United States · United States Congress · 22 February 1973
Provides that, beginning one year after enactment of this Act, no law enforcement grants under the Omnibus Crime Control and Safe Streets Act of 1968 will be made to State and local governments unless these units of government have instituted a law enforcement officer's grievance system and have enacted into law a "Law Enforcement Officers' Bill of Rights" which will cover all law enforcement officers in the States. Declares that this Bill of Rights shall provide law enforcement officers statutory protection for certain rights enjoyed by other citizens. Requires the bill of rights to provide, at a minimum, the following: (1) law enforcement officers shall not be prohibited from engaging in political activity, except when on duty or acting in an official capacity; (2) when an officer is subject to an investigation that could lead to disciplinary action or criminal charges: (a) the investigation shall be conducted at a reasonable hour, preferably while the officer is on duty, (b) the investigation shall occur at the office of the investigating officer or at the precinct where the incident occurred, (c) there shall be one interrogator asking all questions to the officer and the names of all investigating officers shall be known by him, (d) the officer shall know the nature of the investigation and the names of complainants, (e) all civilian complaints must be duly sworn to before an official authorized to administer oaths, (f) interrogating sessions shall be of reasonable length, (g) the officer under investigation shall not be subject to abuse or threats, (h) all interrogations shall be recorded, (i) if the officer is to be placed under arrest, he shall be fully informed of his rights before interrogation, and (j) the officer shall have a right to counsel who shall be present during any interrogations dealing with the officer's continued fitness for law enforcement service; (3) citizen review boards having porportionate police representation; (r) law enforcement officers shall have recourse to civil actions for damages suffered or for abridgement of their civil rights arising out of the performance of official duties; (5) financial disclosures shall not be required unless obtained under legal procedures or there is evidence of a conflict of interests; (6) notice of and reasons for all disciplinary action is required; and (7) no officer shall be disciplined or discriminated against in any way by reason of his exercise of these rights. Establishes in each State and unit of local government a law enforcement officers grievance commission composed of an equal number of governmental representatives, law enforcement officers, and members of the general public which shall have the authority to receive, investigate, and determine complaints and grievances arising from claimed infringement of rights of any law enforcement officer. Allows employee organizations to act on the officer's behalf, at his request, regarding any complaint before the commission. Permits certified employee organizations to initiate actions on behalf of their members. Provides that, in addition to this grievance procedure, law enforcement officers may institute a civil action for redress of the grievances.
United States · United States Congress · 7 February 1973
Provides for the annual authorization of appropriations to the United States Postal Service. Requires such Service to keep the Senate and House Committees on Post Office and Civil Service fully and currently informed with respect to all activities and responsibilities within the jurisdiction of such committees.
United States · United States Congress · 7 February 1973
Act for Freedom of Emigration in East-West Trade - States that after October 15, 1972, products from any nonmarket economy country shall not be eligible to receive most-favored-nation treatment, such country shall not participate in any program of the Government of the United States which extends credits or credit guarantees or investment guarantees, directly or indirectly, and the President of the United States shall not conclude any commercial agreement with any such country during the period beginning with the date on which the President determines that such country: (1) denies its citizens the right or opportunity to emigrate; (2) imposes more than a nominal tax on emigration or on the visas or other documents required for emigration, for any purpose or cause whatsoever; or (3) imposes more than a nominal tax, levy, fine, fee, or other charge on any citizen as a consequence of the desire of such citizen to emigrate to the country of his choice. Provides that, before any of the aforementioned commercial agreements are entered into with any foreign country, the President shall submit to the Congress a report indicating that such country is not in violation of any of the requirements of the preceding paragraph.
United States · United States Congress · 31 January 1973
States that, during the period beginning with the date of enactment of this Act and ending June 30, 1973, the rentals and carrying charges for accommodations shall not exceed the levels of such rentals and carrying charges on January 1, 1973. Directs the President to take such action as may be necessary to regulate or restrict such rentals and carrying charges in accordance with this Act. Authorizes any aggrieved person or class of persons to commence a civil action against any person or entity, including officers or agencies of the Federal, State, or local governments, who is alleged to have violated this Act. Grants the district courts of the United States jurisdiction, without regard to the amount in controversy or the citizenship of the parties, to require compliance with this subsection or to order the performance of any non-discretionary act or duty under this Act. Stipulates that no such action may be commenced with regard to any housing accommodations if the President has commenced and is diligently prosecuting a civil action in a court of the United States to require compliance with this Act with regard to such housing accommodation, but in any such action, any person aggrieved may intervene as a matter of right. Provides that any owner or operator of housing accommodations for which the rental or carrying charges which may be charged are affected by this Act may apply to the President for an exception on the basis of increased capital or operating costs. (Amends 12 U.S.C. 1904nt.)
United States · United States Congress · 29 January 1973
Comprehensive Older Americans Services Amendments - Title I: Declaration of Objectives - States that the general purpose of this Act is to make available comprehensive health, education, and social service programs to our older citizens. Title II: Administration on Aging - Establishes in the office of the Secretary of Health, Education, and Welfare, an Administration on Aging to carry out this Act. Declares that the Commissioner on Aging shall be the principal officer of the Administration. Establishes within the Administration on Aging a National Information and Resource Clearing House for the Aging to collect, review, operate, publish, and disseminate information and data related to the particular problems caused by aging, including information describing measures which are or may be employed for meeting such problems. Establishes the Federal Council on the Aging to advise and assist the President as he may direct on matters relating to the special needs of Older Americans: to assist the Commissioner on Aging in carrying out his functions under this Act; to review and evaluate programs of the Federal Government; and to make recommendations to the President, the Secretary of Health, Education, and Welfare, the Commissioner, and Congress on policies and programs for the aged. Provides that, not later than one hundred and twenty days after the close of each fiscal year, the Commissioner shall prepare and submit to the President for transmittal to the Congress a complete report on the activities carried out under this Act. Title III: Grants for State and Community Programs on Aging - Prescribes standards and procedures for the establishment by the several States of State and area social service programs to concentrate resources in order to develop a greater capacity and foster development or comprehensive systems to serve older persons, to include services designed to assist older Americans in avoiding institutionalization. Authorizes appropriations totalling $600,000,000 for such programs for fiscal years 1973, 1974, and 1975. Provides that the Commissioner shall not finally disapprove any State plan, or any modification thereof, without first affording the State reasonable notice and opportunity for a hearing. Title IV: Training and Research - Directs the Commissioner to make grants to State agencies and educational institutions for the purpose of: (1) publicizing available opportunities for careers in the field of aging; (2) encouraging qualified persons to enter or re-enter the field of aging; (3) encouraging persons from other professions to undertake assignments on a parttime bais in the field of aging; and (4) assisting in covering the cost of courses of training or study. Authorizes the Commissioner to conduct a study of the transportation problems of older Americans, with emphasis upon solutions that are practicable and can be implemented in a timely fashion. Authorizes the appropriation of $7,500,000 for fiscal year 1973, $15,000,000 for fiscal year 1974, and $20,000,000 for fiscal year 1975 for purposes of such transportation studies and demonstration projects. Authorizes the Commissioner to make grants for the purpose of: (1) establishing multidisciplinary centers of gerontology to recruit and train personnel; (2) conducting basic research on the problem of the aged; (3) providing consultation to public and voluntary organizations; and (4) creating opportunities for research projects with respect to aging. Authorizes appropriations of $15,000,000 for fiscal year 1973, $20,000,000 for fiscal year 1974, and $25,000,000 for fiscal year 1975, for the purposes of attracting personnel to, and training personnel in, the field of aging; and for research and development projects. Authorizes appropriations for $20,000,000 for the fiscal year 1973, $30,000,000 for fiscal year 1974, and $40,000,000 for fiscal year 1975, for establishing multidisciplinary centers of gerontology. Title V: Multipurpose Senior Centers - Authorizes the Commissioner to make grants to units of general purpose local government or other public or nonprofit private agencies to pay not to exceed 75 percent of the cost of leasing, altering, or renovating existing facilities to serve as multipurpose senior centers. Establishes standards to be followed by the Commissioner in making such grants and authorizes appropriations of $35,000,000 annually for fiscal years 1973-1975 to carry out the provisions of this section. Creates a Multipurpose Senior Center Insurance Fund to be administered by the Secretary of Health, Education, and Welfare to insure mortgages on multipurpose senior centers. Authorizes appropriations of $10,000,000 for fiscal year 1973, and for each of the next two succeeding fiscal years for the purpose of making grants to meet the costs of compensation of professional and technical personnel for the initial operation of multipurpose senior centers. Title VI: National Older Americans Volunteer Program - Provides that no compensation paid to individual volunteers under the Retired Senior Volunteer Program under the Older Americans Act shall be considered income for any purposes. Authorizes appropriations for such program in the amount of $20,000,000 for fiscal year 1973, $30,000,000 for fiscal year 1974, and $40,000,000 for fiscal year 1975. Authorizes appropriations of $35,000,000 for fiscal year 1973, $45,000,000 for fiscal year 1974, and $55,000,000 for fiscal year 1975, for the continuation of the Foster Grandparent Program under the Older Americans Act. Title VII: Nutrition Programs - Provides, under the Older Americans Act of 1965, that the Secretary of Agriculture and the Commodity Credit Corporation may donate specified products acquired by them to a recipient of a grant or contract for providing nutritional services for the elderly. Title VIII: Amendments to Other Acts - Authorizes the Commissioner to make grants to States which have submitted a long-range program and an annual program for library services for older persons. Authorizes the Commissioner to make grants to institutions in planning, developing, and carrying out programs specifically designed to apply the resources of higher education to the problems of the elderly. Directs the Commissioner to make grants to State and local educational agencies or other public or private nonprofit agencies for educational programs for elderly persons whose ability to speak and read the English language is limited and who live in an area with a culture different from their own. Title IX: Community Service Employment for Older Americans - Older Americans Community Service Employment Act - Authorizes the Secretary of Labor to establish an older American community service program in order to promote useful part-time work opportunities in community service activities for unemployed low-income persons 55 years old or older who have poor employment prospects. Makes provisions for allotment of funds to State, local, and private organizations to further the purposes of the program. Authorizes appropriations of $100,000,000 for fiscal year 1973 and $150,000,000 for fiscal year 1974 to carry out this title. Title X: Middle-Aged and Older Workers Training - Middle-Aged and Older Workers Training Act - Authorizes the Secretary of Labor, through the Manpower Administration, to make loans and grants for manpower training, including on-the-job, institutional, residential, and other training, designed to upgrade the work skills and capabilities of middle-aged and older persons. Authorizes the Secretary to make such studies, rules and provisions as necessary to carry out this title. Authorizes the Secretary to carry out this title in fiscal year 1973 from funds otherwise available for similar programs. Authorizes appropriations in fiscal year 1974 of $100,000,000 for the purposes of this title.
United States · United States Congress · 24 January 1973
Congressional Spending Power Act - Prohibits the President from impounding any funds appropriated by law unless he transmits to both the House of Representatives and the Senate a special message specifying: the amount of funds to be impounded; the specific projects affected thereby; and the reason for the impounding of such funds. Requires the Congress to approve or consider the specific impounding of funds within sixty calendar days of continuous session after the special message is received by the Congress or the impounding of funds shall be deemed to have been refused. Specifies procedures for the consideration by the Congress of the President's special message.
United States · United States Congress · 23 January 1973
Urban Mass Transportation Assistance Act - Authorizes the Secretary of Transportation, under the Urban Mass Transportation Act, to make grants or loans to assist States and local public bodies and agencies thereof in the payment of operating expenses incurred in connection with the provision of mass transportation service in urban areas. Requires a State or public body or agency to submit a comprehensive mass transportation service improvement plan to qualify for such assistance. Authorizes to be appropriated for such grants $400,000,000 for each of the fiscal years 1974 and 1975. Increases to 80 percent the Federal share of projects other than projects for the paying of operating expenses. Increases to $6,100,000,000 the obligations the Secretary may incur to finance urban mass transportation projects under the Act. Authorizes the Secretary to make grants and loans under the Act to private nonprofit corporations and associations for the specific purpose of assisting them in providing transportation services meeting the special needs of elderly and handicapped persons for whom mass transportation services, planned, designed, and carried out under the Act are unavailable, insufficient, or inappropriate. Provides that no financial assistance shall be provided under the Act to any State or local public body or agency thereof which engages directly or indirectly in the transporting of schoolchildren and school personnel to and from school and school-authorized functions, or proposes to expand present routes, schedules, service, or facilities for the purpose of providing transportation for schoolchildren and school personnel to and from school and school-authorized functions, in competition with or supplementary to the service currently provided by a private transportation company, or other person, engaged in so transporting such schoolchildren and school personnel.
United States · United States Congress · 23 January 1973
Rehabilitation Act - Declares that it is the purpose of this Act to provide a statutory basis for the Rehabilitation Service Administration and to establish within the Department of Health, Education and Welfare an Office for the Handicapped, and to authorize specified programs. Establishes within the Department of Health, Education, and Welfare a Rehabilitation Services Administration which shall be administered by a Commissioner. Provides that the Commissioner shall carry out and administer all programs and direct the performance of all services for which authority is provided to the Secretary of H.E.W. under titles I through IV of this Act. Creates within such administration a Division of Research, Training and Evaluation which shall be responsible for carrying out programs and projects under title IV of this Act. Authorizes the inclusion of appropriations under this Act in appropriations for the fiscal year preceding the fiscal year for which they are available for obligation. Provides that where funds are provided for a single project by more than one Federal agency to an agency or organization assisted under this Act, the Federal agency principally involved may be designated to act for all in administering such funds, pursuant to regulations prescribed by the President. Sets forth definitions of terms used in this Act. Title I: Vocational Rehabilitation Services - States it to be the purpose of this title to authorize grants to assist States to meet the current and future needs of handicapped individuals, so that such individuals may prepare for and engage in gainful employment to the extent of their capabilities. Authorizes to be appropriated $800,000,000 for fiscal year 1973, and $975,000,000 for fiscal year 1974 for the purpose of making grants to States to assist them in meeting the costs of vocational rehabilitation services. Authorizes to be appropriated $50,000,000 for fiscal year 1973, $60,000,000 for fiscal year 1974, and $75,000,000 for fiscal year 1975, for the purpose of making grants to States and public and nonprofit agencies to assist them in meeting the costs of projects to initiate or expand services to handicapped individuals. Sets forth the requirements of State plans to be submitted and approved for participation in programs under this title and under title II of this Act. Authorizes judicial review in United States district courts of decisions by the Commissioner of the Rehabilitation Services Administration affecting State plans. Provides that the Commissioner shall insure that the individualized written rehabilitation program required in a State plan in the case of each handicapped individual shall be developed jointly by the vocational rehabilitation counselor or coordinator and the handicapped individual. Defines vocational rehabilitation services provided under this Act as any goods or services necessary to render a handicapped individual employable, including, but not limited to, the following: (1) evaluation of rehabilitation potential; (2) counseling, guidance, referral, and placement services for handicapped individuals; (3) vocational and other training services for handicapped individuals; (4) physical and mental restoration services; (5) maintenance, not exceeding the estimated cost of subsistence, during rehabilitation; (6) interpreter services for the deaf, and reader services for the blind; (7) recruitment and training services for handicapped individuals; (8) rehabilitation teaching services and orientation and mobility services for the blind; (9) occupational licenses, tools, equipment, and initial stocks and supplies; (10) transportation in connection with the rendering of any vocational rehabilitation services; and (11) telecommunications, sensory, and other technological aids and devices. Provides a formula for the allotment and payment of funds to States for providing rehabilitation services under this title. Directs the Commissioner to establish offices in ten to twenty geographically dispersed regions for client assistance pilot projects to provide counselors to inform and advise all clients and client applicants in the project area of all available benefits under this Act and to assist them in their relationships with projects, programs, and facilities providing services to them under this Act. Directs the Commissioner to pay to a State or, at the option of the State, to a public or nonprofit organization or agency a portion of the cost of planning, preparing for, and initiating special programs under the State plan to expand vocational rehabilitation services. Title II: Comprehensive Rehabilitation Services - States it to be the purpose of this title to authorize grants to assist the several States in developing and implementing continuing plans for meeting the current and future needs of handicapped individuals for whom a vocational goal is not possible or feasible authorizes to be appropriated $30,000,000 for fiscal year 1973, $50,000,000 for fiscal year 1974, and $80,000,000 for fiscal year 1975 for grants to carry out the purposes of this title. Specifies the formula to be utilized in alloting such funds to the States. Directs the Commissioner to make grants to States and public and nonprofit agencies or organizations to pay part of the cost of projects for research and demonstration and training which hold promise of making a substantial contribution to the solution of problems related to the rehabilitation of individuals under this title. Title III: Special Federal Responsibilities Authorizes the Commissioner to make grants and contracts to assist in meeting the costs of construction of public or nonprofit rehabilitation facilities, initial staffing, and planning assistance. Authorizes to be appropriated for such grants and contracts $35,000,000 for fiscal year 1973, $40,000,000 for fiscal year 1974, and $45,000,000 for fiscal year 1975. Authorizes the Commissioner to make grants to States and public or nonprofit organizations and agencies to pay up to 90 percent of the cost of projects for providing vocational training services to handicapped individuals, especially those with the most severe handicaps, in public or nonprofit rehabilitation facilities. Authorizes to be appropriated for such grants and contracts $30,000,000 for fiscal year 1973, $35,000,000 for fiscal year 1974, and $40,000,000 for fiscal year 1975. Authorizes the Commissioner to insure up to 100 percent of any mortgage on the construction of facilities for programs for handicapped individuals. Creates a Rehabilitation Facilities Insurance Fund to be used by the Commissioner as a revolving fund for carrying out the insurance provisions of this part. Provides that the total amount of outstanding mortgages shall not exceed $250,000,000. Authorizes to be appropriated such sums as may be necessary for initial capital for such Fund. Authorizes the Commissioner to make annual interest grants to assist States and public or nonprofit agencies and organizations to reduce the cost of borrowing from other sources for the construction of rehabilitation facilities. Authorizes to be appropriated such sums as may be necessary for the payment of annual interest grants in accordance with this part. Authorizes the Commissioner to make grants to States and public or nonprofit agencies and organizations for paying part of the cost of special projects and demonstrations: (1) for establishing facilities and providing services which hold promise of expanding or otherwise improving rehabilitation services to handicapped individuals, especially those with the most severe handicaps; and (2) for applying new types or patterns of service or devices. Allows the Commissioner to make grants to pay up to 90 percent of the cost of projects or demonstrations for the provision of vocational or comprehensive rehabilitation services to handicappped individuals who are migratory agricultural workers or seasonal farmworkers, and to members of their families who are with them. Provides that the Commissioner may make contracts or jointly finance cooperative arrangements with employers and organizations for the establishment of projects designed to prepare handicapped individuals for gainful and suitable employment in the competitive labor market under which such handicapped individuals are provided training and employment in a realistic work setting and such other services as may be necessary for such individuals to continue to engage in such employment. Authorizes the Commissioner to provide technical assistance to rehabilitation facilities, and for the purpose of removal of architectural and transportation barriers, to any public or nonprofit agency, institution, organization or facility. Authorizes to be appropriated, for the purpose of making grants under this part, $50,000,000 for fiscal year 1973, $125,000,000 for fiscal year 1974, and $150,000,000 for fiscal year 1975. Authorizes to be appropriated $5,000,000 for construction, $800,000 for operations for fiscal year 1973, $1,200,000 for operations for fiscal year 1974, and $2,000,000 for operations for fiscal year 1975, for establishing and operating a National Center for Deaf-Blind Youths and Adults. Authorizes to be appropriated $2,000,000 for fiscal year 1973, $4,000,000 for fiscal 1974, and $7,000,000 for fiscal year 1975 and for making grants and contracts for the expansion and improvement of vocational or comprehensive rehabilitation services for deaf and blind individuals. Authorizes to be appropriated, for the purpose of establishing and operating National Centers for Spinal Cord Injuries, $15,000,000 for fiscal year 1973, $25,000,000 for fiscal year 1974, and $30,000,000 for fiscal year 1975. Authorizes to be appropriated, for providing services for the treatment of individuals suffering from end-stage renal disease, $25,000,000 for fiscal year 1973, $25,000,000 for fiscal year 1974, and $25,000,000 for fiscal year 1975. Establishes a National Advisory Council on Rehabilitation of Handicapped Individuals in the Department of Health, Education, and Welfare to: (1) provide policy advice and consultation to the Secretary of Health, Education, and Welfare, and the Commissioner; (2) review the administration and operation of vocational rehabilitation programs under this Act; and (3) advise the Secretary and the Commissioner with respect to the conduct of independent evaluations of programs carried out under this Act. Authorizes appropriations of $100,000 for fiscal year 1973 and $150,000 for each of fiscal years 1974 and 1975 to carry out the functions of the Council. Title IV: Research and Training - Authorizes the Commissioner to make grants to and contracts with States and public or nonprofit agencies and organizations to pay part of the cost of projects for the purpose of planning and conducting research, demonstrations, and related activities, which bear directly on the development of methods, procedures, and devices to assist in the provision of vocational and comprehensive rehabilitation services to handicapped individuals, especially those with the most severe handicaps. Authorizes to be appropriated for such research activities $75,000,000 for fiscal year 1973, $100,000,000 for fiscal year 1974, and $150,000,000 for fiscal year 1975. Authorizes the Commissioner to make grants to and contracts with States and public and nonprofit agencies and organizations to pay part of the cost of projects for training, traineeships, and related activities designed to assist in increasing the numbers of personnel trained in providing vocational and comprehensive rehabilitation services to handicapped individuals and in performing other functions necessary to the development of such services. Authorizes to be appropriated for such training grants $50,000,000 for fiscal year 1973, $75,000,000 for fiscal year 1974, and $100,000,000 for fiscal year 1975. Title V: Administration and Program and Project Evaluation - Provides that, in carrying out his duties under this Act, the Commissioner shall: (1) cooperate with, and render technical assistance to States in matters relating to the rehabilitation of handicapped individuals; (2) provide short-term training and instruction in technical matters relating to vocational and comprehensive rehabilitation services; and (3) disseminate information relating to vocational and comprehensive rehabilitation services, and otherwise promote the cause of the rehabilitation of handicapped individuals and their greater utilization in gainful and suitable employment. Directs the Secretary to measure and evaluate the impact of all programs authorized by this Act. Title VI: Office for the Handicapped - Establishes an Office for the Handicapped in the Department of Health, Education, and Welfare to: (1) prepare a long-range projection for the provisions of comprehensive services to handicapped individuals; (2) analyze program operations; (3) encourage coordinated and cooperative planning; (4) provide assistance to other committees advising the Secretary; (5) develop means of promoting scientific research to bring about the full integration of handicapped individuals into all aspects of society; and (6) provide a central clearinghouse for information and resource availability for handicapped individuals. Authorizes to be appropriated for purposes of this title $1,000,000 for fiscal year 1973, $2,000,000 for fiscal year 1974, and $2,000,000 for fiscal year 1975. Title VII: Miscellaneous - Provides that the Vocational Rehabilitation Act is repealed ninety days after the date of enactment of this Act. Establishes an Interagency Committee on Handicapped Employees to insure the adequacy of hiring, placement, and advancement practices with respect to handicapped individuals by each department, agency, and instrumentality of the executive branch of Government. Establishes a National Commission on Transportation and Housing for Handicapped Individuals to identify and eliminate transportation barriers that impede the mobility of handicapped individuals and aged handicapped individuals, and to prepare plans and proposals for such further action as may be necessary to the goals of adequate transportation and housing for handicapped individuals. Establishes an Architectural and Transportation Barriers Compliance Board to investigate and examine alternative approaches to the architectural, transportation, and attitudinal barriers confronting handicapped individuals. Authorizes appropriations of $1,000,000 for fiscal year 1973; $1,250,000 for fiscal year 1974; and $1,500,000 for fiscal year 1975 to carry out the duties and functions of the Board.
United States · United States Congress · 22 January 1973
Rehabilitation Act - Declares that it is the purpose of this Act to provide a statutory basis for the Rehabilitation Service Administration and to establish within the Department of Health, Education and Welfare an Office for the Handicapped, and to authorize specified programs. Establishes within the Department of Health, Education, and Welfare a Rehabilitation Services Administration which shall be administered by a Commissioner. Provides that the Commissioner shall carry out and administer all programs and direct the performance of all services for which authority is provided to the Secretary of H.E.W. under titles I through IV of this Act. Creates within such administration a Division of Research, Training and Evaluation which shall be responsible for carrying out programs and projects under title IV of this Act. Authorizes the inclusion of appropriations under this Act in appropriations for the fiscal year preceding the fiscal year for which they are available for obligation. Provides that where funds are provided for a single project by more than one Federal agency to an agency or organization assisted under this Act, the Federal agency principally involved may be designated to act for all in administering such funds, pursuant to regulations prescribed by the President. Sets forth definitions of terms used in this Act. Title I: Vocational Rehabilitation Services - States it to be the purpose of this title to authorize grants to assist States to meet the current and future needs of handicapped individuals, so that such individuals may prepare for and engage in gainful employment to the extent of their capabilities. Authorizes to be appropriated $800,000,000 for fiscal year 1973, and $975,000,000 for fiscal year 1974 for the purpose of making grants to States to assist them in meeting the costs of vocational rehabilitation services. Authorizes to be appropriated $50,000,000 for fiscal year 1973, $60,000,000 for fiscal year 1974, and $75,000,000 for fiscal year 1975, for the purpose of making grants to States and public and nonprofit agencies to assist them in meeting the costs of projects to initiate or expand services to handicapped individuals. Sets forth the requirements of State plans to be submitted and approved for participation in programs under this title and under title II of this Act. Authorizes judicial review in United States district courts of decisions by the Commissioner of the Rehabilitation Services Administration affecting State plans. Provides that the Commissioner shall insure that the individualized written rehabilitation program required in a State plan in the case of each handicapped individual shall be developed jointly by the vocational rehabilitation counselor or coordinator and the handicapped individual. Defines vocational rehabilitation services provided under this Act as any goods or services necessary to render a handicapped individual employable, including, but not limited to, the following: (1) evaluation of rehabilitation potential; (2) counseling, guidance, referral, and placement services for handicapped individuals; (3) vocational and other training services for handicapped individuals; (4) physical and mental restoration services; (5) maintenance, not exceeding the estimated cost of subsistence, during rehabilitation; (6) interpreter services for the deaf, and reader services for the blind; (7) recruitment and training services for handicapped individuals; (8) rehabilitation teaching services and orientation and mobility services for the blind; (9) occupational licenses, tools, equipment, and initial stocks and supplies; (10) transportation in connection with the rendering of any vocational rehabilitation services; and (11) telecommunications, sensory, and other technological aids and devices. Provides a formula for the allotment and payment of funds to States for providing rehabilitation services under this title. Directs the Commissioner to establish offices in ten to twenty geographically dispersed regions for client assistance pilot projects to provide counselors to inform and advise all clients and client applicants in the project area of all available benefits under this Act and to assist them in their relationships with projects, programs, and facilities providing services to them under this Act. Directs the Commissioner to pay to a State or, at the option of the State, to a public or nonprofit organization or agency a portion of the cost of planning, preparing for, and initiating special programs under the State plan to expand vocational rehabilitation services. Title II: Comprehensive Rehabilitation Services - States it to be the purpose of this title to authorize grants to assist the several States in developing and implementing continuing plans for meeting the current and future needs of handicapped individuals for whom a vocational goal is not possible or feasible authorizes to be appropriated $30,000,000 for fiscal year 1973, $50,000,000 for fiscal year 1974, and $80,000,000 for fiscal year 1975 for grants to carry out the purposes of this title. Specifies the formula to be utilized in alloting such funds to the States. Directs the Commissioner to make grants to States and public and nonprofit agencies or organizations to pay part of the cost of projects for research and demonstration and training which hold promise of making a substantial contribution to the solution of problems related to the rehabilitation of individuals under this title. Title III: Special Federal Responsibilities Authorizes the Commissioner to make grants and contracts to assist in meeting the costs of construction of public or nonprofit rehabilitation facilities, initial staffing, and planning assistance. Authorizes to be appropriated for such grants and contracts $35,000,000 for fiscal year 1973, $40,000,000 for fiscal year 1974, and $45,000,000 for fiscal year 1975. Authorizes the Commissioner to make grants to States and public or nonprofit organizations and agencies to pay up to 90 percent of the cost of projects for providing vocational training services to handicapped individuals, especially those with the most severe handicaps, in public or nonprofit rehabilitation facilities. Authorizes to be appropriated for such grants and contracts $30,000,000 for fiscal year 1973, $35,000,000 for fiscal year 1974, and $40,000,000 for fiscal year 1975. Authorizes the Commissioner to insure up to 100 percent of any mortgage on the construction of facilities for programs for handicapped individuals. Creates a Rehabilitation Facilities Insurance Fund to be used by the Commissioner as a revolving fund for carrying out the insurance provisions of this part. Provides that the total amount of outstanding mortgages shall not exceed $250,000,000. Authorizes to be appropriated such sums as may be necessary for initial capital for such Fund. Authorizes the Commissioner to make annual interest grants to assist States and public or nonprofit agencies and organizations to reduce the cost of borrowing from other sources for the construction of rehabilitation facilities. Authorizes to be appropriated such sums as may be necessary for the payment of annual interest grants in accordance with this part. Authorizes the Commissioner to make grants to States and public or nonprofit agencies and organizations for paying part of the cost of special projects and demonstrations: (1) for establishing facilities and providing services which hold promise of expanding or otherwise improving rehabilitation services to handicapped individuals, especially those with the most severe handicaps; and (2) for applying new types or patterns of service or devices. Allows the Commissioner to make grants to pay up to 90 percent of the cost of projects or demonstrations for the provision of vocational or comprehensive rehabilitation services to handicappped individuals who are migratory agricultural workers or seasonal farmworkers, and to members of their families who are with them. Provides that the Commissioner may make contracts or jointly finance cooperative arrangements with employers and organizations for the establishment of projects designed to prepare handicapped individuals for gainful and suitable employment in the competitive labor market under which such handicapped individuals are provided training and employment in a realistic work setting and such other services as may be necessary for such individuals to continue to engage in such employment. Authorizes the Commissioner to provide technical assistance to rehabilitation facilities, and for the purpose of removal of architectural and transportation barriers, to any public or nonprofit agency, institution, organization or facility. Authorizes to be appropriated, for the purpose of making grants under this part, $50,000,000 for fiscal year 1973, $125,000,000 for fiscal year 1974, and $150,000,000 for fiscal year 1975. Authorizes to be appropriated $5,000,000 for construction, $800,000 for operations for fiscal year 1973, $1,200,000 for operations for fiscal year 1974, and $2,000,000 for operations for fiscal year 1975, for establishing and operating a National Center for Deaf-Blind Youths and Adults. Authorizes to be appropriated $2,000,000 for fiscal year 1973, $4,000,000 for fiscal 1974, and $7,000,000 for fiscal year 1975 and for making grants and contracts for the expansion and improvement of vocational or comprehensive rehabilitation services for deaf and blind individuals. Authorizes to be appropriated, for the purpose of establishing and operating National Centers for Spinal Cord Injuries, $15,000,000 for fiscal year 1973, $25,000,000 for fiscal year 1974, and $30,000,000 for fiscal year 1975. Authorizes to be appropriated, for providing services for the treatment of individuals suffering from end-stage renal disease, $25,000,000 for fiscal year 1973, $25,000,000 for fiscal year 1974, and $25,000,000 for fiscal year 1975. Establishes a National Advisory Council on Rehabilitation of Handicapped Individuals in the Department of Health, Education, and Welfare to: (1) provide policy advice and consultation to the Secretary of Health, Education, and Welfare, and the Commissioner; (2) review the administration and operation of vocational rehabilitation programs under this Act; and (3) advise the Secretary and the Commissioner with respect to the conduct of independent evaluations of programs carried out under this Act. Authorizes appropriations of $100,000 for fiscal year 1973 and $150,000 for each of fiscal years 1974 and 1975 to carry out the functions of the Council. Title IV: Research and Training - Authorizes the Commissioner to make grants to and contracts with States and public or nonprofit agencies and organizations to pay part of the cost of projects for the purpose of planning and conducting research, demonstrations, and related activities, which bear directly on the development of methods, procedures, and devices to assist in the provision of vocational and comprehensive rehabilitation services to handicapped individuals, especially those with the most severe handicaps. Authorizes to be appropriated for such research activities $75,000,000 for fiscal year 1973, $100,000,000 for fiscal year 1974, and $150,000,000 for fiscal year 1975. Authorizes the Commissioner to make grants to and contracts with States and public and nonprofit agencies and organizations to pay part of the cost of projects for training, traineeships, and related activities designed to assist in increasing the numbers of personnel trained in providing vocational and comprehensive rehabilitation services to handicapped individuals and in performing other functions necessary to the development of such services. Authorizes to be appropriated for such training grants $50,000,000 for fiscal year 1973, $75,000,000 for fiscal year 1974, and $100,000,000 for fiscal year 1975. Title V: Administration and Program and Project Evaluation - Provides that, in carrying out his duties under this Act, the Commissioner shall: (1) cooperate with, and render technical assistance to States in matters relating to the rehabilitation of handicapped individuals; (2) provide short-term training and instruction in technical matters relating to vocational and comprehensive rehabilitation services; and (3) disseminate information relating to vocational and comprehensive rehabilitation services, and otherwise promote the cause of the rehabilitation of handicapped individuals and their greater utilization in gainful and suitable employment. Directs the Secretary to measure and evaluate the impact of all programs authorized by this Act. Title VI: Office for the Handicapped - Establishes an Office for the Handicapped in the Department of Health, Education, and Welfare to: (1) prepare a long-range projection for the provisions of comprehensive services to handicapped individuals; (2) analyze program operations; (3) encourage coordinated and cooperative planning; (4) provide assistance to other committees advising the Secretary; (5) develop means of promoting scientific research to bring about the full integration of handicapped individuals into all aspects of society; and (6) provide a central clearinghouse for information and resource availability for handicapped individuals. Authorizes to be appropriated for purposes of this title $1,000,000 for fiscal year 1973, $2,000,000 for fiscal year 1974, and $2,000,000 for fiscal year 1975. Title VII: Miscellaneous - Provides that the Vocational Rehabilitation Act is repealed ninety days after the date of enactment of this Act. Establishes an Interagency Committee on Handicapped Employees to insure the adequacy of hiring, placement, and advancement practices with respect to handicapped individuals by each department, agency, and instrumentality of the executive branch of Government. Establishes a National Commission on Transportation and Housing for Handicapped Individuals to identify and eliminate transportation barriers that impede the mobility of handicapped individuals and aged handicapped individuals, and to prepare plans and proposals for such further action as may be necessary to the goals of adequate transportation and housing for handicapped individuals. Establishes an Architectural and Transportation Barriers Compliance Board to investigate and examine alternative approaches to the architectural, transportation, and attitudinal barriers confronting handicapped individuals. Authorizes appropriations of $1,000,000 for fiscal year 1973; $1,250,000 for fiscal year 1974; and $1,500,000 for fiscal year 1975 to carry out the duties and functions of the Board.
United States · United States Congress · 22 January 1973
National Credit Union Bank Act - Declares the Congressional finding that there exists an urgent need for consumer credit at reasonable rates. Cites the contribution made by credit unions in alleviating this situation. States that the extent of such relief would be enlarged by establishing a National Credit Union Bank empowered to make temporary loans for liquidity purposes to its shareholders, discount notes of its shareholders, provide a national service of interlending for credit unions, sell debt securities in the open market, aid in the rehabilitation and stabilization of credit unions, aid in the orderly liquidation of credit unions when necessary, aid in the development of credit unions serving low-income persons, and to cooperate with and assist credit unions and related State regulatory bodies for the purpose of improving the general welfare of the people through credit unions. Creates a body corporate to be known as the "National Credit Union Bank" which shall exist perpetually until dissolved by Act of Congress and which shall not be an agency of the United States Government. Asserts that the principal office of the Bank shall be located in the District of Columbia but that the Bank may establish such district and branch offices throughout the United States as it deems appropriate. Makes provisions for a permanent Board of Directors to manage the Bank. Authorizes the Secretary of the Treasury to advance no more than $500,000 to be utilized for the initial organizational and operating expenses of the Bank. Directs that this advance shall be at a rate of interest to be determined by the Secretary of the Treasury and shall be repaid within one year from the date of any such advance. Provides that, upon the enactment of this Act, the Board of Directors of the Bank shall open books for subscription to the capital stock of the Bank. Declares that the capital stock shall be divided into shares of par value $100 each. Directs that the minimum capital stock shall be issued at par and stock issued thereafter shall be isseud at such price not less than par as may be fixed by the Board of Directors. Provides that each credit union which is chartered after enactment of this Act and which is accepted for membership in the Bank within one year from the date it is chartered shall pay $25 in cash to be credited to its purchase of stock in the Bank. Asserts that at the expiration of one year from the date of its charges, the newly organized credit union shall subscribe for stock in the Bank in an amount equal to 1 percent of its total assets on this date. Provides that every credit union insured by the Administrator and which is not prohibited by the Administration and which is not prohibited by the laws under which it is organized to become a shareholder in the Bank shall apply for membership in the Bank within three months of the effective date of this Act. Directs that any other State credit union may apply for membership in the Bank. Provides that the Bank shall act on applications for membership, and, upon approval, shall require such applicants to subscribe to capital stock of the Bank in an amount equal to 1 percent of the subscriber's total assets. Grants the bank the necessary powers and authority in order to carry out its operations. Provides for auditing of the Bank's records by the General Accounting Office. Provides that the Bank, its property, its franchise, capital, reserves, surplus, security holdings, and other funds, and its income shall be exempt from all taxation now or hereafter imposed by the United States or by any State or local taxing authority, except that: (1) any real property and tangible personal property of the Bank shall be subject to Federal, State, and local taxation to the same extent according to its value as other such property is taxed; and (2) any and all obligations issued by the Bank shall be subjected both as to principal and interest to Federal, State, and local taxation to the same extent that the obligations of private corporations are taxed.
United States · United States Congress · 22 January 1973
Foreign Trade and Investment Act - Declares the purpose of the Act to insure that the production of goods which have historically been produced in the United States is continued and maintained, to encourage the return of production of goods that has been transferred abroad, and to encourage the development of new product production in the United States. Title I : - Provides that if a foreign corporation is a controlled foreign corporation for an uninterrupted period of 30 days or more during any taxable year, every United States shareholder of such corporation who owns stock in such corporation on the last day in such year on which such corporation is a controlled foreign corporation shall include in its gross income, for the taxable year on which the corporation ends, its pro rata share of the corporations' earnings and profits for such year. Defines the pro rata share of the stockholder and the earnings and incomes of such corporations. Provides that the earnings and profits of a foreign corporation attributable to amounts which are, or have been, included in the gross income of a United States shareholder shall not, when distributed to such shareholder or to a trust of which such shareholder is a beneficiary, be again included in the gross income of such United States shareholder or trust. Provides that, under regulations prescribed by the Secretary of the Treasury or his delegate, the basis of a United States shareholder's stock in a controlled foreign corporation shall be increased by the amount required to be included in its gross income with respect to such stock, but only to the extent to which such amount was included in the gross income of such United States shareholder. Authorizes the Secretary or his delegate to require by regulation that each person who is or has been a United States shareholder of a foreign corporation to maintain such records as may be prescribed. Repeals the foreign tax credit allowed corporations. Requires the Treasury Department, by December 31, 1974, to submit to Congress a report on the administration of the income tax imposed by the Internal Revenue Code as it applies to business activities carried on outside the United States by United States corporations. Title II: United States Foreign Trade and Investment Commission - Provides that the United States Foreign Trade and Investment Commission shall be composed of three commissioners to be appointed by the President with the consent of the Senate. Prescribes the qualifications for the Commissioners. Title III: Quantitative Restraints on Imports - Limits the total quantity of each category of goods produced in a foreign country which may be entered during the calendar year 1974 to the average annual quantity determined by the Commission to have entered during the calendar years 1965 to 1969. Limits the total quantity of such goods which may be entered during any calendar year after 1974 to the total determined as above plus the increase estimated by the Commission to be necessary to make the total quantity of imports in each category bear the same relationship to United States production of goods in such category as existed during the period 1965-1969. Authorizes the President to make bilateral or multilateral arrangements for regulating the quantity of articles produced in such foreign countries which may be imported into the United States. Title IV: Amendments to the Antidumping and Countervailing Duty Acts - Provides that whenever a class or kind of foreign merchandise is being sold in the United States at less than its fair value and an industry in the United States is being hurt or prevented from being established by reason of the importation of such merchandise, there shall be levied in addition to other duties a special dumping duty in an amount equal to the difference between the purchase price or the exporter's sales price and the foreign market value. Authorizes an additional duty where any country pays a bounty for the production of any goods and those goods are then imported into the United States, the duty to be equal to the bounty. Title V: Amendments to the Trade Expansion Act of 1962 - Adjustment Assistance - Provides for the presentation, consideration, and disposition of petitions for tariff adjustments. Title VI: Foreign Investment and Technology Export Controls - Authorizes the President to prohibit any person within the jurisdiction of the United States from engaging in any transaction involving a direct or indirect transfer of capital to or within any foreign country or to any national thereof when in the judgment of the President the transfer would result in the net decrease in employment in the United States. Imposes a fine of not more than $100,000 and imprisonment of not more than one year for each violation. Title VII: Other Foreign Trade Provisions - Requires the Export-Import Bank of Washington to submit to Congress semi-annually a complete report of its operations. Requires that all goods having foreign made components be clearly marked, indicating the origin of such foreign made components.
United States · United States Congress · 22 January 1973
Health Security Act - Title I: Health Security Benefits - Provides that every resident of the U.S. (and every non-resident citizen when in the U.S.) will be eligible for covered services. Permits reciprocal and "buy-in" agreements for groups of non-resident aliens, and in some cases benefits to U.S. residents when visiting in other countries. Entitles every eligible person to have payments made by the Health Security Board for covered services provided within the United States by a participating provider. Provides that all necessary professional services of physicians, wherever furnished are covered, including preventive care, with two important restrictions: (1) specialist services are covered only when performed by a qualified specialist except in emergency situations, and generally only on referral from a primary physician; and (2) psychiatric services to an ambulatory patient are covered only for active preventive, diagnostic, therapeutic or rehabilitative service with respect to mental illness. Provides that comprehensive dental services (exclusive of most orthodontic services) are covered for children under age 15, with the covered age group increasing by two years each year until all those under age 25 are covered. Provides that: (1) inpatient and outpatient hospital services and services of a home health agency are covered without arbitrary limitation; (2) pathology and radiology services are specifically included as parts of institutional services; and (3) custodial care is specifically excluded in specified institutional settings. Limits payment for skilled nursing home care to 120 days per spell of illness, except that this limit may be increased when the nursing home is owned or managed by a hospital and payment for care is made through the hospital's budget. Limits the psychiatric hospital benefit to 45 consecutive days of active treatment during a spell of illness. Provides coverage for two categories of drug use: prescribed medicines administered to inpatients or outpatients within participating hospitals; or to enrollees of comprehensive health service organizations, and drugs necessary for the treatment of specified chronic illnesses or conditions requiring long or expensive therapy. Requires the Board and the Secretary of Health, Education, and Welfare to establish two lists of approved drugs, taking into account the safety, efficacy and cost of each drug. Provides a broad list of approved medicines available for use in institutions and by comprehensive health service organizations and a more restricted list which is available for use outside such organized settings. Provides that the appliances benefit is similar in concept and operation to the drug benefit, subject to a limitation on aggregate cost. Asserts that the professional services of optometrists and podiatrists are covered, subject to regulations, as are diagnostic or therapeutic services furnished by independent pathology laboratories and radiology services. States that health services furnished or paid for under a workmen's compensation law are not covered. Provides that the services of a professional practitioner are not covered if they are furnished in a hospital which is not a participating provider. Requires that participating providers meet standards established in this title or by the Board. Requires that such providers must agree to provide services without discrimination, to make no unauthorized charge to the patient for any covered service, and to furnish data necessary for utilization review by professional peers, statistical studies by the Board, and verification of information for payments. Makes professional practitioners, licensed when the program begins, eligible to practice in the State where they are licensed and requires that all newly licensed applicants for participation meet national standards established by the Board in addition to those required by his State. Establishes conditions of participation for general hospitals similar to those required under Medicare. States that the two requirements not found in the Medicare program are: (1) that the hospital must not discriminate in granting staff privileges on any grounds unrelated to professional qualifications; and (2) that it establish a pharmacy and drug therapeutics committee for supervision of hospital drug therapy. Provides that psychiatric hospitals will be eligible to participate only if the Board finds that the hospital (or a distinct part of the hospital) is engaged in furnishing active diagnostic, therapeutic and rehabilitative services to mentally ill patients. Establishes conditions of participation for skilled nursing homes similar to those established for extended care facilities under Medicare. Makes provisions for the participation of home health service agencies. Describes as eligible a health maintenance organization which undertakes to provide an enrolled population either with complete health care or with complete health security services (other than institutional services, mental health or dental services) for the maintenance of the health and care of ambulatory patients. Permits a foundation sponsored by a county or other local medical society to participate as a provider of services. Authorizes the Board to deal separately with the primary care portion of a system of comprehensive health care where it is necessary to rely on arrangements with other providers. Permits the Board to contract directly with public or other nonprofit mental health centers and mental health day care services. Specifies the broad and general conditions under which independent pathology laboratories, independent radiological services, and providers of drugs, devices, appliances, equipment, or ambulance services may qualify as providers under Health Security. Requires that a participating skilled nursing home have in effect an agreement with at least one participating hospital for the transfer of patients and medical and other information as medically appropriate. Prohibits in malpractice judgments any damages to be awarded to the injured party for the cost of remedial services which he is entitled to receive under this Act. Excludes the institutions of the Department of Defense and the Veterans Administration, and institutions of the Department of Health, Education, and Welfare serving merchant seamen or Indians or Alaskan natives, from serving as participating providers, as well as any employee of these institutions when he is acting as an employee. Provides reimbursement for any services furnished by these institutions or agencies to eligible persons who are not a part of their normal clientele. Permits a physician, dentist, optometrist, or podiatrist, licensed in one State and meeting the national standards, to furnish Health Security benefits in any other State, the scope of his permissible practice being governed by the law of the State in which he is practicing. Grants a similar authority to other health professional and nonprofessional personnel. Establishes the Health Security Trust Fund, to receive the net assets of existing (Medicare) funds taken over by the Health Security program, the yield of the Health Security taxes, and the Government's contribution from general revenues amounting to 100 percent of the yield from these taxes. Provides that three separate accounts shall be established in the Health Security Trust Fund: a Health Service Account, a Health Resources Development Account, and an Administration Account. Provides that in each of the first two years of the program operation, 2 percent of the Trust Fund shall be set aside for the Health Resources Development Fund; and the allocation shall increase by 1 percent at two-year intervals to 5 percent within the next 6 years. Provides for allocation of the Health Services account among the regions of the country. Provides that the allocation to each region shall be based on the aggregate sum expended during the most recent 12-month period for covered services (with appropriate modification for estimated changes in the consumer price index, the expected number of eligible beneficiaries, and estimated changes in the number of participating providers). Provides that the Board will divide the allocation to each region into funds available to pay: institutional services; physician services; dental services; furnishing of drugs; furnishing of devices, applications, and equipment; and miscellaneous services. Provides that payments for covered services provided to eligible persons by participating providers will be made from the Health Service Account in the Trust Fund. Describes the method to be used in applying, as between practitioners electing the various methods of payment fee for service, the monies available in each health service area for payment to each category of professional providers. Authorizes the Board to experiment with other methods of reimbursement so long as the experimental method does not increase the cost of service or lead to overutilization or underutilization of services. Provides that skilled nursing homes and home health agencies will be paid in the same manner as a general hospital (on an approved annual budget basis). Provides that a health maintenance organization will be paid for covered services, on the basis of a fixed capitation rate multiplied by the number of eligible enrollees. Contains a series of provisions for developing a continuous process of health service planning and for assisting in the recruitment, education, and training of health personnel. Authorizes special improvement grants: (1) to any public or other nonprofit health agency or institution to establish improved coordination and linkages with other providers of services, and (2) to organizations providing comprehensive ambulatory care to improve their utilization review, budget, statistical, or records and information retrieval systems, to acquire equipment needed for those purposes, or to acquire equipment useful for mass screening or for other diagnostic or therapeutic purposes. Sets forth the responsibilities and duties of the Secretary of HEW and the Board with regard to this title. Creates an administrative structure within the Department of Health, Education, and Welfare with exclusive responsibility for administration of the Health Security program. Establishes a five-member full-time Health Security Board serving under the Secretary of Health, Education, and Welfare. Provides that the members shall be appointed by the President with the advice and consent of the Senate, for five-year overlapping terms. Creates the position of an Executive Director, appointed by the Board with the approval of the Secretary. Provides that the Executive Director shall serve as secretary to the Board and shall perform such duties in the administration of the program as the Board assigns to him. Provides that the program will be administered through the regional offices of the Department of Health, Education, and Welfare. Requires the establishment of sub-regional (service area) offices. Establishes a National Health Security Advisory Council, with the Chairman of the Board serving as the Council's Chairman and 20 additional members not in the employ of the Federal Government. Authorizes the Advisory Council to appoint professional or technical committees to assist in its functions. Provides that the Advisory Council will advise the Board on matters of general policy in the administration of the program, the formulation of regulations and the allocation of funds for services. Charges the Board with responsibility for informing the public and providers about the administration and operation of the Health Security program. Requires the Board to make a continuing study and evaluation of the program, including adequacy, quality and costs of services. Authorizes the Board directly or by contract to make detailed statistical and other studies on a national, regional, or local basis of any aspect of the title; to develop and test incentive systems for improving quality of care, methods of peer review of drug utilization and of other service performances; to develop and test systems of information retrieval, budget programs, instrumentation for multiphasic screening or patient services, reimbursement systems for drugs; and to make such other studies which it considers would improve the quality of services of administration of the program. Grants authority to the Board, in accordance with regulations, to make determinations of who are participating providers of services, determinations of eligibility, of whether services are covered, and the amount to be paid to providers. Allows a provider of services who is dissatisfied with a final Board determination to obtain a hearing before a Board panel, and judicial review of a final decision. Authorizes the Board, with the advice and assistance of the Commission on the Quality of Health Care, to issue and review regulations assuring the quality of care furnished under this Act. Requires continuing professional education by physicians, dentists, optometrists, and podiatrists. Provides for the appointment of a Deputy Secretary of HEW and an Under Secretary for Health and Science. States that no provision of this Act shall alter any contractual obligation of an employer to provide health services to his employees and their dependents. Title II: Health Security Taxes - Converts the existing Medicare hospital insurance payroll taxes into Health Security taxes, and raises the rates to 1 percent on employees and 3.5 percent on employers. Raises the wage base for the employee tax from the present $7,800 to $15,000 or, if higher 125 percent of the contribution and benefit base. Broadens the definitions of covered employment to include foreign agricultural workers, employees of the U.S. and its instrumentalities (other than members of the armed forces and the President, Vice-President, and Members of Congress), employees of charitable and similar organizations, railroad employees, and (for the employee tax only) employees of States and their political subdivisions and instrumentalities. Excludes from the gross income of employees, for income tax purposes, payment by their employers of part or all of the Health Security taxes on the employees. Spells out the precise effective dates of the new payroll tax provisions. Converts the existing Medicare self-employment tax into a Health Security self-employment tax, and raises the rate to 2.5 percent, and raises the maximum taxable self-employment income from $7,800 to $15,000. Adds a new 1 percent Health Security tax on unearned income (unless such income is less than $400 a year), subject to the same maximum on taxable income as is applicable to the employee and self-employment taxes. Title III: Commission on the Quality of Health Care - Establishes in the Department of HEW a Commission on the Quality of Health Care, with the primary responsibility of: (1) initiating and continuing development of methods of assessing the quality of health care furnished under the Health Security Act, and (2) submitting to the Secretary and the Health Security Board its findings and recommendations. Stipulates that in carrying out its duties the Commissioner shall emphasize, and give first consideration to, care furnished for those illnesses and conditions which have relatively high incidence in the population and which are relatively amenable to medical or other care. Title IV: Repeal or Amendment of Other Acts - Makes various conforming amendments to the medicare, medicaid, vocational rehabilitation, and Federal employees health benefits statutes to bring it into conformity with this Act. Requires that, after the effective date of benefits, no State shall be required to furnish any service covered under Health Security as a part of its State plan for participation under Medicaid, and that the Federal government will have no responsibility to reimburse any State for the cost of providing a service which is covered under Health Security. Provides that funds available under the Vocational Rehabilitation Act or the Maternal and Child Health title of the Social Security Act shall not be used to pay for personal health services after the effective date of benefits, except (to the extent prescribed in regulations by the Secretary of HEW) to pay for services which are more extensive than those covered under Health Security. Title V: Studies Related to Health Security - Authorizes the Secretary of Health, Education, and Welfare in consultation with the Secretary of State and the Secretary of Treasury to study the coverage of health services for U.S. residents in other countries. Directs the Secretary of HEW to study the feasibility and desirability of coordinating the Federal health benefit programs for merchant seamen, and Indians and Alaskan natives, and veterans and members of the Armed Forces, with the Health Security Benefit Program.
United States · United States Congress · 18 January 1973
Consumer Protection Agency Act - Title I: Office of Consumer Affairs - Creates an Office of Consumer Affairs within the Executive Office of the President. Provides that the office shall be headed by a Director and a Deputy Director, both of whom shall be appointed by the President by and with the advice and consent of the Senate. Gives the Director powers to carry out the provisions of this Act. Requires the Director to transmit to Congress and the President in January of each year a report of the activities of the Office during the preceding year including a summary of consumer complaints and recommendations for additional legislation deemed necessary to protect the interests of U.S. consumers. Provides that it shall be the function of the Office to: (1) coordinate the programs and activities of all Federal agencies relating to the interests of consumers in order to achieve effectiveness, avoid duplications and inconsistencies, and to promote the purposes of this title; (2) encourage and assist in the development and implementation of consumer programs and activities in the Federal Government; (3) assure that the interests of consumers are taken into consideration by appropriate Federal agencies both in the formulation of policies with respect to consumers and in the operation of programs that may affect consumer interests; (4) cooperate with and, when requested, provide assistance to the Administrator of the Consumer Protection Agency in carrying out its functions under title II of this Act; (5) advise and make recommendations to all Federal agencies with respect to general policy matters concerning the effectiveness of programs and activities relating to the interests of consumers; (6) submit recommendations to the Congress and the President on the means by which programs and activities relating to the interests of consumers can be improved; (7) conduct conferences and surveys concerning the needs, interests, and problems of consumers which are not duplicative in significant degree to similar activities conducted by other Federal agencies; (8) encourage, initiate, coordinate, and participate in consumer education and counseling programs (including credit counseling); (9) cooperate with and give technical assistance to State and local governments in the promotion and protection of consumer interests; (10) cooperate with and assist private enterprise in the promotion and protection of consumer interests; (11) publish and distribute in a Consumer Register material which will include notice of Federal hearings, proposed and final rules and orders, and other useful information, translated from its technical form into language which is understandable by the public; and (12) keep the appropriate committees of the Congress fully and currently informed of all its activities. Title II: Consumer Protection Agency - Establishes as an independent agency within the executive branch of the Government the Consumer Protection Agency, headed by an Administrator and a Deputy Administrator, both of whom shall be appointed by the President by and with the advice and consent of the Senate. Gives the Agency powers to carry out the objective of this Act. States that the functions of the Agency shall be to: (1) represent the interests of consumers before Federal agencies and courts to the extent authorized by this title; (2) encourage and support research, studies, and testing leading to a better understanding of consumer products and improved products, services, and consumer information; (3) submit recommendations annually to the Congress and the President on measures to improve the operation of the Federal Government in the protection and promotion of the consumer interest; (4) publish and distribute material developed pursuant to carrying out its responsibilities under this Act which will inform consumers of matters of interest to them; (5) conduct conferences, surveys, and investigations, including economic surveys, concerning the needs, interests, and problems of consumers which are not duplicative in significant degree to similar activities conducted by other Federal agencies; (6) keep the appropriate committees of Congress fully and currently informed of all its activities; and (7) cooperate with and, when requested, provide assistance to the Director of the Office in the carrying out of his functions.
United States · United States Congress · 18 January 1973
Makes it the sense of the Congress that: (1) the producers and distributors of motion pictures and television and radio programs should cease the production and distribution of those films and programs which defame, sterotype, ridicule, demean, or degrade ethnic, racial, or religious groups; (2) those responsible persons in the motion picture and broadcasting industries who are desirous of contributing to the vitality of democratic institutions by promoting ethnic, racial, and religious harmony should establish adequate standards for the production of films and broadcasts which portray ethnic, racial, or religious groups and that such standards should be rigorously enforced by the motion picture and broadcasting industries; and (3) if within one year after the enactment of this resolution the motion picture and broadcasting industries have failed to establish and enforce adequate standards for the production of films and broadcasts which portray ethnic, racial, or religious groups, appropriate committees of the House and Senate shall formulate and propose such measures as are necessary to establish and implement such standards.
United States · United States Congress · 15 January 1973
Provides that amounts appropriated for aid to families with dependent children under Title IV of the Social Security Act shall be used by the Secretary of Health, Education and Welfare in making grants to local agencies which are providing aid and services to needy families with children in accordance with plans developed by the Secretary under this Act. Requires such plans to include provisions designed: (1) to safeguard and promote the welfare of the dependent children involved; (2) to insure fair and equitable treatment of all applicants for and recipients of aid to families with dependent children; (3) to insure that aid to families with dependent children will be furnished with reasonable promptness to all eligible individuals; (4) to provide for the referral to the Secretary of Labor or his representative, for participation under work incentive programs, of appropriate dependent children and relatives and other appropriate individuals living in the same home; and (5) to require effective and appropriate methods of administration of the program in each locality. States that each plan developed by the Secretary shall provide that the eligibility of such individuals and families for aid to families with dependent children under the plan, and the amount of such aid, shall be determined by the State or local agency receiving the payment of aid. Provides that such payment of aid to an eligible individual or families shall not be less than the national average amount paid to individuals or families similarly situated during the calendar quarter preceding the quarter in which this Act is enacted. Requires each local agency to submit such reports to the Secretary as the Secretary may require. Directs the Secretary of the Treasury to pay to each local agency administering the program under this act an amount equal to: (1) the total amount expended during such quarter as aid to families with dependent children under the program in the locality involved; and (2) the total amount expended during such quarter as found necessary by the Secretary of Health, Education, and Welfare for the proper and efficient administration of the applicable plan and the program in such locality or localities. States that, in order to assure that the purpose of this Act is being carried out effectively and without discrimination between applicants and recipients in different states, the Secretary shall from time to time determine and promulgate: (1) the minimum amount of aid to families with dependent children which (with such adjustments based on other income and resources as may be required by the Secretary) would have to be paid to eligible recipients under the program under this Act; and (2) the manner in which other income and resources should be taken into account in determining need for aid under the program under this part and the other conditions which it might be appropriate to impose in determining elibility for such aid. Requires a non-Federal contribution to work incentive programs from appropriate agencies of the State or private organizations of twenty percent of the cost of such programs. Provides that if such contribution is not made the Secretary of Health, Education and Welfare may take such action as may be necessary to collect it.
United States · United States Congress · 15 January 1973
Retirement Income Security for Employees Act - Title I: Organization - Establishes within the Department of Labor an Office of Pension and Welfare Plan Administration headed by an Assistant Secretary of Labor appointed by the President with Senate advice and consent. Provides that the functions, records and personnel of the Office of Labor Management Services Administration necessary for the administration of the Welfare and Pension Plans Disclosure Act are transferred to the Office of Pension and Welfare Plan Administration. Requires that, unless exempt, the provisions of the Act apply to any pension or profit-sharing-retirement plan established or maintained by an employer, a union, or both together in any industry or activity affecting interstate commerce. Requires administrators of pension and profit-sharing-retirement plans to file applications with the Secretary of Labor for registration of such plans. Title II: Vesting and Funding Requirements - Requires that no pension or profit-sharing-retirement plan may require, as a condition of eligibility to participate in the plan, a period of service longer than one year or an age greater than 25, whichever occurs later, except that any plan which provides 100 percent immediate vesting upon entry into the plan may restrict participation to those who have attained age 30, or three years of service, whichever occurs later. Authorizes the Secretary to defer, in whole or in part, applicability of the vesting provisions for a period not to exceed five years from the effective date of such requirements where a plan makes a showing that the vesting requirements would increase the employer's costs or contributions to the plan to an extent that substantial economic injury would result to the employer and to the interests of the participants. Requires the Secretary to promulgate regulations governing funding of multi-employer plans that cover a substantial portion of the industry or employees in a specific geographic area to assure that such plans are provided with sufficient assets to cover benefits under the plan. Title III: Voluntary Portability Program for Vested Pensions - Establishes a voluntary program known as the Voluntary Portability Program for portability of vested pension credits. Requires that, plans which are members of this program are required to pay, to a central portability fund administered by the Secretary, monies representing the value of the participant's vested rights when he is separated from the plan prior to retirement. Establishes a Voluntary Portability Program Fund under the supervision of the Secretary into which payments will be made in accordance with regulations prescribed by the Secretary under the portability program. Title IV: Plan Termination Insurance Program Established - Establishes a Private Pension Plan Termination Insurance Program administered by the Secretary, which requires plans to insure unfunded vested liabilities incurred prior to enactment of the Act, as well as after enactment of the Act. Requires the insurance program to insure participants against loss of vested benefits arising from plan termination. States that the Secretary shall make arrangements with employers on equitable terms for the reimbursement of insurance paid. Title V: Disclosure and Fiduciary Standards - Requires that annual reports filed are required to be accompanied by a certificate designating the Secretary as agent for service of process in any action arising under this Act. Restructures the Advisory Council on Employee Welfare and Pension Benefit Plans so that it will serve as an advisory council for both the WPPDA and the Retirement Income Security for Employees Act. Title VI: Enforcement - Empowers the Secretary to petition the Federal courts to compel a pension or profit-sharing-retirement plan to comply with the Act or effect recoveries of moneys which may be due under the Act. Sets forth criminal penalties for interference with the rights of a pensioner or his beneficiary. Title VII: Effective Dates - Sets forth the effective dates for the provisions in this Act.
United States · United States Congress · 15 January 1973
Allows an income tax credit under the Internal Revenue Code for tuition paid by a taxpayer during the taxable year to any private nonprofit elementary or secondary school for the education as a full-time student of any dependent with respect to whom the taxpayer is allowed an income tax exemption under the Internal Revenue Code. Limits the tax credit to 50 percent of the tuition paid by the taxpayer or $200, whichever is less. Provides that any payment which is taken into account in determining the tax credit shall not be treated as an amount paid by the taxpayer for purposes of determining entitlement to a tax deduction. Allows any U.S. taxpayer to commence a proceeding in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, within the three month period beginning on the date of enactment of this Act, to determine whether the provisions of this Act are valid legislation under the U.S. Constitution. (Amends 26 U.S.C. 42)
United States · United States Congress · 15 January 1973
Imposes on the taxable income of every individual, other than an estate and trust, a tax determined in accordance with the table set forth in the Internal Revenue Code. Allows a married individual who does not make a single return jointly with his spouse to allocate amounts received for services performed by that spouse into the account by the spouse who performed the services and not into the account by the other spouse. (Amends 26 U.S.C. 1, 2)
United States · United States Congress · 11 January 1973
Provides that in the determination of the annual income of recipients of vetetans' pensions and dependency and indemnity compensation the Administrator of Veterans' Affairs shall not reduce the amount of such pension or compensation because of increases in monthly social security benefits under Public law 92-336. (Adds 38 U.S.C. 415(g)(4) 503(d))
United States · United States Congress · 3 January 1973
Repeals provisions relating to the interstate transportation of petroleum products, which provisions are for the purpose of protecting interstate commerce from burdens caused by contracts of oil and of encouraging the conservation of crude oil deposits. (Repeals 15 U.S.C. 715-715m)
United States · United States Congress · 3 January 1973
Provides that on or after June 30, 1973, no import quota or other nontariff trade restriction shall be imposed by or pursuant to law with respect to the importation into the United States of petroleum and petroleum products. (Amends 19 U.S.C. 1862)
![Official portrait of Rep. Minish, Joseph G. [D-NJ-11]](https://www.congress.gov/img/member/m000796_200.jpg)