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United States · Official source
1,245 records where Rep. Mitchell, Donald J. [R-NY-31] is listed as a sponsor, author, or other actor. Search with topics and years
United States · United States Congress · 8 February 1979
Amends the Internal Revenue Code to allow handicapped individuals an income tax deduction for expenses incurred in commuting between their residence and their principal place of employment.
United States · United States Congress · 8 February 1979
Amends title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act to provide payment for optometric and medical vision care under the supplementary medical insurance program.
United States · United States Congress · 8 February 1979
Taxpayer Relief Amendments to Panama Treaty Legislation - Specifies that all expenses incurred implementing the Panama Canal Treaty of 1977 shall be treated as an expense of the Panama Canal Commission. Prohibits payments to Panama out of U.S. Treasury revenues. Requires the Panama Canal Company to pay its cash assets to the U.S. Treasury to be applied against its debt. Directs the Commission to continue repaying its debt to the United States. Amends the Panama Canal Code to require the Commission to pay: (1) all canal operating revenues to the U.S. Treasury; and (2) the payments required under the Treaty to Panama only with express congressional authorization. Directs the General Accounting Office to monitor all costs incurred by the Commission and report annually to Congress on the differences in costs to the U.S. taxpayer. Prohibits unless expressly authorized by Congress: (1) the use of U.S. funds to implement the Treaty; (2) the transfer of U.S. property in the Canal Zone to Panama; and (3) the cessation of the Panama Canal Company and the Canal Zone Government.
United States · United States Congress · 8 February 1979
Amends the Communications Act of 1934 to prohibit the Federal Communications Commission from prescribing rules to permit increased duplication of radio broadcasting station assignments on class I-A clear channels.
United States · United States Congress · 5 February 1979
Directs the Federal Communications Commission to examine the use of the AM radio broadcasting band and to assign such spectrum and distribute licenses so as to ensure that each community, regardless of size, is provided with the maximum local full-time radio broadcasting service.
United States · United States Congress · 1 February 1979
Intergovernmental Antirecession and Supplementary Fiscal Assistance Amendments of 1979 - Amends the Public Works Employment Act of 1976 to add to the congressional findings under such Act that both an antirecession fiscal assistance program and a supplementary fiscal assistance program which aid governments requiring fiscal relief are essential elements of a sound Federal fiscal policy. Extends the authorization of appropriations for antirecession fiscal assistance through September 30, 1980. Provides for the suspension of such assistance in certain circumstances if the unemployment rate does not exceed six percent. Amends such Act to require the Secretary of Labor to calculate the unemployment rate for specified units of local governments, within or encompassing standard metropolitan statistical areas, using the population survey methodology used prior to January 1, 1978, if such rates are higher than under the current methodology. Requires the Secretary of Commerce to reallocate any undistributed excess amounts among the States and local governments proportionately. Repeals the requirement that States and local governments file statements with the Secretary containing certain reporting assurances. Authorizes the Secretary to make supplemental payments to local governments whose allocation would be reduced as a result of calculating unemployment rates by a new formula. Directs the Secretary of Labor to provide the Secretary of Commerce with necessary information and to determine unemployment rates for each State and local government. Authorizes the Secretary of Commerce to pay supplementary fiscal assistance to local governments with unemployment rates above six percent whenever the unemployment rate for the United States is five percent or more. Authorizes appropriations for such assistance through September 30, 1980. Provides for the suspension of such assistance if antirecession fiscal assistance is being paid or U.S. unemployment rates are less than five percent. Specifies the formula to be used in determining payments under this Act. Requires the Secretary of Commerce to combine certain supplementary payments with the general revenue sharing payment and make a single payment to the local governmental unit. Provides for the reallocation of any undistributed excess amounts among the local governmental units proportionately. Requires local governments receiving supplementary fiscal assistance to comply with those provisions applicable to antirecession fiscal assistance.
United States · United States Congress · 1 February 1979
Stipulates that civilian air traffic controllers of the Department of Defense shall be treated the same as air traffic controllers of the Department of Transportation for purposes of retirement. Permits the Secretary of Transportation and the Secretary of Defense to jointly prescribe regulations and make determinations relating to the definition, training, involuntary separation for retirement, and mandatory separation of air traffic controllers employed by the Department of Transportation and the Department of Defense.
United States · United States Congress · 1 February 1979
Amends the Internal Revenue Code to permit taxpayers who do not itemize income tax deductions to claim a deduction from gross income for charitable contributions.
United States · United States Congress · 31 January 1979
Small Business Regulatory Relief Act - Amends the Small Business Act to direct each Federal department, agency, and instrumentality engaged in rulemaking to prepare a written analysis of whether it is legal, feasible, and desirable to exempt small businesses (or classes thereof) from a rule or whether the agency should promulgate a rule with lesser compliance standards for small businesses. Sets forth information which must be present in such analysis.
United States · United States Congress · 31 January 1979
Uniformed Services Health Professionals Special Pay Act of 1979 - Revises the special pay for medical officers, dental officers, veterinary officers, and optometry officers in the uniformed services on active duty.
United States · United States Congress · 31 January 1979
National Oil Recycling Act - Amends the Internal Revenue Code of 1954 to exempt lubricating oils sold for use in producing rerefined oil from the excise tax imposed on lubricating oils. Directs all Federal officials to encourage the use of recycled oil through Federal contracts and procurement policies. Directs the General Services Administration, the Department of Defense, and all other Federal agencies to revise procurement regulations to conform to the intent of this Act. Authorizes the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency to make grants to States which submit acceptable waste oil management plans in accordance with prescribed criteria. Imposes monetary limitations on the amount of such grants. Stipulates that this Act shall not preempt stricter State controls over recycled oil. Directs the Administrator to issue regulations governing the labeling of recycled oil in order to encourage the recycling of oil. Requires that automotive oil packaged for sale to consumers be sold in resalable containers with a mandatory 30 cent refund value for each container. Directs the Administrator of Energy Research and Development to establish a program of research to improve the performance and marketability of recycled oil. Requires the development of performance standards and testing standards designed to compare the performance of recycled oil with new oil. Prohibits contracts which intend to discourage the recycling of used oil. Imposes criminal penalties for violations of such prohibition. Requires major users of industrial oil, used oil recyclers, and used oil collectors to maintain complete records of oil recycling-related activities. Requires the Administrator of Energy Research and Development to submit various reports to Congress on activities undertaken pursuant to this Act. Authorizes the mandatory licensing of patent rights where necessary to accomplish the purposes of this Act. Imposes criminal penalties for violation of the provisions of this Act.
United States · United States Congress · 31 January 1979
Amends the Department of Defense Appropriation Act, 1979, to permit up to ten percent of the funds appropriated in such Act for payments under contracts made for the purpose of relieving economic dislocations.
United States · United States Congress · 31 January 1979
Amends the Federal Property and Administrative Services Act of 1949 to permit the Administrator of General Services to assign to the Secretary of Commerce for disposal such surplus real property, including any improvements situated thereon, as is determined by the Secretary to be required to help multistate, State, and local areas meet special needs arising from actual or threatened severe unemployment arising from actions of the Federal Government in closing Federal facilities. Permits the Secretary to transfer or sell such property to any State, political subdivision, Indian tribe, or tax-exempt corporation, for public works, public service or development facility, or other economic development use. Authorizes the Federal Government to reenter and take such property if it is not used for economic development purposes for at least 20 years. Allows any entity qualifying under this Act to obtain a refund from the Administrator if the current or proposed use of such property would qualify under this Act if such property was disposed of by the Administrator after September 1, 1975, and before the enactment of this Act.
United States · United States Congress · 31 January 1979
Amends title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act to authorize payment for specified services performed by chiropractors, including x-rays and for physical examinations, and for related routine laboratory tests.
United States · United States Congress · 29 January 1979
Amends the Internal Revenue Code to extend to permanently and totally disabled individuals the one time $100,000 exclusion of gain from the sale of a principal residence.
United States · United States Congress · 29 January 1979
Spending Limitation Act - Amends the Congressional Budget and Impoundment Control Act of 1974 to limit the total Federal outlays agreed to in the second or any further concurrent resolution on the Budget to the following percentages of the gross national product: 21 percent in fiscal year 1980; 20 percent in fiscal year 1981; 19 percent in fiscal year 1982; and 18 percent in the fiscal year 1983. Authorizes the Congress to waive such limitations by a two-thirds vote of each House.
United States · United States Congress · 29 January 1979
Small Business Tax Relief Act of 1979 - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to limit recognition on the gain from the sale or exchange of an unincorporated trade or business prior to the time that the taxpayer attains age 55 by providing that such gain shall be recognized only to the extent that it exceeds the cost of reinvesting in replacement property for another small business venture. Provides for the taxation of such gain, after age 55, as ordinary income according to the ten year averaging rules applicable to lump sum distributions from employee benefit plans. Increases the additional first year depreciation allowance for small businesses. Permits a taxpayer election to amortize over a 36 month period expenses for depreciable property which is acquired to put a small business in compliance with Federal regulations and which does not have any economic usefulness for the business. Exempts domestic international sales corporations (DISC) which have adjusted taxable income of $1,000,000 or less from the limitations on deferral of base period export gross receipts which are applicable to larger corporations. Permits businesses with gross receipts of less than $1,000,000 to elect the cash method of accounting in reporting income. Allows a refund to employers of their proportionate share of excess social security payments made on behalf of employees who were employed by two or more employers during the taxable year. Permits an income tax credit of $5 for each form or document which a small business is required to file pursuant to Federal law.
United States · United States Congress · 29 January 1979
Amends the Internal Revenue Code to provide that, for purposes of computing the allowable retirement plan exclusion and employer contributions allowance for church employees, all years of service for a church, church association, or an agency for such churches, shall be considered employment for one employer. Extends to church employees the same option presently enjoyed by employees of tax-exempt health and education organizations to elect alternative exclusion allowances for contributions to annuity contracts. Provides a minimum $10,000 allowance for annual additions to these contracts without regard to the amount of the employee's compensation.
United States · United States Congress · 29 January 1979
Tax Rate Reduction and Indexing Act of 1979 - Title I: Individual Tax Rates - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to reduce the income tax rates for individuals for the taxable years 1980 through 1982. Title II: Inflation Adjustment - Requires the Secretary of the Treasury, not later than December 15 of each calendar year beginning in 1982, to prescribe individual income tax rate tables: (1) by increasing the maximum dollar amount on which no tax is imposed under each table, and the minimum and maximum dollar amounts for each rate bracket for which a tax is imposed, by the cost-of-living adjustment for such year; (2) by not changing the rate applicable to any rate bracket as adjusted; and (3) by adjusting the amounts setting forth the tax to the extent necessary to reflect the adjustments in the rate brackets. Declares the cost-of-living adjustment for any calendar year as the percentage by which the Department of Labor's Consumer Price Index for all-urban consumers for the preceding calendar year exceeds the Consumer Price Index for calendar year 1981. Requires cost-of-living adjustments in zero bracket amounts, personal tax exemptions, and withholding taxes. Sets the minimum gross income for which an income tax return is required from certain individuals at an amount less than the sum of the exemption amount plus the applicable zero bracket amount.
United States · United States Congress · 29 January 1979
Amends the Internal Revenue Code to make permanent the special tax treatment of church agency pension plans as qualified church plans. Provides that plans maintained by groups or associations of churches include individuals "substantially all" of whom are qualified beneficiaries. Allows such plans to retain accrued benefits, according to their terms, or to continue receiving contributions for up to five years for separated employees. Allows any plan which is determined to have failed to meet church plan requirements a grace period of 270 days, or any other period specified by the Secretary of the Treasury or a court in an adjudication of such an issue, to bring itself into compliance without becoming disqualified. Applies these provisions retroactively to 1974.
United States · United States Congress · 29 January 1979
Amends the Federal Mine Safety and Health Amendments Act of 1977 to provide that provisions of such Act shall not apply to stone mining or sand and gravel mining operations.
United States · United States Congress · 29 January 1979
Amends the Employee Retirement Income Security Act to make permanent the special tax treatment of church agency pension plans as qualified church plans. Provides that plans maintained by groups or associations of churches include individuals "substantially all" of whom are qualified beneficiaries. Allows such plans to retain accrued benefits, according to their terms, or to continue receiving contributions for up to five years for separated employees. Allows any plan which is determined to have failed to meet church plan requirements a grace period of 270 days, or any other period specified by the Secretary of the Treasury or a court in an adjudication of such an issue, to bring itself into compliance without becoming disqualified. Applies these provisions retroactively to 1974.
United States · United States Congress · 25 January 1979
Title I: Improvements in Adjustment Assistance for Workers - Amends the Trade Act of 1974 to require the Secretary of Labor to reconsider any denial of adjustment assistance for workers separated from employment up to 18 months before a petition for such assistance was granted. Authorizes workers separated from employment between October 31, 1974, and November 1, 1977, who previously did not file a petition for certification of eligibility for adjustment assistance, to file such a petition for consideration by the Secretary. Authorizes the filing of such petitions by the Secretary on behalf of any group of workers, as well as by a group of workers or their representative. Requires the Secretary to certify a group of workers as eligible to apply for adjustment assistance if: (1) sales or production at their place of employment decrease or threaten to decrease due to increased imports; or (2) (a) at least 25 percent of the total sales or production of their firm consists of providing articles or services to an import-impacted firm, and (b) a significant number of workers have been or may be separated due to a decrease or threatened decrease of sales or production of articles or services for such an import-impacted firm. Directs the Secretary of Labor to provide information to the Secretary of Commerce regarding petitions for adjustment assistance filed by workers when the workers' firm has also filed for such assistance. Stipulates that no adjustment assistance shall be provided a worker until sales or production at the worker's firm have decreased absolutely. Provides for trade readjustment allowances to be made to workers who: (1) had been employed at least 26 weeks in the year prior to separation or 40 weeks in the two years prior to separation; and (2) were part of a group certified as eligible for such assistance. Extends the time during which certain workers can continue to receive readjustment allowances. Directs the Secretary to establish experimental training programs for workers displaced by import competition. Requires the Secretary to report with recommendations to Congress by March 1, 1982, concerning the effectiveness of such training programs. Authorizes appropriations for such programs through fiscal year 1981. Increases the job search allowances and relocation allowances provided adversely affected workers. Revises the conditions for such allowances. Title II: Improvements in Adjustment Assistance to Firms - Amends the Trade Act of 1974 to authorize the Secretary of Commerce to certify firms, whose sales or production decrease or threaten to decrease due to increased imports, as eligible for adjustment assistance. Authorizes the Secretary to certify as eligible for such assistance those firms where at least 25 percent of their sales go to an import-impacted firm and significant numbers of workers have been or may be separated due to a decrease or threatened decrease of sales or production of articles or services for such an import-impacted firm. Requires the Secretary of Commerce to share information provided by firms petitioning for certification with the Secretary of Labor. Prohibits any assistance to firms until sales or production have decreased absolutely. Requires the Secretary of Commerce to provide technical assistance to firms preparing proposals for adjustment assistance. Increases the proportion of the cost the Secretary will bear for technical assistance furnished to firms through private individuals, firms, or institutions. Authorizes the Secretary to contract to pay to, or on behalf of, a borrower an amount to reduce the interest such borrower must pay on financial assistance loans guaranteed pursuant to this Act. Revises the conditions for financial assistance to adversely affected firms. Title III: General Provisions - Establishes a Commerce-Labor Adjustment Action Committee to coordinate the economic adjustment responsibilities of the Departments of Commerce and Labor and other Federal agencies. Authorizes the Secretary of Labor to make grants to unions and employee organizations concerning the design of an effective program of trade adjustment assistance for workers. Authorizes the Secretary of Commerce to: (1) make grants for industry-wide programs designed to improve economic efficiency; and (2) study those industries threatened by import competition.
United States · United States Congress · 25 January 1979
Amends the Internal Revenue Code to allow certain individuals to compute the amount of the income tax deduction for retirement savings on the basis of the earned income of their spouses.
United States · United States Congress · 25 January 1979
Excludes from the Federal law limiting and restricting the corporate powers of national banking associations to deal in and underwrite investment securities, specified dealings in and underwriting of all other nongeneral obligations issued or guaranteed by or on behalf of a State or any political subdivision thereof or agency of a State or any political subdivision thereof (except special assessment obligations and industrial revenue bonds) which are at the time eligible for purchase by a national bank for its own account, subject to specified limitations. Requires the Secretary of the Treasury to submit an annual report to the Congress showing the extent to which the business of underwriting and dealing in State and local obligations is being carried on by commercial banks as compared with other banking institutions with a view to determining the effect of the amendment made by the first section of this Act on the institutional distribution of such business.
United States · United States Congress · 25 January 1979
Allows reserve enlisted members of the Army and the Air Force to retire with 20 years of service.
United States · United States Congress · 25 January 1979
Requires that whoever uses a firearm during the commission of a felony over which a Federal court has original and exclusive jurisdiction, or whoever carries a firearm during the commission of such felony if an element of such felony is the use or threat of violence, shall, in addition to the punishment provided for the commission of such crime, be sentenced to a term of imprisonment of not less than five nor more than ten years. Requires in the care of a second or subsequent conviction the imposition of a term of imprisonment of not less than ten years, or to life imprisonment. Stipulates that the execution or imposition of any term of imprisonment under this Act: (1) may not be suspended; (2) may not run concurrently; and (3) may not include probation.
United States · United States Congress · 25 January 1979
Directs the President to inform Congress of any dangers to Taiwan. Declares the policy of the United States to safeguard its interest and meet any dangers to Taiwan.
United States · United States Congress · 24 January 1979
Permits taxpayers to designate on their income tax returns whether they wish to contribute any portion of their income tax refund or make any additional contribution to the support of either the arts or the humanities. Directs the Secretary of the Treasury to amend income tax return forms to provide a notice to taxpayers of their option to contribute. Authorizes the payment of 50 percent of taxpayer refunds or contributions designated for the arts to the National Endowment for the Arts and 50 percent to State Art Agencies. Specifies purposes for which such funds may be used and imposes restrictions on the use of such funds for administrative purposes or for research projects. Treats payments of funds to State agencies as donations from private persons and not as Federal assistance. Authorizes the payment of 80 percent of taxpayer refunds or contributions designated for the humanities to the National Endowment for the Humanities and 20 percent to State Humanities Entities. Specifies purposes for which such funds may be used and imposes restrictions on the use of such funds for administrative purposes or for research projects. Treats payments of funds to State Humanities Entities as donations from private persons and not as Federal assistance. Prohibits any Endowment or agency to which funds are paid under this Act from requiring any applicant for funds to raise additional funds or meet any matching requirements. Prohibits the use of funds raised by this Act to make grants to any institutions which hold such funds for investment. Limits the amount of funds which any institution may receive under this Act according to a specified percentage of the institution's operating budget.
United States · United States Congress · 24 January 1979
Entitles veterans meeting specified service requirements to 54 instead of 45 months of educational assistance. Eliminates the time limitation within which educational assistance must be used. Restores unused educational assistance benefits to veterans of World War II, the Korean conflict, or the Vietnam era.
United States · United States Congress · 23 January 1979
Parental Kidnapping Act of 1979 - Requires appropriate State authorities to give full faith and credit to a child custody determination by a court of another State which has jurisdiction and meets specified conditions. Authorizes a State court with jurisdiction to modify a custody determination of another State court which no longer has or has declined to exercise jurisdiction. Amends title IV (Child Support and Establishment of Paternity) of the Social Security Act to include as a function of the Parent Locator Service the provision of information to authorized persons about any absent parent or child for the enforcement of a child custody determination or with regard to parental kidnapping. Prohibits the intentional restraint of a child in violation of any other persons' right of custody or visitation arising from: (1) a State custody determination; (2) a valid written agreement between the child's parents, foster parents, or guardians; or (3) a parental or guardian relationship. Specifies (1) the jurisdictional basis for such offense, including the willful transportation of a child in interstate commerce, and (2) Federal investigation procedures.
United States · United States Congress · 22 January 1979
Amends the Internal Revenue Code to allow an income tax credit for the installation of a wood or peat burning stove.
United States · United States Congress · 22 January 1979
Authorizes the Secretary of Defense to budget funds for certain specified purposes to assist the Civil Air Patrol. Authorizes appropriations for such purpose. Authorizes the Secretary of the Air Force to give, sell, or lend to the Civil Air Patrol excess property acquired by the Air Force under the Federal Property and Administrative Services Act of 1949.
United States · United States Congress · 22 January 1979
Recognizes the achievements of Doctor Mahlon Loomis on being the first person to invent and demonstrate a system of wireless communication.
United States · United States Congress · 22 January 1979
Requests the President to declare June 3 through 9, 1979, as "National Neighborhood Week."
United States · United States Congress · 22 January 1979
Constitutional Amendment - Declares the term "person," with respect to due process and equal protection, applicable to human beings irrespective of age, health, function or condition of dependency, including the unborn. Prohibits the deprivation of life of an unborn person, except pursuant to laws permitting medical procedures required to prevent the death of the mother.
United States · United States Congress · 18 January 1979
Foreign Intelligence Information Protection Act of 1979 - Amends the National Security Act of 1947 by adding a new Title V: Protection of Foreign Intelligence Information. Authorizes the Director of Central Intelligence to designate information as sensitive intelligence information or to remove such designation. Establishes a maximum criminal penalty of life imprisonment and/or a $20,000 fine for the offense of espionage, defined as an unauthorized and knowing act to (1) communicate classified information to a foreign power, or (2) obtain and collect such information on behalf of a foreign power. Establishes a maximum criminal penalty of ten years imprisonment and/or a $10,000 fine for anyone who, having had lawful access to classified information, knowingly acts to disclose such information without authority. Establishes as a separate offense the knowing disclosure of sensitive intelligence information, with a penalty up to 20 years imprisonment and/or a $10,000 fine. Establishes a maximum criminal penalty of five years imprisonment and/or a $5,000 fine for anyone who without authority discloses information which identifies or could identify any individual or entity as being or having been associated with a United States agency engaged in foreign intelligence or counterintelligence activities, where such disclosure could prejudice the physical safety of the individual or entity identified. Allows prosecution for the offenses of espionage or unauthorized disclosure of sensitive intelligence information only if the Attorney General and the Director of Central Intelligence certify in writing that at the time of the commission of the offense the information allegedly disclosed was properly designated.
United States · United States Congress · 18 January 1979
Authorizes the Secretary of Health, Education, and Welfare to provide, through demonstration projects, payments to individuals who are receiving, or are eligible to receive, benefits with respect to post-hospital extended care services under title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act or intermediate care facility services or skilled nursing facility services under title XIX (Medicaid) of such Act, who do not require 24-hour nursing care or supervision, and who desire to establish noninstitutional living arrangement which will meet their medical and other needs. Requires payments received to be used to finance appropriate noninstitutional living arrangements which meet the medical and other needs of the individual. Provides that such payments shall not be includable in gross income under the Internal Revenue Code. Requires the Secretary to design demonstration projects for the purpose of determining: (1) the feasibility of transferring inpatients of skilled nursing and intermediate care facilities to noninstitutional living arrangements; (2) the types and percentage of such inpatients who could live effectively in a noninstitutional living arrangement; and (3) the types and percentages of such inpatients who would benefit economically and qualitatively from transferring to a noninstitutional living arrangement. Directs that funds for such payments be made from the Federal Hospital Insurance Fund established under the Social Security Act and from funds appropriated for Medicaid.
United States · United States Congress · 18 January 1979
Sound Recording Performance Rights Amendment - Amends the copyright law to give the owner of a sound recording copyright the exclusive right to perform or authorize the performance of the copyrighted work publicly. Exempts specified educational, religious, literary, and governmental performances of sound recordings from copyright infringements. Limits further the exclusive right of the owner of copyrights in sound recordings of specified kinds of works to the right to perform publicly all or any part of the actual sounds fixed in such recordings. Stipulates that the exclusive right to perform publicly, by means of a phonorecord, a copyrighted literary, musical, or dramatic work, and to perform publicly a copyrighted sound recording are separate and independent rights under this Act. Subjects the exclusive performance right in a sound recording to compulsory licensing if phonorecords of such recording have been distributed to the public under the authority of the copyright owner. Sets forth the requirements for obtaining such license. Establishes the royalty rates or payments for broadcast stations based on gross receipts of advertising sponsors, and gives the compulsory licensee the option of computing such royalty fees on either a prorated or blanket basis. Directs that royalty fees shall be deposited by the Register of Copyrights in the United States Treasury and invested by the Secretary of the Treasury in interest-bearing United States securities. Establishes the procedure for the distribution of royalties to persons claiming entitlement to compulsory license fees. Exempts certain broadcast stations and transmitters which publicly perform a copyrighted sound recording from liability for infringement and compulsory licensing requirements if the gross receipts of such stations are less than specified amounts. Stipulates that if an owner of a copyright authorizes the public distribution of material objects that reproduce such copyrighted sounds but do not include any accompanying motion picture, a compulsory licensee shall be freed from further liability for infringement for the public performance of such sounds. Directs the Copyright Royalty Tribunal to retain the services of one or more private, nongovernmental entities to monitor and value sound recording performances, distribute royalty funds to recipients, and perform other functions deemed necessary.
United States · United States Congress · 18 January 1979
American Tax Reduction Act of 1979 - States as the purposes of this Act: (1) the reduction of the public debt; (2) the imposition of limits on Federal spending; (3) the inducement of Members of Congress to eliminate unneeded Federal programs; (4) the reduction of individual income taxes; (5) tax relief for homeowners; and (6) the indexation of tax rates to reflect inflation of income. Title I: Individual Income Tax Rate Reductions - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to reduce individual and estate and trust income tax rates for 1979, 1980, and 1981, and to make a permanent reduction in such rates for years after 1981. Title II: Provisions Relating to Capital Gains - Reduces the alternative tax on capital gains to 15 percent of the net capital gain. Eliminates capital gains as an item of tax preference for purposes of the minimum and maximum tax. Repeals the alternative minimum tax schedule for capital gains of individual taxpayers which was enacted by the Revenue Act of 1978. Permits a taxpayer to elect to offset against taxable income all capital losses not in excess of taxable income. Permits a one-year carryover of losses in excess of taxable income. Eliminates the age requirement (55) for eligibility for the one-time $100,000 exclusion of gain from the sale of a principal residence. Title III: Provisions Relating to Indexing for Inflation - Requires cost-of-living adjustments to income brackets for purposes of the individual income tax and the normal tax on corporate income. Requires a similar adjustment to capital assets for purposes of determining gain or loss and to estates and gifts in determining the tax at the time of transfer. Replaces the corporate income tax rates with a graduated, five-tier schedule, imposing the uppermost (46 percent) marginal rate upon income in excess of $100,000. Title IV: Reduction in Federal Spending - Amends the Congressional Budget Act of 1974 to limit Federal spending to 18 percent of the gross national product by fiscal year 1983. Prohibits the consideration of any bill in Congress which would cause the spending limit to be exceeded. Title V: Reduction of the Public Debt - Amends such Act further to the application of two percent of the annual Federal budget to the retirement of the Federal deficit.
United States · United States Congress · 18 January 1979
Amends rule X of the Rules the House of Representatives to establish a standing Committee on Internal Security to investigate and report on Communist and other subversive activities affecting the internal security of the United States, including activities intended to overthrow or alter the form of government in the United States by unlawful means or which incite or employ violence or any unlawful means to obstruct the lawful authority of the government.
United States · United States Congress · 15 January 1979
Directs the Secretary of the Treasury to pay a specified sum to a named foreign corporation in satisfaction of a claim against the United States.
United States · United States Congress · 15 January 1979
Repeals the requirement, under the Social Security Amendments of 1977, that the amount of monthly benefits payable to a spouse or surviving spouse under title II (Old-Age, Survivors and Disability Insurance) of the Social Security Act be reduced by the amount such spouse or surviving spouse receives in monthly payments from a Federal or State pension fund.
United States · United States Congress · 15 January 1979
Solar Energy Bank Act - Establishes a Government corporation in the Department of Housing and Urban Development to be known as the Solar Energy Development Bank to make long-term, low-interest loans to encourage the use of solar energy in commercial and residential structures. Sets forth requirements for loan eligibility concerning the term and amount of the loan and necessary warranties for the solar energy systems covered by such loan. Prohibits conflicts of interest on the part of officers or employees of the Bank. Imposes criminal penalties for the furnishing of false or misleading information by applicants for loans under this Act. Establishes a seven-member Advisory Board to make annual reports to Congress and the President on the operation of the program established by this Act. Prohibits subsidy payments under this Act to any person who has received other Federal assistance for purchase and/or installation of energy systems similar to the solar systems assisted under this Act.
United States · United States Congress · 15 January 1979
Methanol Fuel Act of 1979 - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to allow individuals to elect an income tax deduction with respect to the amortization of any qualified methanol producing facility based on a period of 60 months. Defines the term "qualified methanol producing facility" to mean any tangible property: (1) which is used in producing methanol from coal, wood, waste, or natural gas; and (2) which is of a character subject to the allowance for depreciation. Specifies the amount of such deduction. Provides that such deduction shall be in lieu of a depreciation deduction. Exempts gasoline and special fuels containing at least ten percent methanol from excise taxes otherwise imposed on gasoline and special fuels.
United States · United States Congress · 15 January 1979
Metric Conversion Repeal Act of 1979 - Repeals the Metric Conversion Act of 1975, which established the United States Metric Board in order to facilitate voluntary conversion to the use of the metric system of measurement.
United States · United States Congress · 15 January 1979
IRA-Employer Plan Coordination Act of 1979 - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to extend to participants in qualified (tax-exempt) private employer pension plans the income tax deduction for cash contributions made by, or on behalf of, such participants to a retirement savings account. Limits such deduction to the excess of the lesser of $1,500 or an amount equal to 15 percent of an individual's employment compensation for the taxable year, over the total amount of contributions made on behalf of such individuals to a plan under which the individual has a nonforfeitable right to 100 percent of his accrued benefits. Specifies limits on the amount of deductible contributions to simplified employee pensions and individual retirement plans. Reduces, by five percent, the allowable deduction for participants in a multiemployer defined benefit plan or church plan. Disallows deductions for employees covered by Government plans, owner-employees, officers of corporations maintaining a plan, ten percent shareholders, and individuals who have attained age 70 1/2. Disallows deductions for individuals who are otherwise qualified but who do not conform to methods prescribed by the Secretary of the Treasury for computing the total amount of plan contributions for a taxable year. Requires the recapture of specified amounts taken as deductions for contributions to a plan in the gross income of a plan participant whose rights under such plan become fully vested. Excludes employee contributions to a qualified employer pension plan from the gross income of the employee. Requires the inclusion in the gross income of a plan participant distributions, not received as an annuity, from a plan to which the participant has made one or more deductible contributions. Imposes an additional tax of ten percent on plan distributions which a plan participant receives before 59 1/2. Requires the administrator of a qualified private employer pension plan to submit an annual written statement of information concerning the plan to its participants. Requires an individual retirement account to contain a method for determining the taxable year in which specific contributions are made to it and the amount of income and loss which is attributable to a specific contribution for each taxable year.
United States · United States Congress · 15 January 1979
Amends the Tariff Schedules of the United States to increase the custom duties on certain wooden boxes lined with textiles.
United States · United States Congress · 15 January 1979
States that in the case of mentally retarded individual living in the household of a member of his or her immediate family and receiving support and maintenance in kind from such member, such support and maintenance shall not be included as unearned income for purposes of benefits under title XVI (Supplemental Security Income Program) of the Social Security Act. Provides that mentally retarded persons who are inmates at small community residences for the mentally retarded, at which there are no more than 15 residents, shall be eligible for supplemental security income benefits. Excludes from income for purposes of determining such benefits housing assistance payments made under the United States Housing Act. States that mentally retarded persons who are unable to continue working by reason of such impairment shall not be considered ineligible for benefits. Requires that applications for benefits shall be acted upon within a maximum of 60 days after filing. Directs the Secretary of Health, Education, and Welfare to coordinate the administration of the supplemental security benefits program with the administration of other programs providing assistance, with a view to assuring that such recipients are aware of the availability of such assistance.
United States · United States Congress · 15 January 1979
Amends the Internal Revenue Code to allow an additional personal tax exemption of $750 for a taxpayer supporting a dependent who is mentally retarded.