United States · United States Congress · 30 January 1985
Expresses the sense of the Congress that Ethiopia: (1) should be condemned for failing to ameliorate its drought and famine conditions; (2) allocate more of its resources toward the development of its agrarian system; (3) support its human rights monitoring groups; and (4) initiate a policy of national reconciliation. States that continued human rights improvement in Ethiopia would better relations with the United States.
United States · United States Congress · 28 January 1985
Biennial Budgeting Act of 1985 - Amends the Congressional Budget Act of 1974 to establish a two-year cycle for the presidential and congressional budget process. Requires each standing committee of Congress to review the laws and programs under its jurisdiction every other year and to consider the desirability of new legislation in such areas. Eliminates provisions requiring a second concurrent resolution on the budget. Permits revisions only in new spending authority, revenues, and the public debt limit through the reconciliation process.
United States · United States Congress · 24 January 1985
Designates the U.S. Post Office Building, Flushing, New York, as the Benjamin S. Rosenthal Post Office Building. Requires the Postmaster General to install an appropriate plaque indicating such designation.
United States · United States Congress · 24 January 1985
Civil Rights Restoration Act of 1985 - Amends the Education Amendments of 1972, the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, the Age Discrimination Act of 1975, and the Civil Rights Act of 1964 to provide a definition of the phrase "program or activity." Defines such term as all of the operations of: (1) a department or agency of a State or of a local government; (2) the entity of such State or local government that distributes Federal assistance and each such department or agency to which the assistance is extended; (3) a university or a system of higher education; (4) a local educational agency or other school system; (5) a corporation, partnership, or other private organization; or (6) any other entity consistent with the coverage provided above.
United States · United States Congress · 24 January 1985
Federal Food Irradiation Development and Control Act of 1985 - Amends the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act to delete "sources of radiation" from the definition of "food additive". Defines "food irradiation treatment" as a food process. Applies specified food additive regulatory provisions to food irradiation treatments. Declares it to be the express intent of the Congress to require national uniformity in the regulation of food irradiation treatment. Prohibits States or their political subdivisions from establishing food irradiation requirements different from, or in addition to, Federal requirements. Amends the Atomic Energy Act of 1954 to state that the Department of Energy may lease at fair market rates nuclear byproduct material for commercial food irradiation purposes. Establishes within the Department of Agriculture the Joint Operating Commission for Food Irradiation Treatment. Includes within such Commission's functions: (1) research and information exchange coordination; (2) encouragement of private enterprise in the development of food irradiation treatment; and (3) an annual report to the Congress. Authorizes appropriations.
United States · United States Congress · 24 January 1985
Congressional and Judicial Equal Employment Opportunity Act of 1985 - Amends the Civil Rights Act of 1964 to require that personnel actions affecting employees or applicants in the legislative and judicial branches of the Government be free from any discrimination based on race, color, national origin, religion, sex, handicap, or age. Allows Members of Congress to take into consideration an individual's domicile and political affiliation. Establishes within the judicial branch an Employment Review Board. Provides that members of the board be appointed from the retired judges of the Supreme Court and Courts of Appeals. Authorizes an aggrieved individual to file a written complaint with the Board. Establishes procedures for the Board to investigate, settle, hear, and determine the claims alleged. Provides that if a violation is found an order for relief may compel the defendant to: (1) employ or reinstate such individual on such terms and conditions as may be appropriate; (2) pay compensatory damages; (3) pay punitive damages; and (4) pay fees and allowances of witnesses and reasonable attorneys' fees. Authorizes the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit to review, enjoin, set aside, suspend, modify, or enforce orders of the Board. Requires members of the Board to submit written reports to the Committee on Standards of Official Conduct of the House of Representatives and the Senate Select Committee on Ethics describing complaints during the reporting period involved.
United States · United States Congress · 22 January 1985
Fair Voting Hours Act of 1985 - Provides for uniform voting hours (between 8 o'clock a.m., eastern standard time and 11 o'clock p.m., eastern standard time) for presidential general elections beginning in 1988.
United States · United States Congress · 22 January 1985
Antibiotic Protection Act of 1985 - Prohibits: (1) any antibiotic drug certified for human use from being added in sub-therapeutic doses to animal feed or to feed ingredients; and (2) antibiotic drugs or agents not certified for human use from being so used in animal feed unless such drugs have been demonstrated not to increase antibiotic-resistant bacteria in humans or animals.
United States · United States Congress · 22 January 1985
Makes supplemental appropriations for African famine relief programs for FY 1985 to: (1) the Department of Agriculture for Public Law 480; (2) the Agency for International Development for specified agriculture, rural development, and nutrition programs, for international disaster assistance, and for operating expenses; and (3) the Department of State for migration and refugee assistance.
United States · United States Congress · 7 January 1985
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 · 3 January 1985
National Observance Advisory Act - Establishes the President's Advisory Commission on National Observances to establish criteria for recommending to the President that a proposed national observance be approved or disapproved.
United States · United States Congress · 3 January 1985
Civil Liberties Act of 1985 - Title I: Recognition of Injustice and an Apology on Behalf of the Nation - States that the Congress recognizes that a grave injustice was done to both citizens and resident aliens of Japanese ancestry by the evacuation, relocation, and internment of civilians during World War II. Title II: United States Citizens of Japanese Ancestry and Resident Japanese Aliens - Requests the President to offer pardons of those convicted of violating laws during the internment period whose violation was based on a refusal to accept racially discriminatory treatment. Provides that Federal departments and agencies that review applications for restitution of positions, status, or entitlement lost during the internment period shall review such applications giving full consideration to the findings of the Commission on Wartime Relocation and Internment of Civilians. Establishes within the Treasury a Civil Liberties Public Education Fund. Authorizes appropriations for the Fund. Requires the Attorney General to pay $20,000 from the Fund to each surviving internee. Establishes a Board of Directors which shall be responsible for making disbursement from the Fund. Provides that disbursement from the Fund shall be used to: (1) sponsor research and public educational activities dealing with the internment; (2) fund studies of similar civil liberties abuses; (3) prepare and distribute hearings and findings of the Commission; and (4) promote the general welfare of the ethnic Japanese community in the United States. Title III: Aleutian and Pribilof Islands Restitution - Aleutian and Pribilof Islands Restitution Act - Establishes within the Treasury the Aleutian and Pribilof Islands Restitution Fund. Directs the Administrator of the Fund (the Aleutian/Pribilof Islands Association) to make restitution for certain Aleut losses sustained in World War II. Requires the Administrator to establish a trust of $5,000,000 and to distribute the interest of such trust for: (1) the benefit of the elderly, disabled, or seriously ill; (2) students in need of scholarship assistance; (3) preservation of Aleut cultural heritage and historical records; (4) the improvement of community centers of affected Aleut villages; and (5) other purposes to improve Aleut life. Authorizes the Administrator to rebuild and restore churches and church property damaged or destroyed in Aleut villages during World War II. Requires the Secretary of the Treasury to make payments of $12,000 from the fund to each eligible Aleut for any uncompensated personal property loss. Authorizes the Secretary of the Army to implement a program for the removal and disposal of live ammunition, obsolete buildings, abandoned machinery, and other hazardous debris remaining in populated areas of the lower Alaska Peninsula and the Aleutian Islands. Authorizes the Secretary of the Interior to convey to the Aleut Corporation all right, title, and interest of the United States in Attu Island, Alaska. Authorizes appropriations. Title IV: Miscellaneous Provisions - Provides that all documents, personal testimony, and other material collected by the Commission on Wartime Relocation and Internment of Civilians shall be deposited in the National Archives of the United States.
United States · United States Congress · 3 January 1985
Amends the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act to require that any attorney who collects debts on behalf of a client be subject to the provisions of such Act.
United States · United States Congress · 3 January 1985
Amends title VII (Equal Employment Opportunity) of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 to make it an unlawful employment practice to discriminate against any individual who is physically or mentally handicapped.
United States · United States Congress · 3 January 1985
Biennial Budgeting Act of 1985 - Amends the Congressional Budget Act of 1974 to establish a two-year cycle for the presidential and congressional budget process. Requires each standing committee of the Congress to review the laws and programs under its jurisdiction every other year and to consider the desirability of new legislation in such areas. Eliminates provisions requiring a second concurrent resolution on the budget. Permits revisions only in new spending authority, revenues, and the public debt limit through the reconciliation process.
United States · United States Congress · 3 January 1985
Federal Constitution Convention Amendment Act - Sets forth procedures for holding constitutional conventions for proposing amendments to the Constitution. Requires that both Houses of the Congress agree to a concurrent resolution calling for a convention whenever they determine that at least two-thirds of the States have submitted valid applications for the calling of a constitutional convention upon the same subject. Entitles each State to the same number of delegates at such convention as it has Senators and Representatives in the Congress, with one delegate elected from each congressional district and two at large. Authorizes the convention to propose constitutional amendments by a two-thirds vote of the total number of delegates. Provides that an amendment shall become valid when ratified by three-fourths of the States. Permits a State to rescind its ratification.
United States · United States Congress · 3 January 1985
Sex Discrimination in the United States Code Reform Act of 1985 - Title I: Armed Forces, Soldiers' Home, Coast Guard, Lighthouse Service, and Merchant Marine - Amends Federal laws dealing with the Army, the Navy, the Air Force, and the Coast Guard to eliminate gender-based distinctions. Title II: Elimination of Gender-Based Distinctions Under the Social Security Act and the Railroad Retirement Act - Eliminates gender-based distinctions in the social security and railroad retirement programs. Title III: Amendments to United States Code - Amends the Immigration and Nationality Act, the Walsh-Healey Act, the Child Nutrition Act of 1966, the Federal criminal code and other Acts (dealing with Indian affairs, transportation, public lands, Saint Elizabeths Hospital, contract law, the U.S. Coast Guard, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, longshoremen and harbor workers, conservation programs, internee benefits, and the spouses of former presidents, among other subjects) to eliminate gender-based distinctions. Title IV: Effective Date - Sets forth the effective date for the provisions of this Act.
United States · United States Congress · 3 January 1985
Civil Rights Amendments Act of 1985 - Amends the Civil Rights Act of 1964 to prohibit discrimination on the basis of affectional or sexual orientation. Provides that this Act shall not be construed to permit a finding of discrimination based on statistical differences or the fashioning of any remedy requiring a quota.
United States · United States Congress · 3 January 1985
Electric Consumers Protection Act of 1985 - Amends the Federal Power Act to require the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission to issue a new license to an existing licensee for a hydroelectric project authorized under such Act if the United States does not, upon the expiration of the existing license, exercise its right to take over, maintain, and operate such licensee's project, unless the Commission determines that such licensee's project will not meet the licensing standards under such Act. Provides that if the Commission determines that such licensee's project does not meet such standards, the Commission is authorized to issue a new license to a new licensee which may cover the existing licensee's project provided that the new licensee pays just compensation determined by the Commission and enters into any contracts required under the Federal Power Act. (Under current law, the Commission is authorized to issue a new license to the original licensee or a new license to a new licensee if the United States does not exercise its rights with respect to an expired license.)
United States · United States Congress · 3 January 1985
Olmsted Heritage Landscapes Act of 1985 - Requires the Secretary of the Interior, acting through the Director of the National Park Service, to prepare a State-by-State inventory of Olmsted heritage landscapes. Provides that all properties on the inventory shall be part of an Olmsted heritage landscape system. Requires periodic updating of the inventory. Directs the Secretary to: (1) promulgate general standards for preservation of historic landscapes; (2) provide technical assistance to Federal agencies, State and local governments, private organizations, and other interested individuals on the identification, commemoration, and preservation of Olmsted heritage landscapes; (3) conduct and submit to the Congress a thematic study of historic landscapes to identify those landscapes which would qualify as national historic landscapes; (4) encourage a program for the use of the Frederick Law Olmsted National Historic Site in Massachusetts as a center for research and establish an advisory committee for the site; and (5) encourage appropriate international activities related to the Olmsted heritage landscapes. Requires the Secretary to provide for the coordination of applications for grants for the preservation of Olmsted heritage landscapes. Requires the Secretary to encourage maximum public participation in carrying out the purposes of this Act. Requires the Secretary to conduct appropriate activities during the decade of 1985 to 1995 to commemorate the Olmsted achievements and influence on American life. Establishes the Advisory Committee on Olmsted Heritage Landscapes, which shall assist the Advisory Council on Historic Preservation in carrying out those of its duties under the National Historic Preservation Act that relate to Olmsted heritage landscapes. Terminates such Committee after December 31, 1995. Authorizes appropriations.
United States · United States Congress · 3 January 1985
Law Enforcement Officers Protection Act of 1985 - Amends the Federal criminal code to define "armor piercing ammunition." Excludes from the definition: (1) shotgun shot composed in order to comply with Federal or State law; (2) frangible projectiles for target shooting; (3) ammunition containing frangible projectiles; and (4) any ammunition or projectiles which the Secretary of the Treasury determines are primarily intended for sporting purposes. Makes it unlawful for any person to manufacture or import armor piercing ammunition. Allows: (1) the manufacture or importation of armor piercing ammunition for the use of the United States or any State or local government; (2) manufacture for the sole purpose of exportation; or (3) manufacture or importation for the purposes of testing and experimentation authorized by the Secretary. Establishes a licensing fee of $1,000 per year for manufacturers and importers of armor piercing ammunition. Authorizes the Secretary to revoke a license from a dealer for violating this Act.
United States · United States Congress · 3 January 1985
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 · 3 January 1985
Constitutional Amendment - Allows the President an item veto of appropriations bills. Requires the President, in signing such a bill, to designate the provisions disapproved and return the bill to the House in which it originated. Subjects such bills to the same proceedings as other bills disapproved by the President.
United States · United States Congress · 3 January 1985
Constitutional Amendment - Requires the Congress, prior to each fiscal year, to adopt a statement of receipts and outlays for that year in which total outlays are not greater than total receipts. Permits the Congress in such statement to provide for a specific excess of outlays over receipts by a three-fifths vote directed solely to that subject. Requires the President and the Congress to ensure that actual outlays do not exceed the outlays set forth in such statement. Prohibits total receipts for any fiscal year set forth in such statement from increasing by a rate greater than the rate of increase in national income in the last calendar year ending before such fiscal year, unless the Congress passes by a three-fifths vote a bill directed solely to approving specific additional receipts and such bill has become law. Requires the President, prior to each fiscal year, to transmit to the Congress a proposed statement of receipts and outlays for that year consistent with the provisions of this article. Permits the Congress to waive the provisions of this Act with respect to any fiscal year in which a declaration of war is in effect. Declares that total receipts shall include all receipts of the United States, except those derived from borrowing and total outlays shall include all outlays of the United States except those for repayment of debt principal.
United States · United States Congress · 3 January 1985
Constitutional Amendment - Provides for the appointment of electors to represent the insular areas constituting the Virgin Islands, American Samoa, Guam, and the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands.
United States · United States Congress · 3 January 1985
Constitutional Amendment - Declares that equality of rights under the law shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or any State on account of sex.
United States · United States Congress · 3 January 1985
Establishes the Joint Committee on Intelligence. Declares that such committee has exclusive legislative jurisdiction with respect to any intelligence activity of the Federal Government and authorizations for appropriations for specified agencies and intelligence-related activities. Directs the joint committee to classify its information and records and to establish guidelines for their maintenance, use, and availability. Sets forth procedures for the disclosure of such information. Directs the joint committee to establish and carry out rules and procedures necessary to prevent the unauthorized disclosure of information. Makes conforming amendments to the Rules of the House of Representatives, including abolishing the Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence, and the National Security Act of 1947.
United States · United States Congress · 3 January 1985
Establishes in the House of Representatives the Select Committee on Hunger to conduct a continuing comprehensive study of the problems of hunger and malnutrition. Requires an annual report from such committee, including a summary of its activities.
United States · United States Congress · 3 January 1985
Establishes in the House of Representatives the Select Committee on Children, Youth, and Families to conduct a comprehensive study and review of the problems of children, youth, and families.
United States · United States Congress · 3 January 1985
Requires each House of Representatives committee (except the Committee on Standards of Official Conduct) and subcommittee to be constituted in a ratio proportionate to the membership of the two political parties in the House. Requires, where practicable, the committee staffs to reflect such ratio.
United States · United States Congress · 3 January 1985
Congressional Regulatory Oversight Improvements Resolution of 1985 - Title I: Establishment and Responsibilities of Joint Committee - Establishes the Joint Committee on Regulatory Affairs to monitor on a continuing basis the rulemaking activities of Federal agencies. Authorizes the joint committee to investigate agency rules on its own initiative or at the request of a Member of either House. Expresses the sense of the Congress that agencies should cooperate with any investigation. Title II: Regulatory Oversight and Review - Authorizes the joint committee to report identical concurrent resolutions disapproving an agency rule on one or more specified grounds, accompanied by a report specifying the basis for disapproval. Sets forth rules of procedure for consideration of the resolution. Prohibits, after adoption of such resolution, either House from considering legislation making or continuing appropriations for the agency in question. Authorizes the joint committee, after adoption of such resolution, to report joint resolutions requiring the agency in question to revise, repeal, or not promulgate the pertinent rule. Title III: Administrative Provisions - Requires the joint committee to adopt rules of procedure consistent, where practicable, with the rules of each House. Expresses the sense of the Congress that the committee should utilize a consolidated, nonpartisan staff. Requires the joint committee to report as soon as practicable in the 100th Congress on its activities during the preceding Congress and make recommendations necessary to improve the functions of such committee. Directs the Postmaster of the House of Representatives to operate a regulatory library to provide reference material relating to administrative law and regulatory affairs.
![Official portrait of Rep. Miller, John R. [R-WA-1]](https://www.congress.gov/img/member/m000736_200.jpg)