United States · United States Congress · 17 March 1986
Community Services Programs Amendments of 1986 - Amends the Head Start Act to authorize appropriations for FY 1987 through 1990 to carry out the Head Start program. Amends the Follow Through Act to authorize appropriations for FY 1987 through 1990 to carry out the Follow Through program. Amends the Omnibus Reconciliation Act of 1981 to: (1) rename specified provisions as the "Dependent Care Programs Act"; and (2) authorize appropriations for FY 1987 through 1990 to make allotments to States for such dependent care programs. Amends the Community Services Block Grant Act (the Act) to authorize appropriations for FY 1987 through 1990 for grants to States to ameliorate poverty. Requires compliance evaluations to include identification of the impact the use of such funds has on children, homeless families, and the elderly poor. Authorizes the Secretary of Health and Human Services to provide for use of community services block grants under the Act for specified programs of the Community Economic Development Act of 1981. Authorizes appropriations for FY 1987 through 1990 for community food and nutrition programs under the Act.
United States · United States Congress · 17 March 1986
Directs the Administrator of the Federal Aviation Administration to review (and revise if necessary) the minimum safety standards governing commercial aircraft. Amends the Federal Aviation Act of 1958 to increase from $1,000 to $10,000 the civil penalty for certain safety violations of such Act or of its regulations by persons operating aircraft for the carriage of persons or property for compensation or hire. Provides a civil penalty of $1,000 for safety violations relating to notification of proposed construction of structures which could pose a hazard to air navigation. (Current law provides only for a criminal penalty.) Declares that it is the sense of the Congress that each aircraft operated in domestic or foreign air transportation should be reinspected and recertified under such Act to ensure flight safety.
United States · United States Congress · 13 March 1986
Amends the Federal Aviation Act of 1958 to provide that upon conviction of an air carrier for either failure to file requisite reports, or the falsification of such reports, the criminal penalty shall include a fine in accordance with Federal criminal law, or a maximum term of five years' imprisonment, or both. Provides a maximum civil penalty of $1,000 for safety violations relating to notification of proposed construction of structures which could pose a hazard to air navigation. (Current law provides only for a criminal penalty.) Increases from $1,000 to $10,000 the maximum civil penalty which may be imposed for violation of certain administrative, security, and safety regulations by commercial aircraft operators.
United States · United States Congress · 11 March 1986
Department of Defense Reorganization Act of 1986 - Title I: Unified and Specified Commands - Amends general military law to direct the President to establish unified and specified combatant commands to perform military missions and to prescribe the force structure of such commands. Authorizes the Secretary of Defense, if a situation warrants it, to establish a special combatant command. Requires the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) to periodically (not less frequently than every other year) review the overall structure of the unified and specified combatant commands and make appropriate recommendations to the President. Directs the President to promptly notify the Congress of any action taken in response to such recommendations. Directs the Secretary of each military department to assign all forces under their jurisdiction (except forces assigned to recruiting, organizing, training, or supplying the armed forces) to unified and specified combatant commands as established under this Act. Outlines provisions concerning the command hierarchy of such assigned forces. Provides that commanders of combatant commands shall be supervised by the Chairman of JCS, and be responsible to the President and the Secretary of Defense for their missions. Makes the Secretary of each military department responsible for the support and administration of forces assigned by that department to combatant commands. Authorizes the commander of a combatant command to request the Secretary of Defense for the transfer to such commander of support or administrative functions. Directs the Secretary of Defense to include in the annual budget of the Department of Defense (DOD) a separate budget proposal for activities of each of the unified and specified combatant commands. Outlines information concerning activities of such combatant commands to be included in such proposals. Requires the commander of each such command to submit to the Chairman of JCS, for review and recommendations, annual program and budget proposals for such commands. Outlines provisions concerning the selection and tenure of combatant command subordinate commanders and staff officers. Establishes in DOD the Joint Commanders Council, consisting of the Chairman of JCS and the commanders of the combatant commands. Directs such council to advise the chairman, the President, and the Secretary of Defense on appropriate matters. Requires the Chairman of JCS to submit to the Secretary of Defense recommendation for the allocation of defense resources under the proposed national defense budget for each fiscal year, and to take certain other specified actions in connection with activities of the unified and specified combatant commands. Directs the Secretary of Defense (the Secretary) to provide for the transfer of staff personnel to the staffs of the commanders of the unified and specified commands in conformity with the reorganization under this Act. Limits the total staff size of the unified and specified commands to a number no greater than the staff size of the military departments before such transfer. Outlines considerations to be included in the initial review of the structure of the unified and specified commands. Title II: Defense Agencies - Directs the Secretary, in appropriate cases, to provide for the performance by one agency or organization of supply or service activities common to more than one military department. Directs the Secretary to periodically (and not less frequently than every two years) review the services and supplies provided by the defense agencies to ensure that such provision is more economical than the provision of such services by the military departments. Specifies various officers and directors whose views are required as part of the Secretary's review. Requires the Chairman of JCS to periodically (and not less frequently than every two years) report to the Secretary concerning the combat support agencies. Outlines information to be included in each report. Directs the Chairman to: (1) provide for the participation of the combat support agencies in joint training exercises; and (2) assess the performance of each agency in such exercise and provide for any necessary changes. Requires the chairman to develop a uniform system for reporting each such agency's readiness to perform in a war or threat to national security. Establishes in each combat support agency a combat support agency policy council. Outlines the composition of such council. Requires such council to: (1) advise the director of that agency on policy matters relating to the operation of that agency; and (2) consider and provide advice as directed by the Secretary of Defense. Requires the director of a combat support agency, upon request, to assign a representative of that agency to the headquarters of a unified or specified combatant commands. Defines "combat support agency." Requires the Secretary of Defense to conduct a study of the functions and organizational structure of the defense agencies. Outlines determinations to be made in such study. Directs the Chairman of JCS and the Secretaries of the military departments to each conduct a study of the functions and organizational structure of the defense agencies. Requires each such study to be submitted to the Secretary of Defense. Outlines matters to be considered in each such study. Directs the Secretary of Defense, within a specified conditional deadline, to report to the Senate and House Armed Services Committees concerning the studies made of the functions and organizational structure of the defense agencies, together with recommendations. Title III: Joint Officer Subspecialty - Directs the Secretary of Defense to establish a secondary occupational specialty for officers in each branch of the armed forces, to be known as the joint subspecialty. Outlines provisions concerning the number, selection, and assignments of officers to joint subspecialties. Directs the Secretary to establish career guidelines for officers in the joint subspecialty. Directs the Secretary to revise the curriculum of schools of the National Defense University in order to enhance the education and training of officers in joint military matters. Requires officers graduating from a joint military school in a joint subspecialty to be assigned to a joint position in that officer's next duty assignment. Prohibits an officer from commanding a unified or specified combatant command unless such officer is in a joint subspecialty. Prohibits an officer from appointment as Chairman of JCS unless the officer has served as the commander of a unified or specified command. Sets forth the promotion policy for joint service officers (including faster promotions). Directs the Secretary to establish procedures for monitoring the careers of officers in the joint subspecialty or other joint officers. Revises provisions concerning the review of promotion lists by the Chairman of JCS to allow the Chairman, in a limited number of instances, to recommend for promotion officers who: (1) have served in joint assignments; and (2) were considered by a review board but not recommended for promotion. Allows the Secretary of the military department concerned to disagree with the Chairman's promotion recommendations. Requires the Secretary concerned to record their disagreement as part of their transmittal to the Secretary of Defense of the selection board's report. Requires the Secretary of Defense to resolve any such disagreements before transmitting the report to the President. Requires previous joint officer assignments for officers promoted to brigadier general or real admiral (lower half). Authorizes the Secretary to waive such prerequisite in appropriate cases. Outlines the length of duty as a joint officer required for promotion to certain grades. Requires the Chairman of JCS to advise the Secretaries of the military departments concerned with respect to duty assignments of officers in the joint subspecialty and other joint officers. Requires the Secretary of Defense to ensure that military schools strengthen the focus on joint military operations in preparing certain level officers for joint duty assignments. Directs the Secretary of Defense to make the initial selection of officers for the joint subspecialty, following certain special rules. Title IV: Military Department Organization - Directs the Secretary of Defense to reorganize the executive part of the military departments, following specified reorganization policies. Defines the executive part of each military department. Outlines the functions of the Assistant Secretaries of a military department as reorganized under this Act. Limits to 30 the size of the personal staff of the Secretary of a military department. Limits the size of the staff of each military department to 85 percent of the size of such staff before the reorganization. Requires the Secretary of Defense to provide that operation and planning responsibilities that are duplicated by the staff of the JCS shall be shifted to that staff. Requires the Secretary, as well as the Secretaries of the military departments, to provide that functions able to be performed by commands outside the Washington, D.C. area shall be reassigned to those commands. Directs the Secretary to complete implementation of this title no later than 180 days after the enactment of this Act, and to report to the Congress on such implementation 30 days after such date.
United States · United States Congress · 11 March 1986
Interstate Sales Tax Collection Act of 1986 - Allows any State or political subdivision to require retailers engaged in business in that State to collect a State and local sales or use tax on the sale or use of tangible personal property shipped or delivered into that State or political subdivision. Amends the Internal Revenue Code to require interstate retailers to file information returns with the Internal Revenue Service for the purpose of assisting States in the collection of such sales or use taxes. Authorizes disclosure of such information to State tax officials. Imposes penalties for failure to file such information returns.
United States · United States Congress · 11 March 1986
Directs the President to provide, within seven days, to the House of Representatives documents relating to the use of specified funds appropriated for humanitarian assistance for the Nicaraguan democratic resistance.
United States · United States Congress · 6 March 1986
Establishes a presumption of service-connection for disability purposes for former prisoners of war suffering from the following conditions after active service: (1) organic residuals of hypothermia; (2) spastic colon; and (3) arthritis due to trauma. Decreases from six months to 90 days the amount of time a former prisoner of war must have been incarcerated to be eligible for outpatient dental services.
United States · United States Congress · 6 March 1986
Alcohol Motor Fuel Act of 1986 - Directs the Secretary of Energy to: (1) establish an alcohol-blended fuels promotion program; (2) set alcohol motor fuel production goals for 1987 through 2000; and (3) prescribe the percentage of alcohol motor fuel required to be contained in gasoline sold by refiners for use as motor fuel. Imposes a civil penalty for non-compliance by any person who violates the Secretary's prescribed alcohol motor fuel percentages. Authorizes appropriations.
United States · United States Congress · 5 March 1986
Sets forth the concurrent resolution on the budget for FY 1987 and the appropriate budgetary levels for FY 1988 and 1989. Recommends levels of Federal revenues of $622,900,000,000 for FY 1987, $680,300,000,000 for FY 1988, and $729,400,000,000 for FY 1989. Sets the amounts by which the aggregate levels of Federal revenues should be increased at zero for FY 1987, $9,800,000,000 for FY 1988, and $12,400,000,000 for FY 1989. Sets the appropriate levels of total new budget authority at $839,800,000,000 for FY 1987, $901,200,000,000 for FY 1988, and $934,100,000,000 for FY 1989. States that the appropriate levels of total budget outlays are $786,600,000,000 for FY 1987, $824,300,000,000 for FY 1988, and $846,700,000,000 for FY 1989. Sets the amounts of the deficits in the budget which are appropriate in light of economic conditions and all other relevant factors at $163,700,000,000 for FY 1987, $144,000,000,000 for FY 1988, and $117,300,000,000 for FY 1989. Specifies the appropriate levels of total new budget authority, budget outlays, Federal revenues, and deficits, including receipts and disbursements of the Federal Old-Age and Survivors Insurance Trust Fund and the Federal Disability Insurance Trust Fund for FY 1987 through 1989, for purposes of the maximum deficit amount mandated by the Balanced Budget and Emergency Deficit Control Act of 1985 (Gramm-Rudman-Hollings Act) and the Congressional Budget Act of 1974 only. States that the appropriate levels of the public debt are $2,251,400,000,000 for FY 1987, $2,359,500,000,000 for FY 1988, and $2,431,500,000,000 for FY 1989. Sets forth the appropriate levels of total Federal credit activity as follows: (1) $35,670,000,000 for new direct loan obligations, $84,500,000,000 for new primary loan guarantee commitments, and $68,187,000,000 for new secondary loan guarantee commitments for FY 1987; (2) $33,838,000,000 for new direct loan obligations, $87,900,000,000 for new primary loan guarantee commitments, and $71,074,000,000 for new secondary loan guarantee commitments for FY 1988; and (3) $33,238,000,000 for new direct loan obligations, $90,800,000,000 for new primary loan guarantee commitments, and $73,958,000,000 for new secondary loan guarantee commitments for FY 1989. Sets forth the levels of budget authority, budget outlays, new direct loan obligations, and new loan guarantee commitments for each major functional category for FY 1987 through 1989.
United States · United States Congress · 4 March 1986
Amends the Balanced Budget and Emergency Deficit Control Act of 1985 (Gramm-Rudman-Hollings Act) to exempt the pay adjustments of employees under the Federal prevailing rate pay system (blue collar employees) from the President's sequestration order.
United States · United States Congress · 27 February 1986
Title I: Wheat and Feed Grains - Amends the Agricultural Act of 1949, effective for the 1986 through 1990 wheat and feed grain crops, to establish voluntary marketing certificate programs for producers participating in annual acreage reduction programs. Determines the amount of such certificates by multiplying the individual farm program acreage by the farm's program yield (at a minimum of 1985 levels). States that such certificates are nontransferable. Makes such certificates available to importers. Requires wheat and feed grains sold for domestic consumption to be accompanied by a market certificate. Permits noncertificate wheat or feed grains to be sold for export or used on the producing farm. Provides that wheat or feed grains produced in excess of a farm's certificates may be used on that farm, sold for export, or carried over to the subsequent marketing year. Sets 1986 through 1990 loan rates at: (1) $5.00 per bushel for wheat; and (2) $3.50 per bushel for corn. Sets forth penalties for violations of such provisions. Directs the Secretary of Agriculture to provide export incentives in cash or in kind to U.S. exporters selling certificate-accompanied grain abroad. Title II: Debt Adjustment - Amends the Consolidated Farm and Rural Development Act to direct the Secretary to provide a debt adjustment program of guaranteed farm ownership and operating loans. Includes provisions for debt write-offs and interest rate reductions in such program. Title III: Agricultural Loan Losses - Amends the Federal Deposit Insurance Act to permit an agricultural bank to amortize the loss from a restructured agricultural loan over ten years.
United States · United States Congress · 26 February 1986
Agricultural Loan Assistance Act of 1986 - Amends the Federal Deposit Insurance Act to require Federal banking agencies to permit an agricultural bank to: (1) amortize over ten years any loss on a qualified agricultural loan that the bank would otherwise be required to show on an annual financial statement for 1985 through 1989; and (2) reappraise the value of any real estate or other real or personal property that the bank acquired coincident to making a qualified agricultural loan and that it owned on January 1, 1985, and any additional property that it acquired before January 1, 1990, and to amortize over ten years any loss resulting from such reappraisal that it would otherwise be required to show on its annual financial statements. Allows such amortization only if there is no evidence that fraud or criminal abuse by the bank led to such losses.
United States · United States Congress · 25 February 1986
Competitive America Trade Reform Act of 1986 - Declares that it is U.S. policy that: (1) the United States shall call for a multilateral conference to seek a new international monetary regime; (2) the United States shall try to use its foreign aid programs to aid the development of the private sectors in less developed countries; (3) rules of trade, dispute settlement procedures, and penalties for trade violations should be strengthened; (4) new policies are required to aid U.S. industries to improve their international competitiveness; and (5) a new program of transition aid for workers and firms is needed. Title I: International Monetary Reform - Establishes a temporary National Commission on International Monetary Reform which shall prepare a report for the President and the Congress analyzing and evaluating: (1) proposed reforms of the international monetary system; (2) the effects of international capital flows on exchange rate volatility and proposals for restricting capital transactions; (3) proposed methods for coordinating monetary policies of major industrialized nations; (4) objectives for joint intervention in foreign exchange markets; (5) a detailed working agenda to be presented to the International Monetary Fund (IMF) for a new "Bretton Woods" conference; and (6) other matters, including legislative recommendations. Authorizes appropriations. Directs the Secretary of the Treasury, within 45 days of the submission of the Commission's report, to submit legislation to the Congress implementing policy changes recommended by the Commission and authorizing submission of the agenda to the IMF. Provides for expedited consideration of such legislation. Directs the Secretary of the Treasury, within 15 days of enactment of such legislation, to request the IMF to convene a working group to consider the agenda for a conference on monetary reform. Amends the Internal Revenue Code to reinstate the 30 percent withholding tax on portfolio interest paid to foreign persons. Title II: Foreign Assistance and Investment - Declares that it is U.S. policy to: (1) administer the aid programs referred to in this title in a manner that promotes the development of as diverse a range of economic sectors within developing countries as is practicable; and (2) prevent any domestic industry or economic sector from bearing a disproportionate economic burden as a result of a bilateral trade or investment agreement or of the operation of a U.S. development program in foreign countries. Authorizes the Secretary of State to: (1) develop a list of those less developed countries in which Cooley Loan Program activities may be conducted; and (2) negotiate and conclude agreements for the implementation of a Cooley Loan Program. Requires such agreements to provide for: (1) the sale of surplus U.S. commodities to be paid for by local currencies; (2) such currencies to be made available to designated accounts under the control of the Secretary of State; (3) spending no less than 50 percent of certain development funds for private sector development; and (4) specifying maximum local currency reserve levels in designated accounts, monetary growth targets in the host country, and termination conditions. Establishes an Economic Security Council. Requires the Council to: (1) advise the President on domestic and international economic matters; (2) develop and oversee U.S. economic policy; and (3) develop an international bankruptcy procedure to guide U.S. banks and agencies in responding to impending defaults by debtor nations. Abolishes the Cabinet Council on Economic Affairs. Authorizes the President to enter into trade agreements with least developed developing countries which provide for liberalization of trade between the United States and such countries. Establishes within the International Development Cooperation Agency the International Private Enterprise Institute which shall: (1) provide expertise and technical aid to less developed countries in attracting financial investment, developing indigenous industries, and promoting exports; and (2) serve as U.S. liaison for the Multilateral Investment Guarantee Agency of the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development. Requires that funds authorized: (1) for programs conducted by the Agency for International Development shall be used for government-to-government and official activities which foster economic growth and promote a favorable climate for development of the private sector in developing countries; and (2) for programs conducted by the Overseas Private Investment Corporation (OPIC) shall be used to promote economic growth and stability through the direct involvement of the private sector. Creates four special offices within OPIC for program development. Authorizes OPIC to take partial equity interest in qualified development projects. Expresses the sense of the Congress that the United States should call upon the IMF and the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development to convene a special meeting of the Group of Ten industrial nations and debtor nations for the purposes of formalizing growth-oriented conditionality guidelines to promote the creditworthiness of less developed countries, debt repayment flexibility, and trade liberalization. Directs the Secretary of the Treasury to prepare a report in preparation for such conference and submit such report to the Congress. Title III: Trade Laws and Agreements - Subtitle A: General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade - Directs the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) to request the contracting parties to the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) to join the United States in ministerial sessions preparatory to a new round of negotiations which would seek to: (1) create or strengthen GATT articles on certain trade issues; (2) strengthen the GATT as an institution by means of certain administrative and rules changes; and (3) tighten GATT enforcement mechanisms through reforms of the panel system. Subtitle B: Reform of Certain States Trade Laws - Declares that it is U.S. policy to regard a country as not subscribing to the open trade principles of the GATT and to impose trade sanctions on such country if such country fails to: (1) demonstrate good faith in adhering to GATT principles; (2) cooperate in extending GATT coverage to the areas listed in Subtitle A; (3) seek to eliminate counterfeiting, piracy of intellectual property, or violations of export licensing regulations; or (4) assist in international efforts to curb illicit drug traffic. Requires petitions for import relief that are filed with the International Trade Commission (ITC) to: (1) allege that an article is being imported in such increased quantities as to be a substantial cause of serious injury to the competing domestic industry or a substantial threat of serious injury to a nascent competing domestic industry; and (2) include a statement describing the purposes for which import relief is sought, including the objective of facilitating methods of adjusting to the competition. Requires the ITC to decide within 25 days whether the petition alleges all the elements necessary for import relief. Requires the Secretary of Commerce (the Secretary) to initiate an import relief investigation if the ITC determines that the petition contains all the necessary elements. Declares that the Secretary shall initiate such an investigation upon request of the President, the USTR, the ITC, or upon the Secretary's own motion. Requires the Secretary, within 90 days of the start of such investigation, to determine whether: (1) any domestic industry is being seriously injured; or (2) any nascent domestic industry is being threatened. Sets forth factors the Secretary shall consider in making such determination. Sets forth the method of determining whether the article that a domestic industry produces is like or competitive with an imported article. Requires the Secretary, if the Secretary determines that imports are injuring or threatening a domestic industry, to: (1) notify the ITC; and (2) make available to the ITC certain information relating to such determination. Requires the ITC, within 30 days of the Secretary's determination, to determine whether imports are a substantial cause of the serious injury, or threat of injury, found by the Secretary. Sets forth factors the ITC shall consider and investigate. Requires the ITC to report to the USTR the ITC's determination and the basis for such determination. Requires the ITC to recommend to the USTR the duty, import restrictions, or adjustment assistance necessary to remedy or prevent the injury. Prohibits another import relief investigation of the same subject matter until one year after the ITC's report to the USTR, unless the ITC determines there is good cause for another investigation. Requires the Secretary and the Secretary of Labor, upon the start of an import relief investigation, to begin negotiations with representatives of the affected domestic industry on an industry modernization agreement. Prohibits granting import relief unless an industry modernization agreement has been entered into and the National Commission on International Competitiveness has approved such agreement. Authorizes the USTR to waive the requirement of having such an agreement for six months if specified conditions are met. Requires the USTR to request certain proceedings under the GATT, if appropriate. Transfers from the President to the USTR certain duties relating to actions taken after import relief investigations. Reduces from 60 to 30 days the amount of time that may elapse between submission of a report recommending import relief and the determination of the method and amount of import relief to be granted. Includes among the factors the USTR must consider in determining the amount and method of import relief: (1) domestic, economic, and political constraints affecting the domestic industry; and (2) the international market for articles under investigation and labor conditions in the production of such articles. Transfers from the President to the USTR the duty to determine the method and amount of import relief to be granted (except that the President may, when it is necessary for national security, reduce or terminate such import relief). Requires import relief ordered by the USTR to take effect within 15 days of such order. Requires the USTR to order the import relief within 15 days after the date on which the USTR determines to provide import relief. Prohibits such import relief from taking effect if the President: (1) determines that such import relief should not be taken for reasons of national security; or (2) certifies to the Congress that negotiations on orderly marketing agreements or voluntary restraint agreements have been entered into regarding imports of the affected article. Requires the USTR to submit semiannual reports on such negotiations if no import relief is granted because of such negotiations. Requires the USTR to order such import relief if, 18 months after the President makes such certification, a joint resolution is adopted ordering such relief. Provides for expedited consideration of such resolution. Requires the Secretary, if the USTR grants import relief, as long as such relief remains in effect to: (1) monitor the domestic industry that was found to be injured or threatened by imports; and (2) notify the USTR of any change in circumstances that would alter the continued validity of such determination. Requires the ITC, if the USTR grants import relief, as long as such relief remains in effect to: (1) monitor the domestic industry and any foreign country or trade agreement that were the subjects of a finding that imports injured or threatened a domestic industry; and (2) notify the USTR of any change in circumstances that would alter the continued validity of such determination. Changes the method of petitioning for enforcement of U.S. rights under trade agreements and for a U.S. response to certain foreign trade practices. Authorizes any person which is representative of a domestic industry to file with the ITC a petition requesting the USTR to enforce U.S. rights under a trade agreement or respond to unfair foreign trade practices. Sets forth the allegations that shall be included in such petition, including the allegation that unenforcement of U.S. rights or use of the foreign trade practice is a cause of injury to a domestic industry or a threat of injury to a nascent domestic industry. Requires the ITC to determine within 25 days whether the petition alleges all the necessary elements for relief. Requires the Secretary to initiate an investigation if the ITC finds that the petition is sufficient. Declares that the Secretary shall initiate such investigation upon request of the President, the USTR, or the ITC, or upon the Secretary's own motion. Requires the Secretary, within 90 days of the start of such investigation, to determine whether: (1) the domestic industry is being injured; or (2) any nascent domestic industry is being threatened with injury. Sets forth factors to be considered in making such determination. Requires the Secretary to notify the ITC if such determination is affirmative. Terminates the investigation if the determination is negative. Sets forth the definition of injury and threat of injury with respect to such investigation. Requires the ITC, within 30 days of receipt of the Secretary's affirmative determination, to determine: (1) whether U.S. rights under a trade agreement are not being enforced or a foreign country's policy denies benefits to the United States under any trade agreement or is unjustifiable or restricts U.S. commerce; and (2) whether such unenforcement or policy is a cause of the injury or threat of injury found by the Secretary. Sets forth factors the ITC shall consider in making such determination. Requires the ITC to report its determinations to the USTR and to submit a recommendation of actions that the USTR should take if the conditions described in both (1) and (2) are found to exist. Sets forth definitions. Requires the USTR to request certain proceedings under the GATT, if appropriate. Requires the USTR, if both determinations of the ITC are affirmative, to determine what actions the USTR will take to: (1) enforce U.S. rights under such trade agreement; and (2) obtain the elimination of the unfair foreign policy. Sets forth actions the USTR may take, including: (1) withdrawal of trade agreement concessions; (2) increases in import restrictions on the goods or services of such country; (3) increases in restrictions on, or denial of issuance of, service sector access authorizations; and (4) denial of intellectual property protections to nationals of such country. Sets forth factors the USTR shall consider in determining what action to take. Requires the USTR to issue the order taking such action within 15 days of determining what such action should be. Prohibits such action from taking effect if the President: (1) determines that such action should not take effect for national security reasons; or (2) certifies to the Congress that such foreign country has entered into certain good faith negotiations. Provides for imposing such action if a joint resolution is enacted 18 months after the President makes such certification to the Congress. Provides for expedited consideration of such resolution. Requires the Secretary to: (1) monitor the domestic industry or nascent industry that the Secretary found to be injured or threatened with injury; and (2) notify the USTR of any change in circumstances that would alter such determination. Requires the ITC to: (1) monitor the domestic industry and any foreign country or trade agreement that the ITC found to be injured or unenforced; and (2) notify the USTR of any change in circumstances that would alter such determinations. Amends the Tariff Act of 1930 to change the method of investigation and relief under section 337 of such Act (relating to unfair practices in import trade). Adds a new title to such Act covering such changes. Authorizes any person that is a representative of a domestic industry to file a petition with the ITC requesting the USTR to investigate and provide relief from unfair practices in import trade. Requires such petition to allege that: (1) the owner or consignee of an import is using an unfair method of competition or is committing an unfair act in the importation of any article or in the sale in the United States of any import; and (2) the effect or tendency of such unfair method or unfair act is to injure substantially an efficiently operating U.S. industry, to prevent the establishment in the United States of a competing industry, or to restrain or monopolize U.S. trade. Requires the ITC to determine within 25 days whether the petition alleges all the necessary elements for relief. Requires the Secretary to initiate an investigation if the ITC finds that the petition is sufficient. Declares that the Secretary shall initiate such investigation upon request of the President, the USTR, or the ITC, or upon the Secretary's own motion. Requires the Secretary, within 90 days of the start of such investigation, to determine whether: (1) the domestic industry is being operated efficiently and is being substantially injured; (2) the establishment of a competing industry in the United States is being prevented; or (3) U.S. trade or commerce is being restrained or monopolized. Sets forth factors to be considered in making such determination. Requires the Secretary to notify the ITC if such determination is affirmative. Terminates the investigation if the determination is negative. Sets forth the definitions of "substantially injured" and "restrained or monopolized" with respect to such investigation. Requires the ITC, within 30 days of the Secretary's affirmative determination, to determine: (1) whether the alleged method of competition or act exists and is an unfair method of competition or an unfair act; and (2) if such determination under (1) is affirmative, whether such method or act effects or tends to effect the Secretary's finding of substantial injury to a domestic industry, prevention of establishment of a domestic industry, or restraint or monopolization of trade or commerce. Sets forth factors the ITC shall consider in making such determination. Requires the ITC to report its determinations to the USTR and to submit a recommendation of actions that the USTR should take if the conditions described in both (1) and (2) are found to exist. Authorizes the ITC to order that certain articles may not be imported by any person reasonably suspected of violating section 337 if the ITC, during its investigation, determines that there is reason to believe that such violation may threaten the public health or safety or cause irreparable harm to a domestic industry. Authorizes the ITC to vacate such order at any time before its report to the USTR. Requires such order to expire 30 days after such report to the USTR. Requires the ITC to request certain proceedings under the GATT, if appropriate. Requires the USTR, if both determinations of the ITC are affirmative, to determine what actions the USTR will take to respond to such violations of section 337. Authorizes the USTR to take the following actions: (1) denial of entry into the United States of articles imported by persons who engaged in an unfair method of competition or unfair act; (2) issuance of a cease and desist order to persons engaging in such method of competition or such acts; and (3) (if a foreign country is engaged in such method of competition or committed such unfair act) withdrawal of trade agreement concessions, increases in import restrictions on such country's products, suspension of certain compensation under the Trade Act of 1974, and denial of intellectual property protection to nationals of such country. Authorizes the USTR to determine not to take any action to respond to a violation of section 337 if each of the above actions would have a substantial adverse effect in the United States on: (1) the public health and safety; (2) competitive conditions; (3) the production of like or directly competitive articles; or (4) consumers. Sets forth factors the USTR shall consider in determining what action to take. Requires the USTR to issue the order taking such action within 15 days of determining what such action should be. Prohibits such action from taking effect if the President: (1) determines that such action should not take effect for national security reasons; or (2) certifies to the Congress that in the case of an action against a foreign country such foreign country has entered into certain good faith negotiations. Provides for imposing such action if a joint resolution is enacted 18 months after the President makes such certification to the Congress. Provides for expedited consideration of such resolution. Requires the USTR to terminate any such action if the USTR determines that the relevant unfair method of competition or unfair act has terminated. Excludes certain imports needed by the Federal Government from the USTR's orders. Sets forth penalties for violations of such actions. Requires the Secretary to: (1) monitor the domestic industry, trade, or market that the Secretary found to be injured, prevented, or restrained; and (2) notify the USTR of any change in circumstances that would alter such determination. Requires the ITC to: (1) monitor the unfair method of competition or unfair act that the ITC found to exist; and (2) notify the USTR of any change in circumstances that would alter such determinations. Reverses the roles of the ITC and the administering authority in antidumping and countervailing duty investigations. Changes the definition of the "administering authority" from the Secretary of the Treasury to the Secretary of Commerce. Amends the Trade Act of 1974 to include in the annual report to the Congress on barriers to market access an identification and analysis of: (1) foreign industrial targeting; (2) protection of intellectual property rights by foreign countries; (3) procurement practices of foreign governments; (4) foreign protection of nascent industries; and (5) subsidies provided by foreign countries. Transfers the responsibility for generating such report from the USTR to the ITC. Title IV: Enhancing International Competitiveness - Subtitle A: International Commerce - Establishes the National Commission on International Competitiveness (the Commission) which shall assist U.S. industries in competing in international markets. Amends the Sherman Act to require courts to consider global market and competitive conditions in any case in which it has been alleged that there has been a monopoly or attempt to monopolize. Amends the Clayton Act to require courts to consider global market and competitive conditions before finding that such Act has been violated. Directs the Attorney General and the Federal Trade Commission to develop regulations for expedited procedures to consider applications for antitrust waivers for joint ventures proposing to undertake research and development ventures. Requires such regulations to be developed under guidelines established by the Commission and the National Cooperative Research Act of 1984. Authorizes the Commission to modify such regulations. Amends the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act of 1977 to authorize the Attorney General to waive the provisions of title I of such Act and a specified provision of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 with respect to conduct involving a foreign country that the Attorney General certifies has: (1) effective bribery or corruption statutes; and (2) an established record of aggressive enforcement of such statutes. Authorizes the Attorney General to share certain information with such countries. Requires the Secretary to: (1) develop a classification code for monitoring international trade in services; (2) monitor international trade in service; and (3) report annually to the Congress on such trade. Requires the President to pursue bilateral agreements on trade in services until such trade is brought within the scope of the GATT. Requires the U.S. Foreign and Commercial Service to expand commercial attache programs to cover developing countries now served by State Department personnel. Amends the Export-Import Bank Act of 1945 to require the Export-Import Bank to: (1) develop a program of coinsurance to expand small business exports; and (2) develop with the Agency for International Development a special fund to counter predatory, subsidized financing and mixed credit programs of other countries. Subtitle B: Technology, Transfer, Research, and Development - Amends the Stevenson-Wydler Technology Innovation Act of 1980 to require the Secretary to increase the availability of foreign science and engineering literature to U.S. businesses, scientists, and engineers. Establishes the Federal Laboratory Consortium for Technology Transfer in the National Science Foundation. Sets forth the duties of the Consortium. Requires the Director of the National Science Foundation to report biennially to the Congress and to the President on the Consortium's activities. Requires each Federal agency to transfer a specified percentage of funds to the National Science Foundation for the Consortium. Reauthorizes the Stevenson-Wydler Technology Innovation Act of 1980 through FY 1990. Authorizes additional appropriations for such Act for FY 1986, 1987, and 1988 in order to increase the availability of foreign technical literature. Requires the National Science Foundation, within 180 days of enactment of this Act, to report to the Congress on the relative merits and feasibility of establishing the National Corporation for Cooperative Laboratory Research (the Corporation). Sets forth factors to be included in such study. Declares that the Corporation would be an independent Federal entity with control over designated Federal laboratories. Sets forth the primary functions of the Corporation. Requires the National Science Foundation, through the Consortium to: (1) monitor technology transfer activities of Federal laboratories; (2) assess the resources and effectiveness of collaborative efforts among the laboratories, private industry, and academia; and (3) promote a national information network to foster private sector commercialization of Federal laboratory research and discoveries. Title V: Education for American Competitiveness - Education for American Competitiveness Act - Subtitle A: High Technology Morrill Program - Establishes in the Treasury a Technology Education Trust Fund. Requires the Secretary of the Treasury to transfer to the Trust Fund for each of FY 1987 through 1991 a certain amount of the sums paid to the United States under: (1) the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act; (2) the Mineral Leasing Act of 1920; and (3) other mineral resource development Acts. Authorizes the Secretary of Energy to make grants for technology education programs. Sets forth the: (1) conditions of such grants; (2) method of applying for such grants; and (3) uses for such grants. Requires the Secretary of Energy to pay the Federal share of the costs of activities described in the application. Provides for equitable distribution of such grants. Authorizes the Secretary of Energy to withhold payments if the conditions of the application are not met. Sets forth provisions for the administration of this subtitle. Subtitle B: Teacher Training and Postsecondary Programs - Authorizes the Secretary of Education to establish a program of grants to institutions of higher education in order to encourage coordination between such institutions and local educational agencies in the improvement of science, mathematics, and foreign language education. Requires the Secretary of Education to give priority to proposals which include certain activities for teachers. Authorizes appropriations for FY 1987 through 1989. Subtitle C: Foreign Language Assistance - Directs the Secretary of Education to make grants to State educational agencies to fund model programs providing commencement or improvement and expansion of foreign language study for students residing within their school districts. Provides a formula for the amount of such grants. Sets forth the application requirements. Authorizes appropriations for FY 1987 through 1989. Title VI: Trade Adjustment Assistance - Amends the Trade Act of 1974 to prohibit paying trade adjustment assistance benefits to a dislocated worker until the worker submits to the Secretary of Labor an agreement to make certain repayments to the Secretary which shall be deposited in the general fund of the Treasury. Sets forth the formula for determining what amount the worker must repay. Provides that an adversely affected worker may receive trade adjustment assistance for the weeks of unemployment: (1) which occur after a certain date relating to certification of the worker's status; and (2) for which no unemployment insurance has been received by the worker. (Prohibits unemployment insurance payments to workers eligible for trade adjustment assistance.) Authorizes the Secretary of Labor to require all trade-dislocated workers, in areas where training is available, to accept such training within 14 days of the date such workers apply for trade adjustment assistance except that no worker may be required to: (1) accept training or undertake a job search until eight weeks after the start of unemployment; or (2) accept or participate in such training for a period longer than the remaining period of eligibility for trade adjustment assistance. Provides trade readjustment assistance for workers for 26 weeks. Requires trade adjustment assistance agreements with States to prohibit payment of unemployment compensation if a worker eligible for such compensation is eligible for trade adjustment assistance. Requires (current law authorizes) the Secretary of Labor to approve training for a trade-dislocated worker if certain circumstances exist. Authorizes paying for such training through a voucher system. Limits the amount of payments for such training to $4,000 for each worker. Sets forth the type of training programs that may be approved. Requires firms, in order to receive trade adjustment assistance, to have entered an agreement which: (1) provides for the modernization of the industry and a gradual elimination of trade adjustment assistance to such firm; and (2) has been approved by the National Commission on Industrial Competitiveness. Eliminates the termination date for trade adjustment assistance for workers and firms. Establishes in the Treasury a Trade Adjustment Assistance Fund. Provides for the transfer to such Fund of the amounts attributable to: (1) a specified duty imposed by the Competitive America Trade Reform Act of 1985; and (2) certain other amounts paid into the general fund by the Secretary of Labor. Requires annual reports to the Congress on the Trust Fund. Requires the USTR to enter into negotiations to achieve changes in the GATT that would allow a country to impose a small uniform duty on all imports in order to fund a program that assists workers and firms of such country in adjusting to import competition. Imposes a one-percent duty on all imports into the United States.
United States · United States Congress · 20 February 1986
Prohibits the Administrator of Veterans Affairs from taking any action to dispose of certain land and improvements at two Veterans Administration medical centers located in West Los Angeles and in Sepulveda, California.
United States · United States Congress · 19 February 1986
Amends the Agricultural Act of 1949 to provide that, notwithstanding the Balanced Budget and Emergency Deficit Control Act of 1985 (Gramm-Rudman-Hollings Act) and the sequestration order issued by the President (under such Act) on February 1, 1986, FY 1986 dairy expenditure reductions shall be implemented through a reduction in the price received by milk producers rather than through a reduction in Commodity Credit Corporation payments for dairy product purchases. States that such reductions shall be no greater than needed to equal the reduction in milk support expenditures required by such order.
United States · United States Congress · 19 February 1986
Expresses the House of Representatives' support for the democratic aspirations of the Haitian people and calls upon the Government of Haiti to establish an electoral process culminating in free elections not later than six months after enactment of this Act.
United States · United States Congress · 6 February 1986
General Aviation Tort Reform Act of 1986 - Amends the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure to provide uniform rules for negligence and products liability claims arising from general aviation accidents. Allows any person claiming damages from such an accident to bring a products liability action against the general aviation manufacturer if: (1) the product was defective when it left the control of the manufacturer; (2) the defective condition was the proximate cause of the harm; (3) the condition would not have been corrected by actions described in directives issued by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) or the manufacturer; and (4) the aircraft was being used for a purpose and in a manner for which it was manufactured. Provides an alternative method to establish manufacturer liability where the manufacturer failed to provide reasonable warnings (unless such warnings would not have affected the conduct of the product user). Provides a third method to establish manufacturer liability where: (1) the manufacturer made an express warranty with respect to the product; (2) the warranty related to that aspect of the product which caused the harm; (3) the product failed to conform to the warranty; and (4) such failure was the proximate cause of the harm. States that all actions for damages arising from a general aviation accident shall be governed by the principles of comparative responsibility. Provides that defendants in such actions are severally but not jointly liable for damages (except that manufacturers of airframes and systems or components of aircraft may be jointly and severally liable under certain circumstances). Provides a 12-year limitation on liability of manufacturers. States that express warranties running for a longer period of time and the duty to provide additional warnings shall not be affected by such limitations. Allows awards of punitive damages. Prescribes a statute of limitations for such actions. Preempts State laws to the extent that this Act establishes applicable rules or procedures. Grants Federal district courts (concurrently with State courts) original jurisdiction (without regard to the amount in controversy) in all civil actions for damages arising out of a general aviation accident. Allows the removal of State actions to an appropriate Federal district court by any defendant. Prescribes venue restrictions. Expresses the intent of the Congress that orders to pay reasonable expenses, including attorney's fees, be enforced.
United States · United States Congress · 6 February 1986
Milk Marketing Control Act of 1986 - Amends the Agricultural Act of 1949 to direct the Secretary of Agriculture to conduct a referendum among milk producers to determine whether to implement an alternative milk price support program through 1990 based on individual milk marketing bases and a 70 percent of parity support level.
United States · United States Congress · 6 February 1986
Expresses the sense of the Congress that: (1) the United States, in cooperation with other members of the international donor community, should call upon the Ethiopian Government to recognize that resources donated for famine relief should be used for that purpose and not diverted to resettlement efforts; (2) such forced resettlements by the Ethiopian Government should be halted and monitored by the United Nations (U.N.); (3) the Ethiopian Government should commit sufficient resources to move food and relief goods to meet the needs of its people; and (4) the U.N. should insist on free access to resettlement sites for international observers and the news media and report on conditions in the resettlement camps.
United States · United States Congress · 5 February 1986
Establishes a veterans' home loan guaranty limitation amount of $17,600,000,000 reduced by 4.3 percent for purposes of implementing any sequestration order issued by the President for FY 1986 calling for a reduction of such loan commitments.
United States · United States Congress · 4 February 1986
Amends the Internal Revenue Code to extend the Hazardous Substance Response Trust Fund (Superfund) excise taxes on crude oil and petroleum products for the 180-day period beginning on February 3, 1986. Permits repayable advances to be made to such fund during the 180-day period beginning on February 3, 1986.
United States · United States Congress · 30 January 1986
Consumer Rail Equity Act - Reaffirms the intent of the Congress that the Railroad Revitalization and Regulatory Reform Act of 1976 and the Staggers Rail Act of 1980 be implemented in a manner which provides both greater competitive alternatives and adequate railroad revenues. Establishes a rebuttable presumption of rail market dominance if a person challenging a transportation rate shows that the railroad charging such rate does not face effective transportation competition. Shifts the burden of proof regarding transportation rate reasonableness from the shipper to the rail carrier establishing the challenged rate. Declares that it is Federal policy to encourage and promote competitive transportation rates for domestically produced coal and other commodities in order to increase their competitive position in domestic and export markets. Directs the Commission to establish a rail cost adjustment factor which includes changes in railroad productivity, volume, and output mix. Provides that certain rail carrier rates shall be reduced to the extent of any subsequent decreases in rail cost adjustment factors. Includes within the standards used to determine railroad revenue adequacy: (1) identification of revenues, expenses, and investment base reasonably related to rail transportation service; (2) straight-line depreciation of assets reasonably related to rail transportation service, minus deferred tax reserves resulting from accelerated depreciation; and (3) actual cost of debt capital and reasonable estimates of the current cost of equity capital. Requires the Commission, when making revenue adequacy determinations, to consider specified indicators of a rail carrier's financial status. Requires the Commission to determine, on an annual basis, which rail carriers are earning adequate or inadequate revenues and to determine for each rail carrier the revenues required to achieve or maintain revenue adequacy. Allows (current law requires) the Commission to exempt persons from application of this Act when: (1) such application is not necessary to implement Federal transportation policy; and (2) the Commission finds there is no market dominance involved in the affected transaction. Requires any rail carrier providing service under certain line rates to participate in competitive joint rail rates through practicable interchange connections (or publish a competitive proportional rate) if requested to do so by a rail carrier (or shipper or receiver) who has an actual or practicable interchange connection. Directs the Commission, upon petition of any interested party, to require certain terminal facilities owned by a rail carrier in interstate or foreign commerce to be used by another rail carrier if the Commission finds: (1) it is in the public interest to do so; and (2) that the owner of such terminal facility will not suffer substantial impairment of its own business interests. Directs the Commission to require, upon petition by an interested party, that rail carriers enter into reciprocal switching agreements if such an agreement is in the public interest or necessary to provide alternative competitive rail service. Directs the Commission to establish reciprocal switching compensation at a level not to exceed the current percentage of the actual variable costs for such service (unless the carrier demonstrates that a higher level is reasonable and necessary). Revises railroad line abandonment procedures to provide that a rail carrier must wait one year before resubmitting a previously denied abandonment application, unless a substantial change in circumstances can be shown. Requires the Commission to hold hearings in communities affected by a proposed railroad line abandonment if requested to do so by community protestants. Requires the Commission to base its abandonment determination upon financial data regarding the facility proposed to be abandoned rather than upon financial data regarding industry-wide averages. Subjects to Commission review any State decision regarding intrastate rates, rules, and practices if a party to such State proceedings petitions for Commission review. Requires the Commission to take action on such petition within 120 days of its receipt. Authorizes the Commission to vacate a State decision found inconsistent with this Act.
United States · United States Congress · 30 January 1986
Requests the Working Group for Planetary System Nomenclature of the International Astronomical Union to officially designate seven of the ten moons recently discovered by the Voyager-2 spacecraft near the planet Uranus in the names of the seven astronauts who died in the explosion of the space shuttle Challenger.
United States · United States Congress · 30 January 1986
Expresses the sense of the House of Representatives that the President should award the Presidential Medal of Freedom posthumously to Michael J. Smith, Francis R. Scobee, Ronald E. McNair, Ellison S. Onizuka, Sharon Christa McAuliffe, Gregory B. Jarvis, and Judith A. Resnik, all of whom died in the explosion of the space shuttle Challenger.
United States · United States Congress · 21 January 1986
Directs the President to convene a domestic economic summit conference concerning the economic situation created by large Federal deficits. Requires the conference to report to the Congress a comprehensive plan to reduce projected deficits.
United States · United States Congress · 19 December 1985
Permits the reappointment of a specified number of air traffic controllers who were separated from service for participation in a strike initiated on August 3, 1981. Requires such reappointments to be made in FY 1986 and 1987.
United States · United States Congress · 18 December 1985
Rural Satellite Dish Owners Protection Act - Amends the Communications Act of 1934 to prohibit encryption of any satellite cable programming for private viewing beginning 30 days after enactment of this Act, unless: (1) the encryption complies with Federal Communications Commission standards; (2) decryption devices are available for lease or purchase by all interested persons within 60 days after request at a reasonable price relative to manufacturing and distribution costs; and (3) monthly subscription fees for such programming do not exceed fees assessed to cable subscribers within the same vicinity. Provides for the civil enforcement of this Act.
United States · United States Congress · 10 December 1985
Calls upon the President to direct the Agency for International Development to work in a global effort to provide universal access to childhood immunization by 1990 by: (1) assisting in the delivery, distribution, and use of vaccines; and (2) performing and supporting research and development activities that will be targeted at developing new vaccines and at modifying existing vaccines to make them more appropriate for use in developing countries. Declares that the President should appeal to the public to provide the necessary resources to achieve universal access to childhood immunization by 1990. Amends the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 to increase the authorization of appropriations for FY 1987 for the Child Survival Fund.
United States · United States Congress · 5 December 1985
Title I: Short Title - Farm Credit Partnership Act. Title II: Definitions - Defines "borrower" for the purposes of this Act as being any individual, family corporation, or family partnership that makes at least 50 percent of its gross income from farming and holds an agricultural loan. Limits assistance for any borrower to $400,000 for an individual, and $600,000 for a family corporation or partnership. Lists the qualifications a borrower must demonstrate to receive such assistance. Directs the Secretary of Agriculture to establish a cooperative Federal- State-Lender Agricultural Loan Interest Subsidy Program. Allows a borrower to apply to a lender for an interest rate subsidy with respect to any agricultural loan outstanding on October 1, 1985. Provides that the interest rate for such loans shall be fixed for a period of three years at a rate equal to the rate of the borrower's loan as of December 1, 1985, less up to five percent subsidy. Provides that two percent of the subsidy shall be paid by the Federal Government, one to two percent by the State, and one percent by the lender. Requires participating States to submit a plan, by June 1, 1986, and March 1 of each year thereafter, which: (1) designates a single agency to run the program; (2) assesses the interest subsidy needs of borrowers in the State; (3) describes the program for the provision of interest subsidies; and (4) estimates the amount of expenditures necessary. Requires the Secretary to review and rule on such plans by July 15, 1986, and by April 15 of subsequent years. Provides for disapproval and sanctions of noncompliant plans. Title III: Agricultural Loan Principal Reduction - Allows a participating lender to write down the outstanding principal balance on a loan by such amount as will permit a borrower to qualify for assistance. Declares that the borrower shall not be liable for any of the written-down portion of the loan or the accrued interest attributable. Amends the Consolidated Farm and Rural Development Act to direct the Secretary to establish and carry out a guaranteed loan program pursuant to the Agricultural Loan Cancellation Program. Lists the qualifications and conditions for such guarantees. Title IV: Miscellaneous Provisions - Directs the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC), the Comptroller of the Currency (CCC), and the Federal Reserve System to develop an Inter-Agency Agricultural Task Force. Describes the responsibilities of such task force. Sets forth criminal penalties for anyone who embezzles, misapplies, steals, or obtains by fraud, false statement, or forgery any funds, assets, or property provided under this Act. Authorizes appropriations.
United States · United States Congress · 5 December 1985
Expresses the sense of the Congress that Canada should carry out its pledge to discontinue the imposition of Federal excise tax on imported U.S. tourism literature.
United States · United States Congress · 21 November 1985
Competitive America Trade Reform Act of 1985 - Declares that it is U.S. policy that: (1) the United States shall call for a multilateral conference to seek a new international monetary regime; (2) the United States shall try to use its foreign aid programs to aid the development of the private sectors in less developed countries; (3) rules of trade, dispute settlement procedures, and penalties for trade violations should be strengthened; (4) new policies are required to aid U.S. industries to improve their international competitiveness; and (5) a new program of transition aid for workers and firms is needed. Title I: International Monetary Reform - Creates a temporary National Commission on International Monetary Reform which shall prepare a report for the President and the Congress analyzing and evaluating: (1) proposed reforms of the international monetary system; (2) the effects of international capital flows on exchange rate volatility and proposals for restricting capital transactions; (3) proposed methods for coordinating monetary policies of major industrialized nations; (4) objectives for joint intervention in foreign exchange markets; and (5) a detailed working agenda to be presented to the International Monetary Fund (IMF) for a new "Bretton Woods" conference. Authorizes appropriations. Directs the Secretary of the Treasury, within 45 days of the submission of the Commission's report, to submit legislation to the Congress implementing policy changes recommended by the Commission and authorizing submission of the agenda to the IMF. Provides for expedited consideration of such legislation. Directs the Secretary of the Treasury, within 15 days of enactment of such legislation, to request the IMF to convene a working group to consider the agenda for a conference on monetary reform. Amends the Internal Revenue Code to reinstate the 30 percent withholding tax on portfolio interest paid to foreign persons. Title II: Foreign Assistance and Investment - Amends the Agriculture Trade and Development and Assistance Act of 1954 (Public Law 480) to provide for a revived and expanded Cooley Loan Program. Authorizes the Secretary of State to: (1) develop a list of those less developed countries in which Cooley Loan Program activities may be conducted; and (2) negotiate and conclude agreements for the implementation of a Cooley Loan Program. Requires such agreements to provide for: (1) the sale of surplus U.S. commodities to be paid for by local currencies; (2) such currencies to be made available to designated accounts under the control of the Secretary of State; (3) spending no less than 50 percent of certain development funds for private sector development; and (4) specifying maximum local currency reserve levels in designated accounts, monetary growth targets in the host country, and termination conditions. Creates a Cabinet level Economic Security Council to advise the President on domestic and international economic matters and to develop and oversee U.S. economic policy. Directs the Council to develop an international bankruptcy procedure to guide U.S. banks and agencies in responding to impending defaults by debtor nations. Abolishes the Cabinet Council on Economic Affairs. Amends the Caribbean Basin Economic Recovery Act to direct the Secretary of Commerce to develop a program for extending certain trade concessions to least developed developing countries that are designated by the Secretary of State. Directs the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) to request a waiver of the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) nondiscrimination standards in order to implement this program. Requires congressional ratification of any agreements incorporating trade concessions. Creates within the International Development Cooperation Agency the International Private Enterprise Institute which shall: (1) provide expertise and technical aid to less developed countries in attracting financial investment, developing indigenous industries, and promoting exports; and (2) serve as U.S. liaison for the World Bank Multilateral Investment Guarantee Agency. Expresses the intent of the Congress that funds authorized: (1) for programs conducted by the Agency for International Development shall be used for government-to-government and official activities which foster economic growth and promote a favorable climate for development of the private sector in developing countries; and (2) for programs conducted by the Overseas Private Investment Corporation (OPIC) shall be used to promote economic growth and stability through the direct involvement of U.S. private sectors. Grants OPIC the primary responsibility for developing and packaging aid provided through the International Development Cooperation Agency for private sector development in less developed countries. Creates four special offices within OPIC for program development. Authorizes OPIC to take partial equity interest in qualified development projects. Requires OPIC to administer the private sector development initiatives authorized by the Cooley Loan Program. Expresses the sense of the Congress that the United States shall call upon the IMF and the World Bank to convene a special meeting of the Group of Ten industrial nations and debtor nations for the purposes of formalizing growth-oriented conditionality guidelines to promote the creditworthiness of less developed countries, debt repayment flexibility, and trade liberalization. Directs the Secretary of the Treasury to prepare a report for such conference. Title III: Trade Law Reform - Directs the USTR to notify the GATT of the U.S. request to join other contracting parties in ministerial sessions preparatory to a new GATT round which would seek to: (1) create or strengthen GATT articles on certain trade issues; (2) strengthen the GATT as an institution by means of certain administrative and rules changes; (3) tighten GATT enforcement mechanisms through reforms of the panel system; and (4) have consultations in dispute settlement cases take place under GATT participation. Expresses the intent of the Congress to: (1) establish overall structural reforms of U.S. trade laws; (2) redefine the trade roles of the President, the ITC, the Department of Commerce, and the USTR; and (3) clarify the standards and procedures which apply in trade remedy cases. Makes the ITC the primary factfinding agency for all determinations involving international trade. Requires the Commerce Department to be responsible for assessing the injurious effects of foreign trade on domestic industries. Declares that it is the primary function of the USTR to formulate and implement U.S. trade policy. Limits the President's discretion in unfair trade cases to the suspension of sanctions determined by the USTR. Sets forth the alternative bases for suspending sanctions. Requires the Secretary of Commerce to define and clarify references in existing U.S. trade laws to serious injury or the threat of serious injury to domestic industry. Requires the ITC to define and clarify references in U.S. trade laws to unfair trade practices. Directs the ITC to develop standard administrative procedures of factfinding and determinations for all unfairness cases. Exempts certain unfair trade practice cases brought under the Tariff Act of 1930 from the requirements of the Administrative Procedure Act. Directs the ITC to: (1) determine the extent to which foreign trade practices contribute to injury to domestic or emerging industry; (2) certify to the USTR that an injury has occurred or an unfairness threshold has been exceeded; and (3) recommend sanctions appropriate to the character and extent of unfairness found. Expresses the intent of the Congress that the mission of the ITC shall include the investigation of economic policies and practices in other countries which affect the market for American products and services in those countries, in third-party countries, and in the United states. Requires that injury determinations made by the Secretary of Commerce pursuant to import relief investigations shall take into account the extent to which the domestic industry is operated efficiently and economically. Makes grants of import relief conditional upon the existence of an industry modernization agreement. Requires injury to a domestic industry to be shown in an unfairness case. Requires the USTR to declare sanctions against countries that the ITC has found to have committed unfair trade practices within 15 days of such finding. Sets forth procedures and deadlines to be followed in unfairness cases. Authorizes the President to suspend sanctions in such cases for national security reasons or upon certification that such country has entered into good-faith negotiations to end the offending practice or to achieve compensatory trade liberalization measures. Sets forth sanctions that the USTR may invoke in the most severe cases of violations of the GATT or U.S. trade laws. Requires the USTR to take into account specified factors in determining appropriate sanctions against unfair foreign trade practices. Title IV: Enhancing International Competitiveness - Creates a National Commission on International Competitiveness which shall report annually to the Congress on key factors affecting the competitive posture of American industry and services. Requires the Commission to report periodically on the effects of foreign industrial policies on U.S. industry. Requires the Commission to grant or deny approval to industrial modernization agreements before the granting of import relief or the provision of trade adjustment assistance to firms. Amends the antitrust laws to require the Justice Department and the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) to take into consideration global competitive conditions when determining market concentration. Directs the Attorney General and the FTC to develop regulations for expedited procedures to consider applications for antitrust waivers for research and development consortia under guidelines established by the National Commission on International Competitiveness. Amends the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act to waive the provisions of that Act with respect to a country if the Attorney General certifies that such country has: (1) effective bribery or corruption statutes; and (2) an established record of aggressive enforcement of such statutes. Provides for sharing information with foreign countries to assist their prosecution of incidents of bribery. Requires the Commerce Department to develop a classification code for monitoring and reporting on international trade in services. Directs the Secretary of Commerce to report annually to the Congress on actual and potential U.S. services trade. Requires the United States to pursue bilateral services agreements pending development of a GATT article on services trade. Requires the U.S. Foreign and Commercial Service to expand commercial attache programs to cover developing countries now served by State Department personnel. Amends the Export-Import Bank Act of 1945 to require the Export-Import Bank to: (1) develop a program of coinsurance to expand small business exports; and (2) develop with the Agency for International Development a special fund to counter predatory, subsidized financing, and mixed credit programs of other countries. Provides for the enactment of the High Technology Morrill Act (S. 935, 99th Congress). (High Technology Morrill Act - Establishes the Technology Education Trust Fund in the Treasury. Directs the Secretary of the Treasury to be the trustee of the Fund and to report to the Congress annually on the Fund's operation. Directs the Secretary to transfer from the Treasury's general fund to the Fund, for FY 1987 through 1991, three percent of the rents, royalties, and other sums paid to the United States under the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act, the Mineral Leasing Act of 1920, and any other Federal statute authorizing payments for mineral resource development designated by the Secretary for the purpose of this Act. Limits the amount of such transfers to $250,000,000 in any one fiscal year. Provides that amounts in the Fund shall be available for making payments in accordance with this Act as provided in advance by appropriation Acts, and without fiscal year limitation on availability unless specifically enacted. Prohibits the Secretary from making transfers to the Fund after FY 1991. Directs the Secretary to pay into the Treasury's general fund any amounts remaining in the Fund after FY 1993. (Authorizes the Secretary of Education (the Secretary) to make grants to educational institutions (including vocational schools), private for-profit business concerns, and State agencies making application jointly to pay the Federal share of the cost of technology education programs. Allows private nonprofit organizations and State agencies to submit applications jointly if the nonprofit private organization represents an educational institution and a for-profit business concern, or a group of such institutions and concerns. (Requires that such applications be consistent with State economic development and educational policies and with private sector priorities and educational institution needs. Requires the State and local public sources pay 30 percent, and for-profit businesses pay 20 percent, of total program costs. Sets forth other application requirements. (Allows grants made under this Act to be used for: (1) laboratory equipment and facilities in educational institutions; (2) improving science and mathematics education and computer literacy in elementary and secondary schools through teacher training, equipment improvement, and curricula development; (3) research/education centers for training new scientific, engineering, and technical employees while carrying out applied research or stimulating innovation, technology transfer, and the application of new technologies; (4) mathematics, science, and engineering faculty development through support for graduate students who enter teaching, faculty exchange with industry, teaching retraining, and other faculty retention programs; (5) lifelong learning and cooperative education activities for the scientific, engineering, and technical work force; (6) development of new educational methods and equipment such as computer-based educational aids and telecommunication instructional technologies; (7) expansion of technical training programs and initiation of programs at institutions of higher education (including postsecondary vocational education institutions) designed to retrain workers for jobs requiring more technical skills; (8) improving the access of women, minorities, and handicapped to technical, engineering, and scientific fields; and (9) cooperative programs between the humanities and the sciences. (Sets forth provisions for grant payments, distribution of funds, withholding, administration, and audit. (Authorizes the Secretary to establish advisory committees for purposes of this Act. (Directs the Secretary to consult with the Secretary of Defense to coordinate technical training programs supported by the Department of Defense and activities assisted under this Act. Authorizes the Secretary of Defense to transfer Department of Defense funds for technical training programs to the Secretary to carry out programs under this Act. (Directs the Secretary to consult with the Secretaries of Commerce, Labor, and Education and the heads of other appropriate Federal agencies in carrying out this Act. (Directs the Secretary to report annually to the Congress on activities assisted by this Act.) Provides for the enactment of title II (relating to science, mathematics and foreign language education) of the American Defense Education Act (S. 177, 99th Congress). (Title II: Teacher Training and Postsecondary Programs - Authorizes the Secretary of Education to establish a program of grants to institutions of higher education for coordination between such institutions and local educational 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 1987 through 1989 for such grants.) Provides for the enactment, with a modification, of the Japanese Technical Literature Act of 1985 (S. 1073, 99th Congress). (Foreign Technical Literature Act of 1985 - Amends the Stevenson-Wydler Technology Innovation Act of 1980 to direct the Secretary of Commerce, on a continuing basis and through the Director of the Office of Industrial Technology, to increase the availability of foreign science and engineering literature to U.S. businesses, scientists, and engineers through increased accessibility, monitoring, screening, translation, abstracting, indexing, dissemination, and marketing. (Authorizes the Secretary, in conducting such activity, to: (1) make grants to private for profit, nonprofit, and educational organizations (and, to the extent provided in advance in appropriations Acts, enter into contracts with such organizations); (2) provide funds to, and coordinate with, other Government organizations; and (3) utilize (for all or part of this effort) the directors, staff, and facilities of the National Bureau of Standards and the National Technical Information Service. (Authorizes appropriations for FY 1986 through 1988.) Directs the Secretary of State to implement a program of acquisition of foreign scientific and technological materials by U.S. embassy personnel. Expresses the intent of the Congress to promote the commercialization of Products and processes developed in Federal laboratories. Provides for the enactment of the Federal Science and Technology Transfer Act of 1985 (H.R. 1572, 99th Congress). (Federal Science and Technology Transfer Act of 1985 - Amends the Stevenson-Wydler Technology Innovation Act of 1980 to authorize Federal agencies, subject to specified conditions, to permit the directors of their Government-operated Federal laboratories to enter into cooperative research and development agreements with other Federal agencies, State or local governments, industrial organizations, universities, or other persons. Authorizes Government-operated Federal laboratories, under such agreements and subject to specified conditions, to: (1) grant patent licenses or assignments, or options, in any subject invention made by a Federal employee, or made jointly by a Federal employee and an employee of the collaborating party, and to retain such rights as the laboratory deems appropriate; and (2) waive in advance any right of ownership which the Federal Government may have to any subject invention made by a collaborating party or such party's employee under the agreement. (Requires Federal agencies to establish certain plans to be followed in entering into such agreements. (Prohibits such agreements with: (1) any person who is not located in the United States, does not have a place of business located in the United States, or is subject to the control of a foreign government; or (2) any other entity which is owned or controlled by any such person. Prohibits such agreements if an authority of the Federal Government which is authorized by statute or executive order to conduct foreign intelligence or counterintelligence activities determines that ownership or licensing rights granted by the agreement must be restricted or eliminated in order to protect the security of such activities. Provides for an appeals procedure with respect to such determinations. (Provides that specified provisions of Federal law relating to patent rights in inventions made with Federal assistance shall apply to certain types of such agreements. (Provides that small businesses will be given preference in the making of certain types of such agreements. (Prohibits any person (or his or her assignee) who receives title or exclusive right or exclusive patent license to any subject invention from granting the exclusive right to use or sell, or from making exclusive use of, such invention unless the products embodying it or produced through its use will be manufactured substantially in the United States. Authorizes the Federal agency concerned to waive such prohibition on a case-by-case basis under specified conditions. (Directs each agency to maintain a record of all such agreements. (Establishes the Federal Laboratory Consortium for Technology Transfer in the National Science Foundation. Requires the Director of the Foundation to appoint an individual to manage the Consortium and authorizes such individual to appoint Consortium employees. (Sets forth Consortium duties relating to the commercial potential of new technologies generated by Federal laboratory research. (Requires the Director of the Foundation to report biennially to the President and to the appropriate authorization and appropriation committees of the Congress on Consortium and other specified activities. Requires other Federal agencies to: (1) cooperate in providing information for such reports; and (2) transfer a specified portion of their research and development budgets to the Foundation to carry out Consortium activities. (Sets forth rules and formulas for the distribution of royalties or other income received by Federal agencies from the licensing or assignment of inventions under such agreements under this Act, and from inventions licensed under provisions of Federal law relating to domestic and foreign protection of federally-owned inventions, or under any other provision of law. Requires Federal agencies to report annually to the appropriate authorization and appropriation committees of the Congress detailing the amount of such royalties or other income received and expenditures made under such rules and formulas.) Reauthorizes the Stevenson-Wydler Technology Innovation Act of 1980 for five years. Repeals the agency waiver provisions of such Act. Makes the Federal Laboratory Consortium a permanent agency within the National Science Foundation which shall: (1) monitor technology transfer activities of Federal laboratories; (2) assess the resources and effectiveness of collaborative efforts among the laboratories, private industry, and academia; and (3) promote a national information network to foster private sector commercialization of Federal laboratory research and discoveries. Title V: Trade Adjustment Assistance - Amends the Trade Act of 1974 to: (1) repeal the condition that all rights to unemployment insurance be exhausted before one is eligible for trade adjustment assistance; (2) make a worker who is separated from employment in an industry that qualifies for an industrial modernization agreement and trade adjustment benefits automatically eligible for trade adjustment assistance; (3) deem a worker ineligible for unemployment insurance benefits during the operative period of trade adjustment assistance if the worker's separation is found to be trade-induced; (4) require workers, before receiving trade adjustment assistance, to agree to repay certain amounts of such assistance; (5) provide a worker eligible for trade adjustment assistance with a voucher to defray the cost of specified training programs; and (6) require the establishment of a national retraining certification program. Makes assistance provided to firms under this title conditional upon the approval of an industrial modernization agreement by the National Commission on International Competitiveness. Establishes a trust fund in the Treasury to finance the provisions of this Act. Finances such fund through a one percent duty on all imports. Directs the USTR to undertake negotiations through the GATT to impose such duty.
United States · United States Congress · 21 November 1985
Amends the Agricultural Act of 1949 to direct the Secretary of Agriculture to conduct a referendum of wheat and feed grains producers every two years to determine whether they favor the national marketing certificate program proposed by this Act. Sets forth the eligibility requirements for voting in such referendum. Provides that if the marketing certificate programs are not approved by such producers, the Secretary shall provide loans, purchases, payments, and other assistance. Describes the operation of the national marketing certificate program for wheat, if approved. Sets forth the method for determining the amount of loans and purchases which will be available to wheat producers. Requires loans and purchases to be a level which will maintain the competitive relationship of wheat to other grains. States that the level of wheat loans and purchases for the 1987 through 1990 marketing years may not be established at less than $4.50 per bushel. Allows the Secretary to make such certificates available to importers of wheat. Provides that a marketing certificate shall authorize the producer or importer to market, barter, or donate an amount of wheat equal to the amount of the certificate. States that wheat accompanied by a marketing certificate that is sold or transferred for export shall be eligible for an export incentive payment. Allows the Secretary to provide incentive payments for domestically marketed, bartered, or donated wheat if necessary to assure that wheat remains competitive in the domestic market. Allows excess wheat to be used on farms, transferred for export, or held over to the succeeding marketing year and marketed under a certificate for such year. Prohibits the transfer of marketing certificates. Describes the operation of the national marketing certificate program for feed grains. Sets forth the method for determining the amount of loans and purchases which will be available to feed grains producers. Requires loans and purchases to be at a level which will maintain the competitive relationship of corn to other grains. States that the level of corn loans and purchases for the 1987 through 1990 marketing years may not be established at less than $3.25 per bushel. Provides loans and purchases for other feed grains at levels in relation to that of corn. Allows the Secretary to make such certificates available to importers of feed grains. Provides that a marketing certificate shall authorize the producer or importer to market, barter, or donate an amount of feed grain equal to the amount of the certificate. States that feed grain accompanied by a marketing certificate that is sold or transferred for export shall be eligible for an export incentive payment. Allows the Secretary to provide incentive payments for domestically marketed, bartered, or donated feed grains if necessary to assure that such feed grains remain competitive in the domestic market. Allows excess feed grains to be used on the farms, transferred for export, or held over to the succeeding marketing year and marketed under a certificate for such year. Prohibits the transfer of marketing certificates. Permits the imposition of penalties, at the discretion of the Secretary, for noncompliance with this Act. Prohibits wheat or feed grain producers from adjusting their crop acreage bases. Directs the Secretary to advise the President on the need to impose fees or quantitative limitations on articles that may be imported. Directs the Secretary to provide export incentives to reduce world price levels if necessary.
United States · United States Congress · 21 November 1985
Declares that the Congress supports expanded cultural exchange between the United States and the Soviet Union and pledges to work with the President to strengthen such exchange.
United States · United States Congress · 20 November 1985
Campaign Finance Reform Act of 1985 - Amends the Federal Election Campaign Act of 1971 to: (1) increase dollar limits on personal contributions to candidates and their authorized political committees; and (2) decrease the amount one multicandidate political committee may contribute to any other political committee. Limits to $100,000 ($125,000 where two or more candidates qualify for the ballot) the aggregate amount which all multicandidate political committees may contribute to a candidate for the House of Representatives in a general or special election, including any primary election, convention, or caucus relating to such general or special election. Limits to $25,000 the aggregate amount allowed for multicandidate political committee contributions in a runoff election for the office of Representative. Establishes a formula for multicandidate political committee contributions to candidates for the Senate based upon State populations and limited to an aggregate total of $750,000. Requires multicandidate political committees which make independent expenditures for advertisements connected with a candidate's campaign to disclose such information within the advertisement. Amends the Communications Act of 1934 to require any station licensee which allows a person to broadcast material endorsing or opposing a candidate to provide the candidate opposing the endorsed candidate, or to the candidate opposed by the material, the opportunity to use the same amount of broadcasting time, without charge, during the same period of the day.
United States · United States Congress · 19 November 1985
Small Contribution Tax Credit Reform Act of 1985 - Amends the the Internal Revenue Code to repeal the income tax credit for contributions to presidential, state, and local candidates, political action committees, and newsletter fund contributions. Allows an income tax credit for congressional candidate contributions. Limits the amount of such credit to $100 for a taxable year ($200 in the case of a joint return).
United States · United States Congress · 18 November 1985
Expresses the sense of the Congress that the Taiwanese authorities should continue progress toward a democratic system, in particular by allowing the formation of opposition political parties, ending censorship and guaranteeing freedom of speech, expression, and assembly, and moving toward full representative government.
United States · United States Congress · 13 November 1985
Authorizes educational assistance for apprenticeship or other on-the-job training under the All-Volunteer Force Educational Assistance Program. Limits the amount of educational assistance payable in any one month where the individual pursuing the educational program fails to complete 120 hours of training.
United States · United States Congress · 12 November 1985
Foreign Agents Compulsory Ethics in Trade Act of 1985 - Prohibits former high-level Federal civilian officers or employees or high-ranking officers of the uniformed services from representing or advising foreign principals during the ten-year period beginning on the last day of such a person's Federal employment or service. Authorizes the Secretary of State and the Secretary of Commerce to jointly determine a longer prohibitive period in the interest of national security. Establishes criminal penalties for violations of this Act. Defines and lists employee positions to which this Act applies.
United States · United States Congress · 6 November 1985
Higher Education Amendments of 1985 - Title I: Amendment to Title I of the Act - Amends title I of the Higher Education Act of 1965 (HEA) regarding post-secondary programs for non-traditional students and the establishment and awarding of educational program and planning grants. Authorizes appropriations for FY 1987 through 1991 for such purpose. Amends provisions of HEA concerning the responsibilities of the Secretary of Education (the Secretary) in the evaluation of national education programs. Authorizes appropriations for FY 1987 through 1991 for such purpose. Title II: Amendments to Title II of the Act - Redesignates title II of HEA as: Title II: Academic Library and Information Technology Enhancement. Authorizes appropriations for programs under such title for FY 1987 through 1991. Authorizes the making of grants for the enhancement of college library resources. Repeals provisions concerning the making of special purpose grants. Establishes a grant program for supporting college library technology and developmental cooperation. Title III: Amendment to Title III of the Act - Amends title III of HEA in the area of institutional aid through grants and in increasing financial assistance to historically black colleges and universities. Authorizes the Secretary to award challenge grants to certain qualifying institutions. Reserves a specified sum of previously appropriated funds for the use of eligible institutions serving a high percentage of Hispanic, Black, and Native American students. Outlines application requirements for institutions requesting financial assistance. Authorizes appropriations for FY 1987 through 1991 to carry out programs under title III. Title IV: Revisions to Title IV of the Act - Part A: Revision of Part A of Title IV - Amends Part A (Grants to Students in Attendance at Institutions of Higher Education) of title IV (Student Assistance) of HEA to authorize the making of basic educational opportunity grants (Pell grants) to students in attendance at institutions of higher education. Sets out the amount of such grants for each qualifying individual. Authorizes a program of supplemental educational opportunity grants to qualified students demonstrating financial need. Authorizes appropriations for the making of such grants for FY 1987 through 1991. Outlines selection procedures for the awarding of such grants. Authorizes appropriations for FY 1987 through 1991 for the purpose of awarding grants to States to enable States to provide grants or State work-study jobs to eligible students attending institutions of higher education. Outlines application procedures for States applying for such grants. Authorizes the Secretary to provide special programs for students from disadvantaged backgrounds (including talent search, upward bound, student support services, educational opportunity centers, and staff development activities). Authorizes appropriations for 1987 through 1991 for such programs. Authorizes the establishment of a National Center for Postsecondary Opportunity to ensure the adequate availability of financial aid information. Maintains and expands secondary and postsecondary high school equivalency program and college assistance migrant program projects. Authorizes appropriations for FY 1987 through 1991 for such purpose. Establishes a Federal Merit Scholarship program. Authorizes appropriations for FY 1986 through 1988 for such program. Authorizes cost-of-education payments to institutions of higher education. Provides a formula for determining the amounts of such payments. Authorizes appropriations for FY 1987 through 1991 for the establishment of a veterans education outreach program which would authorize payments to institutions for each veteran enrolled at such institution and receiving veterans' educational assistance. Outlines provisions concerning eligibility for such payments. Authorizes the Secretary to make grants to institutions of higher education to provide special child care services to disadvantaged college students. Authorizes appropriations for FY 1987 through 1991 for such purpose. Part B: Revision of Part B of Title IV: - Amends part B (Federal, State, and Private Programs of Low-Interest Insured Loans to Students in Institutions of Higher Education) of title IV to replace it with a new part B (Guaranteed Student Loan Program). Prohibits discrimination by creditors lending credit under the guaranteed student loan program. Authorizes appropriations for: (1) the student loan insurance fund; (2) Federal payments to reduce student interest costs; (3) certain State and nonprofit private loan insurance programs; and (4) repayment of loans of bankrupt, deceased, or disabled borrowers. Outlines provisions concerning payments by the Secretary to the States of advanced funds for the establishment of State and nonprofit private loan insurance programs. Sets forth provisions concerning Federal loan insurance. Authorizes the payment of Federal interest subsidies to reduce student loan interest costs. Outlines qualifications for students receiving such subsidies. Authorizes payments by the Secretary for the provision of lender referral services for students. Authorizes appropriations for the making of such payments for such referral services. Authorizes the provision of supplemental loans to students and loans to parents of students. Authorizes the provision of consolidation loans to students for consolidation of all student loans made. Outlines qualifications for students receiving such consolidation loans. Provides procedures in the event of default by a student on any loan covered under the Federal loan insurance program. Directs the Secretary to exchange information with credit bureaus and institutions of higher learning for the purpose of promoting responsible repayment of loans under the Federal loan insurance program. Establishes a student loan insurance fund for use by the Secretary in making payments on defaulted loans under the Federal loan insurance program. Requires lenders who provide loans under the loan insurance program to provide thorough and accurate loan information concerning such loan to the borrower. Authorizes Federal credit unions to participate in Federal, State, and private student loan insurance programs. Authorizes the government of the District of Columbia to establish a student loan insurance program. Authorizes repayment by the Secretary of loans of bankrupt, deceased, or disabled borrowers. Establishes the Student Loan Marketing Association (the Association) to serve as a secondary market and warehousing facility for student loans. Authorizes appropriations to establish the Association. Outlines organizational rules, powers, and authorities of the Association, as well as actions to be taken by the Association in securing student loans. Requires certain studies of: (1) multiple-year lines of credit; and (2) multiple disbursement. Part C: College Work-Study Amendment - Authorizes appropriations for FY 1987 through 1991 for the provision of work-study programs for students at eligible institutions. Authorizes the Secretary to make grants to eligible institutions for the operation of such work-study programs. Provides for the establishment of work-study programs whereby students perform community services specifically designed to aid low-income individuals and families. Part E: Perkins Loans - Authorizes appropriations for FY 1987 through 1991 and directs the Secretary to carry out a program for the making of low-interest, direct loans (Perkins loans) to students in order to pursue their courses. Authorizes additional appropriations for FY 1991 through 1996 to enable students to continue or complete their studies. Allocates appropriated funds among fiscal years. Provides procedures for determining an institution's need for the services of Perkins loans. Outlines provisions to be included in agreements with institutions of higher learning for the payment of Federal capital contributions to student loan programs. Requires institutions to provide adequate loan information on any loans made to borrowers under such program. Outlines the terms of such loans. Authorizes the cancellation of loans for certain public service performed (e.g., teaching, or as a member of the armed forces). Provides for the collection of defaulted loans by the Secretary. Part F: Need Analysis - Adds a new part F to title IV relating to need analysis (i.e. an analysis of the amount of financial assistance needed by students in order to attend institutions of higher education). Provides for the determination of the expected family contribution to a dependent student's educational costs, based on available income. Provides various tables to assist in the determination of available income. Provides a computation of the family contribution for independent students without dependents, and for such students with dependents. Provides adjustments to such need analysis for purposes of the Pell grant program. Part G: Revision of General Provisions - Defines "institution of higher education" for purposes of eligibility under certain aforementioned grant programs. Provides a master calendar containing deadline dates for applications, forms, and fund distributions required under the various grant programs. Outlines student eligibility requirements for receiving grants, loans, or work-study assistance. Requires participating institutions of higher education to disseminate information concerning the institution and all financial assistance available. Authorizes the Secretary to enter into contracts to provide training in the administration of financial aid and student support services. Authorizes appropriations for FY 1986 through 1991 for such purposes. Establishes an Advisory Committee on Student Financial Assistance to provide advice and counsel to the Congress on student financial aid matters. Directs the Secretary to survey student aid recipients for the purpose of collecting and disseminating certain student aid information. Title V: Amendment to Title V of the Act - Amends title V (Teacher Corps and Teacher Training Programs) of HEA to replace it with a new title V (Educator Recruitment, Retention, and Development). Authorizes appropriations for FY 1987 through 1991 for and establishes programs in: (1) excellence in teacher education programs; (2) school, college, and university partnerships; (3) professional development and leadership programs; (4) teacher scholarships and fellowships; and (5) research and data collection. Authorizes the Secretary to make grants to institutions of higher education to provide institutional support for teacher education programs. Outlines the requirements for such program. Directs the Secretary to make grants to institutions of higher education for midcareer teacher training. Outlines the requirements for such program. Authorizes the making of partnership agreements between eligible institutions of higher education and local education agencies in order to receive grants from the Secretary for the purpose of enhancing local academia. Outlines application requirements for such grants. Authorizes the Secretary to award four grants for pilot community college partnership projects. Outlines requirements. Establishes teaching academy demonstration projects in order to provide more effective instruction and guidance in the development of teaching skills through the creation of internships for beginning teachers. Outlines requirements for grant recipients. Authorizes the Secretary to make grants to establish professional development resource centers for teachers. Outlines grant requirements. Requires each such center to be planned and operated by a professional development policy board. Directs the Secretary to enter into contracts for the establishment and operation of technical assistance training centers in each State. Outlines general criteria for such contracts. Authorizes the Secretary to make grants to State educational agencies to enable such agencies to support a fellowship program for teachers to be trained to provide special education for handicapped children. Sets out application requirements and other conditions of such grants. Authorizes the Secretary to allocate grants to each State for the purpose of awarding Congressional Teacher Scholarships to high school students in such State. Outlines application requirements and selection criteria. Authorizes the Secretary to award one national talented teacher fellowship to a public or private school teacher in each congressional district of each State, and one in each of the territories and possessions of the United States. Outlines application requirements and selection criteria. Authorizes the Secretary to utilize specified legislative authority to assess annually the current and future supply and demand for teachers. Authorizes the Secretary to award grants to institutions of higher education for the conduct of research consistent with the collection of such information. Requires institutions of higher education or other entities in any State, in order to be eligible for teacher training assistance under HEA for any fiscal year after FY 1986, to establish a State task force on teacher training. Outlines organizational rules, powers, and functions of such task forces. Extends through October 1, 1991, the authorization of appropriations for the making of grants to the Robert A. Taft Institute of Government in New York. Title VI: Amendments to Title VI of the Act - Amends title VI (International Education Programs) of HEA to replace it with a new title VI to authorize the Secretary to make grants to institutions of higher education for the purpose of paying stipends to individuals undergoing advanced training in foreign language training programs or foreign studies programs. Authorizes the Secretary to make grants for the establishment, operation, and strengthening of foreign language resource centers. Outlines activities to be carried out by such centers. Authorizes the Secretary to make grants to establish intensive summer language institutes. Authorizes appropriations for FY 1987 through 1991 for such programs. Authorizes appropriations for FY 1987 through 1991 for the making of grants by the Secretary to educational institutions or libraries for the purpose of acquiring periodicals published outside the United States. Authorizes appropriations for FY 1987 through 1991 for certain business and international education programs. Directs the Secretary, at least two times each year, to convene an advisory board on the conduct of programs under Title VI of the Act. Title VII: Amendment to Title VII of the Act - Directs the Secretary to carry out programs of financial assistance to institutions of higher education and to higher education building agencies for the construction, reconstruction, or renovation of academic facilities in order to bring such facilities in conformity with specified housing and environmental laws and regulations. Requires States, in order to receive grants for the construction, reconstruction, or conversion of undergraduate academic facilities, to submit annually to the Secretary a State plan containing specified standards and procedures to be followed concerning the allocation of grant funds received by the States. Outlines criteria and allotment procedures. Authorizes appropriations for FY 1987 through 1991 for such purpose. Directs the Secretary to make grants to graduate institutions of higher education which meet application requirements. Authorizes appropriations for FY 1987 through 1991 for such purposes. Directs the Secretary to make and insure loans to institutions of higher education and to higher education building agencies for the construction, reconstruction, and renovation of academic facilities. Provides the terms for such loans. Establishes in the Treasury a revolving loan fund for the purpose of making and insuring such loans. Authorizes appropriations for FY 1987 through 1991 for such purposes. Authorizes the Secretary to make annual interest grants to institutions of higher education and higher education building agencies to reduce the cost of borrowing from other sources for construction, reconstruction, and renovation projects. Sets limits and requirements for such grants. Authorizes the Secretary to provide financial assistance to Eastern Michigan University in Ypsilanti, Michigan, for the purpose of the renovation and restoration of Welch Hall. Authorizes appropriations. Authorizes the Secretary to provide financial assistance to the Rochester Institute of Technology in Rochester, New York, to pay the Federal share of the cost of construction of a specified facility. Authorizes appropriations. Authorizes the Secretary to provide financial assistance to Shaw University of Raleigh, North Carolina, for the purpose of the renovation and restoration of Estey Hall. Authorizes appropriations. Provides for recovery by the United States of payments made for the cost of construction, reconstruction, and renovation of academic facilities. Title VIII: Amendment to Title VIII of the Act - Authorizes appropriations for FY 1987 through 1991 to enable the Secretary to make grants to institutions of higher education for the planning, establishment, and expansion of cooperative education programs. Outlines application procedures for such grants, and sets forth grant limitations. Title IX: Amendment to Title IX of the Act - Directs the Secretary to make grants to public and private, nonprofit higher education institutions for the purpose of enabling under-represented minorities to participate in graduate studies. Outlines application requirements. Directs the Secretary to award a one-year graduate fellowship to each student (known as a Patricia Roberts Harris Fellow) who completes a specified undergraduate internship program. Directs the Secretary to make grants to institutions of higher education to enable such institutions to offer grant programs of post-baccalaureate study leading to a graduate or professional degree. Outlines grant requirements. Authorizes the Secretary to award not more than 450 national graduate fellowships per year in accordance with specified guidelines. Directs the President to appoint a National Graduate Fellows Program Fellowship Board to establish the policies of such program and select the fellowship recipients. Outlines organizational rules for such Board. Directs the Secretary to make grants to academic departments and programs that provide courses of study leading to a graduate degree in areas of national need. Sets out eligibility and application requirements. Authorizes the Secretary to make grants or enter into contracts with public and private agencies and organizations in order to assist individuals from disadvantaged backgrounds to undertake training for the legal profession. Authorizes the Secretary to enter into grants or contracts with accredited law schools for the purpose of paying up to 90 percent of the cost of legal clinical experience programs at such law schools. Authorizes appropriations for FY 1987 through 1991 for the aforementioned programs under Title IX of the Act. Title X: Amendment to Title X of the Act - Authorizes the Secretary to make grants to and contracts with institutions of postsecondary education in order to improve postsecondary educational opportunities by taking specified actions. Establishes a National Board of the Fund for the Improvement of Postsecondary Education to act in an advisory capacity in the determination of postsecondary education grant recipients. Authorizes appropriations for FY 1987 through 1991 for the purpose of making such grants. Directs the Secretary to make grants to institutions of higher education that are designed to effect long-range improvement in science and engineering education at predominantly minority institutions and to increase the participation of underrepresented ethnic minorities in scientific and technological careers. Authorizes the Secretary to make grants for the establishment of programs in: (1) minority support in science and engineering; and (2) special service projects. Outlines eligibility and application requirements. Establishes an Advisory Board for the Minority Science and Engineering Improvement Programs to act as an advisory group to such programs. Authorizes appropriations for FY 1987 through 1991. Title XI: Amendment to Title XI of the Act - Amends title XI (Urban Grant University Program) of HEA to replace it with new title XI (Community Partnerships and Economic Development) to direct the Secretary to make grants to urban universities to pay the Federal share of the cost of programs designed to address urban issues. Outlines grant application requirements and grant limitations. Authorizes Federal assistance in the areas of higher education and economic development through the use of planning and research, resource exchange, and certain authorized special projects. Outlines eligibility and application requirements. Authorizes appropriations for FY 1987 through 1991 for carrying out the purposes of this title. Provides assistance to the City University of New York to establish an institute devoted to the study of urban public policy, to be known as the Robert F. Wagner, Sr. Institute of Urban Public Policy. Authorizes appropriations for such purpose. Title XII: Amendments to Title XII of the Act - Revises provisions concerning the treatment of U.S. territories and student assistance to such territories. Extends from 1986 to 1992 the National Advisory Committee on Accreditation and Institutional Eligibility. Revises provisions concerning the disclosure by educational institutions of any foreign gifts or grants received. Requires educational institutions to take steps to guarantee the future payment of tuition and fees to such institution by students who are foreign nationals (and not admitted to permanent residence in the United States).
United States · United States Congress · 5 November 1985
Declares that: (1) the people around the world desire a world free from the threat of war; (2) it is the hope of all citizens that the President and General Secretary Gorbachev will reach an arms control agreement which significantly cuts nuclear stockpiles and halts the arms race between the United States and the Soviet Union; and (3) in order to express this hope, all citizens are invited to light candles from dusk to dawn on November 19 and 20, 1985, while the President and Gorbachev meet in summit.
United States · United States Congress · 31 October 1985
Civil Service Supplemental Retirement System Act of 1985 - Title I: Civil Service Supplemental Retirement System - Establishes a Civil Service Supplemental Retirement Plan for Federal employees, postal employees, and Members of Congress who began service after December 31, 1983. Sets forth provisions for the benefit plan including: (1) eligibility for an annuity after five years of creditable service; (2) entitlements to retirement based on age and years of service; (3) the formulas for computing an annuity; (4) survivor election reductions; and (5) funding. Sets forth provisions for mandatory retirement for air traffic controllers, law enforcement officers, and firefighters. Establishes a Thrift Savings Plan under which participants may contribute up to 10 percent of their annual basic pay. Requires employing agencies to contribute the lesser of: (1) 50 percent of amounts contributed by the employee; or (2) three percent of such employee's basic pay. Provides for the payment of benefits, lump sum or annuity, at the employee's separation from service. Establishes in the Treasury the Thrift Savings Fund for the deposit and accounting of amounts under the Plan. Prescribes how money in such Fund shall be invested. Describes survivor annuities under the supplemental retirement plan. Describes disability benefits for employees who have completed five years of creditable service. Sets forth general and administrative provisions. Directs the Office of Personnel Management to pay all benefits payable under the benefit plan and administer provisions not specifically assigned to another entity. Directs the Office to adjudicate all claims under provisions it administers. Provides for annual cost-of-living adjustments in basic pensions based upon an increase in the Consumer Price Index. Provides for withholding of State income taxes from retirement annuities. Declares that basic annuities, survivor annuities, and disability benefits are exempt from legal process (i.e. levy, attachment, garnishment) unless otherwise provided by Federal law. Establishes in the executive branch the Federal Retirement Thrift Investment Board to be responsible for policies and regulations for, and review of, the investment and management of the Thrift Savings Fund. Directs the Board to establish an Employee Thrift Advisory Council to advise the Board on matters relating to investment policies for the Fund. Directs the Board to appoint an Executive Director to carry out its policies, invest and manage the fund, and administer provisions of the Thrift Savings Plan. Title II: Amendments to Chapter 83 of Title 5, United States Code - Provides for civil service retirement for certain employees excluded from the supplemental retirement plan. Title III: Miscellaneous Provisions - Amends the Federal Employees' Retirement Contribution Temporary Adjustment Act of 1983 to extend its provisions until January 1, 1987. Allows employees covered under such Act to elect participation in the supplemental retirement plan. Title IV: Effective Dates - Declares this Act in effect on January 1, 1987, with specified exceptions.
United States · United States Congress · 30 October 1985
Fair Furniture Trade Act of 1985 - Amends the Trade Act of 1974 to authorize the President to enter into a trade agreement with Canada which provides for changes in the Canadian tariff treatment for U.S. furniture products. Requires such agreement to provide for the elimination of: (1) differing tariff levels on furniture trade between the United States and Canada; and (2) any Canadian nontariff barrier to U.S. furniture products. Sets forth factors the President shall consider in negotiating such agreement. Provides for staged increases in the tariff on imports of Canadian furniture until such a trade agreement is implemented. Directs the President to consult with specified congressional and other committees in negotiating such agreement. Directs the President to proclaim the necessary changes in the Tariff Schedules of the United States in order to implement such a trade agreement.
United States · United States Congress · 24 October 1985
Expresses the sense of the Senate that the United States: (1) should not sell advanced weapons to Jordan; (2) should ensure that Israel retains its qualitative military edge in the Middle East; and (3) should focus its efforts on bringing Jordan into direct peace negotiations with Israel.
United States · United States Congress · 10 October 1985
Declares that the Congress calls upon the President to direct the Agency for International Development (AID) to work in a global effort to provide support toward achieving the goal of universal access to childhood immunization by the year 1990. Sets forth specified actions to be taken by AID, in conjunction with the World Health Organization and UNICEF, in reaching such goal. Urges the President to seek both private and public assistance in the United States to achieve universal access to childhood immunization.
United States · United States Congress · 9 October 1985
Fair Labor Standards Amendments of 1985 - Amends the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 to allow State, local, or interstate governmental agencies to provide compensatory time in lieu of overtime compensation. Requires that such compensatory time be one and one-half hours for each hour of employment for which overtime compensation is required. Allows such compensatory time only if it is a collective bargaining agreement, memorandum of understanding or other agreement or understanding entered into by the public agency and its employees or their recognized representatives before the work for which the compensatory time is to be provided. Limits the amount of such compensatory time which public employees may accrue to 180 hours, or 480 hours in the case of work which included a public safety activity, an emergency response activity, or a seasonal activity. Requires that public employees who have accrued such compensatory time and requested its use be permitted to use it within a reasonable period after making such request if its use does not unduly disrupt the operations of the public agency. Requires that, upon termination of employment, a public employee who has accrued such compensatory time be paid for unused compensatory time at a rate not less than the average rate received by such employee during the last three years of the employees' employment. Provides that, if a public agency had in effect on April 15, 1986, a pattern or practice of providing its employees compensatory time off in lieu of overtime compensation, that pattern or practice shall constitute an agreement or understanding which meets specified requirements. Provides that a collective bargaining agreement in effect on April 15, 1986, which permits overtime compensation in the form of compensatory time off at a rate of less than one and one-half hours for each hour of employment for which overtime compensation is required shall remain in effect until its expiration date unless otherwise modified, except that compensatory time shall be provided after April 14, 1986, at the one and one-half hour rate. Provides that States, local governments, and interstate governmental agencies shall not be liable for specified overtime and related paperwork violations which occur before April 15, 1986, with respect to employees who would not have been covered under the Secretary of Labor's special enforcement policy in effect on January 1, 1985. Permits States, local governments, or interstate governmental agencies to defer until August 1, 1986, the payment of overtime compensation for hours of employment after April 14, 1986. Adds provisions relating to special detail work for fire protection and law enforcement (including prison security) employees of State, local, or intergovernmental agencies. Provides that those hours on special detail work for a separate or independent employer shall be excluded by the public agency in the calculation of overtime compensation, if the employee agrees, solely at the employee's option, to perform such special detail work. Provides that an employee's hours of part-time employment with a public agency in a substantially different capacity from the employee's regular full-time employment with such agency shall be excluded from the calculation of overtime compensation, if such part-time employment is undertaken on an occasional and sporadic basis and solely at the employee's option. Directs the Secretary of Labor to issue, by March 15, 1986, regulations: (1) defining when employment is done on an occasional or sporadic basis; and (2) prescribing a standard for determining if employment is in a substantially different capacity than other employment. Permits employees of States, local governments, and interstate governmental agencies to volunteer to perform services for any other such agency, including one with which the employing agency has a mutual aid agreement. Adds provisions relating to substitution work by and for fire protection and law enforcement (including prison security) employees of State, local, and intergovernmental agencies. Provides that those hours of substitution during scheduled work hours for a fellow employee shall be excluded by the public agency in the calculation of the substituting employee's overtime compensation, if such employee agrees to perform such substitute work with the public agency's approval and solely at the employee's option. Provides that the employer may not be required to keep a record of the hours of such substitute work under certain overtime recordkeeping requirements. Revises the definition of "employee" to exclude any volunteer for a State, local, or interstate governmental agency who volunteers to perform such services without compensation or for a nominal fee, expenses, or reasonable benefits or for any combination of such fee, expenses, or benefits. Provides that employees of such agencies shall still be considered employees if they volunteer to perform the same type of service for those agencies for which they are employed. Directs the Secretary of Labor to issue, by March 15, 1986, regulations to define nominal fees and reasonable benefits. Provides that, if before April 15, 1986, a public agency's practice was to treat certain persons as volunteers then such persons shall be considered volunteers and not employees until April 15, 1986. Provides that no State, local government, or interstate governmental agency shall be liable for a violation of minimum wage requirements occurring before April 15, 1986, with respect to services performed for the public agency by any individual who performed such services as a volunteer. Revises the definition of "employee" to exclude from coverage under the Act State and local legislative employees who are not legislative library employees. Makes the amendments made by this Act effective on April 15, 1986, but authorizes the Secretary of Labor to promulgate before such date regulations to implement such amendments. Prohibits construing such amendments as affecting whether a State, local government, or interstate governmental agency is liable under penalty provisions of the Act for violations of minimum wage, overtime, or paperwork requirements occurring before April 15, 1986, with respect to any employee who would have been covered by by the Act under the Secretary of Labor's special enforcement policy in effect on January 1, 1985. Requires that a State, local government, or interstate governmental agency be held to have violated specified provisions if it discriminates or has discriminated against an employee with respect to wages or other terms or conditions of employment because on or after February 19, 1985, the employee asserted coverage under overtime provisions.
United States · United States Congress · 8 October 1985
Amends the copyright law to prohibit a copyright holder from conveying the right to publicly perform an audiovisual work on non-network commercial television without simultaneously conveying the right to perform in synchronization any copyrighted music which accompanies such work.
United States · United States Congress · 8 October 1985
Establishes the United States Commission on Improving the Effectiveness of the United Nations to examine and evaluate the strengths and weaknesses of the United Nations and to submit to the President recommendations on ways to improve its effectiveness and the role of the United States in such organization. Sets forth specified items which the Commission should focus on in carrying out its duties. Requires the Commission to transmit to the President and to the Congress a report containing a detailed statement of its findings, conclusions, and recommendations. Authorizes appropriations and private contributions for the Commission. Terminates the Commission 60 days after the submission of its report.
United States · United States Congress · 7 October 1985
Declares that the Congress deplores the President's notification to the U.N. Secretary General that the United States is withdrawing from the compulsory jurisdiction of the International Court of Justice, and reaffirms its support for the international rule of law and the role of the Court.
United States · United States Congress · 3 October 1985
Extends Government benefits regarding rates of pay on changes of position, annual leave, and reductions-in-force to former employees of county committees established under the soil conservation program. (Currently, such benefits are extended only to the former committee employees who are also employees of the Department of Agriculture.)
![Official portrait of Rep. Penny, Timothy J. [D-MN-1]](https://www.congress.gov/img/member/p000215_200.jpg)