United States · United States Congress · 6 August 1986
Authorizes the use of limited circulation postal rates for certain publications which are addressed for delivery within adjacent counties. Limits the number of copies of publications which may be mailed under such rates.
United States · United States Congress · 6 August 1986
Intergovernmental Regulatory Relief Act of 1986 - Title I: Review of Intergovernmental Regulations - Requires the President, within 30 days after submitting the annual Federal budget, to submit to the Congress a report specifying and evaluating the economic costs, noneconomic costs, and additional direct costs to State and local governments of complying with intergovernmental regulations during the most recently completed fiscal year, the fiscal year in progress, and the next two fiscal years. Defines an "intergovernmental regulation" as a Federal regulation that requires a State or local government to take certain actions or to comply with certain conditions in order to receive Federal assistance. Specifies the contents of such report which include: (1) an estimate of the economic and noneconomic benefits that will be provided to each State government and all local governments in such State as a result of compliance with each such regulation during each fiscal year; and (2) proposals for legislation and administrative actions to change regulations in order to reduce compliance costs or to achieve a more favorable balance between costs incurred and benefits received. Directs the President to consider the potential for reducing State and local compliance costs by promulgating intergovernmental regulations using means such as performance standards, special provisions for small governments, marketable rights, economic incentives, compliance reforms, and simplified procedures to certify the compliance of Federal assistance recipients with Federal requirements. Authorizes the President to delegate the responsibility of preparing such report to the Director of the Office of Management and Budget or the head of any other Federal agency. Directs the responsible official to prescribe standards to be used by agencies in estimating the compliance costs and benefits of intergovernmental regulations. Directs each agency to furnish such official with the information required in such report for the regulations administered by such agency. Title II: Compensation of State and Local Governments for Additional Direct Costs - Prohibits any Federal agency or U.S. court from requiring State or local governments, in any fiscal year, to comply with any intergovernmental regulation which takes effect on or after enactment of this Act and which is promulgated pursuant to a significant law, unless sufficient funds have been provided to reimburse such governments for the total amount of additional direct costs such governments will incur in complying with such regulation in such fiscal year as estimated by the Congressional Budget Office (CBO). Defines a "significant law" as any Federal law which is likely to result in total additional direct costs to all State and local governments of $25,000,000 or more in a fiscal year or to have exceptional fiscal consequences for a geographic region or a particular level of government. Declares that a Federal agency or U.S. court may require such compliance in any fiscal year in which the Congress passes a joint resolution which waives the requirement for reimbursement of direct costs. Requires the Director of CBO to transmit to the President and the Congress by September 1 of each year a report specifying an estimate of the total amount of additional direct costs that will be incurred in the upcoming fiscal year and next succeeding fiscal year by State and local governments in complying with each intergovernmental regulation promulgated pursuant to a significant law. Directs the chairmen of the congressional committees having jurisdiction over any significant law under which an intergovernmental regulation is promulgated, to propose, an amendment to a bill providing funds for each fiscal year in which such regulation will be in effect that appropriates funds State and local governments for the total amount or applicable percentage of additional direct costs they will incur in complying with such regulation. Sets forth the procedures for reimbursement of such additional direct costs by Federal agencies to States and by the States to local governments. Title III: Miscellaneous - Amends the Congressional Budget Act of 1974 to revise the definition of a "significant bill or resolution" by reducing the annual cost to State or local governments likely to result from such a bill or resolution from $200,000,000 to $100,000,000. (The Act requires CBO to submit to each congressional committee reporting such a bill or resolution an estimate of the cost which would be incurred by State and local governments in complying with such bill or resolution in the fiscal year in which it is to become effective and in each of the four succeeding fiscal years.)
United States · United States Congress · 29 July 1986
Amends the Federal Aviation Act of 1958 to prohibit air carriers from discriminating against handicapped persons. Directs the Secretary of Transportation to: (1) revise Federal regulations regarding the carriage of handicapped persons to ensure that all subparts of such regulations apply to all air carriers; (2) review air carrier procedures for the carriage of handicapped persons; and (3) direct that such procedures be brought into conformity with Federal regulations.
United States · United States Congress · 17 July 1986
Voluntarism Protection Act of 1986 - Applies this Act to State liability laws which are applicable to any civil action brought during FY 1988 and thereafter. Prescribes circumstances under which volunteers working for nonprofit organizations and governmental entities shall be immune from personal civil liability in State court actions. Requires the Secretary of Health and Human Services to reduce by one percent a State's fiscal year award to implement the Social Services Block Grant Program under title XX of the Social Security Act if such State fails to enact such immunity for volunteers as of FY 1988.
United States · United States Congress · 17 July 1986
Anti-Cocaine Amendments Act of 1986 - Amends the Controlled Substances Act and the Controlled Substances Import and Export Act to impose criminal penalties for dealing in: (1) five grams or more of cocaine, its salts, optical and geometric isomers, and salts of isomers, or a substance chemically identical thereto; and (2) 100 or more grams of other schedule I or II narcotic drugs. (Current law imposes such increased penalties on a kilogram or more of some schedule I or II narcotic drugs.)
United States · United States Congress · 26 June 1986
Amends the Temporary Emergency Food Assistance Act of 1983 to require that excess cheese held by the Commodity Credit Corporation be made available, at the request of the chief executive officer of a State, upon a showing of need, and without charge, for distribution by eligible agencies in the State.
United States · United States Congress · 26 June 1986
Prohibits the obligation or expenditure of FY 1986 and 1987 Department of Defense funds for the procurement or production of binary chemical weapons. Expresses the support of the Congress for necessary research and development to assure an adequate chemical weapons deterrent policy. Expresses the sense of the Congress that: (1) the President should seek the cooperation of the Soviet Union in achieving a mutual and verifiable ban on the use, production, and stockpiling of lethal chemical weapons; (2) the Secretary of Defense should improve the capabilities of U.S. armed forces to detect, and protect themselves against, the use of lethal chemical weapons; and (3) such weapons must be stockpiled and available in those areas of Europe where chemical attacks would most likely occur. Provides that the Congress will consider the repeal of its prohibition against chemical weapons funding if members of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) accept the peacetime deployment of chemical weapons in their territory.
United States · United States Congress · 19 June 1986
Assimilative Crimes Act Amendments of 1986 - Amends the Federal criminal code to provide that the criminal penalty for operating a motor vehicle under the influence of a drug or alcohol in a special maritime or territorial jurisdiction of the United States shall be the punishment provided under the law of that State, Territory, or District. States that whoever operates a motor vehicle in such a jurisdiction consents to certain tests if arrested for driving under the influence of a drug or alcohol. States that any person refusing to submit to such tests shall be denied the privilege of driving for one year.
United States · United States Congress · 19 June 1986
Dislocated Farmer Training Amendments of 1986 - Amends the Job Training Partnership Act (the Act) to include under the definition of "community-based organizations" locally and regionally based farm, business, and industrial organizations, local rural service organizations, and rural planning and development organizations. Revises the definition of "economically disadvantaged" to base determinations of income eligibility on a 12-month (rather than a six-month) period prior to application. Directs the Secretary of Labor (the Secretary), within 30 days after enactment of this Act, to promulgate regulations to permit the exclusion of any proceeds of a sale of farm or business assets of a family resulting from a foreclosure, forfeiture, or bankruptcy in determination of income eligibility for programs under the Act. Includes mental health care and counseling among supportive services under the Act. Includes State and local agricultural agencies and social service agencies under the Governor's coordination and special services plan. Requires such plan to provide, where appropriate, for: (1) collecting and disseminating to service delivery areas information on the number of permanent dislocations of farmers and ranchers due to farm and ranch failures; and (2) identifying farm and ranch family members in need of retraining and job search assistance, on a State and local basis. Includes rural areas under designated areas for which certain labor market projections are to be made. Requires inclusion of individuals who are geographically isolated due to rural residence under eligibility provisions for part A (Adult and Youth Programs) of title II (Training Services for the Disadvantaged) of the Act. Prohibits requiring States to match grants from the Secretary's discretionary funds under title III (Employment and Training Assistance for Dislocated Workers) of the Act. Includes as eligible for dislocated worker assistance individuals who were self-employed (including farmers) and who are or will be unemployed as a result of general economic conditions in the community in which they reside or because of natural disasters. Directs the Secretary to establish categories of self-employed individuals and of economic conditions and natural disasters. Provides that farmers may qualify for eligibility by certifying or showing that the farm's operations will terminate because of specified kinds of circumstances. Revises provisions for national and multistate programs to include: (1) information networks and cooperation among Federal, State, and local programs; (2) coordination at the national level among Federal agencies responsible for administering interrelated employment, training, and support services; (3) regional or nationwide efforts to foster economic development or employment generating activities in rural areas; and (4) national and regional programs addressing the special problems of dislocated farmers. Revises research and demonstration provisions to include references to dislocated farmers, farm spouses, changes in the agricultural sector, and easing the transition from farming to other work places. Provides for seeking improved methods of collecting data and accounting for employment and unemployment in rural areas. Includes dislocated farmers under pilot project provisions. Revises cooperative labor market information program provisions to take into account both urban and rural areas. Directs the Secretary to collect specified types of statistical data relating to permanent dislocation of farmers and ranchers due to farm and ranch failures. Directs the Secretary to publish an annual report based upon such data, including: (1) a comparison with data currently used by the Bureau of Labor Statistics in determining the Nation's annual employment and unemployment rates; and (2) an analysis of whether farmers and ranchers are being adequately counted in such employment statistics. Includes the Secretary of Agriculture under interdepartmental cooperation provisions. Includes the Assistant Secretary of Agriculture for Economics on the National Occupational Information Coordinating Committee. Adds to the functions of the National Commission for Employment Policy the evaluation of: (1) the effectiveness of federally assisted employment and training programs in rural America; (2) employment difficulties inherent to rural areas; (3) rural needs for employment generating activities; (4) the employment, training, and vocational education needs of dislocated farmers; (5) the current system used by the Bureau of Labor Statistics for collecting rural employment and unemployment data; and (6) current Federal coordination efforts in administering federally assisted employment and training programs.
United States · United States Congress · 19 June 1986
Amends the Packers and Stockyards Act, 1921 to include poultry and eggs within the purview of such Act. Gives poultry and egg producers and cash sellers who have not received full payment from specified large poultry dealers or packers a beneficial interest in all poultry products and proceeds from their poultry until full payment has been made by such producers or sellers. States that payment shall not be considered to have been made if the seller or producer receives a payment instrument which is dishonored. Requires the seller or producer in such instance to preserve his interest as provided for by this Act. Requires full payment by the next business day in a cash sale and within seven days following the week of slaughter in a poultry growing arrangement. Permits the parties to modify such payment schedules. Makes a delay in fund collection in order to extend the payment period an unfair practice under such Act. Provides egg producers with similar protections.
United States · United States Congress · 18 June 1986
Amends generally Federal law relating to veterans and veterans' benefits to eliminate gender-based references currently contained in such provisions, and to make other technical corrections to such provisions.
United States · United States Congress · 12 June 1986
Expresses the sense of the Congress that the Secretary of Agriculture should exercise specified authority under the Consolidated Farm and Rural Development Act to transfer funds from amounts authorized for guaranteed loans to amounts authorized for insured loans.
United States · United States Congress · 11 June 1986
Establishes a formula for determining the allocation of official mail costs for Members of Congress for any fiscal year beginning with FY 1987. Directs the Senate Committee on Rules and Administration and the House Committee on House Administration to determine, and provide written notice to each Member of, the allocation of such Member. Requires the Committees to prescribe regulations to carry out this resolution. Requires the Committees to publish a quarterly statement on official mail costs.
United States · United States Congress · 3 June 1986
Limits the obligation of funds for the deployment and maintenance of launchers for U.S. nuclear weapons. Waives such limitations if: (1) the President so requests in writing to the Congress, citing national security reasons for such waiver; and (2) each House of the Congress votes to authorize such waiver by bill or joint resolution within 60 days.
United States · United States Congress · 22 May 1986
Sub-Saharan Africa Natural Resource and Environmental Management Training and Education Act of 1986 - Requires the President, in order to promote a long-term development program for sub-Saharan Africa, to establish and provide assistance for a training and education program to encourage the development and utilization of appropriate natural resources and environmental management techniques. Requires particular emphasis to be placed on local-level training in techniques using smaller, cost-saving, community-based technologies. Sets forth elements to be included in such program. Requires the training under this program to incorporate women's needs in appropriate proportions to their traditional participation in the targeted activity. Requires each Agency for International Development (AID) development strategy statement for each sub-Saharan African country to include a plan to assist that country in the development of an effective natural resource and environmental management training and education program. Requires program activities to include close consultation with, and involvement of, community and local organizations. Requires the objectives of this Act to be accomplished whenever practicable through private and voluntary organizations or national nongovernmental organizations. Requires AID to make available funds for training and education activities in sub-Saharan African countries in accordance with this Act for FY 1987. Urges AID to request technical assistance from other Federal agencies where appropriate. Requires AID to review and report to the Congress on the effectiveness of existing indigenous capabilities for natural resource and environmental management training.
United States · United States Congress · 22 May 1986
Amends the Internal Revenue Code to allow homeowners to deduct the full amount of prepaid interest in connection with the refinancing of their principal residences for the taxable year in which paid.
United States · United States Congress · 22 May 1986
Constitutional Amendment - Requires the President, prior to each fiscal year, to transmit to the Congress a proposed Federal budget in which total outlays do not exceed total estimated revenues. Permits the President to recommend an alternative budget in which outlays exceed revenues with a detailed explanation of the need for such excess. Prohibits the Congress from making any law which would cause outlays to exceed revenues in a fiscal year. Permits the Congress to suspend such prohibition in time of war or national emergency by passing a concurrent resolution by a three-fifths vote of both Houses. Prohibits enactment of a bill to increase revenue unless it passes each House of Congress by a majority rollcall vote.
United States · United States Congress · 21 May 1986
Amends the Consolidated Budget Reconciliation Act of 1985 to hold a State harmless in FY 1987 against changes that Act effected in the annual calculation of the Federal medical assistance percentage under title XIX (Medicaid) of the Social Security Act if such changes would cause a reduction of Medicaid payments to the State in FY 1987.
United States · United States Congress · 13 May 1986
Amends the Internal Revenue Code to disallow the tax exclusion for interest earned on industrial development bonds issued by a State or local government if the proceeds of such bonds are used to finance milk production. Exempts from such requirement a limited amount of bonds used for first-time farmers and at times when there is a certification by the Secretary of Agriculture of a nationwide shortage of milk.
United States · United States Congress · 9 May 1986
Farm Loan Mediation Act of 1986 - Prohibits the Secretary of Agriculture from making loans under the Consolidated Farm and Rural Development Act to persons in States not having a loan mediation system. Requires such a system to provide for: (1) local mediation; (2) voluntary and mandatory mediation; (3) debtor and creditor eligibility; (4) foreclosure only after mandatory mediation; and (5) procedures in the case of unsuccessful mandatory mediation.
United States · United States Congress · 8 May 1986
States that U.S. defense programs should not carry out any development, test, or deployment activity of any antiballistic missile system or component. (This is in conformance with the defense system restrictions of the 1972 Anti-Ballistic Missile Treaty.)
United States · United States Congress · 7 May 1986
Amends Federal law relating to veterans' home loans to exempt such loans from any spending reduction order issued under the Balanced Budget and Emergency Deficit Control Act of 1985 (Gramm-Rudman-Hollings Act) or any other such legislation. Revises provisions concerning the definition and treatment of certain administrative expenses in connection with the Veterans' Administration Loan Guaranty Revolving Fund.
United States · United States Congress · 7 May 1986
Expresses the sense of the Congress that dairy cattle designated for slaughter under the dairy buyout program should be instead shipped to the Soviet Union and any European countries found to have been contaminated by the Chernobyl nuclear accident and to those countries not contaminated by the accident but which can provide food products to affected areas. Provides that feed grain from the Commodity Credit Corporation as well as dairy beef resulting from the buyout program's slaughtering activities should be made available to the stricken countries.
United States · United States Congress · 6 May 1986
Expresses the sense of the Congress that, in the application of deficit reduction legislation, adjustments to Federal retirement programs which provide periodic cost-of-living increases should be treated uniformly. Declares that the Gramm-Rudman-Hollings Act (Balanced Budget and Emergency Deficit Control Act of 1985) should be modified to reflect such treatment.
United States · United States Congress · 30 April 1986
Grain Quality Improvement Act of 1986 - Amends the Grain Standards Act of 1916 to authorize the rounding off of numbers relating to grain condition or quality. Requires that any rounding off shall be in a direction to understate the condition or quality of the grain. Authorizes the Administrator of the Federal Grain Inspection Service to refuse to certify an export crop of grain if he believes that such cargo will deteriorate significantly in quality enroute to a foreign destination. Requires a quality variation statement on all official grade certificates issued for export grain lots. Prohibits the recombination of dockage and foreign material with any grain intended for export when the result will be to reduce quality or spoilage resistance. Amends the Agricultural Act of 1956 to provide in-kind bonuses to producers and exporters of specified high-quality export corn. Authorizes the Secretary of Agriculture to make in-kind reimbursements for: (1) inventory loss of value; and (2) cleaning and blending equipment.
United States · United States Congress · 29 April 1986
Manufacture and Public Distribution of Certain Copyrighted Material Act - Amends the copyright law to extend indefinitely the manufacturing clause, which prohibits the importation of certain English language books not manufactured in the United States or Canada. Eliminates the Canadian exemption, per se, after 1988. Permits exemptions from such restriction if a foreign country, including Canada, is certified by the United States Trade Representative as providing adequate copyright protection for U.S. nationals and such country freely trades in printed matter with the United States or adheres to a bilateral or multilateral agreement with the United States and supports internationally recognized workers' rights.
United States · United States Congress · 29 April 1986
Declares that the House of Representatives calls upon the President to open multilateral negotiations aimed at opening all nuclear power reactors of the world for safety inspection by the International Atomic Energy Agency.
United States · United States Congress · 29 April 1986
Declares that the House of Representatives: (1) condemns the Soviet Union's failure to provide notification and information about the nuclear accident at Chernobyl; and (2) calls upon the Soviet Union to permit outside nuclear experts to assist with the accident and to allow the international press corps to cover the situation.
United States · United States Congress · 23 April 1986
Processed Products Inspection Improvement Act of 1986 - Amends the Federal Meat Inspection Act to redescribe the manner and frequency of inspection of meat food products to include the requirement that the Secretary of Agriculture take into account for each establishment: (1) the nature and frequency of processing operations; (2) the adequacy and reliability of processing controls and sanitary procedures; and (3) the history of inspection compliance. Changes the requirement that condemned meat food products be destroyed for "food purposes," to a requirement that they be destroyed for "human food purposes." Provides that amendments made by this Act shall not be construed to authorize the Secretary to refuse to provide inspection solely because an establishment does not participate in a total plant quality-control program.
United States · United States Congress · 22 April 1986
Nuclear Waste Policy Reform Amendments Act of 1986 - Amends the Nuclear Waste Policy Act of 1982 to prohibit the Secretary of Energy from implementing nuclear waste disposal activities with respect to more than one repository. Declares that any such activities commenced (or decisions made by the Secretary) before the date of enactment of this Act shall be rescinded or terminated. Prohibits the Nuclear Regulatory Commission from authorizing the construction of more than one repository under such Act. Provides that if the Secretary does not meet the January 31, 1998, deadline for high-level radioactive waste disposal then the Secretary must cease all repository activities until: (1) the Nuclear Waste Repository Review Commission (established by this Act) submits a certain report to the Congress; and (2) the Congress specifically authorizes the continuation of such repository activities (thus imposing a moratorium on repository development). Removes the deadlines by which the Secretary and the President must submit candidate site nominations for second repository site characterizations. Prohibits the Secretary from nominating or recommending any crystalline rock site for site characterization for a repository. Removes the volume limitation placed upon a first repository. Establishes the Nuclear Waste Repository Review Commission (if a repository moratorium takes effect) to: (1) review scientific data regarding repository suitability; and (2) compare the use of repositories for radioactive waste disposal with alternative technologies for the permanent isolation of such waste. Requires the Review Commission to report to the Congress by a certain date regarding its activities and recommendations. Authorizes appropriations. Terminates such Commission upon submission of its report. Sets deadlines for draft revisions of the Secretary's mission plan under such Act.
United States · United States Congress · 22 April 1986
Expresses the sense of the Congress that a Children's Challenge Center for Space Science should be established in conjunction with the National Aeronautics and Space Administration at the Johnson Space Center as a memorial to the seven Challenger astronauts and others who gave their lives exploring space.
United States · United States Congress · 17 April 1986
Readjustment Counseling Program Amendments of 1986 - Amends Federal veterans' benefits provisions to remove the requirement that veterans readjustment counseling be administered solely at Veterans Administration (VA) health-care facilities as of October 1, 1988. Establishes the Veterans Administration Readjustment Counseling Professional Fellowship Program (the Program) to assist in providing an adequate supply of trained professionals to furnish readjustment counseling services to veterans for the VA. Requires an individual, in order to be eligible to participate in the Program, to: (1) be a Vietnam-era veteran; and (2) be accepted in an accredited educational program which leads to a degree in a field appropriate to furnishing readjustment counseling services. Requires a written contract between the Administrator of Veterans Affairs and any veteran participating in the Program. Requires any veterans participating in the Program to also be full-time employees of the VA: (1) on the date on which their application for such Program is submitted; and (2) on the date on which they become particpants in the Program. Authorizes the Administrator to award a scholarship to each veteran accepted into the Program. Requires the Administrator, in accepting applicants into the Program, to give priority to members of groups determined to be disadvantaged minority groups. Requires the Administrator to include in the annual report submitted to the Congress a report on the Program.
United States · United States Congress · 17 April 1986
Medicare Quality Protection Act of 1986 - Title I: Quality Assurance in Inpatient Hospital Settings - Requires the Secretary of Health and Human Services to develop and submit to the Congress a legislative proposal to improve the prospective payment system established under title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act so that it more accurately approximates the costs of inpatient hospital services and accounts for variations in case complexity. Amends the Medicare program to require a hospital to give Medicare beneficiaries, upon their admission to the hospital, a written statement explaining: (1) the individual's rights to benefits for inpatient hospital and post-hospital Medicare services; (2) the circumstances under which such individual will be liable for charges for a continued hospital stay; (3) the individual's right to appeal denials of continued hospital services; and (4) the individual's liability for payment for services if such a denial of benefits is upheld on appeal. Amends part B (Peer Review) of title XI of the Act to require peer review organizations receiving a hospital inpatient's request for review of a hospital's decision that the patient no longer needs inpatient care to inform the patient of its decision within two days of receiving the request. Prohibits hospitals from charging patients for inpatient hospital services provided while patients wait for a peer review organization to respond to their timely review requests. Imposes a civil money penalty on hospitals which make payments to physicians and on physicians who knowingly receive payments which constitute an inducement to curtail the stay of, or services provided to, an identifiable patient. Directs the Secretary to study the adequacy of standards used for hospital compliance with Medicare participation conditions in assuring the quality of hospital services. Requires the Secretary to study the adequacy with which the prospective payment system compensates hospitals, and distributes such compensation among hospitals, for costs attributable to patients' extended hospital stays necessitated by delays in patient placement in skilled nursing facilities. Title II: Access to Appropriate Post-Hospital Care - Amends part B (Supplementary Medical Insurance) of the Medicare program to require hospitals to implement a discharge planning process which meets guidelines and standards, to be established by the Secretary, ensuring patients a timely and smooth transition to the most appropriate type of, and setting for, post-hospital or rehabilitative care. Extends the limitations on beneficiary liability for disallowed Medicare claims to cover home health services provided to certain unqualified individuals. Provides that skilled nursing facilities and home health agencies which keep their services for which Medicare coverage is denied below specified percentages and comply with certain administrative requirements shall not subsequently be denied payment for care provided. Sets forth reporting requirements. Directs the Secretary to develop a uniform needs assessment instrument enabling health care providers and fiscal intermediaries to evaluate an individual's need and ability to pay for post-hospital extended care, home-health, and long-term care services. Requires the Secretary to develop procedures to expedite fiscal intermediaries' determinations as to whether provider claims for post-hospital extended care and home health services may be reimbursed under the Medicare program. Directs the Secretary to provide for prompt response (within 24 hours) to beneficiary requests as to whether the beneficiary's Medicare coverage for post-hospital extended care services has been exhausted. Authorizes providers to represent beneficiaries on appeals of benefit determinations. Permits beneficiary appeals of the Secretary's denials of claims for home health service benefits. Amends the Social Security Amendments of 1983 to extend, through 1989, the annual report on the impact of the prospective payment system and require the inclusion of information in such reports regarding the quality, and accessibility to Medicare beneficiaries, of post-hospital services. Title III: Improved Review of Quality by Peer Review Organizations - Amends part B (Peer Review) of title XI of the Act to require hospitals to submit data to peer review organizations on a monthly basis. Requires peer review organizations to review selected cases where individuals are readmitted to a hospital within 30 days of their most recent hospital discharge to determine if the previous inpatient hospital services and post-hospital services met professionally recognized health care standards. Directs each peer review organization to commit a reasonable proportion of its activities to review of the quality of services provided in cases and settings where potential quality problems have been identified. Requires the Secretary to identify methods facilitating the discovery of such cases. Requires each peer review organization to have at least one consumer representative on its board of directors. Directs such organizations to investigate all written beneficiary complaints about the quality of Medicare services which are filed with the organization. Requires peer review organizations to share data with organizations responsible for accrediting providers or State officials responsible for assuring quality care if such data reflects a substantial failure by providers or practitioners to provide quality care. Title IV: Study to Develop a Strategy for Quality Review and Assurance - Directs the Secretary to arrange a study which will serve as the basis for establishing a strategy for reviewing and assuring the quality of care provided under the Medicare program. Requires the Secretary to report to the Congress regarding the study within two years of enactment of this Act.
United States · United States Congress · 17 April 1986
Amends the Agricultural Adjustment Act to direct the Secretary of Agriculture to: (1) issue a proposed nationwide milk marketing order; and (2) conduct a producer referendum to determine whether such order is approved or disapproved.
United States · United States Congress · 17 April 1986
Declares that the House of Representatives, on behalf of the U.S. people, expresses its gratitude to the Government and people of the United Kingdom who assisted the United States in its exercise of self-defense against Libya and in the fight against state-sponsored international terrorism.
United States · United States Congress · 16 April 1986
Amends the Grain Standards Act of 1916 to authorize the Administrator of the Federal Grain Inspection Service to refuse to certify an export cargo of grain if he believes that such cargo will deteriorate significantly in quality en route to a foreign destination.
United States · United States Congress · 16 April 1986
Expresses the sense of the House of Representatives that the Veterans Administration should reconsider its internal report which proposes to close the Veterans Administration Insurance Center at Fort Snelling, Minnesota.
United States · United States Congress · 15 April 1986
Expresses the sense of the Congress that, in light of specified international human rights agreements, the Soviet Union should approve the exit visa applications of Doctor Naum Meiman and his wife, Inna Kitrosskaya, and arrange for them to go to the country of their choice. Urges the President to: (1) protest the Soviet Government's refusal to consider the exit visa applications of Dr. Meiman and his wife; (2) call upon all other signatory nations of the Helsinki Accords to join in such protest; and (3) instruct the U.S. delegation to the meeting of experts on human contacts organized under the auspices of the Conference on Security and Cooperation in Europe, to be held in Bern, Switzerland, to pursue this matter.
United States · United States Congress · 14 April 1986
Expresses the sense of the House of Representatives that the Secretary of Agriculture should acknowledge the serious economic depression in the beef and pork industries and take the steps to alleviate such condition, including increasing Government meat purchases, restricting imports, and administering the milk production termination program in an orderly fashion.
United States · United States Congress · 10 April 1986
Acid Deposition Control Act of 1986 - Title I: Stationary Sources - Amends the Clean Air Act to require States to develop and submit to the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) an emissions limitation compliance schedule for sulfur dioxide and oxides of nitrogen from fossil-fuel-fired electric utility steam generating units. Requires a two-phase reduction in such emissions, the first to be achieved by 1993, the second by 1997. Requires each State to develop and submit to the Administrator a plan to achieve emissions reductions from other fossil-fuel-fired steam generating units by 1977. Directs the Administrator to conduct and update a comprehensive annual inventory of emissions of sulfur dioxide and oxides of nitrogen from stationary sources, identifying achievable reductions which could be made by 1997. Requires States to submit to the Administrator for approval a plan for achieving such reductions. Grants States discretion in their choice of compliance measures. Requires the Administrator to report to the Congress by July 1, 1993, on phase I reductions and the feasibility of meeting phase II reductions. States that phase II reductions will not take effect if the Congress enacts legislation to that effect. Sets forth emissions rates a State without an approved reductions plan must follow. Authorizes the Administrator to impose a fee on the generation and importation of electric energy between December 31, 1988, and December 31, 1996, to subsidize the interest on qualified pollution control debt incurred by the utility. Establishes civil penalties for fee violations. Establishes in the Treasury the Acid Deposition Control Fund to receive such fees and provide interest subsidy payments for pollution control systems meeting specified standards. Revises the standards for nitrogen oxides emissions for new electric utility steam generating units which burn bituminous or subbituminous coal and for certain fossil-fuel-fired steam generating units. Requires certain smelters to be in compliance with the applicable emissions reduction standard by January 2, 1988, without extension or delay. Title II: Control of Emission from Mobile Sources - Sets oxides of nitrogen emission standards for motor vehicles for model years 1988, 1989, and beyond. Modifies hydrocarbon standards for trucks after model year 1989. Directs the Administrator to regulate sulfur in diesel fuel for 1989 and beyond. Requires either the use of onboard hydrocarbon control technology or the use of gasoline vapor recovery of hydrocarbon emissions emanating from fueling motor vehicles. Title III: International Cooperation - Expresses the concern of the Congress over transboundary pollution between the United States and Mexico and directs the Secretary of State and the Administrator to conclude an agreement within three months of enactment. Requires such an agreement to cover specified copper smelters. Requires the Secretary and the Administrator to report to the Congress within six months on negotiating such agreement. Requires EPA to perform atmospheric field experiments to determine the effects of sulfur dioxide emissions, before and after pollution controls, of the Nacozaria smelter, Mexico, on specified western States. Directs the Secretary to establish an international agency, or utilize an existing agency, to report on the effects of transboundary air pollution from copper smelters on public health and welfare in the United States and in Mexico.
United States · United States Congress · 9 April 1986
Bilingual Education Act Amendments of 1986 - Amends the Bilingual Education Act (the Act) to add to the statement of policy the declaration that, regardless of the method of instruction, programs which serve children of limited English proficiency have the equally important goals of developing both academic achievement and English proficiency. Removes a requirement that the Secretary of Education (the Secretary) reserve limited portions of funds under the Act for special alternative instructional programs and related activities. Removes a requirement that the Secretary reserve at least 75 percent of funds under part A (Financial Assistance for Bilingual Education Programs) of the Act for transitional bilingual education programs.
United States · United States Congress · 9 April 1986
Prohibits the issuance of a letter of offer with respect to specified proposed sales of Sidewinder, Stinger, and Harpoon missiles and services to Saudi Arabia, as described in the April 8, 1986, certifications from the President to the Congress under the Arms Export Control Act.
United States · United States Congress · 8 April 1986
Makes individuals who are not U.S. citizens or nationals and specified foreign-controlled interests ineligible for agricultural price supports, loans, crop insurance, and disaster payments. Exempts a foreign interest operating a single small- or medium-sized family farm from such prohibition.
United States · United States Congress · 8 April 1986
Amends the Internal Revenue Code to deny the tax exclusion for interest on industrial development bonds used to finance the acquisition of farm property by foreign persons. Defines a "foreign person" as: (1) any individual who is not a citizen or national of the United States; (2) any foreign corporation, foreign partnership, foreign trust, or foreign estate; (3) any domestic corporation more than ten percent of the value of the stock of which is held by one or more foreign persons; (4) any domestic partnership more than ten percent of the capital or profits interest in which is held by one or more foreign persons; or (5) any domestic trust more than ten percent of the beneficial interests in which is held by one or more foreign persons.
United States · United States Congress · 8 April 1986
Expresses the sense of the Congress that the Farm Credit Administration and its associated agencies and institutions should take additional actions to alleviate the agricultural financial situation, including restructuring, rather than foreclosing, loans.
United States · United States Congress · 19 March 1986
Employment Opportunities for Disabled Americans Act - Makes permanent provisions which provide benefits under title XVI (Supplemental Security Income) of the Social Security Act for individuals who perform substantial gainful activity despite a severe medical impairment. Removes SSI limitations for the first two months of an individual's stay in a health facility if such individual was eligible for the benefits made permanent by this Act during the month preceding admission to the facility. Requires the district offices of the Social Security Administration to each designate a staff member to implement the program providing benefits to individuals who perform substantial gainful activity despite severe medical impairment. Revises the eligibility requirements for such benefits. Directs the Secretary of Health and Human Services to establish and implement procedures which provide that whenever an individual is formally notified of his or her SSI eligibility, such individual will also be notified of the availability of assistance under title XIX (Medicaid) of such Act. Directs the Secretary, when any individual receives SSI benefits on the basis of a disability, to notify such individual of his or her potential eligibility for the SSI benefits available for those performing substantial gainful activity despite a severe medical impairment. Directs the Comptroller General to conduct a study of the operation of the SSI section which provides benefits for individuals who perform substantial gainful activity despite a severe medical impairment, with the particular objective of evaluating the work incentive provisions of such section. Requires the Comptroller General to report to the Congress the findings of such study. Provides that when an individual becomes ineligible for SSI benefits upon entitlement to child's insurance benefits under title II (Old Age, Survivors and Disability Insurance) of the Act, such individual shall be treated for Medicaid purposes as continuing to receive SSI benefits so long as he or she would otherwise be eligible for such benefits. Authorizes the Secretary to conduct demonstration projects designed to assess the advantages and disadvantages of various work incentive programs under the OASDI and SSI programs. Sets forth reporting requirements.
United States · United States Congress · 19 March 1986
Emergency Livestock Feed Assistance Act of 1986 - Requires the Secretary of Agriculture to implement an emergency (livestock) feed assistance program in States (currently includes Puerto Rico, Guam, and the Virgin Islands) threatened by natural disasters. (Current law authorizes but does not mandate such an assistance program.) Requires that requests for such assistance be made by the Governor of the affected State, after consultation with a special emergency board constituted in accordance with this Act. Requires at least a 30 percent feed loss in order to qualify for such assistance. Includes within program assistance (in addition to feed cost reimbursement): (1) transportation assistance; and (2) Commodity Credit Corporation feed donations and sales. Subjects a producer who sells such feed to civil and criminal penalties.
![Official portrait of Rep. Penny, Timothy J. [D-MN-1]](https://www.congress.gov/img/member/p000215_200.jpg)