress on foreign barriers to market access an analysis and assessment of the overall reciprocity accorded U.S. products, services, and investment by each of the major trading partners of the United States and the impact on major U.S. product sectors of the failure to provide reciprocity. Requires specified congressional committees, within 90 days of receiving such report, after consultation with the USTR and conducting public hearings, to issue a joint report on: (1) the priorities for negotiations regarding reducing or eliminating trade barriers; and (2) the committees' recommendations on actions to enforce U.S. trade rights. Directs the Secretary of Labor to pay to private firms 80 percent of the cost of providing job training if the training is certified as trade readjustment training and if the trainees are not charged for the training. Extends the job training, job search, and job relocation allowance provisions of the trade adjustment assistance programs through October 1, 1987. Amends the Trade Expansion Act of 1962 to set a one year deadline for the President to take action on the advice of the Secretary of Commerce on imports that are suspected of impairing national security. Amends the Tariff Act of 1930 to reduce the time limit for decisions by the International Trade Commission on allegations of unfair practices in import trade from one year (18 months in more complicated cases) to eight months (ten months in more complicated cases). Declares that the USTR should expedite the issuance of notices requesting the negotiation of periodic adjustments to the bilateral limitations on shipments of textiles and apparel contained in the Multi-Fiber Arrangement. Directs the Commissioner of Customs to: (1) increase the number of inspectors, import specialists, and customs patrol officers in the Customs Service by at least 800; (2) implement the Automated Commercial System at all ports of entry; and (3) implement a program for detecting, investigating, and prosecuting patent and copyright infringement cases. Requires the Commissioner to report quarterly to specified congressional committees on the operation and effect of the patent and copyright infringement program. Imposes a penalty for multiple customs law offenders who import or attempt to import merchandise during the three years following the date of the third of the offenders' convictions. Title II: Protection of Patents and Transfer of Technology - Part A: Protection of Patents - Amends the patent laws to make it an infringement of patent to use, sell, or import into the United States without authority a product produced by a patented process. Places the burden of proof upon the party asserting that a product was not produced with the patented process in an infringement action where the court finds a substantial likelihood that the product was so produced and the claimant has exhausted all means of discovery. Part B: Transfer of Technology - Federal Laboratory Technology Utilization Act of 1985 - Authorizes Federal agencies to permit their laboratories to enter into cooperative research and development arrangements with other Federal, State, and local agencies, universities, industrial organizations, or other persons including licensees of inventions owned by the Federal agency or general partners of research and development limited partnerships. Permits such laboratories to exchange funds, services, and property with collaborators, grant such collaborators patent licenses or assignments, waive Federal ownership of inventions made by a collaborator, and negotiate licensing agreements for federally owned inventions. Sets forth a formula for the distribution of royalties or other income received by such laboratories from the licensing of cooperatively produced inventions to Federal agency employee inventors, the laboratories themselves, and the Treasury. Requires affected Federal agencies to report annually to the appropriate congressional committees on the income from and distribution of royalties. Directs the Secretary of Commerce to provide procedures, training, and advice to Federal laboratories on recognizing the commercial potential of new technologies and inventions. Requires the Secretary to report biannually to the President and the Congress on Federal agency participation in this program. Makes it the policy of the Government to encourage the commercialization of inventions by Federal or former Federal employees made by them during their Federal employment and exempts such efforts from otherwise applicable violations. Permits such an employee to retain title to an invention (subject to retention by the Government of a nonexclusive license) unless the agency intends to file a patent application itself in order to promote commercialization. Sets forth other permissible conditions on such an inventor's title. Part C: Protection of Proprietary Information - Exempts commercial and financial information that is proprietary or sensitive from the sunshine provisions applied to Federal agencies if the proprietor is notified of the request for release of the information and given 60 days to present arguments on why the information should be exempt. Title III: Export Promotion - Amends the Bank Holding Company Act of 1956 to increase, from five percent to ten percent, the percentage of shares that: (1) a bank holding company may hold in an export trading company; and (2) an Edge Act corporation may hold in an export trading company from five to ten percent. Increases the amount of credit that a bank owning stock in a bank holding company with investments in an export trading company may extend to an export trading company. Amends the Export Trading Company Act of 1982 to direct the Board of Directors of the Export-Import Bank to try to insure that a "significant share" (currently a "major share") of any loan guarantees ultimately serves to promote exports from small, medium-size, and minority businesses or agricultural concerns. Requires the Board to report to the Congress on implementation of such requirement within one year of its effective date. Directs the Secretary of the Treasury to develop a program consisting of mixed credit financing for exports to compensate for the effects of subsidized financing by U.S. trading partners. Declares that the Export-Import Bank should expand its promotion programs for small- and medium-sized banks. Amends the Federal Reserve Act to give Edge Act corporations the same discount and borrowing privileges as Federal Reserve banks. Repeals the limitation on bank investments in Edge Act corporations. Directs the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System to require periodic reports from every corporation of the total amount of capital stocks and paid up surplus of the corporation, the name of any stockholder who holds more than ten percent of the shares of the stock of such corporation, and the share holdings of such stockholder. Directs the U.S. Executive Director of each of the multilateral development banks to promote procurement opportunities relating to the assistance provided by such banks in recipient countries for U.S. firms. Sets forth actions the Executive Directors should take with respect to such opportunities. Declares that the Secretary of Commerce should continue to assign one foreign commercial service officer to the office of the U.S. Executive Director of the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development. Directs the Secretary of Commerce to assign such an officer on a part-time basis to each of the offices of the U.S. Executive Director of the Inter-American Development Bank, the Asian Development Bank, and the African Development Bank. Requires the U.S. Ambassadors to those countries that are important trading partners of the United States to report annually to the President and to the Congress on their efforts to help U.S. industries in expanding export sales to, and improving their market positions in, such countries. Authorizes the seven Bell operating companies, effective September 1, 1986, to manufacture telecommunications equipment and customer premises equipment in the United States if specified conditions are met. Title IV: Foreign Corrupt Practices - Business Accounting and Foreign Trade Simplification Act - Changes the name of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act of 1977 (FCPA) to the Business Practices and Records Act. Amends the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 to require securities issuers to maintain an internal accounting system that provides reasonable assurance that specified accountability and accuracy goals are met. Prohibits imposing criminal liability for failing to maintain such an accounting system. Prohibits imposing civil injunctive relief with respect to: (1) an issuer who fails to maintain the required accounting system if the issuer tried in good faith to meet the requirements; or (2) any person other than an issuer in connection with an issuer's failure to comply with such requirements, unless such person knowingly caused the issuer to fail to comply. Prohibits anyone from knowingly circumventing such an accounting system for a purpose inconsistent with the accountability and accuracy goals of such system. Requires only good faith efforts at ensuring compliance by issuers who hold 50 percent or less of the equity of domestic or foreign firms. Transfers from the Securities and Exchange Commission to the Department of Justice jurisdiction to enforce the bribery prohibitions of the FCPA with respect to issuers. Revises the prohibition against domestic concerns using any means of interstate commerce to further payments to obtain business with a foreign official. States that such a payment made "directly or indirectly" to a foreign official is illegal. Prohibits such payments that are made to: (1) influence a foreign official's act or induce such an official to violate a legal duty; or (2) induce a foreign official to affect a foreign government's act. Prohibits domestic concerns from using interstate commerce to direct or authorize an agent to further such a payment to a foreign official. Exempts from such prohibitions: (1) payments to foreign officials to expedite or to secure the performance of routine governmental action; (2) payments to such officials that are lawful under the foreign country's laws; (3) payments which constitute tokens of regard or esteem; (4) expenditures associated with selling, purchasing, or demonstrating goods; or (5) ordinary expenditures associated with performing a contract with a foreign government. Revises the fines and criminal penalties for violations of such Act. Empowers the Attorney General to undertake all civil investigations necessary to enforce the Act. Prohibits prosecution of a domestic concern or specified agents of such concern for violating the Federal mail or wire fraud provisions by making a payment to a foreign official if the prosecution is based on the theory that the official, by receiving the payment, violated a duty to or defrauded the foreign government or the citizens of a foreign country. Authorizes the Attorney General to issue guidelines specifying: (1) permissible conduct associated with common types of export sales arrangements; and (2) precautionary procedures which would create a rebuttable presumption of compliance. Provides for the establishment of a Business Practices and Records Act Review Procedure to answer specific inquiries concerning enforcement of such Act. Requires the Attorney General to issue opinions regarding compliance. Makes such opinions final and binding on all parties if the opinion states that the conduct does not involve a violation. Directs the Attorney General to protect the confidentiality of materials submitted in the review procedure. Requires annual reports to the Congress by: (1) the Attorney General concerning actions taken pursuant to such Act; and (2) the Chairman of the Securities and Exchange Commission concerning the reporting requirements. Title V: Related Tax Provisions - High Technology Research and Scientific Education Act of 1985 - Part A: The Credit for Increasing Research Activities - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to make permanent the tax credit for research and development (R&D) expenditures. Modifies the definition of qualified research for purposes of the R&D credit to narrow the category of eligible activities for which the credit is allowable. Provides that in-house and contract research expenses paid or incurred by a regular corporation (not an S corporation, a personal holding company, or a service corporation) will constitute qualified research expenses for R&D credit purposes if the corporation undertakes the research with the intention to use the result thereof in the active conduct of a present or future trade or business. Provides that in the case of research being conducted in partnership form, research expenses will constitute qualified research expenses if they are incurred by the partnership in carrying on a trade or business as applied at the partnership level, and the credit is apportioned among the partners in accordance with general partnership rules. Provides exceptions to this general rule where: (1) there is a joint venture enterprise of regular corporations; or (2) not all of the members of the joint venture are regular corporations, but each member's own trade or business would satisfy the trade or business test with respect to the partnership's research expenditures. Provides that for these two exceptions the research expenses will flow through to the partners, with the trade or business test being applied at the partner level. Part B: Promotion of University Research and Scientific Investigation - Establishes a new income tax credit equal to 20 percent of that portion of a corporation's payments to universities (and other qualified non-profit tax-exempt organizations for basic research) which exceeds a fixed, historical "minimum university basic research" floor. Defines the "minimum university basic research" floor as one percent of the annual average of the corporate taxpayer's combined qualified in-house research expenses, contract research expenses, and university basic research payments for the base period composed of the period from 1981 through 1983. Provides that the amounts of research expenses which fall below the floor shall remain eligible for the present R&D credit and are included in the corporation's base period for purposes of calculating the present R&D credit. Treats the amounts which exceed the "minimum university basic research" floor as ineligible for the present R&D credit and excludes such amounts from the corporate taxpayer's base year research expenses for purposes of calculating the corporation's R&D credit under present law. Provides that a corporation's payments to universities for basic research that is eligible for the new tax credit shall be reduced to the extent that the corporation's general (i.e., not designated for research purposes) charitable giving to all universities falls below historical levels (the annual average of undesignated payments for three of the immediately preceding four years as selected by the taxpayer). Makes additions to the list of organizations to which corporate payments for basic research may be made and be eligible for the tax credit. Allows a corporation an income tax deduction for contributions of scientific or technical property to an institution of higher education. Defines scientific property to mean tangible personal property (including computer software) used in a trade or business, which is donated for the direct education of students or faculty, for research and experimentation, or for research training in the United States in mathematics, the physical, biological, or chemical sciences, engineering, or advanced computer sciences. Sets forth a formula for determining the amount of the allowable deduction for contributions of scientific property. Provides for an income tax exclusion for the scholarships, fellowship grants, student loan forgiveness, or stipends of a graduate student in mathematics, engineering, computer science, or the physical or biological sciences. Provides that such tax exclusion is not forfeited merely because the student is required, as a condition of the scholarship or fellowship, to perform future service in teaching or research.
United States · United States Congress · 7 October 1985
Fair Export Financing Act of 1985 - Amends the Trade and Development Enhancement Act of 1983 to declare that one of the purposes of such Act is to establish a temporary tied aid credit program to combat the predatory concessional credit programs of foreign governments. Directs the President to negotiate limits on partially untied aid credit. Changes the U.S. negotiating objectives to include references to partially untied aid credits. Directs the Secretary of the Treasury to establish within the Department of the Treasury a program of tied aid credits for U.S. exports. Requires the program to be carried out in cooperation with the Export-Import Bank or with private financial institutions or entities. (Currently the program is established within the Export-Import Bank and carried out in cooperation with the Agency for International Development (AID).) Sets forth financing methods that may be included in such program. Authorizes appropriations. Repeals the provision that established a tied aid credit program in AID. Requires the Secretary to seek the advice of the National Advisory Council on International Monetary and Financial Policies before approving financing under the tied aid credit program. Terminates the tied aid credit program on September 30, 1987. Limits judicial review of actions by the Chairman of the Export-Import Bank and by the Secretary. Changes the definition of "tied aid credit." Defines "partially untied aid credit." Deletes references to government-mixed credits and public-private cofinancing.