United States · United States Congress · 27 January 1983
Amends title II (Old Age, Survivors and Disability Insurance) of the Social Security Act to require a blind person to have at least six quarters of coverage in order to be eligible for disability benefits. Sets forth the method of computing the average indexed monthly earnings of a blind individual for purposes of determining such individual's primary insurance amount. Provides that the benefits of a blind person shall not be reduced because of such person's refusal to accept State-approved rehabilitative services under the Vocational Rehabilitation Act. Requires recomputation of the disability insurance benefit of a blind individual who applies for a recomputation if such recomputation would result in a higher primary insurance amount.
United States · United States Congress · 27 January 1983
Amends the Internal Revenue Code to allow an additional personal tax exemption for a taxpayer or spouse who is disabled. Defines disability to mean any disability (other than blindness) which is expected to last for a continuous period of at least 12 months or to result in death and which results in a functional limitation to employment.
United States · United States Congress · 27 January 1983
Urges the United States Postal Service to issue a postage stamp commemorating members of the uniformed services who have been prisoners of war or missing in action especially those missing as a result of the conflict in Southeast Asia.
United States · United States Congress · 27 January 1983
Expresses the sense of Congress that: (1) Federal nutrition programs, including the food stamp, child nutrition, and elderly feeding programs, should be protected from budget cuts; (2) the WIC (supplemental food program for women, infants, and children) should continue to be fully funded; and (3) the Federal Government should maintain primary responsibility for nutrition programs.
United States · United States Congress · 27 January 1983
Expresses the sense of Congress that the President should implement, within the United States, the objectives of the United Nations Decade for Disabled Persons (1983-1992).
United States · United States Congress · 26 January 1983
American Conservation Corps Act of 1983 - Directs the Secretary of the Interior, in cooperation with the Secretary of Agriculture, to establish and administer a public lands conservation, rehabilitation, and improvement program called the American Conservation Corps. Requires the Secretary to provide assistance to program agencies (any Federal or State agency responsible for the management of public lands) to establish and operate residential and nonresidential conservation centers to implement program projects. Describes the types of projects which will receive program preference. Limits program projects to those on public lands or Indian lands, except where projects on nonpublic lands provide documented public benefits. Sets forth requirements for establishing conservation centers and eligibility criteria for enrollees in the program. Makes persons eligible for enrollment and employment in the program if they are: (1) unemployed; (2) between the ages of 16 and 25 years; and (3) citizens, lawful permanent residents, or lawfully admitted alien parolees or refugees. Provides that, in the selection of enrollees for the program, preference shall be given to economically, socially, physically, and educationally disadvantaged youth and youth residing in areas having substantial unemployment. Requires program agencies to provide services, facilities, supplies, and equipment for conservation centers as the Secretary deems necessary. Authorizes the Secretary to award grants to, or enter into agreements with, program agencies for the funding and operation of conservation centers. Authorizes appropriations for FY 1983 through 1989. Requires that such appropriations come from specified Treasury receipts. States that program enrollees shall not be deemed Federal employees, except for certain purposes. Directs the Secretary to establish pay rates and to coordinate the program with related Federal, State, local, and private activities. Directs the Secretary to submit a report to Congress, within one year of enactment of this Act, on the feasibility of allowing enrollees who have completed two years in the program an exemption from training and service under the Military Selective Service Act. Directs the Secretary to make arrangements with educational institutions to award academic credit to enrollees for competencies developed under this Act. Authorizes program agencies to make arrangements with such institutions for academic study by enrollees during nonworking hours. Requires program agencies to provide certification of skills acquired by program participants and to provide job guidance and placement information as necessary. Directs the Secretary to submit an annual report to the President and Congress detailing the activities carried out under this Act. Entitles to an appeal to the Merit Systems Protection Board any Federal employee displaced rightly or wrongly by activities under this Act. Grants similar appeal rights to the employees of any contract grantee similarly displaced.
United States · United States Congress · 26 January 1983
Amends the Immigration and Nationality Act to grant posthumous U.S. citizenship to any alien who died while serving on active duty with the U.S. Armed Forces during specified periods of hostilities.
United States · United States Congress · 26 January 1983
Social Security Benefit Termination Reform Act of 1982 - Amends title II (Old Age, Survivors and Disability Insurance) of the Social Security Act to provide that monthly insurance benefits shall be paid for the month in which a beneficiary dies. Requires that the amount of such benefits be proportionate to the number of days of such month preceding the date of the beneficiary's death.
United States · United States Congress · 25 January 1983
American Defense Education Act - Authorizes a national program to provide incentives to local educational agencies to improve: (1) instruction in mathematics, science, communication skills, foreign languages, and technology; and (2) guidance and counseling. Title I: Elementary and Secondary Education Programs - Requires local education agencies which desire to participate in such national program to develop and carry out a program of improvement of instruction and student achievement. Sets forth requirements for such programs. Entitles participating local educational agencies to receive basic payments for each fiscal year equal to two percent of an established payment rate multiplied by the average daily attendance. Entitles agencies which show substantial evidence of meeting program goals to an incentive payment equal to an additional two percent of the established payment rate multiplied by the average daily attendance. Sets forth a formula for establishing such payment rate. Sets forth requirements for applications for payments. Directs the Secretary of Education ("the Secretary") to approve applications which meet such requirements. Sets forth provisions for participation in such program by children enrolled in private schools. Title II: Teacher Training and Postsecondary Programs - Authorizes the Secretary to establish a program of grants to institutions of higher education for coordination between such institutions and local education agencies in improving science and mathematics education, through precollege teacher training, development, and recruitment programs. Sets forth requirements for grant proposals and priorities in grant selection. Authorizes appropriations for FY 1985 through 1987 for such grants. Title III: Research to Improve Instruction - Directs the Secretary to administer, through the National Institute of Education (NIE), in consultation with appropriate Federal agencies, a program to support research and development into effective education in mathematics, the sciences, foreign languages, and technology. Authorizes appropriations to the Department of Education to be made available to NIE to carry out such educational research program for FY 1985 through 1987. Title IV: General Provisions - Directs the Secretary to administer the program and to pay each local educational agency with an approved application the amount to which it is entitled for each fiscal year. Provides for a joint survey and report to Congress by the Secretaries of Defense and Education, for each year from 1983 through 1987, on the academic achievement levels of U.S. 18-year-olds and the personnel training and educational needs of the armed forces.
United States · United States Congress · 25 January 1983
Temporary Natural Gas Market Correction Act of 1982 - Declares that any contract for the first sale of natural gas shall be deemed to include a volume adjustment option with respect to any natural gas the first sale delivery of which could occur pursuant to such contract at any time after the effective date of this Act and before November 1, 1983. Defines a volume adjustment option as a contract provision under which the purchaser may elect to refuse to take delivery under such contract of any volume of natural gas without incurring an obligation to pay any fee or charge with respect to the natural gas not delivered pursuant to such election. Provides, subject to certain exceptions, that the purchase by any natural gas pipeline company of any natural gas which is delivered on any day after the effective date of this Act and before November 1, 1983, at an excessive price shall be considered as fraud, abuse, or similar grounds for purposes of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) reviewing cost passthroughs. Considers the price of natural gas delivered to any natural gas pipeline company on any day excessive if that price exceeds the price of any other natural gas not delivered to such pipeline company on that day but which could have been acquired by such pipeline company for delivery on that day under any contract to which the pipeline is a party. Requires every natural gas pipeline company to file monthly with FERC: (1) a statement concerning the volume adjustment clause, as well as steps it has taken to achieve the lowest possible weighted average acquisition cost of natural gas; and (2) a modification of the costs to be recovered by the pipeline under a purchased gas adjustment clause (as defined in the Natural Gas Act), if the weighted average acquisition cost of natural gas by the pipeline is lower because of the volume adjustment option or because of other steps taken by the pipeline.
United States · United States Congress · 25 January 1983
Declares it to be the policy of the Government that: (1) Federal procurement should be accomplished on a competitive basis wherever possible through the General Services Administration (GSA); (2) the use of multiple award schedules should be restricted to cases where competitive single awards are not feasible, sales volume justifies centralized procurement, and a valid need exists for functionally similar items with different prices and features; and (3) where the volume of products purchased is too low to provide a price advantage and commercial "off-the-shelf" products can be substituted for products designed to Government specifications, individual agencies should purchase items locally subject to review by GSA. Directs the Administrator of GSA to implement such policy, the recommendations on procurement contained in the Comptroller General's report of May 2, 1979, and the policy statement prepared by the Office of Acquisition Policy in response to such report. Directs the Administrator, within 60 days after enactment, to issue transitional regulations governing purchases from any multiple award schedule. Requires that such regulations: (1) include the requirement that whenever any agency procurement officer or employee determines that an item in such a schedule is available from a commercial source in the area at a lower cost and under conditions which are no less favorable to the Government than is the case under the schedule, the item shall be purchased from that source; and (2) establish procedures for the audit and review of any such purchase and the enforcement of such regulations by GSA. Repeals such regulations on the effective date of the regulations which are issued to implement the procurement policy declared by this Act and which apply to any item on a multiple award schedule. Requires the Administrator to submit to Congress periodic reports on actions taken, and legislation needed, to carry out this Act.
United States · United States Congress · 25 January 1983
Amends part A (Aid to Families with Dependent Children) of title IV of the Social Security Act to authorize appropriations for FY 1983 to assist States in providing emergency shelter and related assistance to homeless individuals and families. Includes within the definition of "homeless individuals and families": (1) individuals and families without any form of regular shelter and who have been determined to be in need of emergency shelter and related assistance; and (2) parents and their children who have suffered spousal abuse who need to leave their homes for emergency shelter and assistance. Sets forth a method for allocating funds among the States.
United States · United States Congress · 25 January 1983
Prohibits the expenditure of funds for the production of lethal binary chemical munitions after the enactment of this Act. Defines lethal binary chemical munitions to mean: (1) toxic chemicals intended to injure or kill humans; and (2) devices intended to disseminate such chemicals. Expresses the sense of Congress that the President should begin negotiations with the Soviet Union for a mutual, verifiable limitation on chemical weapons.
United States · United States Congress · 25 January 1983
Math and Science Education Act - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to allow employers an income tax credit for compensation paid to: (1) precollege mathematics and science teachers hired for the summer months for employment which provides experience in the applied use of high technology; and (2) permanent employees who teach precollege mathematics or science at a public school without compensation from such school. Sets the amount of such credit at the sum of: (1) 50 percent of the aggregate compensation paid to teachers employed for the summer months; plus (2) 100 percent of the aggregate compensation paid to permanent employees who teach at public schools. Limits the amount of compensation paid to a permanent employee which may be taken into account to $1,000 multiplied by the number of months such employee teaches in a public school. Requires that teachers hired for the summer months must be paid an aggregate salary greater than 25 percent of their annual teaching salary. Requires that permanent employees who teach at public schools must teach at an elementary or secondary school for at least ten hours per week (at least five of which must be actual instruction in the classroom) at the request of the school district administrators.
United States · United States Congress · 25 January 1983
Authorizes the President to present on behalf of Congress a gold medal to Danny Thomas in recognition of his humanitarian efforts and outstanding work as an American. Directs the Secretary of the Treasury to strike a gold medal with suitable emblems, devices, and inscriptions to be determined by said Secretary. Provides, effective October 1, 1983, funds not to exceed $22,000 to carry out the purposes of the Act. Provides that the Secretary may cause bronze duplicates of the medal to be coined and sold under regulations prescribed by the Secretary at a price sufficient to cover the costs of producing the gold medal. Directs that the appropriation used to carry out the provisions of the Act shall be reimbursed out of the proceeds from such coin sales. Provides that the medals are to be national medals.
United States · United States Congress · 25 January 1983
Suspends: (1) the FY 1983 foreign military sales financing program, including loan guarantees, for El Salvador under the Arms Export Control Act; and (2) the international military education and training program for El Salvador under the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961. Prohibits: (1) making available to El Salvador defense articles and defense services under the Arms Export Control Act or Foreign Assistance Act of 1961; (2) selling arms and issuing export licenses' under the Arms Export Control Act to El Salvador; and (3) using the special draw down authority under the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 for El Salvador. Provides that such suspension and prohibitions shall continue until Congress expressly authorizes the resumption of said military assistance and sales to El Salvador.
United States · United States Congress · 6 January 1983
Soviet-Eastern European Research and Training Act of 1983 - Establishes the Soviet-Eastern European Research and Training Trust Fund in the Treasury. Appropriates a specified amount for the Fund. Requires that the interest on any obligations held in the Fund shall be available for payments to the National Council for Soviet and East European Research. Requires the Council to use parts of the payments made in each fiscal year to: (1) develop and publicize a research agenda at the postdoctoral level in the field of Soviet and Eastern European studies and to award contracts for appropriate research projects; (2) establish and publish the findings of a fellowship program for advanced training in Soviet studies; (3) make payments to the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars to provide fellowship support and research facilities in Washington, D.C., for American specialists to conduct advanced research and to conduct workshops designed to facilitate research collaboration between Government and private specialists; and (4) make payments to the International Research and Exchanges Board to conduct specialized reciprocal programs in advanced training and research in the Soviet Union and Eastern Europe to facilitate access for American specialists to research resources in the Soviet Union and Eastern Europe. Sets forth the method of submitting applications to the Secretary of the Treasury for payments from the Fund. Provides that the Secretary shall manage the Fund. Requires the Council to report annually to the President and the Congress on the activities supported by this Act of the Council, the Board, and the Wilson Center.
United States · United States Congress · 6 January 1983
Federal Employees Health Benefits Reform Act of 1983 - Increases the amount of the Government's contribution for an employee enrolled in an employee health benefits plan from 60 to 75 percent of the average subscription charge for such plan. Increases the maximum Government contribution for an enrollee from 75 to 100 percent of such subscription charge. Requires payment of a Government differential equal to five percent of the average subscription charge, in addition to the Government's contribution, for any enrollee who is over 65 years of age and not entitled to medicare benefits. Excludes such differential in determining the amount to be paid by the enrollee. Permits the following persons to elect to continue coverage under a Federal employees' health benefits plan for a specified period: (1) an employee who is involuntarily separated from the civil service due to a reduction in force; (2) the spouse of an enrollee whose marriage is dissolved by divorce or annulment, if the enrollee was enrolled for self and family; (3) an individual who elects to receive the lump-sum credit for civil service retirement benefits; and (4) an individual 22 years of age or older whose enrollment was based on such individual's being an unmarried child who was incapable of self-support because of a mental or physical disability which existed and did not terminate before the individual attained the age of 22. Requires such persons who elect to continue coverage to pay into the Employees Health Benefits Fund an amount equal to the sum of employee and agency contributions paid for the same level of benefits. Allows such a person to: (1) change to a lower level of benefits; (2) change coverage within 60 days after a change in family status; and (3) transfer enrollment to another plan under conditions prescribed by the Office of Personnel Management (OPM). Provides a temporary extension of coverage to allow persons who elected not to continue coverage or whose continued coverage is terminated to convert to a nongroup contract providing health benefits. Allows annuitants whose annuity is less than the amount required to be withheld for enrollment in a health benefits plan to pay the amount of any deficiency required for enrollment. Requires contracts for employee organization plans to require carriers to: (1) reinsure with other participating companies; (2) enter into an agreement approved by OPM with an underwriting subcontractor licensed to issue group health insurance in all States and the District of Columbia; and (3) meet minimum financial standards prescribed by OPM. Requires the service benefit plan and the indemnity benefit plan to provide, in addition to all currently authorized benefits: (1) nervous and mental disorder benefits; (2) alcoholism and substance abuse treatment and rehabilitation benefits; and (3) comprehensive dental benefits. Prohibits the OPM from entering into a contract for any service benefit, indemnity benefit, or employee organization plan which does not provide for 50 outpatient visits and 60 inpatient days of nervous and mental disorder benefits and two 28-day alcoholism treatment and rehabilitation benefits. Requires any limits on nervous and mental disorder benefits to be exceeded on a case by case basis only to the extent that a peer review mechanism determines such treatment to be necessary. Requires 80 percent of such excessive benefit claims to be paid from the balance of one percent of all contributions to the Employees Health Benefits Fund remaining after the expenses of administering provisions governing Federal employees health benefit plans are paid. Prohibits the OPM from entering into a contract with a carrier for any health benefits plan which does not provide 95 percent of the benefits that such plan or the most similar plan provided during the preceding year, unless the carrier and the OPM mutually agree to waive such requirement. Directs the OPM to: (1) provide a three week period during which enrollees in health benefits plans may change or cancel their enrollments before any contract term in which the rates or benefits of a plan will change, a new plan will be offered, or an existing plan will be terminated; and (2) make available to such enrollees information on such plans at least four weeks before such open enrollment period. Prohibits the OPM from entering into a contract for a health benefits plan which excludes anyone because of nonactive employee status. Eliminates the requirement that the group of physicians under a group-practice prepayment plan include physicians representing at least three major medical specialties.
United States · United States Congress · 6 January 1983
Temporary Emergency Shelter Demonstration Program Act of 1982 - Directs the Secretary of Housing and Urban Development to conduct a demonstration program under which grants will be provided to assist communities or nonprofit organizations to provide shelter for people subject to life-threatening situations because of their lack of housing. Requires the Secretary to make such grants on a competitive basis according to the need for emergency housing. Directs the Secretary to report to Congress on such program and to use a specified amount of the funds appropriated for additional authority for annual contributions for lower income housing projects during FY 1983 to carry out this Act.
United States · United States Congress · 6 January 1983
Shared Housing Resident Assistance Act - Amends the United States Housing Act of 1937 and the Housing Act of 1949 to prohibit the Secretary of Housing and Urban Development and the Secretary of Agriculture from requiring that a dwelling unit in a shared housing project for the elderly or handicapped contain more than one sanitary facility or item of equipment for food preparation or storage for all residents as a condition of eligibility for low-income housing assistance.
United States · United States Congress · 6 January 1983
Amends the Department of Housing and Urban Development Act to establish, within the Department, an Office of Housing for the Elderly. Lists the responsibilities of the Office which include coordinating housing programs for the elderly and representing the Assistant Secretary for Housing on matters concerning housing for the elderly. Requires the Secretary of Housing and Urban Development to submit to Congress an annual report on housing for the elderly. Directs the Assistant Secretary to establish an Advisory Committee on Housing for the Elderly.
United States · United States Congress · 6 January 1983
National Education and Economic Development Act of 1983 - Provides for Federal assistance for improved elementary and secondary school programs in mathematics, science, technology, and foreign languages. Title I: Funding - Authorizes appropriations for FY 1984 through 1988. Directs the Secretary of Education ("the Secretary") to reserve from such appropriations: (1) not more than ten percent for specified programs of national significance under title IV of this Act; and (2) one percent for allocation to specified territories and possessions in accordance with their respective needs and to the Secretary of the Interior for schools operated for Indian children. Directs the Secretary to make allocations to States from the remaining funds, based on the relative numbers of children aged five through 17. Title II: Local School District Programs - Directs the State educational agency to distribute the State allocation among local educational agencies which have filed specified plans, based on the relative numbers of children aged five through 17. Permits local agencies to combine to operate joint programs. Permits the State agency to reserve up to five percent of the State allocation for State programs and administration. Provides that local agencies shall receive such grants if they have comprehensive plans covering up to three-year periods on file with the State agency. Requires the school board of the local agency to approve such plan and to certify that State agency comments were given due consideration. Requires that the size and scope of the program contained in the plan involve a total expenditure in excess of $25,000 from Federal, State, and local resources. Sets forth requirements for comprehensive plan contents. Requires local agencies to use such funds for one or more of the following programs and activities: (1) acquisition of technological equipment, including microcomputers and cable television; (2) acquisition, development, and use of educational software programs in mathematics, science, technology, and foreign languages; (3) inservice personnel training in the use of technological hardware and software and in upgrading and modernizing content and methods in such course areas and technology career awareness; (4) payment of bonuses, fees, and other arrangements with employees or consultants for attracting and retaining qualified teachers in such course areas; (5) establishing cooperative programs with local businesses, universities, libraries, museums, and other institutions and organizations to use equipment, software, and personnel to enrich, expand, and modernize school district offerings and career awareness activities in such areas; (6) informational activities to assist administrators and school board members in the selection and evaluation of equipment and activities; (7) promotion of student interest and assessment of student achievement in such course areas; (8) programs for children with special needs; (9) construction and remodeling of facilities; and (10) program monitoring, planning, evaluation, and management. Sets forth provisions relating to program participation of children enrolled in private schools. Title III: State Programs and Administration - Requires States, in order to receive funds under this Act, to file with the Secretary a State plan for a period not to exceed three years submitted by the State educational agency. Sets forth requirements for such plan. Directs State educational agencies to review and, if necessary, comment on any local plan, in order to determine consistency with Federal requirements and to propose improvements. Directs the State agency to make payments to local agencies within a specified period. Provides for withholding of payments until the local agency certifies that State comments were fully considered. Directs the State agency to monitor the local agency activities and to require such recordkeeping as the Secretary considers necessary to meet audit and evaluation responsibilities under this Act. Permits State's to impose requirements applicable to projects and programs assisted under this Act, if such requirements do not conflict with Federal law. Requires the State agency to spend at least 60 percent of sums reserved for State programs and administration for one or more of the following purposes: (1) research in curriculum, materials, and teacher improvement in courses involving mathematics, science, technology, and foreign languages; (2) evaluation of technological hardware and software; (3) experimental and pilot programs to test the effectiveness of curriculum innovations, new technologies in education, and coordination activities between local agencies and other organizations; (4) technical assistance; (5) programs to promote student interest; (6) examining the relationship of market place needs for persons in such course areas and the preparation of students for careers in those areas or enrollment in higher education courses leading to such careers; (7) programs involving resources of outside entities to assist State and local educational officials in such activities; and (8) dissemination of information on such activities. Permits such funds to be used for grants and contracts with public and nonprofit private agencies and institutions. Requires States, in order to receive payments under this Act, to establish State advisory councils. Sets forth requirements for the appointment of State council members. Sets forth the duties of the State council, including program review and recommendations. Requires the State council to report annually to the Secretary and the National Advisory Council. Sets forth provisions for State council meetings. Directs the State agency to pay not more than 20 percent of the sum reserved for State programs and administration to the State council. Provides that the State council is to determine the expenditure of such funds. Authorizes the State agency to pay administrative expenses under this Act, using up to 20 percent of its reserved sum or $75,000, whichever is greater (with the Secretary paying the excess, if any, from amounts reserved for national programs). Title IV: Programs of National Significance - Authorizes the Secretary to make grants and contracts with institutions of higher education (and consortia), regional laboratories and centers, State and local educational agencies, and other educational organizations and institutions, for: (1) determining hardware technology developments applicable for classroom use; (2) experiments with and assessments of educational benefits of hardware and software approaches; (3) assessment of national progress in elementary and secondary mathematics, science, technology, and foreign language programs; and (4) specified exemplary, pilot, and dissemination programs. Directs the Secretary, from sums reserved for such purpose, to pay the Secretary of the Interior for programs at schools operated for Indian children, pursuant to specified agreements. Directs the Secretary, beginning in FY 1985, to make an annual report to the President and Congress on specified matters relating to purposes and programs under this Act. Establishes a National Advisory Council on Education and Technology. Sets forth requirements for appointment of national council members. Sets forth national council duties, including program review and evaluation. Directs the national council to advise the President, the Congress, and the Secretary through annual reports and other means as to its findings, activities, and recommendations. Directs the Secretary to allocate a specified minimum amount for national council purposes. Directs the Secretary to review and, if necessary, comment on State plans, in order to determine consistency with Federal requirements and to propose recommendations. Directs the Secretary to make specific payments, as soon as possible, to any State whose State plan is not inconsistent with Federal requirements. Title V: General Provisions - Sets forth provisions relating to withholding of payments to States by the Secretary and to judicial review of such withholding. Provides that all but specified provisions of the General Educational Provisions Act shall apply to programs under this Act. Sets forth provisions relating to availability of appropriations to carry out this Act.
United States · United States Congress · 6 January 1983
Construction Work in Progress Policy Act of 1983 - Amends the Federal Power Act to authorize the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission to approve, upon application by a public utility, the inclusion of the costs of construction work in progress (defined as construction of a facility used to generate electric energy) in the rate base of such public utility with respect to: (1) any pollution control facility; and (2) the conversion of oil or natural gas-fired facilities to the use of other fuels. Requires the Commission to hold an evidentiary hearing upon application by a public utility for approval of such a rate increase. Sets forth the items required in any such application. Requires the Commission to approve the rate increase applied for or to order a lesser rate increase if, after the hearing, the Commission finds that: (1) the utility will be in severe financial difficulty unless construction work in progress costs are included in the rate base; (2) the facility being constructed is reasonably necessary to meet energy demands; (3) any mismanagement involved will not affect the utility's future financial situation; (4) the long-term benefits justify short-run rate increases in the case of customers purchasing electric energy for resale; (5) such wholesale customers have been offered an ownership interest in the facility under construction; (6) the rate increase will not unreasonably impair the ability of wholesale customers to sell electric energy to their retail customers at the least cost; and (7) the applicant utility will discontinue the capitalization of allowance for funds used during construction for those construction work in progress costs included in the rate base. Provides that no rate increase approved or ordered under this Act may: (1) be charged for electric energy sold before the date of such approval or order; (2) exceed the amount needed to alleviate the utility's financial difficulties; (3) have an anticompetitive effect; (4) be applied to any customer who holds an ownership interest in the facility being constructed (with limited exceptions); or (5) be unduly discriminatory or preferential or exceed a just and reasonable amount.
United States · United States Congress · 6 January 1983
Amends the Railroad Unemployment Insurance Act to increase the maximum daily benefit for unemployment and sickness for registration periods after June 30, 1983. Increases the monthly amount to be taken into account as employee remuneration in determining the number of benefit days for which an employee is entitled. Redefines periods of high unemployment as three consecutive months of railroad unemployment at five percent or more. Increases employer and employee representative contributions to the railroad unemployment insurance account after March 31, 1983. Decreases from .5 percent to .25 percent the amount of unemployment contributions which shall be deposited in the railroad unemployment insurance administration fund. Repeals the Railroad Retirement Board's authority to transfer funds from the Railroad Retirement Account to the Railroad Unemployment Insurance Account.
United States · United States Congress · 6 January 1983
Prohibits the sale or licensing of spare parts for helicopters or for A-37 aircraft under the Arms Export Control Act for the armed forces of Guatemala. Prohibits using the authorities provided by the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 to make any such spare parts available to the armed forces of Guatemala.
United States · United States Congress · 6 January 1983
Expresses the sense of Congress that the age for drinking and purchasing alcoholic beverages should be raised to 21 in all States where the drinking age is lower.
United States · United States Congress · 3 January 1983
Designates the Baltimore-Washington Parkway, in Maryland, as the Gladys Noon Spellman Parkway. Directs the Secretary of the Interior to erect adjacent to such parkway an appropriate marker commemorating the contributions of Gladys Noon Spellman. Authorizes appropriations.
United States · United States Congress · 3 January 1983
Amends the United States Housing Act of 1937 to require income limits for occupancy and rent of public housing to be fixed by the public housing agency and approved by the Secretary of Housing and Urban Development, except as otherwise provided in such Act. Decreases the maximum percentage of a family's monthly adjusted income payable as rent for public housing. Prohibits a tenant from paying rent exceeding the amount equal to the cost to the public housing authority for operating the tenant's unit. Amends the definition of "income" for purposes of such Act to exclude the value of food stamps or certificates. Excludes from the definition of "adjusted income": (1) income from each family member residing in the household who is 18 years of age or older and is disabled, handicapped, or a full-time student; (2) $500 for each elderly member of a household and each minor who is disabled, handicapped, or enrolled in an accredited school; (3) medical and educational expenses; and (4) child care expenses which are necessary for the employment of other household members. Amends the National Housing Act and the Housing and Urban Development Act of 1965 to adopt the same definitions for "income" and "adjusted income." Amends the National Housing Act to decrease the maximum and increase the minimum percentage of a tenant's adjusted income payable as rent for lower income housing assisted under such Act. Amends the Housing and Urban Development Act of 1965 to increase the maximum rent supplement payments payable by the Secretary for lower income families under such Act. Amends the United States Housing Act of 1937 to prohibit the demolition, sale, or other disposal of a public housing project, unless: (1) the Secretary, the public housing authority, and the local government have certified their approval; (2) the project is substantially unoccupied; (3) there is no waiting list for public housing units in the area; (4) the costs of rehabilitating the project would be greater than replacing it; (5) the project tenants have been notified and consulted; (6) the Secretary and the public housing agency have entered into agreements assuring relocation assistance to displaced tenants; and (7) the agency has secured funding which has been committed to replacing such project with new or substantially rehabilitated units in the same neighborhood or, under certain conditions, in another neighborhood. Permits certain requirements to be waived with the consent of the tenants if there are sound social and economic reasons for the demolition or disposal of the project.
United States · United States Congress · 3 January 1983
Amends the Equal Credit Opportunity Act to prohibit a creditor from discriminating against an applicant for credit (other than credit secured by the applicant's residence) on the basis of the geographical location of such residence.
United States · United States Congress · 3 January 1983
Authorizes the Administrator of Veterans Affairs to provide scholarships of up to $6,000 per school year to medical students who agree to practice for a specified length of time at a Veterans Administration (VA) facility upon completion of their professional training. Provides the United States with a right to recover expenses against an individual who fails to meet such VA service condition. Provides that certain qualified veterans and dependents of veterans shall have priority with regard to such scholarships. Authorizes appropriations.
United States · United States Congress · 3 January 1983
Nondiscrimination in Insurance Act - Prohibits discrimination on the basis of race, color, religion, sex, or national origin in the consideration of applications for, or the granting of, insurance policies and the terms of such policies. Permits insurers who regularly provide insurance solely to persons of a single religious affiliation to continue to do so. Grants to State or local governments having insurance discrimination laws the primary opportunity to enforce this Act. Permits an aggrieved person to file a civil action in State or Federal court against an insurer, if a State or local authority which has received notice of a complaint fails to act within 60 days or with respect to those authorities not having insurance discrimination laws. Authorizes the Attorney General to bring a civil action in district court when there is reasonable cause to believe that a person or group is engaged in a pattern or practice of resistance to the rights granted by this Act and that such denial raises an issue of general public importance.
United States · United States Congress · 3 January 1983
Housing and Urban-Rural Recovery Act of 1983 - Title I: Community and Neighborhood Development and Conservation - Amends the Housing and Community Development Act of 1974 to direct the Secretary of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) to prescribe a standard form for State performance reports and assessments of community development programs for metropolitan cities and urban counties. Permits a local government to retain leftover income from community development grants if used for eligible community development activities. Requires community development grants to be considered to be Federal financial assistance, requiring the approval of the head of a Federal agency, for purposes of the Uniform Relocation and Real Property Acquisition Policies Act of 1970. Includes the development of shared housing for the elderly as an activity eligible for community development grants. Requires the Secretary, so long as there are qualified applicants, to enter into commitments during FY 1983 to guarantee a specified amount of loans to local governments for the acquisition or rehabilitation of real property for community development activities. Directs the Secretary to guarantee loans financing neighborhood revitalization activities of nonprofit organizations in neighborhoods where activities are funded by urban development action grants. Directs the Secretary to give a priority to assisting neighborhood development activities designed to mitigate the displacement of low-and moderate-income families resulting from commercial activities. Limits the amount of such loans which may be guaranteed during FY 1983 to ten percent of the amount approved in appropriations Acts for urban development action grants in such year. Requires an application for such a grant to certify that an analysis of the impact of grant activities on neighborhood residents has been made available to any neighborhood-based nonprofit organizations. Amends the Housing Act of 1964 to authorize appropriations for rehabilitation loans and to limit the amount of commitments to make such loans for FY 1983. Requires that at least 60 percent of the funds available for rehabilitation loans after FY 1982 be used for loans for one to four-family dwellings. Amends the Neighborhood Reinvestment Corporation Act to authorize appropriations for the Corporation for FY 1983. Directs the Corporation to use a specified amount of such appropriations to conduct a mutual housing demonstration program emphasizing housing rehabilitation. Title II: Assisted Housing - Amends the United States Housing Act of 1937 to: (1) increase, on October 1, 1982, the maximum amount of annual contributions which the Secretary may make to public housing agencies for low-income housing projects; (2) limit the amount which may be obligated over the duration of contribution contracts with respect to additional authority provided on October 1, 1982; (3) earmark a specified amount of such additional authority for public housing modernization assistance; and (4) provide a new formula for allocating such additional authority for low-income housing assistance. Authorizes appropriations for public housing operating assistance for FY 1983. Declares that income limits for occupancy and rent in public housing shall be fixed by the public housing agency and approved by the Secretary. Reduces a tenant's rent contribution for federally-assisted housing from 30 to 25 percent of the tenant's monthly adjusted income. Excludes from a tenant's income: (1) the value of food stamps received;(2) $400 for each family member who is under 18 years of age, over 18 and disabled or handicapped, or elderly; (3) medical expenses exceeding three percent of family income; and (4) child care expenses necessary for the employment of a family member. Permits a public housing agency to use budget authority authorized for the acquisition and development of a lower income project with respect to any fiscal years prior to FY 1983 for operating and improvement assistance. Directs the Secretary to consider the effects of interest rates (up to 14 percent) on development costs when determining the fair market rental of newly constructed or substantially rehabilitated units of public housing projects for which contract authority was reserved in FY 1982 or before. Establishes as the fair market rental for existing public housing projects the median rent paid for comparable units by tenants who moved into the area within the most recent two year period for which data is available. Requires the maximum monthly rent to be reasonable compared with unassisted units. Prohibits the rent for an assisted unit from exceeding the rent charged for comparable unassisted units in a project. Directs the Secretary to offer to renew any assistance contract with a public housing authority for five year periods in order to extend the total period of assistance to 15 years if the authority has carried out the terms of the contract. Requires the Secretary to reduce the operating subsidies to lower income housing projects on a pro rata basis in any fiscal year in which the funds appropriated are less than the amount needed to make assistance payments according to the Secretary's standards. Authorizes the Secretary to develop an alternative distribution method through rulemaking procedures. Requires the Secretary to pay a public housing agency 100 percent of the amount by which its actual annual utility expenses exceed its estimated expenses because of increased utility rates, and 50 percent of its excess utilty expenses resulting from increased utility consumption. Repeals provisions of the Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1981 that restrict the percentage of public housing units available to lower income families other than very low-income families. Requires at least 30 percent of the families assisted under the program providing rent subsidies to owners of lower income housing projects to be very low-income families. Directs the Secretary to take specified steps to encourage improved management procedures for public housing. Establishes conditions governing the demolition, sale, or disposal of public housing projects. Amends the Housing and Community Development Amendments of 1978 to authorize appropriations for operating assistance for troubled multifamily housing projects for FY 1983. Amends the National Housing Act to extend for one year the period during which the Secretary may utilize amounts in the Rural Housing Assistance Fund for such operating assistance. Amends the Housing Act of 1959 to limit the maximum interest rate on HUD loans for housing projects for the elderly and handicapped to 9.25 percent annually. Increases the Treasury borrowing authority of the Secretary to finance such loans for FY 1983. Limits the Secretary's lending authority for FY 1983. Permits 25 percent of the units of a project financed with such a loan to be efficiencies. Authorizes the Secretary to require the sponsor of such a project to deposit up to $10,000 in an escrow account to assure the sponsor's commitment and management capabilities. Directs the Secretary to consider design features for the elderly and handicapped when establishing project unit cost limitations. Amends the Federal National Mortgage Association Charter Act to increase on October 1, 1982, the total amount of home mortgages the Government National Mortgage Association (GNMA) may purchase and to limit the aggregate principal amount of mortgages that the GNMA may enter into commitments to purchase during FY 1983. Amends the Congregate Housing Services Act of 1978 to authorize appropriations for contracts for congregate housing services programs for FY 1983. Amends the United States Housing Act of 1937 to direct the Secretary to allow lower-income housing assistance provided under the existing housing and moderate rehabilitation programs to be used for shared housing for the elderly. Amends the Housing and Community Development Amendments of 1978 to permit a public housing agency to retain: (1) the greater of its legal expenses in obtaining a judgment or 50 percent of the amount of a judgment obtained in recovering amounts wrongfully paid as a result of fraud or abuse in any housing program (currently one specific program) under the United States Housing Act of 1937; and (2) 50 percent of wrongfully paid amounts recovered by means other than court actions. Provides for the use of recaptured Rent Supplement Funds for development assistance for public housing. Amends the United States Housing Act of 1937 to prohibit the Secretary from imposing a percentage or other arbitrary ceiling on rent or cost increases on certain federally-assisted lower income housing projects. Amends the Housing and Urban Development Act of 1965 to direct the Secretary to utilize authority available as a result of converting rental assistance payment contracts under the National Housing Act to rent subsidy contracts under the United States Housing Act of 1937 to: (1)amend such rental assistance payment contracts to provide rent increases; and (2) to the extent of remaining authority, to convert rent supplement contracts for projects financed by State or local loans, loan insurance, or tax abatements to rental assistance payment contracts. Requires the Secretary to conduct a demonstration project under which the Secretary shall make grants to at least 20 local governments on the basis of applications setting forth administrative plans for government activities designed to: (1) require or encourage owners of rental housing occupied by lower income families to bring such housing into compliance with local housing codes; (2) provide technical and financial assistance to assist such owners to make cost-effective improvements in such housing; (3) work with the State to establish a schedule of local shelter allowances for recipients of assistance under title IV (Aid and Services to Needy Families with Children) of the Social Security Act based on building quality; and (4) coordinate local housing inspection, housing rehabilitation loan or grant assistance, rental assistance, and social service programs for the purpose of improving the quality and affordability of housing for lower income families. Permits the Secretary to make grants to States to provide technical assistance to local governments carrying out such administrative plans. Requires each grant recipient to agree to: (1) contribute an amount equal to 15 percent of the grant amount; and (2) permit the Secretary and the Comptroller General to audit its books. Requires the Secretary, by March 1, 1984, to transmit to Congress a report concerning such project, along with any legislative recommendations. Authorizes appropriations for FY 1983 for conducting such projects. Title III: Housing Production Programs - Part A: Single-Family Housing Production Program - Single-Family Housing Production Act of 1983 - Directs the Secretary to enter into contracts to make periodic assistance payments to mortgagees and other lenders on behalf of homeowners (including owners of manufactured homes and condominium units) with incomes of up to 130 percent of the median area income. Terminates such authority of the Secretary on September 30, 1983. Directs the Secretary to give priority to: (1) assisting persons who have not owned a home within the last three years; and (2) mortgages secured by dwellings constructed by homebuilders whose credit is restricted by the small size of their homebuilding projects. Sets ceilings for: (1) the total amount of payments made under such contracts each year; and (2) the total amount obligated during the life such contracts. Permits payments to be made only to a homeowner who satisfies requirements for creditworthiness and who is: (1) under a mortgage which is eligible for assistance under this Act; or (2) the original owner of a new, federally-insured, manufactured home. Provides for payments on behalf of such a homeowner only for as long as the homeowner occupies the property, unless the mortgage has been assigned to the Secretary. Provides for payments on behalf of such a homeowner only with respect to dwelling units purchased at the time the assistance contract is entered into and only during the time the homeowner occupies the property, unless the mortgage has been assigned to the Secretary. Limits the amount of such assistance payments to the amount required to lower the mortgagor's monthly mortgage payments to the payments that would be required if the mortgage were to bear interest at the greater rate of: (1) nine and one-half percent (ten percent if the mortgageor's income exceeds 105 percent of median area income); or (2) a rate six percentage points less than specified in the mortgage (four percentage points if the mortgagor's income exceeds 115 percent of median area income). Requires that a mortgagor pay at least 25 percent of his or her income toward the monthly mortgage payments. Limits the duration of assistance payments to seven years (five years if the mortgagor's income exceeds 115 percent of median area income). Establishes a fund into which recaptured or unused assistance shall be deposited and from which the Secretary may provide continued assistance to a mortgagor who is unable to assume full mortgage payments after regular assistance payments end. Limits the number of manufactured homes assisted under this part to 20 percent of the total number of assisted units. Includes among conditions a mortgage must meet for the mortgagor to qualify for assistance under this part the requirements that a mortgage: (1) be secured by a newly constructed single-family dwelling or a recently rehabilitated cooperative or condominium unit that is part of a historic structure the rehabilitation of which the qualifies for a tax credit; (2) involve a principal residence that meet energy conservation standards prescribed by the Secretary; (3) permit prepayment without penalty; (4) have a fixed rate of interest, and (5) be executed by a mortgagor who paid at least three percent of the Secretary's estimate of the cost of acquisition. Directs the Secretary to develop a system for allocating assistance under this part among the various regions of the country on the basis of such factors as population, relative decline in building permits, and the need for increased housing production. Directs the Secretary to recapture the lesser of the amount of assistance provided under this part or an amount equal to 50 percent of the net appreciation of the property whenever the mortgagor sells the property or rents it for a period exceeding one year. Requires the Secretary to adopt procedures for annual recertification of a homeowner's income for the purpose of adjusting assistance payments. Amends the National Housing Act to provide the Secretary, on October 1, 1982, authority to enter into contracts to provide payments to assist low-income families in acquiring home ownership or membership in a cooperative housing project. Part B: Multifamily Housing Production Program - Rental Housing Production and Rehabilitation Act of 1983 - Directs the Secretary to provide financial assistance to State and local governments (including Indian tribes) to be used to stimulate the construction and rehabilitation of multifamily rental housing projects and and housing for persons without other reasonable and affordable housing alternatives in the private market. Directs State and local governments which receive such assistance to provide such projects with capital grants, loans, interest reduction payments, grants for the purchase of land, and other types of assistance designed to reduce project development and operating costs. Prohibits a State from providing such assistance to any project unless the local government of the project area approves the application for assistance for such project. Allows a local government to apply directly to the Secretary for assistance. Prohibits a project from being assisted both directly and by the Federal Government through a State agency under this Act. Sets forth area eligibility criteria, project selection criteria, and guidelines for allocating assistance. Requires the amount of assistance provided to a project to be the least amount necessary to provide decent and affordable rental or cooperative housing of modest design. Requires the owner of an assisted project to agree that for the first 20 years of the project: (1) 20 percent of the project units will be available for families whose income does not exceed 80 percent of the median area income; (2) savings resulting from reduced debt service payments for assistance will be passed on to the tenants; (3) prospective tenants will not be discriminated against on the basis of their receipt of or eligibility for Federal, State, or local housing assistance; and (4) units will not be converted to condominium ownership or a form of cooperative ownership not eligible for assistance. Directs the Secretary to require an owner who violates any such agreement to repay all assistance plus interest. Requires rent charges for project units for low-income tenants to be approved by the Secretary. Limits such charges to 30 percent of the tenants adjusted income. Requires 30 days written notice to tenants of rent increases. Declares obligations issued by a State or local housing agency to finance a project assisted under this part to be tax-exempt. Authorizes FHA insurance for an assisted project meeting FHA standards. Requires that contracts for such assistance contain a provision requiring the payment of prevailing wages to workers employed in the development and operation of the project involved. Authorizes appropriations for such assistance for FY 1983. Part C: Demonstration Program for Emergency Housing - Directs the Secretary to conduct a demonstration program under which grants will be provided to assist communities or nonprofit organizations to provide shelter for people subject to life-threatening situations because of their lack of housing. Requires the Secretary to make such grants on a competitive basis according to the need for emergency housing. Directs the Secretary to report to Congress on such program. Earmarks a specified amount of the appropriations provided for the Multi-family Housing Production Program under part B for such demonstration program. Title IV: Rural Housing - Amends the Housing Act of 1949 to authorize appropriations for FY 1983 to the Secretary of Agriculture: (1) to insure and guarantee loans for rural housing, with certain restrictions; (2) to make loans and grants for improvements of rural housing; (3) to provide financial loans and assistance for the provision of low-rent housing for domestic farm labor; (4) to make grants or contracts for the development of programs to assist low-income persons in benefiting from housing programs in rural areas; (5) for programs of mutual and self-help in rural areas; and (6) for the Self-Help Housing Land Development Fund. Requires the Secretary of Agriculture to process requests for insured and guaranteed loans, interest credits, and rental assistance payments in a manner providing for a preliminary reservation of assistance at the time of initial approval of a project. Extends the authority of the Secretary of Agriculture to: (1) insure loans to provide rental housing for persons of moderate income; (2) insure loans for housing and buildings on adequate farms; and (3) make assistance payments to owners of low-income rental housing projects, with a specified amount of FY 1983 assistance earmarked for domestic farm labor and elderly or handicapped persons who are tenants of newly constructed or substantially rehabilitated housing. Eliminates use of the Rural Housing Fund for specified rural housing programs. Revises the maximum rental charge for certain assisted rural housing to the highest of: (1) 25 percent of the family's monthly adjusted income; (2) ten percent of the family's monthly income; or (3) the portion of the family's welfare payment designated for housing costs. Provides that interest credits for low-or moderate-income persons who receive rural housing mortgage loans may not exceed the lesser of: (1) the person's mortgage payments after applying 20 percent of his or her adjusted income; or (2) the person's mortgage payments exceeding what those payments would be if the mortgage were to bear one percent interest. Directs the Secretary of Agriculture, when determining whether to provide housing assistance to domestic farm laborers in an area, to consider the housing needs for only those persons. Requires the Secretary of Agriculture to give priority to providing rural housing assistance to applicants with the greatest housing assistance needs because of their low income and inadequate dwellings. Authorizes the Secretary of Agriculture to provide rental housing assistance for elderly persons living under a shared housing arrangement in a single-family dwelling. Title V: Program Amendments and Extensions - Amends the National Housing Act to extend the authority of the Secretary to insure loans for mortgages and home improvement, to provide periodic assistance payments for stimulation of the housing market and to establish the maximum interest rates for certain mortgage insurance programs. Amends the Emergency Home Purchase Assistance Act of 1974 to extend the authority of the Secretary to direct the Government National Mortgage Association to purchase mortgages and securities. Amends the Housing and Urban Development Act of 1970 to authorize appropriations for research for the Department of Housing and Urban Development in fiscal year 1983. Amends the National Housing Act to increase the amount of funds authorized to be appropriated to cover losses sustained by the General Insurance Fund. Amends the Federal National Mortgage Association Charter Act to extend the authority of the GNMA to guarantee mortgage-backed securities issued by the Federal National Mortgage Association (FNMA), subject to the absence of qualified requests. Amends the Energy Conservation in Existing Buildings Act of 1976 to earmark for the weatherization program for FY 1983 a specified amount of the funds authorized to be appropriated for energy conservation under the Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1981. Amends the National Flood Insurance Act of 1968 to extend the national flood insurance program until September 30, 1984, and to authorize appropriations for various insurance studies during FY 1983. Amends the National Housing Act to extend the Secretary's authority: (1) to carry out the Federal riot insurance program and the Federal crime insurance program until September 30, 1984; and (2) to continue riot and crime insurance policies written prior to such date until September 30, 1987. Amends the Housing and Urban Development Act of 1968 to authorize appropriations for FY 1983 for counseling and technical assistance programs for low-and moderate-income families with respect to housing. Amends the Federal National Mortgage Association Charter Act and the Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corporation Act to require the limitation on the maximum principal obligation of a conventional mortgage, in which the FNMA or the Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corporation may purchase a participating interest, to be calculated with respect to the total principal obligation of the mortgage. Authorizes such corporations, until October 1, 1984, to purchase mortgages secured by a subordinate lien against a one-to four-family dwelling. Specifies limitations on the maximum principal obligation of the mortgages. Amends the National Housing Act to: (1) qualify a unit in a cooperative housing project for FHA mortgage insurance if construction of the project was completed more than a year prior to the application for such insurance; and (2) eliminate the requirement that the cooperative housing project be nonprofit. Authorizes the Secretary to insure: (1) the loan on an existing manufactured home if such home was constructed according to the standards issued under the National Manufactured Housing Construction and Safety Standards Act of 1974 and it meets minimum property standards for FHA insurance for existing homes; (2) the loan on a newly constructed manufactured home which meets FHA standards for newly constructed homes at the full amount permitted for newly constructed homes in the area; and (3) the loan on a newly constructed manufactured home which does not meet such FHA standards at 80 percent of the full amount permitted for newly constructed homes (100 percent in areas of high-cost developed land) if such manufactured home meets certain construction, energy conservation, set-up, and attachment standards. Requires the Secretary to provide homeownership counseling to persons receiving temporary mortgage assistance payments to avoid foreclosure. (Currently, the Secretary is directed to provide such counseling to the extent practicable.) Requires the Secretary to submit to Congress a report which describes: (1) HUD standards for determining whether program requirements and changes are implemented through regulations, memoranda, or other forms of notice; and (2) the system used to assure that program changes affecting the eligibility, rights, or benefits of applicants for or recipients of program assistance are subject to notice and publication requirements of the Administrative Procedure Act. Amends the Real Estate Settlement Procedures Act of 1974 to exempt a controlled business arrangement under which a person who has an ownership interest in a provider of settlement services refers real estate business involving a federally related mortgage to that provider from the prohibition against kickbacks for referrals of such business if: (1) such ownership interest is disclosed; (2) no unreasonable restrictions are imposed on the buyer's or seller's selection of the service provider; and (3) the only thing of value received under such arrangement is the return on such ownership interest. Declares that an agreement which requires a buyer or seller to pay for the services of an attorney, credit reporting agency, and real estate appraiser which are chosen by the lender to represent the lender's interest shall not be considered an unreasonable restriction. Limits the yearly number of transactions involving a controlled business relationship that a title company, private mortgage insurance company, or escrow services company may participate in during a year to 20 percent of all transactions of such company. Exempts from such limitation: (1) a bar-related title insurance company; (2) a transaction involving real estate in a county with a population of 25,000 or less; or (3) a controlled business arrangement where the ownership interest involved accounts for one percent or less of a corporation's outstanding stock, the majority of which is publicly owned. Eliminates the criminal penalty for violations of the prohibitions on referral of real estate business involving a federally related mortgage. Establishes the right of a competitor injured by a violation of such prohibitions to sue for treble damages. Permits the Secretary, the attorney general of any State, or any competitor to bring an action to enjoin such prohibited conduct. Sets a three year statute of limitations for a suit brought by the Secretary or an attorney general. Authorizes the Secretary to conduct investigations and issue subpoenas necessary to enforce such Act. Amends the National Housing Act to increase the maximum amount of a mortgage on a newly constructed condominium which is eligible for FHA insurance. Makes public hospitals eligible for FHA insurance. Makes FHA insurance programs available for property located in American Samoa. Authorizes the Secretary to insure mortgages and loans with monthly payments and outstanding balances adjusted by a percentage change in a selected price index. Directs the Secretary to give a priority to insuring such mortgages executed by mortgagors who have not owned dwelling units within the preceding three years. Requires the Secretary to conduct a demonstration program for insuring such loans and mortgages during FY 1983. Title VI: Emergency Mortgage Relief - Homeowners' Emergency Relief Act of 1983 - Amends the Emergency Housing Act of 1965 to direct the Secretary to make emergency mortgage relief payments to mortgagees on behalf of certain delinquent mortgagors when, for three consecutive months, the amount of delinquent mortgage loans exceeds a specified percentage of the amount of all loans accounted for in the mortgage delinquency series maintained by the Federal Home Loan Bank Board. Provides for the discontinuation and reinstitution of such assistance program depending on such delinquency rate condition. Lists the conditions for assistance eligibility, which include requirements that: (1) the mortgage is not federally insured under the National Housing Act; (2) the mortgagor has suffered a substantial reduction in income as a result of circumstances beyond the mortgagor's control which render the mortgagor unable to make full mortgage payments; and (3) the Secretary has determined that assistance is necessary to avoid foreclosure and that it is likely that the mortgagor will be able to resume full mortgage payments within 36 months, commence repaying such assistance at a designated time, and pay the mortgage in full by its maturity date. Limits: (1) the amount of mortgage assistance payments to an amount necessary to supplement the amount of the mortgagor's contributions; and (2) the length of such payments to 18 months plus any period of default, with an 18-month extension authorized. Directs the Secretary to establish procedures for the periodic review of the mortgagor's financial circumstances to determine whether such payments should be terminated or adjusted. Declares that all assistance payments shall be secured by a lien on the property and repayable on terms prescribed by the Secretary. Sets forth the authority of the Secretary to recapture such assistance. States that a previously assisted mortgagor shall be eligible for renewed assistance only if such mortgagor has made full mortgage payments for at least 12 months after the previous assistance was terminated. Directs the Secretary to: (1) provide homeownership counseling to persons assisted under this title; and (2) approve or disapprove an application for assistance within 45 days. Limits the aggregate amount of assistance the Secretary is authorized to provide over the duration of assistance contracts. Prohibits the Secretary from entering such contracts after September 30, 1983. Requires the Secretary and specified agencies to waive or relax limitations pertaining to the operations of certain mortgagees and financial institutions with respect to mortgage delinquencies in order to encourage forebearance in residential mortgage loan foreclosure. Requires the Secretary to report to Congress every 60 days prior to October 1, 1983, on: (1) the rate of delinqencies and foreclosures in various housing markets; (2) the prospects of voluntary forebearance by mortgagees in such areas; (3) Government actions to encourage such forebearance and to provide assistance under this title; and (4) the default status of mortgagees on multifamily properties with recommendations on curing and avoiding such defaults. Directs the Secretary to study and report on the use of alternative mortgage delinquency series under this title.
United States · United States Congress · 3 January 1983
Ocean and Coastal Resources Management and Development Block Grant Act - Establishes within the Treasury an Ocean and Coastal Resources Management and Development Fund. Limits the total amount payable into the Fund during any fiscal year. Directs the Secretary of Commerce to use specified portions of such funds to: (1) carry out the National Sea Grant College Program; and (2) provide national ocean and coastal resources management and development block grants to each coastal State. Requires such States to report grant allocation and project information, and provide opportunity for public comment before receiving such grants. Sets forth a grant allocation formula based on: (1) actual and future outer continental shelf lease sales, including oil and gas; (2) coastal related energy activities; (3) shoreline mileage; and (4) coastal population. Establishes a minimum grant of one-half of one percent of authorized funds for States having approved coastal management programs. Specifies activities authorized by the Coastal Zone Management Act of 1972 (and coastal energy impact program), and living marine and natural resource management projects as the only eligible uses of block grants. Requires States receiving such grants to submit an expenditure assessment to the Secretary. Directs the Secretary to promulgate implementing regulations.
United States · United States Congress · 3 January 1983
Amends the Civilian Health and Medical Program of the Uniformed Services to include chiropractic care among the services offered members, former members, and dependents of the uniformed services. Authorizes the appointment of chiropractors as commissioned officers in the Medical Services Corps of the Army, the Navy, and the Air Force. Entitles such officers to the same pay as dental officers.
![Official portrait of Rep. Oakar, Mary Rose [D-OH-20]](https://www.congress.gov/img/member/o000001_200.jpg)