United States · United States Congress · 17 February 1981
Amends the Internal Revenue Code to allow individuals a refundable income tax credit equal to one-third of the total cost during the taxable year of heating oil purchased by such individuals for use in a residence. Limits the dollar amount of such credit to $400 for the taxable year. Reduces the amount of such credit by one percent of the amount by which the taxpayer's adjusted gross income exceeds $20,000. Provides for the termination of the credit for taxable years ending after December 31, 1983.
United States · United States Congress · 6 February 1981
Export Trading Company Act of 1981 - Establishes within the Department of Commerce an office to: (1) promote the formation of export trade associations and export trading companies; (2) provide information; and (3) facilitate contacts between producers of exportable goods and firms offering export trade services. Title I: Export Trading Companies - Authorizes any banking organization to invest up to specified amounts in export trading companies upon notifying, but without obtaining the prior approval of, the appropriate Federal banking agency, if such investment does not cause an export trading company to become a subsidiary of such organization. Allows greater investment by Edge Act Corporations not engaged in banking. Permits any banking organization to invest beyond such limitations with the prior approval of the appropriate Federal banking agency. Requires prior notification of such agencies in specified circumstances. Sets forth further limitations on export trading companies and investments by banking organizations. Specifies factors to be taken into consideration by the banking agencies. Permits such agencies to impose conditions in approving applications to invest in export trading companies. Requires such agencies to report to the appropriate Congressional committees with their recommendations concerning implementation of this Act, related changes in U.S. law, and effects of ownership of U.S. banks by foreign banking organizations. Provides for judicial review of denial orders in the appropriate U.S. Court of Appeals. Sets forth the grounds for disapproval. Provides for remand for further consideration by the banking agency. Directs the Economic Development Administration and the Small Business Administration to give special weight to export-related benefits when considering applications for loans and guarantees by export trading companies. Authorizes appropriations for initial investments and operating expenses for fiscal years 1982 through 1985. Directs the Export-Import Bank of the United States to provide loan guarantees to export trading companies or exporters to be secured by accounts receivable or inventories when adequate financing is not otherwise available and such guarantees will facilitate expansion of exports. Title II: Antitrust Provisions - Amends the Webb-Pomerene Act to exempt the export trade, activities, and methods of operation of certified export trade associations and export trading companies from the antitrust laws. Sets forth the procedure to be followed by any association or trading company seeking certification under this Act and by the Secretary in issuing such certificates. Provides for appeal of the Secretary's denial of certification. Authorizes the Attorney General or the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) to bring an action to invalidate a certification. Requires the Secretary, in consultation with the Attorney General and the FTC, to publish guidelines for determining whether an association or export trading company will meet the certification requirements. Requires certified associations and export trading companies to submit annual reports to the Secretary. Requires, with specified exceptions, that all applications for certification be kept confidential. Authorizes the Secretary to require an association or trading company to modify its operation to be consistent with international obligations of the United States. Directs the President to appoint, with the Senate's advice and consent, a task force seven years after enactment to examine the effect of this Act and to make recommendations. Applies, with a specified exception, the antitrust laws in effect before enactment of this Act to any existing export trade association and its trading activities. Provides for automatic certification of existing associations. Title III: Taxation of Export Trading Companies - Amends the Internal Revenue Code of 1954 to make banking organizations which have invested in an export trading company eligible for treatment as domestic international sales corporations (DISC). Includes the gross receipts from the export of services produced in the United States and from export trade services as qualified export receipts, in the case of a DISC which is an export trading company. Directs the Secretary of Commerce, with the Secretary of the Treasury, to develop and distribute information concerning the utilization of the DISC provisions. Amends the Internal Revenue Code of 1954 to make export trading companies eligible for Subchapter S treatment if the shareholders of such companies are otherwise small business corporations. Exempts such companies from restrictions on the amount of foreign income they can receive and still be eligible for Subchapter S tax treatment.
United States · United States Congress · 6 February 1981
Amends Federal law to require all polling places (except in Hawaii and Alaska) to close at eight post meridiem eastern standard time for the 1984 Presidential elections. Makes Election Day, 1984, a legal public holiday.
United States · United States Congress · 6 February 1981
Steel Industry Compliance Extension Act of 1981 - Amends the Clean Air Act to authorize the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency to extend the date for compliance with emission limitation requirements by owners or operators of a stationary source in an iron and steel producing operation if: (1) the compliance date extension is necessary to allow the applicant to make capital investments in its operations to improve efficiency and productivity; (2) the funds freed by such extension will be used within two years for additional capital investments in the applicant's operations; (3) the Administrator and the applicant agree to a phased compliance program for each of the applicant's stationary sources; (4) the applicant has sufficient funds to comply with such program; (5) the applicant is in compliance with any existing Federal decrees applicable to its operations; and (6) the compliance date extension will not result in the degradation of air quality during the extension term. Prohibits the imposition of a noncompliance penalty under the Clean Air Act upon an owner or operator with a compliance date extension provided their stationary source remains in compliance with all the requirements of such extension. Makes available to the public all information obtained by the Administrator under this Act, subject to a specified exception. States that revision of a State implementation plan is not required because a compliance date extension has been granted if such plan would have met Clean Air Act requirements prior to the granting of such extension.
United States · United States Congress · 6 February 1981
Amends the Federal criminal code to establish penalties for whoever, with intent to interfere with any person freely exercising his religion, damages or destroys a religious house of worship, any religious object contained in such house, a cemetery, or religious school.
United States · United States Congress · 6 February 1981
Social Security Payroll Credit Act of 1981 - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to allow employers, employees, and self-employed individuals a refundable income tax credit equal to ten percent of the amount of social security taxes paid by such individuals in 1981 or 1982.
United States · United States Congress · 6 February 1981
Family Farm Estate Tax Relief Act of 1981 - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to permit the executor of an estate to exclude the value of real property used in farming from a decedent's gross estate for purposes of the estate tax. Excludes up to the first $750,000 of the value of the farm property and certain percentages of the value in excess of $750,000. Requires a percentage reduction of the amount of the exclusion for farm property in excess of $1,350,000.
United States · United States Congress · 5 February 1981
Administrative Rulemaking Reform Act - Directs a Federal agency preparing to hold a rulemaking session to make a reasonable effort to inform those likely to be affected by the proposed rulemaking. Requires the notice of rulemaking to include: (1) the projected effective date of the rules; (2) the purpose of the rulemaking; (3) the text of the proposed rules; and (4) the studies on which the agency intends to rely in the rulemaking proceedings. Requires public notice and public opportunity for comment on all rulemaking proceedings unless the agency finds that proposed rules are emergency rules or are of routine or insignificant impact. Requires Federal agencies to give interested persons at least 45 days to participate in the rulemaking. Provides for agency hearings to receive oral comments, and procedures to resolve significant controversies over factual issues. Requires each agency to maintain a public file of all relevant material and required statements for each rulemaking. Prohibits adoption of a proposed rule that has been revised substantially unless interested persons are provided an opportunity to comment on such revisions. Sets forth an expedited rulemaking procedure for rules to replace emergency rules. Directs each agency to submit a copy of each promulgated rule to each House of Congress. Declares that no rule, excluding an emergency rule, shall become effective if: (1) both Houses of Congress adopt a concurrent resolution disapproving it within 90 days of continuous session of Congress; or (2) one House adopts such a resolution within 60 such days and the other House does not disapprove such resolution within 30 days thereafter. Authorizes either House to adopt a resolution directing an agency to reconsider and repromulgate a newly promulgated rule or an existing rule within a specified period. Provides that if such agency fails to act such rule shall lapse. Directs the Administrative Conference of the United States to study and report on the effects on rulemaking of the Congressional review provisions of this Act. Authorizes appropriations for such study. Directs a court reviewing an agency rule to set aside any rule found to be unwarranted by material in the rulemaking file.
United States · United States Congress · 5 February 1981
Stipulates that the payment of retired or retainer pay which would otherwise be made to a member of the armed forces shall be paid by the Secretary concerned to another person to the extent provided for in the terms of any court decree of divorce, annulment, or legal separation.
United States · United States Congress · 5 February 1981
Establishes the Interagency Task Force on Ocean Dumping of Radioactive Wastes (the task force). Directs the task force to: (1) prepare an inventory of ocean sites at which radioactive wastes were dumped between 1945 and 1970; (2) make a preliminary assessment of the adverse effects of such wastes on the environment and public health; and (3) develop a comprehensive plan for continuous monitoring of such wastes in order to assess short-and long-term adverse impacts on the environment and public health. Empowers the task force to issue subpoenas for any evidence relating to any incident of ocean dumping of radioactive waste. Requires any Federal agencies which engaged in or authorized such dumping to furnish information upon written request of the task force. Requires the task force to report to Congress by October 1, 1982, on the activities required by this Act. Directs the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to set up a preliminary monitoring program on those ocean sites at which radioactive wastes which cause significant adverse impacts on the environment and public health were dumped before 1970. Authorizes appropriations to carry out such program.
United States · United States Congress · 5 February 1981
Authorizes the Administrator of Veterans' Affairs to furnish a memorial headstone or marker to commemorate any veteran whose remains are unavailable because of a donation to science, a burial at sea, or other causes. Directs the Administrator to set aside suitable areas in national cemeteries to honor such veterans.
United States · United States Congress · 5 February 1981
Amends the Merchant Marine Act, 1936, to authorize the Secretary of Commerce to make construction-differential subsidies available to United States built or documented vessels for replacement or upgrading of such vessels' existing propulsion machinery in order to improve energy efficiency. Establishes guidelines for the approval of such subsidies. Sets forth procedures for the negotiation, acceptance, and payment of such subsidies by the Secretary. Requires replacement propulsion equipment to be of United States origin except under specified circumstances. Classifies such upgraded vessel as "new" or "reconstructed" for specified purposes of such Act. Reduces the age of such vessel by ten years for purposes of the obligation to replace it under any operating- differential subsidy and capital construction fund contract or program.
United States · United States Congress · 5 February 1981
Rural Telephone Bank Amendment Act of 1981 - Amends the Rural Electrification Act of 1936 to require the United States to purchase class A stock to fund the Rural Telephone Bank through 1991 until such stock equals $600,000,000. Extends the deadline for such stock to be redeemed and retired by the telephone bank to as soon as practicable after September 30, 1995. Eliminates the minimum amount of class A and class B stock which must be issued before class A stock may be retired.
United States · United States Congress · 5 February 1981
Amends the Omnibus Crime Control Act of 1970 to revise and increase the mandatory penalties for using or carrying a firearm during commission of a Federal felony. Establishes a mandatory term of imprisonment of five years for a first offender (currently, one to ten years) and eight years for a second or subsequent offender (currently, two to 25 years). Extends to first offenders the stipulations, currently applicable only to second offenders, that the court not suspend any sentence, grant probation, or impose the additional sentence concurrently with the sentence imposed for the felony. Prohibits the granting of parole to an offender.
United States · United States Congress · 5 February 1981
Amends title II (Old Age, Survivors and Disability Insurance) of the Social Security Act to provide that disability insurance benefits for an individual having a terminal illness shall begin with the first month during which such individual has such illness.
United States · United States Congress · 5 February 1981
Amends the Public Utility Regulatory Policies Act of 1978 to require separate metering of the electricity or natural gas used in each new building unit constructed after enactment of this Act. Authorizes the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission to bring actions against electric and gas utilities to require compliance with such requirements. Sets forth penalties for violations of such requirements.
United States · United States Congress · 5 February 1981
Amends the Internal Revenue Code to allow individuals a nonrefundable income tax credit for 50 percent of the expenses paid or incurred to make alterations to their residences for the purpose of making such residences more accessible to, and usable by, a handicapped individual who is either the taxpayer, his spouse, or a dependent of the taxpayer. Limits the amount of such credit, for each such handicapped individual, to the lesser of $1,000 or an amount which, when added to previous year's credits, does not exceed $5,000. Reduces the amount of such credit by one-half of the amount by which the adjusted gross income of the taxpayer exceeds $20,000 ($35,000 in the case of married individuals filing jointly). Defines "handicapped individual" as any individual who has a medically identifiable mental or physical impairment which can be expected to result in death or which can be expected to last for a continuous period of at least 12 months, and which severely limits one or more of the major life activities of such individual. Requires the handicapped individual to live in the principal residence for which the alterations are made for not less than a nine month period during the taxable year.
United States · United States Congress · 5 February 1981
Requests the President to designate the week of May 10 to May 16, 1981, as "CARE Week" in observance of the thirty-fifth anniversary of CARE (the Cooperative for American Relief Everywhere, Inc.).
United States · United States Congress · 5 February 1981
Urges the President to extend for three years the orderly marketing agreements between the United States and Taiwan and between the United States and South Korea which limit the exportation from Taiwan and South Korea of nonrubber footwear to the United States.
United States · United States Congress · 4 February 1981
Private Pension Reform Act of 1981 - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to allow to a married individual whose compensation is less than that of his or her spouse the same deduction for retirement savings. Includes as compensation, for purposes of calculating such deduction, alimony and separate maintenance payments. Amends the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA) and the Internal Revenue Code to require pension plans which pay benefits in the form of an annuity to provide a survivor's annuity for the spouse of a participant who dies before the annuity starting date. Specifies that such annuity shall not be less than the payment to which the surviving spouse would be entitled if the participant had died after the annuity starting date. Requires, for the election by a participant not to take a joint and survivor annuity, the written consent of the participant's spouse. Allows the assignment of pension plan benefits pursuant to a specific court order relating to child support, alimony, or marital property rights. Lowers from 25 to 21 the minimum age of participation by employees in a pension plan. Includes approved maternity or paternity leave in the determination of an employee's years of service with an employer, calculated according to a formula which grants 20 hours of service for each week of such leave.
United States · United States Congress · 4 February 1981
Educational Testing Act of 1981 - Requires each postsecondary education admissions testing agency to provide to a test subject information concerning: (1) the purposes of the test; (2) the subject matters and the areas of skill or knowledge being tested; (3) interpretation of test results; (4) various effects upon, and uses of, test scores; (5) the form in which the scores will be reported; (6) any promises made by a testing agency with regard to accuracy, forwarding, and privacy of information of such scores; (7) the property interest of a test subject in such scores, and their storage, disposal, or future use; (8) the time period for mailing such scores to a test subject and designated recipients; (9) special services to accommodate handicapped test subjects; and (10) notice of the information rights and review procedure available to a test subject. Requires a testing agency to notify a test subject and designated recipients if the scores will be delayed ten days or more. Requires a testing agency to provide the Secretary of Education with information concerning any study or statistical report pertaining to a test which it prepares or for which it provides data. Declares that such information shall be considered records for public information purposes. Directs the Secretary to report to the Congress regarding such information within one year of enactment of this Act. Requires a testing agency (with regard to any tests administered to 5,000 or more subjects nationally over a testing year) to file with the Secretary: (1) a copy of all test questions used in determining such test's raw score; (2) the corresponding correct answers; and (3) all rules for transferring raw scores into the scores as reported to a test subject and designated recipients. Declares that such information shall be considered records for public information purposes. Requires a testing agency, upon request, to send to a test subject: (1) a copy of the test questions used to determine the raw score; (2) such test subject's answer sheet, along with the corresponding correct answers; and (3) a statement of the raw score, if such request is made within 90 days of the release of the test score to the subject. Authorizes a fee to be charged to cover the costs of providing a test subject with such information. Prohibits test scores from being disclosed by a testing agency to any person, institution, or governmental agency unless specifically designated as a recipient by a test subject. Authorizes previous scores to be released to any currently designated recipient. Requires a testing agency to report specified cost-related information to the Secretary to ensure that such tests are being offered at a reasonable cost. Requires additional cost-related information to be submitted if a separate fee is charged for admissions data assembly or score reporting services (as defined by this Act). Provides a civil penalty of up to $2,000 for each violation of this Act by a test agency. Defines "standardized test" to mean a test affecting, or distributed through, interstate commerce (exclusive of one used by an individual institution for its own purposes or one used for non-admission or credit-examination purposes) and used for: (1) postsecondary admissions; or (2) preliminary separation for such postsecondary admissions tests.
United States · United States Congress · 4 February 1981
Family Enterprise Estate and Gift Tax Equity Act - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to increase the unified credit against the estate and gift taxes from $47,000 to $155,800 by specified annual increments through 1985. Increases from $175,000 to $500,000, by specified annual increments through 1985, the minimum gross estate requirement for filing of a return. Repeals the existing limitations on the marital deduction for gift and estate taxes. Increases from $3,000 to $6,000 the annual gift tax exclusion. Qualifies estates of decedents who were disabled or retired for the special valuation of certain farms based on use if such decedents materially participated in the operation of the farm for five out of eight years preceding the year in which they became disabled or eligible for disability benefits, under title II (Old Age, Survivors and Disability Insurance) of the Social Security Act. Permits the spouse of a decedent to use such valuation if the spouse has managed the farm or business for ten years preceding the decedent's death or takes over active management upon the decedent's death. Qualifies the owner of a woodland for the special use valuation if the owner or a member of the owner's family actively managed the property for ten years prior to the owner's death. Reduces from 15 to ten years the length of time a qualified property must be held and put to a qualified use following the decedent's death before it can be disposed of without incurring a recapture of estate tax benefits. Permits active management rather than material participation as a test for qualification of the estate for spouses, children under 21, students, and disabled individuals who receive property from a decedent who qualified for special use valuation. Repeals the $500,000 limitation on the reduction of the value of qualified real property permitted by the special use valuation. Allows the like kind exchange of property without loss of special use valuation eligibility. Allows valuation based on net crop share rentals as an alternative method of valuing farms. Repeals the requirement that an heir elect special treatment for involuntary conversions of qualified real property, thus making such treatment automatic upon such conversion. States that gifts made within three years of a decedent's death shall be valued as of the time of transfer rather than as of the date of death. Authorizes an individual to elect to pay a gift tax rather than use the unified tax credit. Modifies the alternate extension of time for payment of the estate tax where the estate consists largely of an interest in a closely held business to: (1) allow an installment payment election if the value of the interest in the closely held business is either 35 percent of the value of the gross estate or 50 percent of the taxable estate; (2) increase to 50 percent the value of an interest disposed of which will accelerate the payment of tax; and (3) permit payment, but with a penalty, of an installment within six months after the due date. Allows a disclaimer of an interest in property for estate tax purposes in specified circumstances where such disclaimer does not result in the passing of the interest concerned under the applicable State law.
United States · United States Congress · 4 February 1981
Title I: Export Trading Companies - Export Trading Company Act of 1981 - Directs the Secretary of Commerce to promote export trading companies by providing information and by facilitating contacts between producers of exportable goods and export trading companies. Authorizes any banking organization to invest up to specified amounts in export trading companies upon notifying, but without obtaining the prior approval of, the appropriate Federal banking agency, if such investment does not cause an export trading company to become a subsidiary of such organization. Allows greater investment by Edge Act Corporations not engaged in banking. Permits any banking organization to invest beyond such limitations with prior approval of the appropriate Federal banking agency. Requires prior notification of such agencies in specified circumstances. Sets forth further limitations on export trading companies and investments by banking organizations. Specifies factors to be taken into consideration by the banking agencies. Permits such agencies to impose conditions in approving applications to invest in export trading companies. Requires such agencies to report to the appropriate Congressional committees with their recommendations concerning implementation of this Act, related changes in U.S. law, and effects of ownership of U.S. banks by foreign banking organizations. Provides for judicial review of denial orders in the appropriate U.S. Court of Appeals. Sets forth the grounds for disapproval. Provides for remand for further consideration by the banking agency. Directs the Economic Development Administration and the Small Business Administration to give special weight to export-related benefits when considering applications for loans and guarantees by export trading companies. Authorizes up to $20,000,000 to be appropriated for initial investments and operating expenses for each of the fiscal years 1981, 1982, 1983, 1984, and 1985. Directs the Export-Import Bank of the United States to provide loan guarantees to export trading companies or exporters, to be secured by accounts receivable or inventories, when adequate financing is not otherwise available and such guarantees will facilitate expansion of exports. Directs the Board of Directors to try to insure that a major share of such guarantees promotes exports from small, medium-size, and minority businesses or agricultural concerns. Title II: Export Trade Associations - Export Trade Association Act of 1981 - Amends the Webb-Pomerene Act to exempt the trade activities and methods of operation of certified export trade associations and export trading companies from the antitrust laws. Delays the effectiveness of any certificate upon the notification of the Secretary of Commerce by the Attorney General or the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) of disagreement with the decision to issue a certificate. Sets forth the procedure to be followed by any association or export trading company seeking certification under this Act and by the Secretary in issuing such certificates. Permits automatic certification for existing associations. Provides for appeal of the Secretary's denial of certification. Authorizes the Attorney General or the FTC to bring an action to invalidate a certification. Requires the Secretary, in consultation with the Attorney General and the FTC, to publish guidelines for determining whether an association or export trading company will meet the certification requirements. Requires certified associations and export trading companies to submit annual reports to the Secretary. Directs the Secretary to establish within the Department of Commerce an Office of Export Trade to promote export trade associations and trading companies. Requires such Office to report annually to the appropriate Congressional committees on all East-West trade transactions requiring validated licenses and on the role of U.S. export trading companies in East-West trade. Grants a temporary exemption from the Sherman Act antitrust provisions for existing associations. Requires that all applications for certification be kept confidential with specified exceptions. Authorizes the Secretary to require an association or trading company to modify its operation to be consistent with international obligations of the United States. Directs the President to appoint, with the Senate's advice and consent, a task force seven years after enactment to examine the effect of this Act and to make recommendations.
United States · United States Congress · 4 February 1981
Federal Reserve Accountability Act of 1981 - Amends the Federal Reserve Act to provide that the Chairman of the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System may be removed from such position by the adoption of a concurrent resolution by a three-fifths vote of both Houses of Congress.
United States · United States Congress · 4 February 1981
Youth Employment Act - Amends the Comprehensive Employment and Training Act(CETA) to revise the statement of purpose and definitions of title IV (Youth Programs). Changes the heading of title IV, Part A to "Youth Employment and Training" (formerly, 'Youth Employment Demonstration Programs"). Revises the purpose of such part to include the provision of employment experience, skill training, and remedial programs designed to improve the long-term employability of disadvantaged and hard-to-employ youth, emphasizing collaborative agreements, where feasible, among local institutions capable of providing needed services. Requires that each CETA Youth Employment and Training fund: (1) develop achievement standards, based on recommendations of various groups, to serve as performance indicators, accepted in the community, of youth achievements needed to obtain and retain unsubsidized jobs in the private sector; (2) establish and maintain an individual achievement record for each participating youth; and (3) formulate a personalized employability plan and periodically assess, with educational officials, the appropriateness for each youth of employment, training, and services assisted under Youth Employment and Training. Defines an eligible youth, for Youth Employment and Training purposes, as one who is economically disadvantaged and aged 16 to 19, inclusive, or aged 20 or 21 if enrolled in high school or in a program leading to a certificate of high school equivalency. Extends eligibility, only for purposes of counseling and related services, to economically disadvantaged youth aged 14 or 15. Permits 20 percent of the funds available for Basic Grants for Youth Employment and Training Programs to be used for youths: (1) who are not economically disadvantaged but have encountered special barriers to employment; or (2) who are participants in a program under the Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention Act of 1974; or (3) who are of migrant or seasonal farmworker families. Provides that any participant in specified programs for students from disadvantaged backgrounds under the Higher Education Act of 1965 shall be eligible for purposes of CETA Title IV Part A Youth Employment and Training programs. Defines eligible applicants, for Part A purposes, as prime sponsors and (under special regulations to be prescribed by the Secretary of Labor) sponsors of Native American or migrant and seasonal farmworker programs. Establishes a new CETA program of Basic Grants for Youth Employment and Training Programs, designed to make a significant long-term impact on structural youth unemployment problems and to enhance job and career prospects through interrelated employment, training, and education. Authorizes the Secretary of Labor (the Secretary) to provide assistance to eligible applicants to provide to eligible youth a range of employability development opportunities and supportive and follow-up services to promote the transition to unsubsidized employment. Sets forth formulas for the allocation of program funds and conditions for receipt of financial assistance. Establishes a new CETA program of Youth Incentive and Supplemental Work Projects. Authorizes the Secretary to establish a program providing economically disadvantaged youth in selected poverty areas with part-time employment, full-time employment, or other appropriate compensated activity by allowing eligible applicants to pay one-half of the program cost with funds provided under the Basic Grants program and the other half with funds provided under the Youth Incentive program. Directs the Secretary to enter into arrangements with prime sponsors to provide: (1) part-time entitlement activities (full-time during the summer months) during the school year for eligible youth from selected poverty areas who resume or maintain secondary school attendance to acquire a high school diploma or equivalency certificate; and (2) otherwise unavailable full-time employment for economically disadvantaged youth aged 16 to 21, inclusive, from selected poverty areas who have a high school diploma or certificate. Directs the Secretary to make tentative advance allocations to eligible applicants for such purposes. Sets forth the extent of entitlement activities. Sets forth procedures for applications and Secretarial review. Prohibits the use of funds for employment under the Youth Incentive program to provide public services previously provided by a political subdivision or local education agency in the area served by the project. Sets forth formulas for the allocation of program funds. Authorizes the Secretary to use discretionary funds to provide: (1) supplemental funds for Basic Grants and Youth Incentive applicants to promote specially worthy programs and programs for youths with special employment barriers or from specified categories and to provide additional allocations to areas experiencing significant increases in unemployment; (2) innovative and experimental programs; (3) outreach and public information programs for juvenile offenders; and (4) projects which will employ eligible youth, particularly economically disadvantaged youth aged 16 to 21, in solar energy and other forms of energy conservation and development. Amends the Wagner-Peyser Act to establish new employment services for youth program. Requires that each State desiring to receive funds under such program submit to the Secretary of Labor a supplement to required plans. Authorizes the Secretary to operate such programs in States which do not submit such a supplement. Requires that such supplements provide for specified general employment services for youth and for specified in school services to assist youth in making a successful transition from school to working life. Requires that such services include the provision of information concerning military and civilian volunteer services opportunities. Limits the Federal share to 80 percent of the cost of such programs. Sets forth formulas for the allocation of funds for such programs. Authorizes appropriations for such program for fiscal year 1981 and fiscal years thereafter. Directs the Secretary of Labor to include in the annual CETA report a statement of findings on the progress made in the implementation of CETA provisions relating to the elimination of artificial barriers to employment. Authorizes appropriations for fiscal years 1981 through 1985 to carry out CETA Youth Employment and Training. Authorizes such appropriations to be included in the appropriation Act for the fiscal year preceding the fiscal year for which such appropriations are available for obligation. Sets forth transition provisions.
United States · United States Congress · 4 February 1981
Domestic Violence Prevention and Services Act - Authorizes the Secretary of Health and Human Services to make grants to States and Indian tribes for projects designed to prevent domestic violence and provide immediate shelter and other assistance for victims of domestic violence and their dependents. Sets forth conditions for receiving such grants, including that the State: (1) distribute funds to local public agencies and private nonprofit organizations; (2) distribute at least 70 percent of such funds to private, nonprofit organizations and give special emphasis to community-based projects; (3) designate a State agency to administer the programs; (4) set forth procedures to assure active citizen participation within the State; (5) assure that any project funded will coordinate its activities with other State programs and be administered by trained personnel; (6) provide technical assistance; and (7) comply with reporting requirements. Limits the total amount of grants to any local program to $150,000 for not more than a three-year period. Limits the grant for any fiscal year to $50,000. Stipulates that funds may not be used for direct payment to victims or dependents and that no income eligibility standard may be imposed. Requires local public agencies and private organizations to provide the following shares of Federal funding: 25 percent in the first year, 33.33 percent the second year, and 50 percent the third year. Requires that at least 75 percent of grants be distributed to entities providing immediate shelter and related assistance to victims. Authorizes the Secretary to make supplemental grants to States for: (1) administrative costs; (2) developing and implementing programs; (3) assuring active citizen participation; and (4) developing a media campaign. Provides that each State will be allotted at least $45,000 in formula grants and $7,500 in supplemental grants. Requires each State receiving assistance to submit detailed annual reports to the Secretary on the implementation of programs. Directs the Secretary to: (1) designate a director of programs carried out under this title; (2) establish a national information clearinghouse on domestic violence, in coordination with the child abuse clearinghouse; (3) make recommendations to Congress regarding domestic violence programs; and (4) obtain information on research relating to domestic violence. Directs the Secretary to make annual reports to Congress and to evaluate and report on the effectiveness of the programs no later than two years after funds are obligated. Sets forth confidentiality requirements with respect to records of persons assisted under this title. Establishes the Federal Interagency Council on Domestic Violence to assist the Secretary in coordinating Federal programs. Authorizes appropriations for fiscal years 1982 through 1984 to carry out this title. Provides for repeal of this title at the end of either fiscal year 1985 or the third fiscal year after appropriations are first made. Directs the Secretary of Health and Human Services to report to the President and Congress within 18 months of enactment on the nature and incidence of abuse of elderly persons.
United States · United States Congress · 4 February 1981
Expresses the sense of the House of Representatives that all internal revenue bills reported from the Committee on Ways and Means which decrease revenues should be made a part of the first reconciliation bill reported from the Committee on the Budget. States that the aggregate revenue loss from such bills shall not exceed the aggregate net spending reductions under such reconciliation bill.
United States · United States Congress · 3 February 1981
Defective Aircraft Remedy Act - Directs the Secretary of Transportation to determine, on the record after an opportunity for a hearing, whether an unsafe condition in an aircraft is related to a design or manufacturing defect. Directs the Secretary, if such relationship exists, to: (1) notify the manufacturer and the registered owner of such aircraft of such determination; and (2) order the manufacturer to remedy such condition. Directs a manufacturer to notify the registered owner and the Secretary if such manufacturer knows that: (1) an unsafe condition exists in an aircraft; and (2) such condition is related to a design or manufacturing defect. States that the cost of repairs (except labor) mandated by this Act shall not be charged to the registered owner of the aircraft involved. Provides for reimbursement of an aircraft owner by the manufacturer if such owner performs required repairs within a specified period. Sets forth civil penalties for violations of this Act. Authorizes the Secretary to compromise such penalties subject to specified considerations.
United States · United States Congress · 3 February 1981
Entitles Federal employees to an allowance of four cents per mile for the use of a privately owned bicycle or pedal assisted vehicle on official business.
United States · United States Congress · 3 February 1981
Social Security Refinancing Amendments of 1981 - Title I: Financing of Old Age, Survivors and Disability Insurance Program - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to reduce the tax rates applicable to employers, employees, and self-employment income for old age, survivors and disability insurance. Amends title II (Old Age, Survivors and Disability Insurance) of the Social Security Act to adjust the level of allocations from employment tax revenues to the Federal Disability Insurance Trust Fund. Title II: Financing of Medicare Program - Eliminates taxation of employers, employees, and self-employed individuals for purposes of hospital insurance beginning in the 1981 calendar year. Amends title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act to provide financing for the Medicare program with appropriations from general revenues earmarked by the Secretary of the Treasury in consultation with the Secretary of Health and Human Services. Bases such appropriations on the expected needs of the Federal Hospital Insurance Trust Fund in each fiscal year allocated among individual tax receipts according to a specified formula. Requires an equal amount to be allocated from corporate tax returns. Directs each Advisory Council on Social Security after 1981 to submit a separate report on the Medicare program and its financing. Title III: Miscellaneous Provisions - Directs the Secretary of the Treasury to print on each individual tax form notice of the amount of the individual's Federal income tax which will be allocated to the Medicare program.
United States · United States Congress · 3 February 1981
Amends titles XVIII (Medicare) and XIX (Medicaid) of the Social Security Act to require automatic sprinkler systems in all skilled nursing facilities and intermediate care facilities certified for participation in the Medicare or Medicaid programs unless a waiver is granted. Establishes a program of low-interest Federal loans to assist such facilities in constructing or purchasing and installing automatic sprinkler systems.
United States · United States Congress · 3 February 1981
Amends the Flammable Fabrics Act to direct the Consumer Product Safety Commission to require any article of interior furnishing to be made fire-resistant to the extent necessary to adequately protect the public against unreasonable risk of fire leading to death, injury, or significant property damage. Makes the manufacture, sale, or delivery into commerce of any article of interior furnishing which has not been processed in accordance with such requirements and which may reasonably be expected to be used in places of assembly other than homes a prohibited transaction.
United States · United States Congress · 3 February 1981
Presidential Nomination Commission Resolution - Establishes the Commission of Presidential Nominations to make an investigation regarding the presidential nominating process. Directs the Commission to report to the President and Congress respecting such investigation including recommendations for the 1984 presidential elections. Terminates the commission 60 days after submission of such report. Sets forth the powers of such Commission, and related administrative provisions. Authorizes necessary appropriations.
United States · United States Congress · 3 February 1981
Expresses the sense of Congress that the President should seek the establishment of an International Office of Diplomatic Security within the United Nations to: (1) monitor compliance with international agreements concerning the protection of diplomats and diplomatic property; (2) conduct inspections in countries where there are indications of potential danger to diplomatic missions; (3) issue warnings if it determines that a country is unable or unwilling to provide adequate protection for diplomatic missions; and (4) refer such cases to the U.N. Security Council for consideration of international sanctions or security assistance.
United States · United States Congress · 2 February 1981
Free Enterprise Postage Stamp Act - Establishes a Free Enterprise Postage Stamp Advisory Committee consisting of the Postmaster General, the Deputy Postmaster General, and the Chairman of the Federal Trade Commission. Directs the Committee to advise the United States Postal Service regarding the approval of bids for the printing, distribution, and sale of postage stamps containing the logos of domestic business enterprises. Authorizes the Postal Service to enter into contracts to print, distribute, and sell 2,000 issues of 50,000 of such stamps for domestic business enterprise for a minimum price of $10,000 each. Sets forth the specifications for acceptable business logos. Requires the Committee to advertise the availability of such stamps, review the bids received for each issue, and recommend the bids which would be the most economically advantageous to the Postal Service. Directs the Committee and the Postal Service to reject all bids for an issue if such action is in the public interest. Declares that all of the revenues from the sale of such stamps shall be deposited into the Postal Service Fund. Requires the Postal Service to report to Congress on the effectiveness of the sale of such stamps in raising revenues.
United States · United States Congress · 2 February 1981
Constitutional Amendment - Provides for staggered four-year terms for Members of the House of Representatives. Disallows any person who has been a Member for three consecutive four-year terms to be a Member during the two-year period following the end of such third term. Provides that a Senator who has served for three consecutive six-year terms may not be a Senator for the two-year period following the end of such third term. Prohibits any Representative who has more than one year remaining in his term of office from being elected as a Senator, unless such Representative has submitted a resignation effective the first January 3 after his Senate election.
United States · United States Congress · 29 January 1981
Anti-Arson Act of 1981 - Establishes an Interagency Committee on Arson Prevention and Control to coordinate Federal anti-arson programs and to provide assistance to State and local governments for the prevention, detection, and control of arson. Directs the Committee to report to Congress on the success of its activities within 18 months of enactment. Terminates the Committee two years from the date of enactment. Requires the Director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation to: (1) classify arson as a major crime in the Uniform Crime Reports; and (2) develop a special statistical report for arson in cooperation with the National Fire Data Center. Directs the Administrator of the United States Fire Administration to: (1) conduct a research program for the development of techniques and equipment for use by State and local fire fighting and law enforcement personnel for arson prediction, prevention, and control; (2) establish anti-arson educational and training programs for State and local government; (3) develop materials for community awareness programs; and (4) provide information relative to the prevention, prediction, occurrence, and control of arson. Authorizes appropriations for the Administration for such purpose. Amends the National Housing Act to require that FAIR (fair access to insurance requirements) plans be issued only after insurers obtain information from a prospective policyholder with respect to arson.
United States · United States Congress · 29 January 1981
Amends the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 to prohibit the furnishing of certain military aid under such Act to El Salvador. Prohibits extending credits, guaranteeing loans, making sales, and issuing export licenses to El Salvador under the Arms Export Control Act.
United States · United States Congress · 29 January 1981
First-Home Ownership Act of 1981 - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to allow individuals who have never owned a home an income tax credit for certain amounts contributed to an individual housing account. Limits the cash amount of such credit to $2,500 for any taxable year, and $10,000 during the taxpayer's lifetime. Requires contributions made to an individual housing account to remain in such account for at least 12 months. Establishes a schedule of percentages, graduated downward according to adjusted gross income, for purposes of determining the amount of contribution to an individual housing account which may be credited against income tax liability. Exempts individual housing account trusts from income taxation. Imposes tax penalties on amounts distributed from an individual housing account for purposes other than the purchase of a principal residence. Requires the trustee of an individual housing account to report to the Internal Revenue Service with respect to contributions to and distributions from such account. Imposes fines for failure to make such report.
![Official portrait of Rep. Murphy, Austin J. [D-PA-20]](https://www.congress.gov/img/member/m001088_200.jpg)